Homelessness in California

[JimmyinSD]

Some things I think:

• Doctors that prescribe (highly?) addictive medications should be required to provide services for ensuring that those people are given the assistance needed in exiting the treatment plan without an addiction.
  
• My gut feeling is that our poor quality food supply (ultra-processed foods, low in nutrients, high in sugar and laced with pesticides/herbicides/fungicides/insecticides/etc and other things designed to kill life) can’t be good for this.  I think positive mental and physical health is much more likely when consuming good foods than bad foods.  As a Minnesotan it’s impossible to ignore that our farmers aren’t growing people food.  They’re either growing industrial inputs or non-natural feed for livestock.  Start subsidizing organic food for people.  Slowly remove subsidies for corn, soybeans, rapeseed, etc.
  
• I think homelessness/addiction/etc are correlated with hopelessness, and fixing hopelessness will help homelessness and addiction, and even if it doesn’t, it will help the rest of us.  Things that will help most of us and maybe will trickle down to addiction/homelessness:
  • Elimination of fractional reserve banking.  Fractional Reserve Banking mathematically ensures that each generation gets more in debt than the last generation.  It also provides the banks with money that they use to buy the government.  This is our fundamental issue.
    
  • Control of housing prices.  It should not be the norm, that people spend their entire working life in debt paying off their mortgage.
    • Firstly, I think there has to be some control of how much a person can borrow to purchase a house.  Right now, there’s nothing that stops people from indebting themselves forever to buy a house, and when housing is a necessity, people will just keep cranking up the debt until housing prices are unreasonable.  Make it illegal for banks to create new money for loans.  If more money is needed, this should be created by the people, for the people, and any profits are returned to the people not bankers.
      
    • Subsidize new housing until there’s an excess of housing on the market.  I don’t know how to do this, but I do know that if there’s not enough houses (too low of supply) prices go up.  A surplus of houses will keep prices down.
      
    • I think there needs to be separation of for-profit housing (rentals and air-bnbs) and housing owned by it’s occupants.  Taxes should be high for those profiting off housing and returned to the people at large.  I think we should keep track of how much housing we need to satisfy the housing owned by it’s occupants, and if air-bnbs or rentals are at adequate levels, taxes are relatively low for them, if they’re preventing regular people from buying houses taxes go way up to either keep them out of the market or stimulate new housing builds.
      
  • Control of medical prices.
    • We all know this situation is bad.  Almost any other medical system would be better.  We don’t need to do anything crazy, just adopt one of the health care systems from any of the countries with dramatically better health care for lower costs.
      

IMO the biggest issue is construction costs, which are supply and demand driven, people keep screaming for lower interest rates, but the rates right now are just starting to slow down the new home starts, contractors are charging sky high rates, materials are still super high ( although lumber has dropped, but most other materials are still to high ) concrete... well just better get used to dirt floors for a while, that is stupid high ( i was just quoted $9 per square foot flat work, for a new shed I am putting up, the concrete floor would be almost as much as the rest of the building package. it was $4-5 per sq/ft just a couple years ago ) There is also the stupid factor, people are allowed to spend way more of their income on a home, I see lower end homes on the market, because people think they need huge new homes. I think we are headed towards another housing bubble burst and black rock will be right there to keep buying up our housing.

We need the govt money to get out of the game, need private money to reset the markets, and then we will know where we are at, but I think there will be a lot of bleeding in the next 4 to 6 years, regardless of who wins in November. somebody is going to have to pay for all the govt manufactured money/debt of the last 5 years.

[badgervike]

I still don’t see any of that affecting you. How so?  If not gratitude then how about acceptance of the facts. 

Homelessness is a societal failure due mainly to income inequality. If you look at a homeless map you will see it is concentrated in high housing cost areas. It’s not a choice by a huge margin.

