(09-30-2019 08:25 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(09-30-2019 08:06 PM)EvilVodka Wrote:  California people: "we have people living in tent cities"
California legislators: "let's focus on exploited football players"

Ah, yes! The old, “Politicians are concentrating too much on passing a law that I don’t like when soooooo many other more important problems are out there!” argument. It’s an oldie but a goodie argument from all political stripes that works in all situations. (“Why are we passing [insert law here] when there’s [insert insanely complex global problem that hasn’t been solved for generations] going on?!)

That’s not to say that if anyone here can solve the nation’s homelessness problem, then that would be fantastic and I’m all ears. Of course, if we couldn’t pass any other laws until that was solved, then we probably wouldn’t pass any law of any type anywhere for the rest of my life.

We have had a homeless problem out here for about 40 years. This didn't just happen overnight. In November of 2016, the voters in the City of Los Angeles approved a $1.2 billion dollar bond to build about 10,000 apartment units, with the goal of being done by 2022. They have almost blown through that money. That state is spending $2.4 billion on homelessness this year. That is not close to enough.

The demand for housing is far outstripping supply. Home prices are high and rentals are expensive, forcing some people out of their homes. A bad combination with no easy solution. But again, the homeless problem has been around for decades. So for a legislator, it is just like the traffic. You try to make improvements, but it just doesn't seem to improve.