• DempstersBox@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Nobody is coming to the US to be homeless. That’s not a thing.

    We’re shitty enough to our own citizens to make plenty of our own folk homeless.

    You are closer to living on the street than you realize.

    • ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works
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      2 months ago

      Nobody is coming to the US to be homeless. That’s not a thing.

      They don’t intend to stay homeless permanently, but they come with no money and use the social services available to homeless people.

      We’re shitty enough to our own citizens to make plenty of our own folk homeless.

      There are many hard-working poor people who experience temporary housing insecurity, but they’re not the ones living on the street long-term. The ones who are usually have serious mental problems that make becoming a productive member of even the most generous society very unlikely. (They’ll also often refuse to go to a shelter because they won’t be allowed to do drugs there.)

      You are closer to living on the street than you realize.

      My family was poor when I was a child, although government assistance made it possible for us to pay for a place to live. (Note that I am not opposed to all government assistance.) We were close to homelessness then, and I really don’t want to end up in that situation again so I have taken many precautions. I have enough savings to live on for a long time. If I lose those, I have six people (mostly relatives) who would let me live with them for as long as I needed to. If they don’t, I have four more who would let me live with them for a few weeks. I think I could only become homeless if I got addicted to drugs or developed a mental illness that made me unbearable to be around. That’s not impossible but it is unlikely.

      • ivanafterall ☑️@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        I think I could only become homeless if I got addicted to drugs or developed a mental illness that made me unbearable to be around. That’s not impossible but it is unlikely.

        Please say this is self-deprecating irony.

        • ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works
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          2 months ago

          It’s funny that my views are apparently extremely unpopular around here because they seem fairly mainstream IRL even among my friends who are all going to vote for Harris. I don’t think I would offend anyone by saying something similar at a group dinner (though some people might disagree) but I would be a little more circumspect and feel out the audience first if there were people I didn’t know. Different bubbles, I suppose…

            • ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works
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              2 months ago

              I don’t think helping people is a bad thing. I’m generally in favor of a relatively high level of help (I vote for centrist Democrats, not Republicans) but I think that sometimes it is justified and appropriate to help less rather than more.

      • Kalysta@lemm.ee
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        2 months ago

        The answer to the mentally ill homeless problem is not enshittification of cities, it’s the creation of high quality government run long term care facilities with approprate action taken against those who abuse the residents in these facilities.

        Which is helping more. It will also be cheaper than enshittification in the long run. But you liberals will never understand that sometimes you have to actually spend money on social programs instead of running to the right whenever the republicans say boo.

        All your arguments are running to the right. Reagan would have been proud.