The homeless problem in America

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Website owner:  James Miller

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A big problem in this country is homelessness. In cities all across the country you have large numbers of homeless people. It is a problem that has been around for many, many years. People have been talking about it for years, how to solve it, but the problem just seems to get bigger and bigger. The politicians and city administrators keep talking and talking about it but there doesn’t seem to be much progress. No one really knows how to handle it, what to do about it. They all seem to go on the tacit assumption that every person has an inherent right to some nice apartment and food to eat and the society should provide them with it. The big problem is just how to do that. They are held captive to left-wing socialistic/communistic type assumptions, attitudes, and outlooks.

I just saw the YouTube videos

YouTube The Oakland, California Homeless Problem is Beyond Belief Nick Johnson

YouTube Bay Area Homeless - Concern or Crisis

A large portion of these homeless are drug or alcohol addicts or people with mental problems who are unable to hold jobs. However, a significant portion of them are people who simply don’t make enough money to pay the going rents. In an area like San Francisco where house prices are really, really high and rents are really, really high you can understand how this problem occurs. Even a person with a fairly good income might find himself unable to pay the going rents. I have been thinking about the problem. I ask myself, “What would I do if I didn’t make enough money to pay the going rent?” Answer: If I could afford it I would get an RV, or a van, or a truck with a camper top, find a place where I could park it, and live in it. If I couldn’t afford that I would buy a tent and live in a tent. In other words I would do exactly what these homeless people are doing. It is just common sense. Suppose I had the power, and wanted to help these homeless people? What would I do? I would provide them with portable toilets, large trash cans for their trash, trash pickup, a hose with running water, a couple of inexpensive 8 ft by 10 ft structures where they could have privacy to wash themselves (you could make such a structure with 2×4's and tarp) and insist that they kept the general area clean and decent looking. These solutions are so simple and cheap that I am sure no politician would even think of them.

Let me give some perspective on this. I have a very nice 16 ft by 24 ft cabin in the mountains of Appalachia that cost me $10,000 to build where I believe I could live for around $2000 a year. And I would be just as happy living there as I am living in my 2000 sq. ft. house. See

On how little cash income can one live?

How cheaply can one eat?

What are the very minimum requirements for living?

In poor areas of our country, as in Appalachia or the deep South, you often see many old house trailers or old dilapidated houses. It is the same thing. These are poor people who don’t make much money and this is their solution. A child gets married and the couple doesn’t make much money so they find an old house trailer for close to nothing and put it on their parent’s property. There are a great many poor people in our country who live in old dilapidated houses or house trailers. And in regard to happiness, these people are probably about as happy as people living in big, lovely houses.

Is there a big reason to feel sorry for these people? I don’t think so. There are many things in life that are much worse than living in these kinds of accommodations. One’s accommodations is not the main determiner of happiness.

In the tropical areas of the world, as in Latin America, the Phillippines, India, Bangladesh, many countries of Africa, etc. there are many poor people who live in very rudimentary housing. Housing may consist of little more than a sheet of plastic over a framework. There the weather is always warm and you only need protection from the rain or sun.

What causes high rents in an area? A shortage of rental units and an abundance of high paying jobs. If there are a lot of people with a high income in an area they will bid up the price of houses and of rental units. If there is high demand for rental units and a shortage of units, rents will increase. By the law of supply and demand, high demand gives high rents. Some people think rent control is the answer but if you put a cap on rents no investor will want to own rental property. It will be a disincentive to rental property construction and make the problem even worse. It does seem to me that the sensible thing for a person who can’t afford the rents to do is leave the area and look for an area with rents he can afford. But finding work is also part of the equation. He needs to find a job in an area where he can afford the rents.

27 Sept 2022