The homelessness crisis, already exacerbated by Biden-Harris administration policies, could be set to explode if Kamala Harris and Tim Walz win the White House.
The number of homeless people has skyrocketed over the past four years, touching a high of 653,104 last year – a 12 percent increase from the year before. After 17 straight years of declines in the total homeless population, Biden and Harris have single-handedly reversed this trend.
The problem has been particularly bad for single mothers and children. One person I spoke with who works with the homeless and wished to remain anonymous said that most of the shelters she knew “are increasingly being populated with single mothers with children.” A priest in New York who also helps the homeless confirmed this observation. “It’s a remarkably high increase for a developed country,” added retired economics Professor Gianluca Frascatti, who called this data “a sign of crisis.”
Harris’s home state of California provides a particularly stark window into the failures of liberal policies when it comes to homelessness. Last year there were more than 180,000 homeless people in California – nearly 28 percent of the nation’s total homeless population. In cities like Oakland, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, entire neighborhoods have been overrun by tent encampments rife with drugs and crime.
This comes despite Democrat city officials, Democrat supermajorities in the legislature, and Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom pouring billions of dollars into “solving” the problem. In 2023, the city of Long Beach spent $60 million to address homelessness. The result? 71 fewer homeless people – a cost to taxpayers of about $845,000 for every homeless person taken off the streets.
In total, California has spent some $24 billion on its homelessness crisis since 2019, only to see its homeless population increase by about 30,000. The two primary reasons for this utter failure are the endemic corruption of California Democrats and the inherent structural flaws of the liberal approach to providing “affordable” housing.
As The Washington Examiner exposed last year, an entire cottage industry of nonprofits has sprung up to vacuum up the enormous resources California Democrats are doling out. Often times elected officials are getting kickbacks from construction companies contracted to build housing units. And the best way to ensure the gravy train keeps running is to ensure that the homelessness crisis never actually gets any better.
The levels of fraud and waste that characterize California’s housing projects for the homeless should enrage every American, not just the California taxpayers funding them. So-called “affordable housing” units now routinely cost more than $1 million. The city of Santa Monica earlier this year approved a 120-unit, $123 million project just three blocks from the beach.
California has largely followed the left-wing “Housing First” approach to homelessness, which prioritizes putting homeless people in temporary or permanent shelters as quickly as possible by “removing barriers” – in other words, by eliminating requirements that those on public assistance first seek help for the alcohol or drug addictions that in most cases put them on the streets in the first place.
Dr. Johann Walther, a former Swiss government advisor on health and pathologies, told me that this approach was a demand multiplier, as people see it as an easy solution without the need to refrain from wrongdoing, such as taking illicit drugs. “The road to hell is paved with good intentions, which should be a compass for this,” Dr. Walther said. “The government can assist temporarily to a limited extent, but the market must be allowed to step in.”
The results of these policies have been a complete disaster – so bad, in fact, that Newsom was forced to sign an executive order earlier this year directing officials to remove homeless encampments on state land. He has also threatened to cut off state funding for city homelessness programs, saying they “sure as hell shouldn’t get another penny if they didn’t use the money wisely.” (Newsom, of course, approved those programs and that funding in the first place.)
Minnesota, where Harris’s running mate Tim Walz has presided as governor since 2019, has a dour record on homelessness as well. The counties containing Minneapolis and St. Paul have a homelessness rate about two-thirds higher than the national average – despite the state’s bitterly cold winters. Since 2022, the percentage of people in Minnesota who have experienced homelessness has increased by six percent. From 2022 to 2023, the homelessness rate for families with children in the state increased by 27 percent.
Like California, Minnesota’s homelessness problem has been worsening even as Walz’s administration and Minnesota Democrats have poured endless taxpayer resources into “solving” it. Hennepin County, home to Minneapolis, spends nearly $200 million per year on “homelessness prevention” – only to have seen its homeless population steadily increase. Walz earlier this year announced $100 million for “affordable housing” projects eerily reminiscent of the ones that have already failed in California.
Americans have every reason to believe that a Harris-Walz administration would see the crises in California and Minnesota go national. The 2024 Democrat Party platform, in addition to touting the supposed successes of the Biden-Harris administration’s housing policy, calls for California-style government funding to “combat” homelessness. It also explicitly endorses “Housing First” – the same strategy that has flopped in California and other liberal states.
California, Minnesota, and blue cities throughout the country should be a dire warning to American voters. Tent cities, rampant crime, and a pervasive atmosphere of despair are the defining characteristics of Democrat rule.
Ben Solis is the pen name of an international affairs journalist, historian, and researcher.
Soon, we’ll all be homeless and destitute reliant on our government for everything…. just like they want us to be.
