Seattle Parks are now Becoming a 'No-Go' Zone (Williams Place Park in Capitol Hill), Primarily due to Homelessness and Trash

It's more-or-less 0.1% everywhere wrote:

35000 homeless per day in Canada, eh?

Yep, even with a rich population, tiny Luxembourg (2017) has 864 homeless from 625000 people (0.14%).

As in many European places, it's gotten much worse over the last decade, as the social decisions accumulate over time.

The greater the divide between rich and poor, the more homeless you're going to see.

Les wrote:

The greater the divide between rich and poor, the more homeless you're going to see.

No, the greater the poverty, the more the homeless.

The existence or non-existence of the rich is largely irrelevant to how bad things are on the rough.

Les wrote:

The greater the divide between rich and poor, the more homeless you're going to see.

This and the fact that automation kills jobs.

Remember the Seattle wage study that showed the $15 minimum wage was too high and people were being laid off? They found $12-$13 was the optimal range. But they will keep it at $15 and more firms will switch to automation and more people will be homeless.

Over a very long term the vast majority of the population will be jobless. Think of the Wall-E scenario where government robots give you everything you need. It's hard to fathom, but it's the future. 100 years? Maybe. 200 years? Most likely.

sbeefyk2 wrote:

Les wrote:

The greater the divide between rich and poor, the more homeless you're going to see.

This and the fact that automation kills jobs.

Remember the Seattle wage study that showed the $15 minimum wage was too high and people were being laid off? They found $12-$13 was the optimal range. But they will keep it at $15 and more firms will switch to automation and more people will be homeless.

Over a very long term the vast majority of the population will be jobless. Think of the Wall-E scenario where government robots give you everything you need. It's hard to fathom, but it's the future. 100 years? Maybe. 200 years? Most likely.

Trucking industry? 5 years, 10 at most.

Drivers. Mechanics. Truck stops ...

Some committee members expressed concern about addressing the symptoms of the area’s problems without getting to the cause. Councilmember Larry Gossett said he didn’t like the idea of power-washing the sidewalks because it brought back images of the use of hoses against civil-rights activists.

Another council member, Claudia Balducci, suggested that the county consider using social-service employees in partnership with police.

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/judges-complain-its-unsafe-unsanitary-outside-county-courthouse-in-seattle/

But Homeless go there, so it can't be a "No Go" Zone.

i'm sorry, i missed your solution wrote:

instead of just 'being a voice' she seems to be working on actual long- term solutions to help alleviate the problem at the root.

Will any of her ideas completely solve the issue? no

I'd be glad to hear your ideas though if they will.

I'm kind of shocked. Why would you even begin to defend the dumpster fire we've become, and then be snarky to someone whose life has been turned upside down? These people are supposed to be acting on the best interest of our community- that is their job. Plain and simple: they are not.

Homelessness in major US cities is entirely a product of the failure of free markets to meet housing demand and of US cultural norms that cause families to expel children and other family members who are irresponsible, do drugs or otherwise bring shame on the family.

Housing markets in places like Seattle are completely broken. For all practical purposes, affordable housing does not exist in Seattle. That is the main driver of the homelessness. The drugs and mental health issues often follow the loss of housing instead of being the cause of homelessness.

Vienna, Austria barely has any homelessness despite being a very affluent European city with stark contrasts between the rich and working class. That is because Vienna made massive investments in public housing in the 1970s and 1980s. During that same time period, the US switched from investing in actually building public housing projects to providing housing vouchers that people could use in the private housing market. This was manageable while cities were in decline and lots of rentals were available. But as the inner cities have rapidly gentrified over the past 20-30 years, the cheap section 8 rental properties are for all practical purposes gone. Now, land is extremely expensive and governments cannot compete with private investors anymore to build affordable housing.

Also, in many Muslim countries, there is almost no homelessness. That is because it is considered shameful on a family if one family member has nowhere to stay. In the US, many believe in "tough love" and will kick children/family out of the house if they are not working, doing drugs or otherwise up to no good. The odds of these folks ending up homeless is very high.

Precious Roy wrote:

Vienna, Austria barely has any homelessness despite being a very affluent European city with stark contrasts between the rich and working class.

According to Fonds Soziales Wien, there were over 10 000 homeless people in Vienna in 2015.

That is because Vienna made massive investments in public housing in the 1970s and 1980s.

So in other words, they squandered massive investments in 70s and 80s, with little to show for it. I guess the political rent-seekers got rich, though.

Or in 2017:

The report singles out cities such as London, Paris, Brussels, Dublin, Vienna, Athens, Warsaw and Barcelona as places where the housing system is particularly under strain.

http://www.feantsa.org/en/report/2017/03/21/the-second-overview-of-housing-exclusion-in-europe-2017

Precious Roy wrote:

Homelessness in major US cities is entirely a product of the failure of free markets to meet housing demand and of US cultural norms that cause families to expel children and other family members who are irresponsible, do drugs or otherwise bring shame on the family.

Housing markets in places like Seattle are completely broken. For all practical purposes, affordable housing does not exist in Seattle. That is the main driver of the homelessness.

there are some housing markets that are too expensive for me. you know what i do?

stay my ass out of em

Precious Roy wrote:

Vienna, Austria barely has any homelessness despite being a very affluent European city with stark contrasts between the rich and working class.

What world do you live in?

Already in 1998, NYT was decrying the Vienna homeless (estimated 5000 at the time, now at least 2x that or more). Of course, it was the decreasing "state-financed housing" that was the so-called problem in their view.

OP, I know this is fake news because Capitol Hill is in DENVER not Seattle...and it is a lovely neighborhood.

The housing market argument is BS.

I have a mortgage. If I got to the point where I couldn't cover the payment, I'd sell my house and get a cheaper one. I am not reaching for something I can't afford.

I live in a fairly expensive part of the country. There are vast areas of states with houses cheaper than mine. I'm not against going there if I needed to. Ask homeless in Seattle or elsewhere if they'd do that. In fact, GIVE them a foreclosed house in western Nebraska, and see how well that will work out.

It's not housing that's the issue here.

Also, in many Muslim countries, there is almost no homelessness.

Yep, being able to kick ppl out of the country has its advantages (UAE). Unless the companies still want to exploit them.

Not to mention the squalid tent-cities they set up for the guest visa workers (who have their passports confiscated).

I guess it is whether you consider them "homeless" or not.

Other Muslim countries:

Pakistan: 20 million estimated homeless (albeit difficult to differentiate from slums), similarly Bangladesh

Indonesia: 3 million (about 6x USA with a smaller population)

Nigeria: 24 million homeless, perhaps 68 million improperly housed

Saudi Arabia: no one really knows, as with UAE, the main problem is with (child) migrants being destituted, similarly with Islamic Republic of Iran (anywhere from 60000 to 200000 street children, largely Afghan refugees)

i'm sorry, i missed your solution wrote:

instead of just 'being a voice' she seems to be working on actual long- term solutions to help alleviate the problem at the root.

Will any of her ideas completely solve the issue? no

I'd be glad to hear your ideas though if they will.

Will people finally wake up to the fact that “progressives” are complete *diots who are wrecking America for the diligent and hard working?

Wake up America — leftistssuk wrote:

Will people finally wake up to the fact that “progressives” are complete *diots who are wrecking America for the diligent and hard working?

+1. Imagine if Dostoyevsky wrote The Brothers Karamazov completely about how the town tried to deal with (or "help") Stinking Lizaveta.

Can I get a ZJ?