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Exactly, it's all those damn republicans fault that run the city of Seattle and the Washington State government and are in the White House. If we could just rid of them, why all this homeless problem would go away.
The real solution is to have the homeless wear "I work for Shell Oil" t-shirts, then the progressives would be happy to run them all out of town.
I'm far from believing that Democrats have all the answers - any solution, for instance, would need to include a vigorous enforcement component. Enforcement diversion, housing options, addiction treatment, etc., are just as important in defeating the gangs as in ending most ("all" is a chimera) homelessness. Those who need to be locked up, should be, however. Deficits do matter (although it is Republicans, not Democrats, by and large, who have driven them up). Not investing in infrastructure, not counting the "bridge to nowhere" (a Republican project, by the way), will cost us many times the savings in the long run. Real (not "token") efforts should be focused on creating both educational and employment opportunity, rather than simple wealth transfers.
However, reliance on "lock 'em up" enforcement, lift-by-your-bootstraps social policies, and trickle-down ("sink or swim") economics, which have been more typical since the "conservative revolution" under Reagan (with a 41% Senate minority being able to filibuster spending or tax increases), have only made matters worse, not better. All that current Republicans have to offer is an insistence upon even more of "more of the same".
To clarify this. Anchorage is largely built-out, there is no surrounding land to expand the city. As a result prices for land / homes / etc. are quite high. The proposed bridge would connect Anchorage to land that is available for expansion.
To clarify this. Anchorage is largely built-out, there is no surrounding land to expand the city. As a result prices for land / homes / etc. are quite high. The proposed bridge would connect Anchorage to land that is available for expansion.
To clarify this, the first and most famous "bridge to nowhere" was the Gravina Island bridge in Ketchikan, espoused by Sen. Ted Stevens. The Knik Arm crossing is a pet project of Rep. Don Young, the sole Alaska congressman (aka "Mr. Pork,") who ostensibly said, "Environmentalists are a self-centered bunch of waffle-stomping, Harvard-graduating, intellectual idiots who are not Americans, never have been Americans, never will be Americans."
In my view Anchorage has plenty of land to grow; but not all that much of it is owned by Rep. Young's buddies compared to Pt. Mackenzie. The Knik crossing isn't a bridge to nowhere; it's the road to riches. For some.
Everyone recognizes the problem but existing remediation approaches are not working. Programs that encourage and enable homelessness while charitable, do nothing to help them out of their situation and can seem to make the problem worse. Does anyone really think that the homeless are happy, productive members of society ? Do we think that it is better to be homeless than to be working ? Of course not! Then why would people object to denying them their "freedom" to panhandle and generally make themselves a public nuisance at best and engage in criminal behavior at worst ? What is needed is tough love.
How about a two tier program with one tier for those with the will but not the way to get out of their situation. So public housing with strict rules enforcement, job training and placement assistence. Tier two - those that cannot or will not participate in such programs; cops clean up the city and non compilers are sentenced to work camps with minimum sentences, housing, food and pay for working menial jobs (yes - like a minimum security prison).
The cost of such an approach could be partly offset by work productivity. Surely work would help many regain what is required to become productive members of society. At $15/hr many Seattle businesses might be willing to give reformed workers the chance if the state covered part of their pay (or via credits). The long term consequences of such programs would be more positive than tent camps and people defecating on the street. Would such a tough approach help those who are truly down on their luck - maybe. Do you think such an approach would encourage people to be homeless ? Probably not
Why in the US should everyone have their "freedom" when that interferes with the rights of others to enjoy their lives ? Should not the US (Seattle, LA, Honolulu, or DC) have certain standards of acceptable behavior ?
Other countries have (almost) solved their indigent problems and America, the nation with the highest GDP on the planet, and one of the highest per capita, can not summon the will to solve theirs.
How about a two tier program with one tier for those with the will but not the way to get out of their situation. So public housing with strict rules enforcement, job training and placement assistence. Tier two - those that cannot or will not participate in such programs; cops clean up the city and non compilers are sentenced to work camps with minimum sentences, housing, food and pay for working menial jobs (yes - like a minimum security prison).
And just who would decide who fits in group A and who in group B? You?
Systematically criminalizing and denying a group of people their civil rights because they're "non-compliant" with some arbitrary standard of behavior doesn't sound too much like tough love to me. It sounds more like tyranny.
Tier two - those that cannot or will not participate in such programs; cops clean up the city and non compilers are sentenced to work camps with minimum sentences, housing, food and pay for working menial jobs (yes - like a minimum security prison).
What an idea! I mean, what could go wrong? Methinks you've stumbled on the solution. Perhaps even a final solution!
