I think we’re all saying reasonable stuff and just have different opinions on what degree of change is needed or how policies impact economics. It’s all good discourse.
To me it’s very fundamental. I think living on the street should be illegal. I think loitering on the street should be illegal. The street is not a place of residence or a place of business.
I get that the fallout from this can be handled in a multitude of ways - some oppressive, some unjust, some racist, etc. But personally, I’d be willing to go through the tough times of that for the better tomorrow. If we have to completely stop spending on 20 other programs to solve this problem i’m okay with that hard choice. To me, there is nothing worse than a developed “civilized” nation that is unwilling to take care of its most vulnerable citizens and allows them to live on the streets. I can’t get behind anything we do as a society if we as citizens allow that to be a reality of our life.
And I say this having travelled the world and seeing how continued exposure to this makes it seem like it’s okay and the norm. I never want to feel sensitized to it and I don’t want our country to feel sensitized to it either and allow it get worse as we continue to divide further between the haves and have nots.