Show of Hands

Thanks for sharing, curious what town/city your referring to? You don’t have to respond - was just curious! :p

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Riverside County!

That’s more or less what the media has been saying, was curious if it was true or if it’s just hyperbole.

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That's true, as I've lived in both those cities, but can you honestly say it's Only California where these things happen? Perhaps not in the chilly north, since living in the snow is not ideal, but in any warm weather state it happens. I'm not excusing the problems here, just saying they are not necessarily unique to California. We're just so big and populated, all problems are larger, plus people just love to bash this state.

Only California - no.

California with tent cities and one of the highest per capita - yes.

Most states don’t have laws that prevent law enforcement from breaking up the homelessness like California has.

So they moved to a nice state, and settle? Is that the short answer to this?

You have about 25% of the total homelessness in the USA, so not quiet “everyone else”:


www.usich.gov/homelessness-statistics/ca/

Blaessa, I have an article that disproves your theory. Check out the map on this page:

www.forbes.com/sites/chuckdevore/2019/06/04/typhoid-fever-typhus-tuberculosis-are-l-a-s-medieval-diseases-coming-to-your-city/?fbclid=IwAR3gQ2meoepDSuHS2yjA8Ux-MuZ64xt_3YV_RZvbf0lUZ4aD2nwZrhTd9xo#9afffa5610dc

If your theory were correct, the warmest states would have the highest homeless counts and colder states would have lower ones.

The highest homeless count, according to the article I’ve linked is HI. Of course, it’s great weather, but are you saying that other states are paying to fly people to HI?!!!

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The second highest rates on this map shows that this mainly a WEST COAST problem. WA and OR have fall into the same category, percentage wise, per 10K individuals as CA. You can’t say that they have great weather year round.

The third highest homeless population group included NY and AK, which you definitely cannot say has great weather year round. CO is also in that group. The ONLY two states that are in this group that could be considered good weather are NM and AZ.

Guess what ALL those states DO have in common? They’re run by LIBERALS!

Why is it that the warmest states....all of the SE, including FL and TX are in the LOWEST category of homelessness?

This map disproves your theory. The bottom line is that liberal states encourage homelessness by allowing people to live on the street, do drugs and defecate, instead of making these actions illegal!

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Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. ...

Zingerz, is your point that liberals in CA that are the richest people in the nation should pay to take care of their homeless because they believe in Jesus?

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Jesus cared for the outcasts, if we are following his lead it would seem we should do the same. Just because there are liberals in California doesn't mean they aren't Christian or at least they may be Samaritan like.

Yes, I agree 100%. CA is the richest state. They should be taking care of their homeless.

I firmly believe this is a part of the reason why there are more homeless in large cities. In rural areas, we take care of our own. If someone is in need, people will get together to help them. For instance, after recent tornadoes in AL, groups of Christians got together and built something like 15 houses for them in a few weeks.

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“Lastly, to those who judge an entire huge state by one or two areas, I ask is that really fair? The whole state is NOT defined by LA! The rest of the state is NOT like LA at all! I never go there, and know few people who ever go there. I agree there are some really crazy folks there and in SF, and I don't like them either! So, please stop bashing an entire wonderful state because of a small minority. Sorry to rant so, but I guess this has been building up in me lately. Thanks for reading.”

My question was not designed to bash an entire state, it is purely to determine if it is as bad as the media has pointed out? People that live there are certainly more informed that statistics.

Why is it the state isn’t doing more to address this considering that they have such a large GDP and some of the highest taxes in the country?

That’s interesting, did you know that California has the highest percentage of homeless (total California population compared to total California homelessness) while having the highest tax rates in the country and the highest GDP (meaning taxes to help address this issue) in the country. Why is the person to homeless percentage so high?


www.politifact.com/california/statements/2018/mar/27/travis-allen/has-californias-homeless-population-skyrocketed-an/

“The report shows California’s homeless population jumped nearly 14 percent from 2016 to 2017 — to a total of more than 134,00 people. It rose nearly 9 percent over the previous seven years.

That’s much different than the national picture. While the national homeless population ticked up about 1 percent in 2017, it remained 13 percent lower than in 2010, according to an NPR analysis following the report’s release.”

I’m just curious how this is happening? I am for the most part NOT talking trash - I admit a slight bias.