The number of homless is up by 10 sunce I moved 10 yrs ago. It is sad. I read everyday people planning to come nad ne homless here. ITS upsetting. People from Florida are finding ways to come here. People under 30! Mayor claims most homeless are from here. I doubt that. Also new shelters keep rising. All that is encouraging people to accept that as ifestyle. Anybody who has a thought time renting or holding jobs will come here. Even as a transient. I read here people actually are planning this. Since when is that acceptable career. I realize lots of people are homeless due to circumstances but many are choosing it.
For the individuals that had a problem(s) with Vacanegro's ideal, what is yours?? More group hugs and sing a longs?? What about another "Yes we can" speech?? Just curious, what would you do that hasn't been tried... And failed, numerous times, to solve this problem??
Throwing more and more money into this problem isn't the solution or the "final solution" either. Btw, the more money that's thrown into ineffective programs only profits the wealthy few who are running these programs. And yes, I've seen that with my own eyes.
Personally, they don't bother me that much since they know they're not likely to get anything from me since I have zero problems in looking them in their eyes and say no with a full commitment.
For the ones that are targeted or having a problems with the homeless population, I know it's easier to just give up a buck or two so that they will move on and out of your immediate life, but by doing that, it only encourage them to continue this type of activity... And let's be honest here... Who really thinks that they're buying any food or even a bar of soap with all the money they're collecting since there are numerous places in Seattle where they can eat and wash for free?? That money, in most cases, goes straight to booze or drugs.
No matter, what you do, there is a large percentage of the homeless population that has freely chosen this as a life style and have zero intention of doing anything else. Yes, there is a portion, that with a little help, can move back into being productive citizens again and IMHO, that's where the money needs to be spent since it might work... Why waste money on an individual that is more than comfortable with being homeless?? And yes, programs do shutdown once the money is gone. And that only hurts the ones that can be saved.
I know it's not Politically Correct to say this, but what is wrong with performing a "triage" to see if the person will or will not benefit from the funds expended on them?? Again, I know it's not very PC, but in the real world, being PC doesn't solve too many social problems since the term PC resolves the individual of responsibility for their own actions since its "not your fault," it's somebody else's fault for letting you down. Trust me, I grew up in a lower working class family in the Rainier Valley area and many of my friends bought into this line of BS.
I'm just an average person with a less than average income, but the only thing that is going to solve this problem is a "tough love" solution, which will never happen since even the term "tough love" is so offensive to many people in Seattle since it doesn't fit within the "new" progressive image many what to hold up as the face of the "new and kinder" Seattle.
I wish I had the answers, but we elect and pay the political talking heads an above average income WITH very generous benefits to solve these problems for our society... To date, they've let us down time after time and its not a democrat, republican or even a socialist/communist problem... It's a human problem that needs a human solution to fix WITHOUT all the smoke and mirrors to deflect or attention from the real problem(s) we are facing. The only way that this problem will be solved or made controllable, even if the solution might hurt somebody's or a group of people's feelings, is to be very honest with ourselves and to the problem, remove all the emotions and simple deal with it in a factual manner... Without any of the "what ifs" or the "we need to spend more" canned answers. I believe that people need to hear the truth not the BS spin... Even if the truth is painful.
For the individuals that had a problem(s) with Vacanegro's ideal, what is yours?? More group hugs and sing a longs?? What about another "Yes we can" speech?? Just curious, what would you do that hasn't been tried... And failed, numerous times, to solve this problem??
...I wish I had the answers, but we elect and pay the political talking heads an above average income WITH very generous benefits to solve these problems for our society... To date, they've let us down time after time and its not a democrat, republican or even a socialist/communist problem... It's a human problem that needs a human solution to fix WITHOUT all the smoke and mirrors to deflect or attention from the real problem(s) we are facing. The only way that this problem will be solved or made controllable, even if the solution might hurt somebody's or a group of people's feelings, is to be very honest with ourselves and to the problem, remove all the emotions and simple deal with it in a factual manner... Without any of the "what ifs" or the "we need to spend more" canned answers. I believe that people need to hear the truth not the BS spin... Even if the truth is painful.
Very well stated bergun, very well stated.
And in my humble opinion, one force that could begin to make a 'teeny weeny' dent is HUD/Section 8.
Granted I know nothing about the inner workings of an agency such as this, I myself am now facing a homelessness crisis beyond my control...
common sense tells me that had the HUD/Section 8 of WA taken a millisecond some four years back to verify the legitimacy of the rental property me and another small group of tenants currently reside at, BEFORE they agreed to directly pay government funds to our now deceased landlord to house the former S-8 tenants...
his YEARS of Code Enforcement non-compliance would have been uncovered and we simply would not be living the hell of sudden upheaval we now find ourselves in.
Last edited by Fedekat; 07-05-2015 at 12:35 PM..
Reason: typo
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