5 ms·

This assessment contradicts all evidence we have on the homelessness in the US. Unemployment rate is very low in the US, shelters are very often half-empty. Dru

by hifreq 3y ago

This assessment contradicts all evidence we have on the homelessness in the US. Unemployment rate is very low in the US, shelters are very often half-empty. Drug-addicts and homeless people refuse help (unless it's cash or free drugs). The idea that we just need to invest more and more into this extremely corrupt industry has no merit.

Swizec 3y ago
> Unemployment rate is very low in the US Caveat: unemployment statistics don't count people who aren't seeking work. Which chronically homeless and/or drug addicted people usually do not. > The unemployment rate measures the share of workers in the labor force who do not currently have a job but are actively looking for work. People who have not looked for work in the past four weeks are not included in this measure. https://www.epi.org/newsroom/useful_definitions/ https://www.epi.org/newsroom/useful_definitions/ Basically what unemployment rate tells us is that USA has enough jobs for people who want to work. It says nothing about people who have given up looking.
- hifreq 3y ago
  > Basically what unemployment rate tells us is that USA has enough jobs for people who want to work. It says nothing about people who have given up looking. That's a fair point. If people are not seeking work but claim benefits indefinitely, doesn't this require a different solution than blaming the society and expecting taxpayers to take care of that?
  - nradov 3y ago
    Which benefits are you referring to? Unemployment insurance and welfare are generally time limited. Disability payments can last forever, specifically because those people can't work. (There is a small amount of disability fraud by people who are capable of working but choose not too, and are able to convince physicians to approve their claims.)
    - hifreq 3y ago
      Benefits in a very broad sense. This includes both e.g. SF General Assistance payments and things like cleaning the streets from syringes, urine and poop on a weekly basis.
namesbc 3y ago
What are you talking about? Homeless shelters are full, wages are the lowest they have been in decades, and US health care is the most expensive in the world
- hifreq 3y ago
  Available shelter space, housing vacancies: https://www.kqed.org/news/11668623/why-do-thousands-of-l-a-s-homeless-shelter-beds-sit-empty-each-night-rats-roaches-bedbugs-mold https://www.kqed.org/news/11668623/why-do-thousands-of-l-a-s... https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/editorials/article/san-francisco-homeless-housing-vacancies-17804113.php https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/editorials/article/san-f... https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/top-stories/story/2020-05-19/newsom-coronavirus-homeless-population-hotel-project-roomkey https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/top-stories/story/2020-... > wages are the lowest they have been in decades This is an endless argument. Why can't a person with 0 skills rent an apartment in San Francisco? Some wages are very low. If you can't afford rent in one of the most expensive cities on the planet, move to a cheaper place, don't become homeless in SF. Do you want me to solve this for you? Here you go: - Find a job in Wallmart in Fresno (if you insist on staying in CA): https://careers.walmart.com/us/jobs/0619201885FE-cashier-front-end https://careers.walmart.com/us/jobs/0619201885FE-cashier-fro... (Cashier, $16-$26 an hour) - Find a cheap rental in Fresno: e.g. this studio is $800 https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/719-W-Hammond-Ave-Fresno-CA-93728/2121598725_zpid/ https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/719-W-Hammond-Ave-Fresno-... - Sign up for free health insurance: https://www.coveredca.com/ https://www.coveredca.com/
  - SamoyedFurFluff 3y ago
    I dunno, I would rather be homeless in a city I know then to be homeless in a city I don’t.
    - hifreq 3y ago
      Up to you mate. Just don't blame the society for your choices.
  - 3y ago
giantrobot 3y ago
> shelters are very often half-empty Shelters have a lot of restrictions that keep swaths of homeless out. For instance most don't allow animals or carts. If you're homeless and don't want to abandon those you're stuck on the street. There might be reasons for restrictions but they exist and homeless are excluded from shelters because of them.

by hifreq 3y ago

Swizec 3y ago

> Unemployment rate is very low in the US Caveat: unemployment statistics don't count people who aren't seeking work. Which chronically homeless and/or drug addicted people usually do not. > The unemployment rate measures the share of workers in the labor force who do not currently have a job but are actively looking for work. People who have not looked for work in the past four weeks are not included in this measure. https://www.epi.org/newsroom/useful_definitions/ https://www.epi.org/newsroom/useful_definitions/ Basically what unemployment rate tells us is that USA has enough jobs for people who want to work. It says nothing about people who have given up looking.

hifreq 3y ago
> Basically what unemployment rate tells us is that USA has enough jobs for people who want to work. It says nothing about people who have given up looking. That's a fair point. If people are not seeking work but claim benefits indefinitely, doesn't this require a different solution than blaming the society and expecting taxpayers to take care of that?
- nradov 3y ago
  Which benefits are you referring to? Unemployment insurance and welfare are generally time limited. Disability payments can last forever, specifically because those people can't work. (There is a small amount of disability fraud by people who are capable of working but choose not too, and are able to convince physicians to approve their claims.)
  - hifreq 3y ago
    Benefits in a very broad sense. This includes both e.g. SF General Assistance payments and things like cleaning the streets from syringes, urine and poop on a weekly basis.

namesbc 3y ago

What are you talking about? Homeless shelters are full, wages are the lowest they have been in decades, and US health care is the most expensive in the world

hifreq 3y ago
Available shelter space, housing vacancies: https://www.kqed.org/news/11668623/why-do-thousands-of-l-a-s-homeless-shelter-beds-sit-empty-each-night-rats-roaches-bedbugs-mold https://www.kqed.org/news/11668623/why-do-thousands-of-l-a-s... https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/editorials/article/san-francisco-homeless-housing-vacancies-17804113.php https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/editorials/article/san-f... https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/top-stories/story/2020-05-19/newsom-coronavirus-homeless-population-hotel-project-roomkey https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/top-stories/story/2020-... > wages are the lowest they have been in decades This is an endless argument. Why can't a person with 0 skills rent an apartment in San Francisco? Some wages are very low. If you can't afford rent in one of the most expensive cities on the planet, move to a cheaper place, don't become homeless in SF. Do you want me to solve this for you? Here you go: - Find a job in Wallmart in Fresno (if you insist on staying in CA): https://careers.walmart.com/us/jobs/0619201885FE-cashier-front-end https://careers.walmart.com/us/jobs/0619201885FE-cashier-fro... (Cashier, $16-$26 an hour) - Find a cheap rental in Fresno: e.g. this studio is $800 https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/719-W-Hammond-Ave-Fresno-CA-93728/2121598725_zpid/ https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/719-W-Hammond-Ave-Fresno-... - Sign up for free health insurance: https://www.coveredca.com/ https://www.coveredca.com/
- SamoyedFurFluff 3y ago
  I dunno, I would rather be homeless in a city I know then to be homeless in a city I don’t.
  - hifreq 3y ago
    Up to you mate. Just don't blame the society for your choices.
- 3y ago

giantrobot 3y ago

> shelters are very often half-empty Shelters have a lot of restrictions that keep swaths of homeless out. For instance most don't allow animals or carts. If you're homeless and don't want to abandon those you're stuck on the street. There might be reasons for restrictions but they exist and homeless are excluded from shelters because of them.