3 ms·

On some level, the answer is likely none because there's not much in it for them. That said, cities declare themselves as "sanctuary cities" well enough so it's

On some level, the answer is likely none because there's not much in it for them. That said, cities declare themselves as "sanctuary cities" well enough so it's not unreasonable to think this could be extended - although immigrants provide more economic benefits than the unhoused. Still, it doesn't have to be ungrounded in numbers. Take GDP per capita for a city, normalize it by cost of living, and pass a federal law saying cities are only required to support an unhoused population that represents a percentage of the normalized cost burden. Cities already bus unhoused people to other cities to try and shift the burden of responsibility. We could at least orchestrate the process in a way that fairly divides the economic cost. As it stands, it's just whoever acts faster and with fewer morals benefits and relatively poor areas with desirable outdoor weather shoulder the burden.

corinroyal 2y ago
It's a myth that homeless people move to better cities. If we could do that, we wouldn't be homeless. People tend to be homeless near the last place they were housed.
- SeanAnderson 2y ago
  Oh, really? I didn't know that. I lived in a small town in northern Washington state and there were no unhoused people. I assumed it was due to the cold weather making it not very practical. I then moved to California to a similarly sized city (both 30-40k people) and suddenly there were people on the streets. Just anecdotal evidence though https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1051137717302231#:~:text=Conventional%20wisdom%20among%20local%20officials,major%20draws%20for%20homeless%20individuals.&text=Similarly%2C%20research%20has%20generally%20affirmed,more%20common%20in%20warmer%20areas https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S10511.... This suggests similarly? "Indeed, 48% of the unsheltered homeless population is found in California and Florida alone, while just 15% of the United States population lives in these two states. Conventional wisdom among local officials and experts in cities with warm climates is that warm temperatures are major draws for homeless individuals.1 Similarly, research has generally affirmed that homelessness, and particularly the unsheltered type, is more common in warmer areas."
- HDThoreaun 2y ago
  No it is not. This is incredibly easy to see by just visiting different cities. Northern cities like chicago and minneapolis have very small homeless populations. Its not because no one in these cities lost their job or because the cities are dealing with homelessness better than west coast cities. The homeless in the these cities leave.
  - tptacek 2y ago
    No. First: the west-coast homeless population is overwhelmingly indigenous, consisting of people who had (and mostly will again) stable housing in the region before experiencing homelessness. Secondly: the much more salient reason the midwest sees less homelessness is that housing is much, much more affordable here. The homeless in the midwest leave homelessness, for apartments; they don't leave the region to be homeless elsewhere. Third: there are huge numbers of homeless people in Chicago. Chicago is drastically bigger than Portland or San Francisco, where the homeless problem is more visible. Drive down Chicago Ave through Humboldt Park. People don't erect tent cities in the middle of San Francisco as a political statement; there just isn't anywhere else to put them. Chicago doesn't have that problem.
    - HDThoreaun 2y ago
      > Third: there are huge numbers of homeless people in Chicago. Chicago is drastically bigger than Portland or San Francisco, where the homeless problem is more visible. Drive down Chicago Ave through Humboldt Park. Humboldt has less than 10 homeless people. Its a tiny problem relative to the west coast. Homelessness that people care about are the drug addicts who can not take care of themselves, these people would be homeless if housing cost $100 a month. Their status has nothing to do with housing costs. These types of homeless in SF are not overwhelmingly indigenous.
      - tptacek 2y ago
        That's just obviously not true, regarding Humboldt Park. It's so not true, it's Google Maps not true. "Humboldt Park t-" literally autocompletes to "tent city" in an incognito window for me. And, like, I drive through there a couple times a week and believe my lying eyes. Regarding the origin of California homeless people, this is an empirically studied question; you don't have to derive your answer from first principles. Are we better at getting people off the street than California? Indubitably. But the scale of our problem is, if not per-capita identical, then at least comparable, by the numbers.

corinroyal 2y ago

It's a myth that homeless people move to better cities. If we could do that, we wouldn't be homeless. People tend to be homeless near the last place they were housed.

SeanAnderson 2y ago
Oh, really? I didn't know that. I lived in a small town in northern Washington state and there were no unhoused people. I assumed it was due to the cold weather making it not very practical. I then moved to California to a similarly sized city (both 30-40k people) and suddenly there were people on the streets. Just anecdotal evidence though https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1051137717302231#:~:text=Conventional%20wisdom%20among%20local%20officials,major%20draws%20for%20homeless%20individuals.&text=Similarly%2C%20research%20has%20generally%20affirmed,more%20common%20in%20warmer%20areas https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S10511.... This suggests similarly? "Indeed, 48% of the unsheltered homeless population is found in California and Florida alone, while just 15% of the United States population lives in these two states. Conventional wisdom among local officials and experts in cities with warm climates is that warm temperatures are major draws for homeless individuals.1 Similarly, research has generally affirmed that homelessness, and particularly the unsheltered type, is more common in warmer areas."
HDThoreaun 2y ago
No it is not. This is incredibly easy to see by just visiting different cities. Northern cities like chicago and minneapolis have very small homeless populations. Its not because no one in these cities lost their job or because the cities are dealing with homelessness better than west coast cities. The homeless in the these cities leave.
- tptacek 2y ago
  No. First: the west-coast homeless population is overwhelmingly indigenous, consisting of people who had (and mostly will again) stable housing in the region before experiencing homelessness. Secondly: the much more salient reason the midwest sees less homelessness is that housing is much, much more affordable here. The homeless in the midwest leave homelessness, for apartments; they don't leave the region to be homeless elsewhere. Third: there are huge numbers of homeless people in Chicago. Chicago is drastically bigger than Portland or San Francisco, where the homeless problem is more visible. Drive down Chicago Ave through Humboldt Park. People don't erect tent cities in the middle of San Francisco as a political statement; there just isn't anywhere else to put them. Chicago doesn't have that problem.
  - HDThoreaun 2y ago
    > Third: there are huge numbers of homeless people in Chicago. Chicago is drastically bigger than Portland or San Francisco, where the homeless problem is more visible. Drive down Chicago Ave through Humboldt Park. Humboldt has less than 10 homeless people. Its a tiny problem relative to the west coast. Homelessness that people care about are the drug addicts who can not take care of themselves, these people would be homeless if housing cost $100 a month. Their status has nothing to do with housing costs. These types of homeless in SF are not overwhelmingly indigenous.
    - tptacek 2y ago
      That's just obviously not true, regarding Humboldt Park. It's so not true, it's Google Maps not true. "Humboldt Park t-" literally autocompletes to "tent city" in an incognito window for me. And, like, I drive through there a couple times a week and believe my lying eyes. Regarding the origin of California homeless people, this is an empirically studied question; you don't have to derive your answer from first principles. Are we better at getting people off the street than California? Indubitably. But the scale of our problem is, if not per-capita identical, then at least comparable, by the numbers.