[quote="DHOHHI, post: 4062477, member: 16595"]Actually homelessness would be a lesser problem if we didn't have so MANY government handouts where people develop expectations of such. I have family that went through the depression .. did they expect the government to pay their living expenses? Nope. They worked that much harder to keep their heads above water and later flourished due to work ethic. As an example .. Food Stamps were NEVER meant to be the sole source of groceries. Yet people today expect just that .. they bitch about not getting MORE.[/quote] Ummm. No.
I will note that there are some homeless that are in a temporary situation and simply need a hand-up to improve their situation. These are the ones that eventually improve their situation and IMO we should focus our benefit efforts on. However most of the long-term homeless have mental issues. Most prefer to sleep on the streets instead of a shelter. I will use Toronto as an example of this. Toronto is a city where there is available government shelters and food for all homeless people. There are many homeless people sleeping in the downtown streets who have obvious mental problems - they refuse to go to shelters (usually converted hotels). On very cold nights, the cops go around and try to urge the homeless to go to these shelters (even if just for one night), but the homeless rather sleep on a grate and reject a warm room.
Ummm. No.[/quote] So we'll agree to disagree. I see people, parents of kids I volunteer with, who are more than happy to get their Section 8 housing, Medicaid, Food Stamps, utility bill subsidies and go through life and not have to work. Sad but true ... not for all, but more more people than you might expect. No one ... not a single person should get government assistance without having to do something in return. I don't care if it's picking up litter on the side of the road. And every US adult should pay some federal and state income taxes .. even those who live off the government. You're "Ummm, no" answer doesn't have any data to support it. If people were forced to get off their asses we'd have a lot less people who show no motivation to work. Able bodied adults should get limited help for a limited period of time.
The Surprising Fact of Hunger in America BY ERIC PIANIN, The Fiscal Times Although the economy is improving and plenty of government and privately funded food programs exist to help those in need, an alarming number of people are going hungry in this country. . . .