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My position - limited funding for vets, mentally ill, and disabled. That is it.
But I haven't suggested giving money to anybody. Simply providing for basic needs... no frills food, water, shelter, hygiene, non-emergency room medical... along with voluntary counseling programs. And locating these facilities far from the downtown and tourist ares where the homeless cause so many problems for others.
Where this is being done... providing no-frills minimal life essentials away from high traffic areas... it reduces problems, and does so in a cost-effective manner.
[quote]Much harsher legislation should be put in place to incent the people who can work but don't or those that can't stop reproducing - [quote]
Like what? Chopping off their hands? Branding their foreheads? I think that doing nothing is already pretty harsh, and accomplishes nothing. We've seen cases recently in which people have committed crimes and then turned themselves in just to be sent to prison where it is warm and dry and you get 3 meals a day. But of course providing for those needs inside a prison environment is much more expensive than providing for them outside.
As far as making people stop having babies, how are you going to do that without running afoul of the U.S. Constitution?
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and those who are drug addicts and alcoholics, we need to stop being enablers.
And do what?
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Welfare reform is the 90's is a good example of how you enact tough love can provide real results.
In regards to the homeless, what would you do that hasn't already been done? Even the recent "sidewalk laws' to try to reduce the issues in tourist areas like Waikiki are considered legally questionable, and may not pass constitutional challenges.
Remember, we're talking about homeless programs here, not welfare, which has much broader benefits and much broader problems.
We can't eliminate homelessness completely, but we can reduce it quite a bit, and also cut way back on the social issues if we pursue a workable solution rather than a punitive one.
But I haven't suggested giving money to anybody. Simply providing for basic needs... no frills food, water, shelter, hygiene, non-emergency room medical... along with voluntary counseling programs. And locating these facilities far from the downtown and tourist ares where the homeless cause so many problems for others.
Where this is being done... providing no-frills minimal life essentials away from high traffic areas... it reduces problems, and does so in a cost-effective manner.
"Much harsher legislation should be put in place to incent the people who can work but don't or those that can't stop reproducing" (whtviper1 comment)
Like what?
As far as making people stop having babies, how are you going to do that without running afoul of the U.S. Constitution?
In regards to the homeless, what would you do that hasn't already been done? Even the recent "sidewalk laws' to try to reduce the issues in tourist areas like Waikiki are considered legally questionable, and may not pass constitutional challenges.
Remember, we're talking about homeless programs here, not welfare, which has much broader benefits and much broader problems.
We can't eliminate homelessness completely, but we can reduce it quite a bit, and also cut way back on the social issues if we pursue a workable solution rather than a punitive one.
I need to be brief.....so this is a very short version.
My opinion, except for vets (which should be funded out of the massive military budgets), disabled, and mentally ill homeless programs should not be funded by the Federal, State, and Local government except on a very narrow and temporary basis who don't fall into the previous categories.
As I don't feel taxpayers should reward drug addicts, alcoholics, and people who don't just won't work (lazy - or whatever you want to call it) - this gap should be filled by volunteer groups or other non-profit groups funded by donations. Therefore, the people who are in your eyes who are "compassionate" can fill that void by volunteering and giving cash - however much they want.
For extraordinary circumstances that don't fall in the above, very narrow and limited assistance for a specified short-term time frame is something I think people can get behind.
As far as the baby makers go - you can't abolish it, but you can stop rewarding that behavior via public assistance. I think back to the poster who had (off the top my head) 4 kids by 21 and no job. That incredibly bad behavior/thinking shouldn't be rewarded. My opinion, there should be personal accountability. As for the kids, what kind of life will they lead under public assistance anyway? Giving up children to adoption that you can't afford to parents that really want kids (and can afford them) is far more a better solution.
Its not shocking to hear the opinion, there should be personal accountability towards the poor, but poopoo the bad choices/laziness that corperations and the rich do on a daily bases that us taxpayers pay for.
My solution, go back to a manifacturing economy, create more jobs, the countries that are killing us are doing so by educating there workforce more then ours. Go back to almost free higher education. Make cuts in social services such as soup lines and shelters because that just keeps people from dying and reinvest in afordable housing and create startup business grants to fund empowering homeless and lowincome businesses that provide self suficent income services and services to the community, such as media, art, food services etc etc where profits go to homeless and poor who are working. Work on the issues of wealth inequility because pretty soon it wont matter what we do there will just not be enough resources to go around.
