4 ms·

Giving them one way bus tickets to a liberal city.

by Cerium 5y ago

fossislife 5y ago
This reminds me of the South Park episode "Night of the Living Homeless".
anovikov 5y ago
Exactly! But real long-term solution is of course, make it a felony to not have a provable permanent address. Bums' perception of life varies, but main reason people become bums is that they love freedom too much - they don't want or due to mental health reasons, can't follow any kind of rules at all - being a bum, your life sucks but you are the most free a person could be. Prison scares them, because in the prison, they'll absolutely make one follow a lot of rules. Once it is really punishable by prison, these people will make up their minds and stop bumming. This is how it works in Belarus, and number of bums in prisons is absolutely negligible, and number of bums in the streets is zero.
- sul_tasto 5y ago
  The cost per prison inmate has to be close to $60k per year in the US also.
  - luffapi 5y ago
    It’s way higher. This person has no idea what they’re talking about. “Bums” love freedom? Apparently this person has never interacted with a homeless person. Anyway, it’s $81k a year to imprison someone in CA. https://lao.ca.gov/PolicyAreas/CJ/6_cj_inmatecost https://lao.ca.gov/PolicyAreas/CJ/6_cj_inmatecost
    - animal_spirits 5y ago
      California also has one of the highest concentrations of people in prison, it might be cheaper in other parts of the country.
  - anovikov 5y ago
    This must be tackled just as healthcare should be: supply side. It doesn't matter if prisons are public or private, there must be a lot of them for them to be cheap. Simplify regulations, build something like good old gulags, they are proven to work and dirt cheap.
- Supermancho 5y ago
  > But real long-term solution is of course, make it a felony to not have a provable permanent address Maybe not a felony. That makes the situation worse. I've been promoting the idea that: if you are arrested or arraigned (not even convicted) and don't have a permanent address you are transported to an unincorporated part of the state. Making it a misdemeanor to participate (either side) in begging/pan-handling would also help. If you aren't going to participate, you are de-facto opting out of the community benefits. If you want social services to function, make sure you are willing to give then a perm address. Following rules and being functional in society is what this whole waste of resources has been about. Note: One side of my wife family are these kind of people who don't follow "the rules" paranoid that the govt is watching them while being subsidized by the govt. They are living in filth from Needles CA to trailers (water trailer + living trailer) out in a flat, dead, parcel of desert near Bullhead AZ. At least they have addresses.
- tiahura 5y ago
  That’s the way it used to be in the US. Vagrancy was a crime but not a felony. Bums were sent to “the farm” to sober up and work hard for a few months. That changed in the 1960’s. Liberals convinced themselves and those in power that it was virtuous to let addicts and the mentally ill waste their lives away on the street. Because of COVID, I haven’t been to SF in two years, but on my last trip it had reached absurd levels of dysfunction. Try walking 1 block down Market St to the Mikkeller Bar and you’ll have to jump over 5 spots of human feces, swerve around 3 people snorting god knows what off the sidewalk, and avoid 12 urinating bums. Very progressive.

Giving them one way bus tickets to a liberal city.

by Cerium 5y ago

Giving them one way bus tickets to a liberal city.

fossislife 5y ago

This reminds me of the South Park episode "Night of the Living Homeless".

anovikov 5y ago

Exactly! But real long-term solution is of course, make it a felony to not have a provable permanent address. Bums' perception of life varies, but main reason people become bums is that they love freedom too much - they don't want or due to mental health reasons, can't follow any kind of rules at all - being a bum, your life sucks but you are the most free a person could be. Prison scares them, because in the prison, they'll absolutely make one follow a lot of rules. Once it is really punishable by prison, these people will make up their minds and stop bumming. This is how it works in Belarus, and number of bums in prisons is absolutely negligible, and number of bums in the streets is zero.

sul_tasto 5y ago
The cost per prison inmate has to be close to $60k per year in the US also.
- luffapi 5y ago
  It’s way higher. This person has no idea what they’re talking about. “Bums” love freedom? Apparently this person has never interacted with a homeless person. Anyway, it’s $81k a year to imprison someone in CA. https://lao.ca.gov/PolicyAreas/CJ/6_cj_inmatecost https://lao.ca.gov/PolicyAreas/CJ/6_cj_inmatecost
  - animal_spirits 5y ago
    California also has one of the highest concentrations of people in prison, it might be cheaper in other parts of the country.
- anovikov 5y ago
  This must be tackled just as healthcare should be: supply side. It doesn't matter if prisons are public or private, there must be a lot of them for them to be cheap. Simplify regulations, build something like good old gulags, they are proven to work and dirt cheap.
Supermancho 5y ago
> But real long-term solution is of course, make it a felony to not have a provable permanent address Maybe not a felony. That makes the situation worse. I've been promoting the idea that: if you are arrested or arraigned (not even convicted) and don't have a permanent address you are transported to an unincorporated part of the state. Making it a misdemeanor to participate (either side) in begging/pan-handling would also help. If you aren't going to participate, you are de-facto opting out of the community benefits. If you want social services to function, make sure you are willing to give then a perm address. Following rules and being functional in society is what this whole waste of resources has been about. Note: One side of my wife family are these kind of people who don't follow "the rules" paranoid that the govt is watching them while being subsidized by the govt. They are living in filth from Needles CA to trailers (water trailer + living trailer) out in a flat, dead, parcel of desert near Bullhead AZ. At least they have addresses.
tiahura 5y ago
That’s the way it used to be in the US. Vagrancy was a crime but not a felony. Bums were sent to “the farm” to sober up and work hard for a few months. That changed in the 1960’s. Liberals convinced themselves and those in power that it was virtuous to let addicts and the mentally ill waste their lives away on the street. Because of COVID, I haven’t been to SF in two years, but on my last trip it had reached absurd levels of dysfunction. Try walking 1 block down Market St to the Mikkeller Bar and you’ll have to jump over 5 spots of human feces, swerve around 3 people snorting god knows what off the sidewalk, and avoid 12 urinating bums. Very progressive.