Why does the U.S.A have so many homeless? If we are the riches contry in the world?

Question

We had a Moyor who put a bean in the new park, What that about?

Answer 1

why don't you go out and ask the homeless people why they are homeless? i have and you may not like what they have to say, especially if they get on the subject about the illegals in america.

Answer 2

the reason people are homeless is because ,there are almost as many reasons or this as there are homeless,as stated above some have let alcohol or drugs take over their lives,then there is the mentally retarded who can not manage for them selves,there are some who are not employable, for different reasons , mental, disabled, many are ex service men who got out of the military and could not cope with life without supervision, same as with some ex cons, , the list is endless, but, many choose this life because they don't want to take responsibility, and just go to work, however this is a shame to our country as there are many ways to remedy this problem, one is to built kibbutz as they do in Israel and give these people a room or what ever their needs are , maybe just a cot in a dorm, or ? assign them jobs with overseers, pay them a small amount for what ever they earn can be put into a bank account for them, should they decide they want to go into the capitalistic way of life they would have money to support them selves until their earnings will support them,
this is basically the way the W.P.A, worked during the depression, and I don't know of any one who lost any of their constitutional god given rights,and it worked, but I think this would need to be mandatory on people who claim to be homeless,it would be a lot cheaper for the tax payer" no welfare" how can any one argue it is unfair, I am sure there are othe methods also,

Answer 3

Many homeless choose this lifestyle, please understand that.

In order to not be homeless, and be provided for, there are many rules & regulations a homeless person must cooperate with. To many, those are viewed as restrictions and they choose to be out on the streets instead.

For many, and the majority, it is mental illness and alcoholism that has gone untreated.

There are a host of volunteers in major cities that devote tremendous time & energy trying to assist those in need.

The bean in the park may represent "new growth" of some sort, not sure what the intended significance was as I've not read/heard about this.

Answer 4

It is a capitalism failure to have people living under bridges and in cardboard box's, while giving billions to other country's to help solve their problems. The same people that complain about paying taxes should consider themselves lucky that they do. Homeless don't pay taxes because they have no job. If you are paying taxes that means that you are working and the more taxes that you pay the more money you have in your pocket. I am not a communist either, but homelessness is a problem that could and needs to be solved and calling them lazy slobs will not solve the problem. Most of us are only an auto accident or a serious illness away from picking out our box. I do not understand what people are thinking when they degrade these people.

Answer 5

Well saying that the US is the richest country in the world is really misleading, because its also one of the biggest countries in the world. Its like comparing a small successful company that manufactures breaks, to a company like Microsoft or Viacom. The state of California by itself is the worlds 5th largest economy. Think about it. US, UK, Germany, Japan, California, France...
Secondly, America is a ''pull yourself up by the bootstraps'' society. Americans don't want their tax money going to help people who can't help themselves, when they themselves live paycheck to paycheck. The idea of someone getting something for nothing is against the common American workers value system. Its really sad. I lived in Seattle for some years and there are 7000 homeless people there. Whatever their problem is; drug addiction, mental health problems, combination of both... They need help, and unfortunately, it doesn't bother enough people.
One final note: its not an American issue, its an Urban American issue. That leaves out a lot of people. Because the homeless in the US are living in cities, not out in the country.

Answer 6

HighVol is right. Another question you might ask them when they ask you for change is if you can buy them food. 9 out of 10 times, my offers to buy food have been refused. A lot of the ones in my neck of the woods (San Francisco Bay Area) are there because they let their drug/alcohol addictions take over their lives. They lost their jobs and homes because of that. Many refuse to go into shelters because they don't like being told what to do.

Answer 7

Answerman is quick to blame ‘capitalism’ for the woes of the homeless; I don’t understand what people like him are thinking when they degrade a perfectly good system like capitalism. Capitalism has absolutely nothing to do with homelessness and the problem of homelessness can not be solved even, as suggested, by “giving billions” to fix it. ‘High vol’ has correctly assessed the problem for you in her well written answer.

Unfortunately, there are people who would prefer not hear a complex answer such as ‘high vol’s’. They are ‘do-gooders’ in search of a cause to remedy but without making any personal effort to understand the problem. They are always so certain that the answer is just to throw more money at the problem (if only we rich, greedy American taxpayers wouldn’t try to keep so much of our personal gains to ourselves). That is at the core of liberalism and the main reason why I left it in the 60’s. Its for children who want easy answers, in my opinion.

So, Mr. ‘Proud Answerman’, which country’s economic system would you say best addresses the problem of homelessness? You must have some idea since it was so clear to you that the reason for homelessness is a “failure of capitalism”. Have you even been abroad to see for yourself other economic system’s effect on the homeless problem? I, for one, live in communist China (PRC) and guess what? There are lots and lots of homeless people here too! Wouldn’t you expect that the world’s largest communist government overseeing an economy that has been growing faster than any major economy in the world for better than 10 years would be willing to ‘throw’ enough money at the problem to put an end to beggars and homeless? Well, the answer is that they would be willing to if it would solve the problem. But, in fact, they know it won’t, so they don’t. In China, it is the government’s strongly ‘recommended’ policy not to give any assistance to street beggars and homeless persons (both male and female) because, in their practical wisdom, they understand that it merely exacerbates the problem. Yes, they do have some minimal social programs to assist those who are willing to make changes but with 5,000 years of history behind them, they know that they will always have poor beggars and homeless people. The problem is not an economic one.

As ‘high vol’ mentioned in her answer, America has myriads of both public social workers as well as private aid foundations working in the streets that are continuing to find better ways to reach out to the homeless. Part of the problem is just making known to them the vast network of social services that are available to them, keeping in mind that many of these highly emotionally troubled people have the emotional temperament of a ten year old.

To reiterate, homelessness is not an economic problem, nor is it a political problem that money can ‘fix’. It is caused, overwhelmingly by a broad scope of psychological disorders (substance abuse being the leading cause) as well as a number of more serious mental disorders. If you feel tempted to want to blame your government or political system, greed of citizens, etc, I encourage you instead to get involved, as I was, in a local outreach to homeless people. Only then will you begin to understand the monumental complexity of this issue.

Answer 8

How many more social programs would you like, for God's sake?

President Reagan was right 25 years ago, and the sentiment expressed remains valid today: If you're homeless in the US, apparently you choose to be homeless.

Answer 9

Be a white man in your 40's get hurt with no insurance and unless you have really close friends or family you'll see first hand. My experiance. And I'm sure there are thousands of other ways and homlelessness does not discriminate so please don't get the wrong idea about the first part of this answer

Answer 10

Don't you know that to get rich, you've got to steal from the honest? The more you steal, the richer you get (and the more homeless people there are going through your garbage can looking for dinner).