Homelessness is mainly due to income inequality?  Final answer?  So...they wake up in the morning, climb out of the tent and head to work every morning...but just don't make enough to stay ahead?  As many on this board know, I volunteered at homeless shelters here in Madison and Chicago prior for over 30 years.  I did mostly intake and counseling / resource assistance.  I can tell you definitively that substance abuse, mental health issues and abuse in general make up the overwhelming majority of the homeless population.  You have some transitory homelessness which was mainly people losing jobs/homes, loss of a bread winner through death/disease or through divorce / separation.  Those were actually the easiest to deal with.  You can help them find resources for medical, child care, locate housing and assist in finding employment.  The chronic homeless was another story.  

Homelessness is concentrated in the cities...because the population is concentrated around cities.  The supporting resources are located in the inner cities.  Drugs are easy to find in the inner cities.  The homeless population can by and large be left alone.  California, in particular, has created the perfect storm with the weather, lax enforcement of loitering and panhandling laws and the decriminalization of drugs and shoplifting.

[1VikesFan]

Weed should be legalized nationally

[supafreak84]

Homelessness is mainly due to income inequality?  Final answer?  So...they wake up in the morning, climb out of the tent and head to work every morning...but just don't make enough to stay ahead?  As many on this board know, I volunteered at homeless shelters here in Madison and Chicago prior for over 30 years.  I did mostly intake and counseling / resource assistance.  I can tell you definitively that substance abuse, mental health issues and abuse in general make up the overwhelming majority of the homeless population.  You have some transitory homelessness which was mainly people losing jobs/homes, loss of a bread winner through death/disease or through divorce / separation.  Those were actually the easiest to deal with.  You can help them find resources for medical, child care, locate housing and assist in finding employment.  The chronic homeless was another story.  

Homelessness is concentrated in the cities...because the population is concentrated around cities.  The supporting resources are located in the inner cities.  Drugs are easy to find in the inner cities.  The homeless population can by and large be left alone.  California, in particular, has created the perfect storm with the weather, lax enforcement of loitering and panhandling laws and the decriminalization of drugs and shoplifting.

100% here. Income inequality has little to nothing to do with homelessness. Very few have any interest in working an actual job because that interferes with their ability to use drugs, being irresponsible. and conforming to an actual schedule..which none of them want. You could offer up a new life to them on a silver platter and very few would take it because of the mental health and substance abuse issues. Its why I say open up the mental institutions again and that probably takes half of the homeless population off the streets and out of our parks, sidewalks, shopping centers, and other public areas where they loiter, shit, and collect garbage because they are all horders to some extent.

[Bullazin]

Income inequality is arguably the highest cause so you should check the data Supa. Studies show that Social and medical are as high or nearly as high but what is causing breakdowns in the families that lead to social factors ?

Ok stay in your made up world where most homeless are irresponsible individuals that just need to grab their bootstraps. Opinion doesn’t equal reality no matter how strong opinions may be

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It just goes back to the point I made earlier, a lot of people love to complain, mostly about strawman issues that have little to do with data/ reality.

And kudos to you Badger for being a part of the solution. I commend your work.

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK218240/

[badgervike]

Income inequality is arguably the highest cause so you should check the data Supa.  Studies show that Social and medical  are as high or nearly as high but what is causing breakdowns in the families that lead to social  factors ? 

Ok stay in your made up world where most homeless are irresponsible individuals that just need to grab their bootstraps.  Opinion doesn’t equal reality no matter how strong opinions may be

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It just goes back to the point I made earlier, a lot of people love to complain, mostly about strawman issues that have little to do with data/ reality.

And kudos to you Badger for being a part of the solution. I commend your work.

Again, income inequality?  Here's a news flash...there's income inequality because most of these people that are homeless have no income.  Sounds like a study that was destined for a certain answer.  The only way to fix the actual problem is to deal with the root causes...again being drugs / substance abuse, mental health issues, de-emphasis on the family especially in the Black population where only 25% of the fathers are part of the family unit and there is little to no emphasis on education...which is among the biggest factors on your eventual success.  The rates of individual success go way up for those that don't do drugs, grow up in a two parent family, place an emphasis on education and don't have have babies before marriage.  Pretty simple formula.

