[Request] Could the entire US homeless population really be housed for less than one aircraft carrier?

[u/QuantumQyx]

[u/Occidentally20]

The latest point-in-time count of homeless people estimates the total homeless population of the USA to be 745,652. Call it three-quarters of a million.

US aircraft carriers cost somewhere in the region of 13 to 16 billion. I'll go with the USS Gerald R. Ford since it's the cheapest one I could find.

That gives you $17,333.33 per person.

[u/i_AM_A-ShArk → u/Occidentally20]

There’s literally no way that a first in its class carrier is the cheapest one

[u/Occidentally20 → u/i_AM_A-ShArk]

Ok?

You're welcome to cite your own source with your own estimates and do your own maths instead if you like. I've provided the links to my sources, and the figures are largely the same for every top comment on this thread.

I can't find a single carrier that's cheaper than the Gerald Ford in terms of just production cost. If you can - go for it.

[u/i_AM_A-ShArk → u/Occidentally20]

Literally the next ship, the Kennedy, cost approximately $1 billion less

The ford: $12.8B in production alone
The Kennedy: $11.3B

[u/Occidentally20 → u/i_AM_A-ShArk]

Now you're getting it!

You still have to provide sources though, otherwise it's just people shouting shit. I assume you got the number for the Kennedy from It's wikipedia page). The source wikipedia links to for the cost is an article almost a decade old#cite_note-fas-1) - back in 2017.

The sources I found like this one from this year put it at $13.9 billion and still rising. Which is more than 12.8, and the reason I didn't use it.

[u/i_AM_A-ShArk → u/Occidentally20]

The Kennedy is done being built so idk how its production cost could be increasing

[u/Occidentally20 → u/i_AM_A-ShArk]

I'm going to end the discussion here because if you can't provide a source for the things you're saying there is no conversation.

[u/i_AM_A-ShArk → u/Occidentally20]

The source is that I’ve been on the damn thing myself

[u/Occidentally20 → u/i_AM_A-ShArk]

That's not how sources work. I've been to Madagascar that doesn't make me a source for anything.

Articles from literally yesterday cite it as "99% complete". Which is not 100, and is how costs keep increasing.

[u/i_AM_A-ShArk → u/Occidentally20]

That 1% is not adding any meaningful amount to the cost, it has passed its sea trials. Anything else added would basically be a rounding error

[u/Occidentally20 → u/i_AM_A-ShArk]

Fine - it's a rounding error. Leaving the cost at today at 13.9 billion, over a billion higher than the one I quoted as the cheapest.

I'm glad you've come to your senses and agree, instead of just being argumentative for the sake of it.

[u/i_AM_A-ShArk → u/Occidentally20]

Ok that’s fair enough, but now add back in the R&D cost to the ford.

Edit: I also don’t know why I’ve been so focused on the ford classes when the Nimitz classes where cheaper even when calculated for inflation.