3 ms·

I think you and parent are talking about separate things. They say, "housing assistance," and you say, "access to housing." Housing assistance is a government

I think you and parent are talking about separate things. They say, "housing assistance," and you say, "access to housing." Housing assistance is a government service. Access to housing would mean controlling the private housing market, I guess. Those are very different ideas in terms of feasibility, morality, economics, etc.

coldpie 10y ago
Housing assistance often is, in these economic classes, synonymous with access to the housing market. You can't suddenly have a few million more homeless people because they didn't wait in the proper lines and fill out the proper paperwork when they crossed the border.
smsm42 10y ago
Well, yes and no. There are several factors. First of all, government can both help (by providing money/actual housing) and impede (e.g. by requiring ID checks when renting out). Help may include giving money (or pseudo-money, such as vouchers) to participate in the private market. Second, many illegal immigrant are poor, or comparatively poor (e.g. housing in SF Bay Area is crazily expensive as you know, but in other parts of California is not super-cheap either usually) - and thus the government has a choice - either provide at least some assistance, or deal with tons of homeless people and all the problems that arise from that. California has pretty mild climate, which can be good because people won't freeze to death, etc. in most places most of the time, but that also means they can actually live on the street in most places most of the time, and the rest of the population usually gets uncomfortable when this happens. So they ask the government to solve this somehow.
- Tenhundfeld 10y ago
  Do you have stats showing a correlation between homelessness and illegal immigrant status? In my experience, illegal immigrants were frightened of encounters with police/authorities and were much less likely to be homeless or live in government-subsidized housing than others of a similar stratum. That said, my experience is mostly with migrant workers (agricultural and service industry); so these were people with jobs, albeit low-paying jobs. Those who couldn't work would live with their traveling companions until they moved to next location or eventually return home if they weren't making money. I'm not arguing there's no correlation. It just feels like a stretch to imply the government is providing low-income housing so the streets aren't flooded with homeless illegal immigrants. But maybe that's true in CA; I really don't know. My experience and knowledge is all rooted in the southeast (AL, MS, VA).

coldpie 10y ago

Housing assistance often is, in these economic classes, synonymous with access to the housing market. You can't suddenly have a few million more homeless people because they didn't wait in the proper lines and fill out the proper paperwork when they crossed the border.

smsm42 10y ago

Well, yes and no. There are several factors. First of all, government can both help (by providing money/actual housing) and impede (e.g. by requiring ID checks when renting out). Help may include giving money (or pseudo-money, such as vouchers) to participate in the private market. Second, many illegal immigrant are poor, or comparatively poor (e.g. housing in SF Bay Area is crazily expensive as you know, but in other parts of California is not super-cheap either usually) - and thus the government has a choice - either provide at least some assistance, or deal with tons of homeless people and all the problems that arise from that. California has pretty mild climate, which can be good because people won't freeze to death, etc. in most places most of the time, but that also means they can actually live on the street in most places most of the time, and the rest of the population usually gets uncomfortable when this happens. So they ask the government to solve this somehow.

Tenhundfeld 10y ago
Do you have stats showing a correlation between homelessness and illegal immigrant status? In my experience, illegal immigrants were frightened of encounters with police/authorities and were much less likely to be homeless or live in government-subsidized housing than others of a similar stratum. That said, my experience is mostly with migrant workers (agricultural and service industry); so these were people with jobs, albeit low-paying jobs. Those who couldn't work would live with their traveling companions until they moved to next location or eventually return home if they weren't making money. I'm not arguing there's no correlation. It just feels like a stretch to imply the government is providing low-income housing so the streets aren't flooded with homeless illegal immigrants. But maybe that's true in CA; I really don't know. My experience and knowledge is all rooted in the southeast (AL, MS, VA).