My solution, go back to a manifacturing economy, create more jobs, the countries that are killing us are doing so by educating there workforce more then ours.
That sounds great!
I wonder though, can we compete with the countries that currently are doing the manufacturing while paying low wages, no benefits and have very little environmental restrictions? I'd love it if everything was made in the USA! However, what would the costs be? Could we afford to buy our own products or would we have to lower wages, benefits and our environmental restrictions?
The United States has some of the highest corporate tax rates in the world. You can't keep taxing them crazy to solve homelessness. With Republicans in control of the house and senate expect to see more social programs reduced and corporate tax reduced. That is the platform that hold the majority of both houses of Congress. Tax and spend was rejected by many of the American people so you need another solution.
That sounds great!
I wonder though, can we compete with the countries that currently are doing the manufacturing while paying low wages, no benefits and have very little environmental restrictions? I'd love it if everything was made in the USA! However, what would the costs be? Could we afford to buy our own products or would we have to lower wages, benefits and our environmental restrictions?
If you remember frosty that at one time we were the strongest economic power in the world. We did pay livable wages and followed environmental laws during that time. During that time we had the highest educatted workforce, because higher education was almost free. It seems kinda bizarre to believe that companies can't afford to go back and manifacture stuff here, with such a huge wealth inequility gap today.
The United States has some of the highest corporate tax rates in the world. You can't keep taxing them crazy to solve homelessness. With Republicans in control of the house and senate expect to see more social programs reduced and corporate tax reduced. That is the platform that hold the majority of both houses of Congress. Tax and spend was rejected by many of the American people so you need another solution.
I agree our country has the highest tax rate for corporate taxes. But we also have the most tax loopholes and tax reduction incentives for corporate america too. Some corporations don't even pay taxes. Its unfair to expect the middle class to pay for everyone. Some corporations even create a welfare class.
I only expect they will cut the hell out of welfare for the poor and take those cuts and give it to welfare for corporate american. We have seen it time and time again.
But honestly the best thing that we can do to solve homelessness on an individual
If you remember frosty that at one time we were the strongest economic power in the world. We did pay livable wages and followed environmental laws during that time. During that time we had the highest educatted workforce, because higher education was almost free. It seems kinda bizarre to believe that companies can't afford to go back and manifacture stuff here, with such a huge wealth inequility gap today.
True but at that time our environmental laws were a joke and we were destroying our land and water. Also, places like China and Mexico weren't manufacturing as much as they are today. I'm also not so sure about having the highest educated workforce back then. Maybe in comparison to other countries at that time. It seems to me like more people are going to college today then they were back in the 70's but I could be wrong about that.
As I don't feel taxpayers should reward drug addicts, alcoholics, and people who don't just won't work (lazy - or whatever you want to call it) - this gap should be filled by volunteer groups or other non-profit groups funded by donations. Therefore, the people who are in your eyes who are "compassionate" can fill that void by volunteering and giving cash - however much they want.
They already do, to the extent they are able. But what about the rest? Doing nothing just increases problems on the streets, increases public health costs, increases policing costs, increases judicial costs, increases penal costs.
As HBH alluded to, studies have shown that it actually costs more to "do nothing" for the homeless, and that strategy accomplishes nothing. Why keep insisting on something that hasn't worked, won't work, can't work, and only wastes money?
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For extraordinary circumstances that don't fall in the above, very narrow and limited assistance for a specified short-term time frame is something I think people can get behind.
That's a good idea, but now you're talking about welfare. I'm not. I'm talking about providing basic shelter, etc. that can draw the chronic homeless away from the tourist and high traffic areas and reduce the issues they cause.
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As far as the baby makers go - you can't abolish it, but you can stop rewarding that behavior via public assistance. I think back to the poster who had (off the top my head) 4 kids by 21 and no job. That incredibly bad behavior/thinking shouldn't be rewarded. My opinion, there should be personal accountability. As for the kids, what kind of life will they lead under public assistance anyway? Giving up children to adoption that you can't afford to parents that really want kids (and can afford them) is far more a better solution.
But of course you can't mandate that because this is not China. This entire section is a total non-starter.
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That is my solution.
None of it is workable, or will make any difference.
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