Inserting myself here, because I’d like to hear his answer to this question. Here is an article that has a map that shows the number of homeless in each state. AL is considered to be a very poor state, and yet we have one of the lowest homeless populations in the US, while CA is one of the richest states, but has one of the highest homeless populations. Why is that? Shouldn’t all that extra money you have in CA go to helping people like that?

www.forbes.com/sites/chuckdevore/2019/06/04/typhoid-fever-typhus-tuberculosis-are-l-a-s-medieval-diseases-coming-to-your-city/?fbclid=IwAR3gQ2meoepDSuHS2yjA8Ux-MuZ64xt_3YV_RZvbf0lUZ4aD2nwZrhTd9xo#5c3b561610dc

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Why can’t people follow directions? EVERY state other than CA should be RED on this map...for “DON’T LIVE THERE!”

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Yes unfortunately this taints the details I’m trying to gather, but perhaps these are recount California transplants??

Maybe so.

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Man lately my fat fingers and autocorrect make me seem dumber than I really am.

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I was wondering what that meant, but got the gist of it.

😂🤣😂 Every time I try to enter something on hubby’s iPhone, it drives me up the wall. I hit the wrong buttons, and it’s EXCRUCIATINGLY slow, because I’m used to typing 80 wpm on my iPad keyboard case!

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I do 95% of my interaction from my phone. I have started using Siri to write it out lately to help reduce the errors......but rather than typos, it outright butches what I’m trying to type! Grrrrrr!

Siri is HOPELESS with me. She can’t understand my southern accent and I end up screaming at her after she’s butchered what I was trying to say multiple time! 😂🤣😂

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Lol!

My wife says the same thing - except she has a northern accent! :p

😂🤣😂 So Siri isn’t northern or southern. Maybe she only understands people that live in CA. It would make sense! 😜😜😜

“Proper English”

Siri is a homeless Californian 😜
Siri/Google bot/Alexa doesn't understand me either. Cortana used to but they've killed her 😢

That stinks - have you considered leaving? I wouldn’t want to live in a neighborhood that has gone downhill so much.

I love our area in Texas, it’s growing, crime is relatively low, and quality of life is just downright nice here. I love a society that is not full of crime, I wish the feeling of being able to leave your doors unlocked existed everywhere..... :(

I was born and raised in Texas, lived there until the age of 30 and now I’ve been in California 30 years and I’m ready to go back to home to Texas, but my wife isn’t ready yet. We are headed to Texas this coming week and I’m hoping I can change her mind.

I’m not trying to say one thing or another. We (people that don’t live there) here about how bad things are, I am just trying to get an adequate feeling from people on the ground.

Do you live in California?

Next, the problems. Homelessness is a growing problem. Cities and counties have been tackling the issue for years and spending hundreds of millions of dollars to provide housing, counseling, outreach, shelters and education. The sad reality is that many people who are homeless choose to be and reject any form of assistance. Many are mentally ill, many are kids timed out the foster care system, many are Vets suffering from PTSD, many are drug and/or alcohol addicted. There are services for all these issues, but you can’t force people to accept them. It is also important to realize that a quickly growing segment of the homeless population is the working poor. Rent for a one bedroom apartment in San Francisco typically goes for $3000 a month making a job paying even $15 an hour out of touch for many, so they live in their cars or old RVs.

@ConservativeD. Yes, I do. We have property in both northern and southern California and my business is based in the state.

And now to your question of “poop” and “needles” in LA and San Francisco. And this is why the whole population thing is important - more people = more problems. There are areas of both cities that everyone knows to avoid, just like large population cities in countries all over the world. Those tend to be the areas where you find the people we’re discussing. I was just in San Francisco a few weeks ago and did a “man on the street” in response to a similar question posed by @KellyDimples. As I reported to her during my stay and walking around the city I saw one instance of “poop” (dog and the owner promptly picked it up), zero instances of “needles” and 5-6 people who appeared homeless. Oh and a couple pan handlers and one crazy guy yelling about Jesus in front of a BART entrance. As for LA, I spend as little time in the city proper as possible. The traffic is a nightmare. But I’m going to assume it’s the same, unless you venture into the areas that people knowingly avoid.

This is a lot of words to say that problems exist. They exist all over the world and as the population increases, it’s going to get worse.
So, in my opinion, rather than demonizing California, it would make more sense to study what’s been done. What’s been successful. What’s failed. And formulate plans for the future. Because as the populations grow in the cities and states in the country, the current issues in the largest state will follow.

So if you guys have a country inside itself, why are laws not enacted to help cleanup the homelessness issues? You could pass laws that incentivize landlords to take on low income families. I can think of a TON of things.....inteatingly enough you pointed out the GDP of your state, so in reality there should be ample money to go around to address these things.