Biden/Harris have ignored homelessness the past 4 years. The states have thrown money at it time and time again and what has happened? Homelessness has increased and contractors and higherups in the dem party all have become rich. For years the homeless question has been at the forefront to solve. Now it’s not being solved because it’s a wonderful way for the elites to get rich. It only will get worse under Harris/Walz. Because she didn’t care the past 4 years never talked about the cardboard and tent inner cities. When dignitaries were coming they spent millions to clean up the city and let it go back to the way it was before. They have made slums out of our inner cities from coast to coast and border to border. What happens people flee these cities in droves and those in power skim the money allocated “for the Homeless”. Communism at work. When you have an ineffective government run by unqualified people. People like Kameltoe and Tampon Timmy have no qualifications to be the president or VP of our country. None can answer or won’t answer reporters questions. Too busy with earplugs in plus a phone at their ear. What’s up with that? And Timmy was worried his shake was melting to answer a question about Hamas killing 6 hostages one of which was an American citizen. The same as Ole Joe and Kameltoe couldn’t be bothered to accept the Gold Star families invite to come to Arlington Cemetery to remember their loved ones who perished with the “brilliant” plan to withdraw from Afghanistan. But just as always ole Joe and Kameltoe don’t care about the citizens that have died for their country. But you are a migrant, they fall over themselves to make the American Dream a reality for them. The homeless and hardworking Americans are ignored. They are made the enemy of the state. P said as much on Bill Maher’s show. He kept saying but they are illegally here. “I want to make them legal as soon as possible” she answered. And people in the audience erupted. 20 million more people to give them a house and free health care and education. Add them to the welfare rolls and soc sec. How are they paying for it? Take it from the seniors. Medicare cost goes up so they can take care of the invaders. The homeless don’t have a chance. VOTE TRUMP/VANCE in 2024. For the good of America and its citizens.
The “Democrats” have never run a more unattractive, downright ugly, un-American, and rotten to the core duo of communists than Cackles-melea who switches her accent depending on what audience you place her in front, and mealy mouth pocket dictator Tampon Tim the COVID quarantine paint ball gun enforcer. The dictatorial duo of Hillary’s dreams, grown on the grassy knoll at Mile High.
Perhaps drug addiction and drugs availability should be addressed first. Also mental illness and the fact that facilities were closed decades ago. And whatever approach is taken by baby steps please do not let government employed people near it.
America is in a world of hurt. Our legal system, including the D O J has been corrupted such that it fails to uphold our laws, thus human trash like biden, harris, walz, the clintons rice, lerner, clapper, comey and hundreds of other government employees and politicians are not held accountable for their criminal activities and breach of their oaths of office.
We Americans have allowed this to happen because very few citizens pay attention to what government is doing, and has done, to our wonderful country.
I entered the military many decades ago when I was 19 years old. I think that no one should be allowed to vote unless they are 30 or more years old and pay taxes. No one on welfare or any other public assistance should be allowed to vote. With our present computer and internet world it would be an easy task for honest operators to maintain very accurate voter roles.
The democrat/communists were wise many years ago when they pushed for teenagers to vote. Remember the political statement “if you are old enough to fight for your country you are old enough to vote”?
The border has always been about “votes”. If people cannot see this, they’re either blind, stupid or believe this is the way to stay in power.
Sad but the liberal and progressive morons will vote for them because they are democrats and for no other reason
Thats what the Dems WANT for Control
The Liberal solution to homelessness is apparently to allow millions of illegal aliens add to that tally and overwhelm cities already dealing with domestic homelessness. Not only do the illegal homeless jump the border, but the Harris-Biden administration flies them in as they proclaim their compassion for people living crappy lives in crappy nations run by dictators. So we are now facilitating crappy lives and creating crappy cities. And we express surprise to learn that illegal homeless criminals are responsible for the majority of crime in major cities. But Kamala the Feckless is a new generation and that is all we will hear until November 5. Unfortunately, that is enough for Trump haters and the abortion only platform crowd.
The crisis has already exploded, and the liberal answer to it is to give preferential housing access to ILLEGAL ALIENS instead of homeless Americans. It’s true that many homeless Americans don’t want the help, but they should still be in the front of the line and the ILLEGALS need to be deported. Not gonna happen if chameleon Commie-la and Tampon Tim AWOL are able to steal the election.
Too much money getting into the pockets of individuals pushing this crap onto the American people. I don’t see it increasing after January 2025, as the Dim money grifter regime will be gone.
A question about Walz–is he?
The news media usually only finds “homeless people” during Republican administrations. The fact that even some of the more Marxist outlets are showing the real problem tells you something! As Rush Limbaugh used to say, “Democrats brag about how many they give welfare; Republicans brag about how many they got off of welfare by good policies.”
it isn’t just the homeless crisis. it is the illegal invaders, inflation, run amuck government and with no leadership this country is going to roll over on it’s back and die. hope you have your private island stocked and ready. otherwise just bend over and take it cause you do not stand a chance of getting thru the anarchy no matter what your cyber warrior skills are.
stop the pandering to these folks! we owe them jack,
Yet i’ve read that they want to give $150,000 to the invaders to buy a house!!! Shameful and evil to totally ignore our own homeless citizens, especially our veterans who served our country. i bet our fore fathers are rolling in their graves….
Recently drove transit bus, so have seen some bits of this directly. Shoveling money into the bottom doesn’t work; this has to dealt with from the top down. getting building costs down, cutting back on regulations, getting the economy running for working folks instead of multinationals and elites. It is not a regional or local problem: if a city takes care of a local problem, outsiders will come in and you have a new crop of ‘problem’.
That’s it! I’m relocating to California to offer the state government my expert services in consulting politicians about how to address the homeless situation. I’ll get a printer to provide a letter head that proclaims: “H.I.A.I.,( Homeless Illegal Alien Integration), consulting services, Inc.”
I’m sure that I will be required to contribute a few bucks toward the reelection of several key state, and city leaders but my consulting fees will just have to increase a bit to cover these “election campaign donations”.
The Democrats are right once more, “Happy days are here again!” Who would guess that there is a silver lining in every public crises storm cloud?