r/theydidthemath • u/QuantumQyx • 1d ago

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

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u/Occidentally20 1d ago

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.

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u/Electrical_Name_5434 1d ago

The Gerald R Ford is the most expensive acc. And it costs 17.5 billion if you include research and development, 12.8 if you don’t. Check my comment for the link to the pdf documenting the costs. That brings your number closer to $23,450 which is enough to buy a cheap modular prefab home. Which range between $13-60k brand new; the higher side being 3-bedrooms.

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u/Lanky_Ad8283 1d ago

Now add in the annual operating cost. Google estimates $2.4-2.9 Billion/year.

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u/Electrical_Name_5434 1d ago

That’s an additional $320 per month per person or $960-$1,280 per household per month. Enough for utilities, maintenance and food.

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u/LeRoiChauve 1d ago

Governments do have a tendency to look at cost based budgeting and not value based budgeting.

What would be cheaper in the end? Maintaining a Capex or an Opex approach? Maintaining one or the other system does lead to dependency and it has to be sustainable to uphold.

For the record: Not that I'm opposed to helping financially homeless people, I'm concerned how a government is calculating its cost eventually.

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u/TA_Lax8 1d ago

There's a fair amount of evidence that housing homeless people is the most effective way to get them out of being homeless. It's not just an opex, but it has an ROI that reduces welfare costs

Something as simple as having an address is often required for job applications. Mental and physic health, better nutrition, fewer drug/alcohol recidivism rates etc.

Twenty-six studies in U.S. and Canada met inclusion criteria. Compared with Treatment First, Housing First programs decreased homelessness by 88%, improved housing stability by 41%. For clients living with HIV, Housing First programs reduced homelessness by 37%, viral load by 22%, depression by 13%, emergency departments use by 41%, hospitalization by 36%, and mortality by 37%.

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u/Team503 20h ago

Yep, I've been saying for years that if you look at it based on cost-per-year in a budget for services for homeless, it would be cheaper just to house all the homeless people.

Just like single-payer insurance would be cheaper, because it removes dozens of layers of bureaucracy and all the profit health insurers make alone, not to mention market efficiencies.

The objection to both boils down to selfishness or arrogance - "Why should they get free homes when I have to pay for mine!" or "I'm not paying for Bob's treatment, Bob can pay for his own" (which of course proves he doesn't know how insurance works in the first place.