Homelessness is the major issue facing the State of California. Newsom is blaming the cities. The cities are blaming the State, the Feds and the courts. The only action is ginger pointing.
“As a gold medal sport, contestants would sit in front of the Hilton at Universal City. They would compete to see how much spare change can be collected in a couple of hours. Not only would they be judged on funds gathered, but also style points for the best sob story told to passersby.
Seriously, the homeless problem in the United States and in California is a horrendous problem. It needs immediate attention. In the past decade the inability to get rid of these encampments, especially in Los Angeles and San Francisco, has destroyed much of their tourist and convention business.
Commerce from restaurants to museums has declined, along with tax revenues.”
This is an important article, in humorous form. Enjoy it.
Dealing with the Homeless by Richard Eber
Richard Eber, Exclusive to the California Political News and Views, 8/15/24 www.capoliticalnewsandviews.com
What the hell is going on? At the request of Los Angeles Mayor Karen
Bass, her counterpart in San Francisco London Breed has exporting some of her homeless residents down South?
One would surmise Bass as a dedicated socialist from the Bernie Sanders-Kamala Harris school of politics, thinks it is her duty to use all public resources to take care of these outcasts from mainstream society.
Perhaps Bass believes panhandling will become a new event in the 2028 Olympics to be held in the City of Angels.
As a gold medal sport, contestants would sit in front of the Hilton at Universal City. They would compete to see how much spare change can be collected in a couple of hours. Not only would they be judged on funds gathered, but also style points for the best sob story told to passersby.
Seriously, the homeless problem in the United States and in California is a horrendous problem. It needs immediate attention. In the past decade the inability to get rid of these encampments, especially in Los Angeles and San Francisco, has destroyed much of their tourist and convention business.
Commerce from restaurants to museums has declined, along with tax revenues.
The fact is people don’t care to be exposed to these disgusting places. While Gavin Newsom and his Progressive cohorts tell us crime is down in cities, the smell test offers a different story. Car break ins and shop lifting are up, especially among the homeless. Many from suburbia fear these places.
These problems are not eased with lenient district attorneys choosing to decline prosecutions of these offenses. Mayor’s of large cities might not care about this crime epidemic, but business owners do.
Just ask stores such as Nordstroms and Walgreen’s who have fled San Francisco in the past couple years because of overwhelming retail theft.
It appears that California Governor Gavin Newsom who has championed Sanctuary Cities and the Homeless, has come to realize big city anarchy in his state needs to be sternly dealt with. In recent days he has been seen cleaning up homeless encampments that were recently off limits for government to dismantle.
The US Supreme Court decision some 3 weeks ago gave authority of municipalities to kick those occupying space on private and public property without having alternative locations to offer them. No longer can ACLU type lawyers protect squatters rights in the courts.
This ruling helps places like Los Angeles and San Francisco protect the interests of property owners. Retail stores and restaurants can now demand homeless encampments near their place business be dismantled.
Unfortunately, the Supreme Court ruling does not provide solutions to the root causes of homelessness. As we have seen in California and throughout the country, a one size fits all approach does not work. Neither does throwing money at the problem lead to satisfactory results.
What we have learned:
Providing housing is a great start but in most cases doesn’t supply instant success. Unless counseling is included for mental issues, problems continue to ensue.
Private non-profit groups, religious organizations, and families often play important roles in combatting homelessness by providing meals, showers, counseling, contacting relatives, temporary housing etc..
Government sponsored temporary housing in motels and hotels is usually expensive and ineffective. 24 hour a day supervised living offered by shelters has been fraught by problems; but is a necessity.
Alcohol and drug abuse is at the forefront of a majority of those dealing with homelessness. With the high cost of treatment combined with a limited number of facilities, this problem continues to plague helping those with no place to live.
There is a significant segment of the homeless population who do not care to move from so called tent cities to housing provided by the government. They desire the status quo to continue. When eviction comes, where do these people go?
One thing virtually every care giver understands is that there is not a “one solution fits all” solution to deal with the thousands of people who live on the streets. Another dose of reality coming to mind is local government needs to protect their residents first; prior to placating to the demands of homeless advocates.
The new Supreme Court decision makes it easier for politicians to deal with this downtrodden segment of society.
One avenue being explored is contacting families of the homeless to see if they will take them back. Currently, bus and plane fare are quietly being given. There is currently talk of government providing monetary assistance and medical care to encourage families-friends to take the homeless in.
Such a solution might be economically feasible as it costs government in California $50,000 per person. (over 24,6 billion in the last 5 years). In San Francisco, it runs three times as much to take care of each of its homeless residents.
One thing we can all agree on is that homelessness is not a Republican or Democratic issue. The biggest bone of contention is how much tough love and understanding are needed in the future.
Might we be looking at a new era where “Benign Neglect” is back on the table?
The only reason Newsom is finally doing something about homelessness is because he’s planning on running in 2028 (he’s praying for a Kamala loss this year). He’ll run on “I fixed homelessness in California and solved a $50+ billion deficit caused by Covid” – all lies but the uninformed will believe him.
To solve the problem of Homelessness tough decisions, need to be made. This will require politicians to keep politics out of the process. Read “Personal Opinions of One Common Man”.
My response to the question that closes this article is “We should be.” The copious amounts of taxpayer money spent on Narcan, free food, shelters, so-called counseling, and clean up would be better spent on improving schools and public colleges, fixing potholes, making public transit clean and efficient, and generally siding with producers not takers.