So are you saying that if we spent no money on a wall protecting our borders it would make a dent in the homeless population? Most homeless are drug addicts, alcoholics, and the mentally ill. We use to put them in Sanitoriums where they had health care and a roof over their heads. But the ACLU put a stop to that. They made it illegal to put someone in an institution against their will. Loitering is still illegal in most parts of the country but rarely enforced.
I agree with you but it's also a life style choice for many. I know, for awhile I was around them quite a bit for two years with my retirement job. They don't have to work. A church feeds them. All day they can hang out. They live in a tent at night and spend their days in a library. So many have their own facebook using the libraries computers. Many are getting showers somewhere because many don't stink. Many have small disability checks. I knew two guys that lived in side by side tents. One had $900 a month and his buddy got something like a $1000 a month. I asked them, Why don't you two get a one room apartment together? They looked at me like I was crazy saying it's a waste of their money that keeps accumulating in their bank account.
Many cities encourage it by giving them money. San Francisco gives the homeless a check for something like $70 a month. Enough to buy booze and heroin. The way to end it is to enforce the law. You can't pitch a tent on the sidewalk and live on it. In NYC they had a growing tent city that started with the Wall street protest. After many months and the complaints of the rich people that lived in the area the cops came with the sanitation department. They threw their tents, belonging into a garbage truck. Told them where they could retrieve their belongings making the street pristine. Know what happened. The tent city disappeared and never returned.