And no need to thank me for the work.  I did it because it made a difference in other people's lives and subsequently made a difference in mine.  I would recommend to all to get off the couch every once in a while and pay it forward.  I don't do it anymore but I do miss it.

[supafreak84]

Income inequality is arguably the highest cause so you should check the data Supa.  Studies show that Social and medical  are as high or nearly as high but what is causing breakdowns in the families that lead to social  factors ? 

Ok stay in your made up world where most homeless are irresponsible individuals that just need to grab their bootstraps.  Opinion doesn’t equal reality no matter how strong opinions may be

---

It just goes back to the point I made earlier, a lot of people love to complain, mostly about strawman issues that have little to do with data/ reality.

And kudos to you Badger for being a part of the solution. I commend your work.

---

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK218240/

I'm basing my statements and opinions on my experience in working with the homeless population and social services over the last four years here in California. Income inequality has little to do with rising mental illness and drug induces psychosis that is plaguing the country. 

I'll just agree to disagree with you. If you are cool with having to drive around human feces on a public sidewalk while on a bike ride with your kids and it's "strawman" issue or having some bum on a bender masturbating outside schools (real issues), well I commend you on your not giving a shit (no pun intended) outlook.

[Godhead]

Most the homeless won’t work unless it’s for big money.
They will take the handouts from you but, very few will want off the streets for a 9-5 job.
Programs are basically useless and waste taxpayers money.
They want to stay high with the handouts on the streets and wait for the big payday.
Some are so far gone they simply can’t work.
I’d say about 95% are not employable.
I volunteered at a homeless outreach and I’m a native Californian.
Born in LA but, lived most my life in SD.
There is more out there than ever in San Diego.
The attraction of LA helps SD out some but, there is more now than ever.

[Bullazin]

100% here. Income inequality has little to nothing to do with homelessness. Very few have any interest in working an actual job because that interferes with their ability to use drugs, being irresponsible. and conforming to an actual schedule..which none of them want. You could offer up a new life to them on a silver platter and very few would take it because of the mental health and substance abuse issues. Its why I say open up the mental institutions again and that probably takes half of the homeless population off the streets and out of our parks, sidewalks, shopping centers, and other public areas where they loiter, shit, and collect garbage because they are all horders to some extent.

Again, income inequality?  Here's a news flash...there's income inequality because most of these people that are homeless have no income.  Sounds like a study that was destined for a certain answer.  The only way to fix the actual problem is to deal with the root causes...again being drugs / substance abuse, mental health issues, de-emphasis on the family especially in the Black population where only 25% of the fathers are part of the family unit and there is little to no emphasis on education...which is among the biggest factors on your eventual success.  The rates of individual success go way up for those that don't do drugs, grow up in a two parent family, place an emphasis on education and don't have have babies before marriage.  Pretty simple formula.

And no need to thank me for the work.  I did it because it made a difference in other people's lives and subsequently made a difference in mine.  I would recommend to all to get off the couch every once in a while and pay it forward.  I don't do it anymore but I do miss it.

I posted the link to an NIH study. Did you look at it?  I looked again and it is quite dated, but go ahead and post data if you can find a scientist that agrees with your opinion. I went to the NIH because it’s an institution of experts.  

How you gonna fix the social family issues then?  One child policy? Sterilization? One church?  Freedom goes both ways. 

No I didn’t have to thank you, as you don’t need to thank me for my decades of social service and volunteering, then again I never have posted about it on a message board.

[Vanguard83]

We left California five years ago. Lived there my whole life, and I can tell you that the change in those decades has been quite dramatic.
Supafreak hits the nail on the head, and I will only give a couple of our personal experiences. Drug addicts walking our street, approaching us for money in our cars. Our gang mailboxes were stolen repeatedly - the entire BOX (maybe 20 homes). Homeless people living behind our house in a dry river bed started fires, would use our pool to bathe in, our hose for water, and would rummage through our recyclables.

No intention of returning, good luck to those who stay