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So it’s better to not provide the people in this horrid situation with any dignity in the hopes that something changes and shames society into some unknown acti

• xvilka 7y ago
  Many US cities have a lack of public toilet and sanitary facilities. And it is a problem for everyone, from homeless to tourists. Even NYC is not particularly good at this.
• briandear 7y ago
  > SF can learn a lot from Portland. SF can learn a lot from Houston, Dallas, or San Antonio: they don’t have city blocks covered with shit, needles, or people living in tents on the sidewalks. The more SF “helps,” the more they attract. Houston is the 4th largest city and has a fraction of the homeless. Red districts seem to have less income inequality and fewer homeless and lower poverty.[1] The San Francisco Approach seems to always be “let’s spend more money on the problem.” But basic economics suggests that subsidizing something gives you more of it. For example, unemployment benefits in France are extremely generous, and you have double and triple the unemployment than in the US. Many people in France stay on unemployment to the last possible moment before they seek a job because the system incentivizes just that. The problem as I see it is that liberals tend to make policies from a position of emotion, such as “we can’t cut <some program> because that’s cruel.” However, it is just like feeding stray cats: you feed them and that promotes more strays. If you raise a Lion in captivity, they never learn to hunt and thus they are forever destined to being the wards of the state. This is a highly unpopular opinion around here to be sure, but if we are being honest, the current policies promote a society of dependency. San Franciscans often cite a pleasant climate as a reason for so many homeless choosing to live in the city, however, for a homeless person, San Francisco weather is a lot colder and more miserable than many other places in the US. So why does San Francisco have such an incredible addiction and homeless problem? Perhaps it’s policies that allow homeless people to shoot up on the street? Perhaps it’s the higher availability of homeless services from well-meaning, but naïve non-profits? One of the richest and most liberal cities in the world — and a profound homeless problem. Is there a correlation? Could the policies of liberal Portland and San Francisco actually be the problem? I had to spend some time in New Haven and Hartford and, as someone from Texas, I was amazed at the total slums right next to gated millionaire neighborhoods. Despite high taxes to “help” the problem, it only seems to make it worse. What am I missing? I am not trying to throw gasoline on the issue, but I genuinely don’t understand. California is almost 80% Democrat, so supposedly, the state is unencumbered by pesky conservatives, yet the problem seems to be getting progressively worse. It isn’t the federal government’s fault because otherwise there’d be similar levels of problems everywhere else. [1] https://www.axios.com/income-inequality-blue-red-districts-641c4e96-327c-4237-91a5-6613ad80cff5.html https://www.axios.com/income-inequality-blue-red-districts-6...
  • kevin_thibedeau 7y ago
    Your examples are postwar "car" cities that are less walkable for life on the streets.
  • dmode 7y ago
    Disclaimer: I also don’t want to throw gasoline to the issue, but the above comment needs a response. This analysis is so wrong that where should I start. This is the exact same lazy thinking that is prevalent in conservative circles today that gave rise to trolls like Trump, Milo, and Alex Jones to conservative leadership. 1. Unemployment rate and generous welfare — Scandinavian countries have the most generous welfare state of any nation, but has among the lowest unemployment rates in Europe. How does that explain the correlation that you casually made ? Taking a step further, why is unemployment rate even a indicator of a true health of a society? I know the unemployment rate is artificially low in the US as a significant portion of the population is working in jobs that do not even provide basic living wage. And they have to work multiple jobs just to sustain. Aren’t a lot of Walmart employees on welfare? 2. Homelessness and liberal cities - this is a two pronged issue. Since red states see poor, homeless, mentally unstable and drug addicted people as essential criminals, a lot of them migrate from red states to liberal cities, who view them as human. Coupled with already dense cities where it is difficult to build housing in huge numbers it accentuates the problem. In European countries these decisions are made at a Federal level, hence a city like Amsterdam with even more liberal policies around drugs has zero homelessness issues. One option is to throw everyone is jail. But the American public has woken to be the fact that we are most incarcerated nation in the world and our prisons are >70% minorities. And clearly people have lost appetite in liberal states to put more people behind bars. But fear not my concerned red state friend. We will solve this problem too as we have solved a million other issues. As you forge ahead and sign heartbeat bills and take control of women’s vagina, and continue to build prisons, we will continue to take care of the most vulnerable Americans.
    • tomhoward 7y ago
      Your last three sentences are in stark contrast to the first part of your first sentence.
  • 7y ago