There was one homeless person in particular. Nancy S had mental health issues, alcoholism, and seizures. She was a ‘frequent flier’ who came to the Emergency Room at least once a week, and sometimes more than once in a day. Conservatively, she cost the taxpayers $10 million. The time she jumped in the river and had police, EMS, and fire respond cost at least $100,000.
It would have been cheaper to give her a house and 24 hour aides, but that would have been ‘gaming the system.’
Tinstaafl, we’re not here to give handouts to lazy bums!
I agree with you. Social programs that provide a safety net for people save more money than they cost. Pretty much any government spending that helps elevate people brings in more tax revenue than it costs. I don’t know why some people can’t see that.
Some people are unable to see the programs beyond “paying for it”, and so they think it’s like an exclusive club where you shouldn’t get access if you have no money. It’s only logical until you ask why we even have a government in the first place and see that the most ruthless governments are also the most exclusive ones
Tanstaafl. There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch. That the phrase comes from the novel “The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress” by Robert Heinlein. Heinlein’s depiction of Luna is interesting, but he loads the dice in favor of a Libertarian society. Prison gangs were a thing when he wrote the book, which is something he brushes past. It is a very fun read, but a lot of people take it way too seriously.
If you like fantasy, try ‘Glory Road.’ It was written around 1965. A young Vietnam veteran gets recruited by a mysterious beauty and her cynical manservant on a quest to retrieve the stolen Egg of the Phoenix. Takes every fantasy trope and gleefully kicks it in the face.
I do understand this. Being grabbed by a woman who repeatedly yells that she wants money, or the guy who says he just wants some money to eat, so you give him some spare change and then that act in itself invites him to single you out of a crowd every single time until you learn to just not walk that route anymore.
My sympathy for them is there, but it definitely needs a grace period to recharge. I wish the world housed and fed people better so that their endless suffering didn’t spill out and overwhelm my limited capacity for it. I know how selfish that sounds.
Our increasingly cashless soceity is not doing them any favours. I wish I could easily just give a cent here and there wirelessly as I’m walking down the streett
The solution is to provide housing, and whatever else help they need.
but then people who struggled to own a home would throw a fit about it, without connecting the dots on how they too were screwed over. They should receive help too.
Tax the rich, and there will be more than plenty resources to do this.
I wish the US had more actual public bathrooms, provided and maintained by the local government. The US only seems to put them in parks and recreation areas, but many other countries have the same thing in town centers and other places where people frequently need to go.
I’ve lost most of my sympathy for the homeless after having to deal with their literal shit on a too often basis.
I actually worked in public health.
There was one homeless person in particular. Nancy S had mental health issues, alcoholism, and seizures. She was a ‘frequent flier’ who came to the Emergency Room at least once a week, and sometimes more than once in a day. Conservatively, she cost the taxpayers $10 million. The time she jumped in the river and had police, EMS, and fire respond cost at least $100,000.
It would have been cheaper to give her a house and 24 hour aides, but that would have been ‘gaming the system.’
Tinstaafl, we’re not here to give handouts to lazy bums!
I agree with you. Social programs that provide a safety net for people save more money than they cost. Pretty much any government spending that helps elevate people brings in more tax revenue than it costs. I don’t know why some people can’t see that.
Some people are unable to see the programs beyond “paying for it”, and so they think it’s like an exclusive club where you shouldn’t get access if you have no money. It’s only logical until you ask why we even have a government in the first place and see that the most ruthless governments are also the most exclusive ones
Tanstaafl. There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch. That the phrase comes from the novel “The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress” by Robert Heinlein. Heinlein’s depiction of Luna is interesting, but he loads the dice in favor of a Libertarian society. Prison gangs were a thing when he wrote the book, which is something he brushes past. It is a very fun read, but a lot of people take it way too seriously.
I read some Heinlein but it was just OK, seemed pretty dated ideologically. Didn’t read that one.
If you like fantasy, try ‘Glory Road.’ It was written around 1965. A young Vietnam veteran gets recruited by a mysterious beauty and her cynical manservant on a quest to retrieve the stolen Egg of the Phoenix. Takes every fantasy trope and gleefully kicks it in the face.
oh no, on top of not owning anything they have the audacity to shit too?
They usually have two or three bags.
I do understand this. Being grabbed by a woman who repeatedly yells that she wants money, or the guy who says he just wants some money to eat, so you give him some spare change and then that act in itself invites him to single you out of a crowd every single time until you learn to just not walk that route anymore.
My sympathy for them is there, but it definitely needs a grace period to recharge. I wish the world housed and fed people better so that their endless suffering didn’t spill out and overwhelm my limited capacity for it. I know how selfish that sounds.
Our increasingly cashless soceity is not doing them any favours. I wish I could easily just give a cent here and there wirelessly as I’m walking down the streett
Imagine how we feel dealing with yours.
…at least their shit washes away with the rain.
You have lost sympathy for people but not for the system in which it costs money to shit.
Step 1: Every public business is allowed to keep people from using their bathrooms
Step 2: People don’t like the homeless because they shit on the street
There’s a solution in here somewhere.
The solution is to provide housing, and whatever else help they need.
but then people who struggled to own a home would throw a fit about it, without connecting the dots on how they too were screwed over. They should receive help too.
Tax the rich, and there will be more than plenty resources to do this.
I wish the US had more actual public bathrooms, provided and maintained by the local government. The US only seems to put them in parks and recreation areas, but many other countries have the same thing in town centers and other places where people frequently need to go.
This was my biggest takeaway from watching the movie Perfect Days.
Its called a porta potty… You want one of those in your neighborhood, prick.
No… They have a permanent bathroom that self cleans… That can be installed on the street…
https://youtu.be/fRXHqs4hidM
I used to live in a country that had these. They were great.
Only place I’ve ever seen them in the USA is in San Francisco