The Oakland, California Homeless Problem is Beyond Belief

[Thunderbeast]

4. That is a simplistic view of a bigger problem

The growth of population living in dense cities has caused the price of property to rise much faster than other inflation elements. Landlords with property they have owned for a long time ARE doing well, but if a property has been acquired or built recently, capital and financing costs drive rents higher to cover debt service.

While real estate values skyrocket, low-wage workers have been squeezed by union busting, offshore manufacturing and wealth accumulation, automation, and regressive tax laws. Economic opportunity has been stratified resulting in 21st Century feudalism.

In short...the economy and public policy has favored property owners over wage-earners.

It can not be stressed enough how much addiction and mental illness contribute to the problem of the unhoused.
Our communities have turned their backs on the dire needs of this population for humane options to achieve health. I may make some enemies in this forum, but until we compel those resistant to treatment to participate in rehabilitation, we will never solve this problem.

In my city, citizens are losing patience. Many are fleeing. There is a legitimate reason for a community to be frustrated with the perception that addicts living in squalor on our streets and in our parks, supported by petty theft, CAN NOT BE TOLERATED as a legitimate "lifestyle".

We are the richest country in the world. The resources ARE AVAILABLE to address poverty and wealth disparity. Affordable housing and mental health resources must be funded so that the favelas can be cleared and our cities reclaimed. To be sustainable, minimum wage rates must rise significantly.