Well, if it's that expensive I'm not against giving them shelter either. My point is just that the most expensive stuff should be given as even working people may not be able to afford it. But I thought most people in the US could pay for housing even if it's just a rented room somewhere on an entry level job, even if not technically minimum wage.
Anyone who believes in economic heirarchies, inevitably also believes in social ones.
And no, not all people in the US can afford even a rented room. And this is a HUGE issue and misconception about the US. Snooty d*ckheads like some in here always like to trivialize the plight of homeless people because they firmly are inundated with the political rhetoric that homelessness is the fault of the homeless, that it happens due to some moral failure.
There is a lot of infrastructure involved in successfully entering the job market that people take for granted because its provided by their parents. It's a literal entitlement whereas what leftists propose is an earned benefit through taxation. Because of their parents they have shelter, access to hygienic practices, provided food and clothing, money for expenses related to working, and sometimes even transportation. No one thinks about this because 1) they expect it of their own parents, or that parents owe this to their kids to some degree and 2) it's ok because it's in an individualistic context. Parents should provide this for THEIR kids, never YOUR kids. Except that nice communities do this all the time. They'll move the children of their friends into the job market with all kinds of breaks, benefits, and services provided. And yet they'll still vote against this as social policy. Typically because of classism or racism. These notions are often perpetuated by wealthier people and their politicians, because they realize that the less money collected from the working class that's given to the working class, the more they can subsidize themselves with it.
Then you have the general malice and disdain towards homeless people, which leads to the effort to criminalize poverty. We just don't listen to them as a society because we always think they're automatically lying about whatever they say because of where they are:
Now, factoring in the legal cost of being constantly hassled by Cops because upper class people dont want you to exist anywhere public, also factor the cost of moving into anywhere nowadays. Most places want security deposits, they want first AND last month of rent, they REQUIRE you make 2-3 times the cost of the rent, and if you have a pet some charge pet rent...and all this is further contingent upon you passing a credit check and not having any evictions on your record. Homeless people dont save any money because they dont have shelter. They have to pay for hotels, pay for showers, pay for storage, pay for cooked meals.
Considering all this, plus cleanup costs, court costs, and jailing costs, its WAY cheaper, exponentially cheaper to just house them and treat them. Cheaper for everyone. But we're willing to pay more because we hate them.
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