Basically what I’m getting at - California from my perspective is a microcosm of what American could turn into as more progressive agendas move forward........we other that is good or bad, is in the ey of the beholder.

Why is it that California has such a MASSIVE homelessness issue compared to the rest of the USA, this also includes a percentage of people, so amount of population is not a factor, when you consider that Cal, Hawaii, Oregon, NewYork, and DC have 20% of all the population yet 45% of all the homelessness....

Sigh. There are myriad laws, statutes, programs, policies related to homelessness. There are city/county/state programs and assistance that provide low income housing. There are religious organizations, government organizations and non profits all solely addressing homelessness, mental health, drug dependency and alcohol addiction. There are police and sheriff task forces dedicated to those problems and the issue of gangs. I’m sure if you have new ideas anyone of them would be eager to hear your plans.
It’s short sighted to dismiss the impact of population by only looking at percentages and it’s wrong to say that the problems are due to a progressive state government. I’d hate to think what the problems would look like if the state were run by conservatives. Chances are they would just look the other way and toss everyone out like Reagan did. Have a good day.

Again this is not about demonizing but for a “country” with as much IG wealth as California have, why is there such a massive homelessness issue? I struggle with the idea of laws that get passed that let people squat where they want, it’s like the border issues our country have. Open borders (similar to open squatter rules), encourages more, I would say that California is an example of that - wouldn’t you?

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calwatchdog.com/2018/09/18/9th-circuit-california-cities-must-let-homeless-sleep-on-streets/

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While the ruling involved a 2009 law adopted by Boise, Idaho, it is binding on California, which is one of the states under the 9th appellate court, which is based in San Francisco.

“[J]ust as the state may not criminalize the state of being ‘homeless in public places,’ the state may not ‘criminalize conduct that is an unavoidable consequence of being homeless — namely sitting, lying, or sleeping on the streets,’” Judge Marsha Berzon wrote for a three-judge panel.

The finding that the law is a cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment was welcomed by activists who have long argued that such restrictions make being poor a crime.”

Fundamentally this is like saying, you can sleep where you want, bring your buddies - since most states have laws that prohibit this. I personally think this exacerbates the problem.

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“Sigh. There are myriad laws, statutes, programs, policies related to homelessness. There are city/county/state programs and assistance that provide low income housing. There are religious organizations, government organizations and non profits all solely addressing homelessness, mental health, drug dependency and alcohol addiction. There are police and sheriff task forces dedicated to those problems and the issue of gangs.”

I’m not saying these things don’t exist- I’m saying that California has these issues, no other state has the issue to the same extent........and sheer population cannot be the primary reason, it can complicate things. Also unwillingness (which is VERY interesting....why someone would not willingly take help....even if you include the likelihood that they are mentally ill) isn’t the primary reason either, it just doesn’t help the situation.

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Today, an average California home costs $440,000, about two–and–a–half times the average national home price ($180,000). Also, California's average monthly rent is about $1,240, 50 percent higher than the rest of the country ($840 per month).Mar 17, 2015
lao.ca.gov › reports › finance
California's High Housing Costs: Causes and Consequences

www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2019-california-housing-crisis/

The government could step in and help people to afford this. You have the GDP, and the ability to tax the individuals in those states. HECK we can trial run taxing the CRAP out of the rich and see who stays in California. If they stay, then if Bernie or Warren take the helm, and move to radically increase taxes on the wealthy we can find out who would leave the country or not.

My point is - I personally think the homelessness issues is due to bad governance, and that progressive ideology can be benificial to some but there is a balance that needs to be maintained and California doesn’t know how to achieve that balance.......something is “off” about all of this.

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From your Bloomberg article:

“How did we get here? Simply put, bad government—from outdated zoning laws to a 40-year-old tax provision that benefits long-time homeowners at the expense of everyone else—has created a severe shortage of houses. While decades in the making, California’s slow-moving disaster has reached a critical point for state officials, businesses and the millions who are straining to live there.”

That’s an interesting statement.....

“McKinsey & Co. estimated in 2016 that California needed some 3.5 million more homes by the middle of next decade—a figure that Governor Gavin Newsom made a central part of his administration’s goals. A more recent analysis suggests it may take the state until 2050 to meet the target.”

So how did this happen? How could lawmakers not project that zoning efforts for new homes not be provided? Does California lawmakers not have land around those cities at all?

I had a buddy leave the Bay Area (he lived in Sunnyvale) - abort that area was not as bad, he just hated the progressive state there, so he moved to Texas.....I warned him that Texas is becoming purple.......he wanted to help the red come back. :p

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