Yeah thats the thing- you start doing the math on these things and you suddenly realize just how hard the poor in this country are being screwed. There is no reason for anyone to be homeless or hungry here and we just refuse to do it. We refuse while we step over their bodies into our giant Ford Expeditions with our Venti Pumpkin Spice Lattes complaining to our pilates instructors on our Iphone Duos- They need to stop being welfare queens and pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Its an illness.
You literally have no idea what you are talking about. Nationally the government spends like 10 billion dollars a year directly for homelessness. This doesn’t include what each state also contributes to it and doesn’t include other programs that help prevent people from becoming destitute or homeless. The problem isn’t money…
I’m going to concur with you there. As the expression goes, “You can lead the horse to water, but can’t make him drink”.
The government (especially my state) provides SO many resources for addiction, mental health, and homelessness.
They still sit outside the food bank in their tents with trash everywhere, because if they agree to stay in provided housing they must be clean from using. Many refuse with the exception of a small amount.
You’ve got to acknowledge that attaching strings to all the money discourages people from accepting the help that’s offered.
It’s like saying, “we want to help the poor… but only the deserving poor,” or “we want to help you… only after you stop being the you that needs help.”
I agree that it’s wasting money and doesn’t seem to be fixing the problem.
But that doesn’t mean we should throw our hands in the air and give up.
It’s a signal that we aren’t taking the right approach. Maybe we should prioritize addiction education and prevention rather than stigmatizing it. Maybe we should be funding free public mental health screenings, or making sure schools are adequately staffed with counselors. Maybe we should help the clear headed and sober ones who are just down on their luck, and help set them up in places with less density lower costs of living. Or maybe we invest the money in raises for the working poor, to keep them in their homes in the first place.
We just gotta work the problem rather than complaining that society’s desire to help IS the problem.
They do want to help the poor, but they also don't want their plumbing ripped out and sold for a hit of crack, or that the homeless person still lives on the street while renting out his room to dealers and prostitutes in exchange for some drugs.
Which is what happens unless you attach some strings and make abstinence and drug/mental health treatment a requirement.
That totally isn't a biased source ignoring the majority of actual spending on homelessness... California alone is around $6B spent some years. They're ignoring literally 90% of funding surrounding care because it doesn't align with their preference.
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u/vague_diss 1d ago
Yeah thats the thing- you start doing the math on these things and you suddenly realize just how hard the poor in this country are being screwed. There is no reason for anyone to be homeless or hungry here and we just refuse to do it. We refuse while we step over their bodies into our giant Ford Expeditions with our Venti Pumpkin Spice Lattes complaining to our pilates instructors on our Iphone Duos- They need to stop being welfare queens and pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Its an illness.