In the public imagination, homelessness looks like the man in soiled clothes sleeping on top of a subway grate or the woman peering out of a tent from under a highway overpass. But in cities and towns that have the highest concentrations of homelessness, many — and sometimes a majority — of those who do not live in shelters are in cars, not on the streets, according to the annual census known as the “point in time count.”
In Los Angeles County, for example, two-thirds are living in vehicles. In San Mateo County, which includes part of Silicon Valley, its even more — 71 percent.
“The American dream of owning a home is dead unless you make a gazillion dollars,”
Thankfully, nobody ever becomes homeless due to losing their job and struggling to find a new one. Robust social safety nets have ensured that the only people who find themselves homeless are lazy pieces of shit who are actively trying to be in their situation. They prey upon people’s generosity by begging in the streets and raking in 6 figures.
Big fat fucking /s because holy shit, I’ve actually encountered people who believe bullshit like that. I lived in my car for a little while, but thankfully I still had a job and there was a shower I could use at work. Only an absolute fucking ghoul would prey upon the unhoused.
“I knew a guy who made some bad choices and lost his home. Therefore all homeless people made bad choices and are lazy. I gave a beggar $20 once so that makes me an expert.”
Such a fucking Democratic approach. Means testing to sleeping in your car.
If you don’t have a job, are you allowed to sleep under your car?
Welcome to end-game Idiocracy. Something tragic is that Texas essentially criminalized homelessness via ballot proposition a few years ago to remove tent encampments (misdemeanor for camping in public, Prop 3 I think). Sweep the problem under the rug. If you are privileged enough to have a roof over your head, despite how hard you work, count your lucky fucking stars. The Republicans are coming for you.
Yeah the idea is that you contribute to the system either by being wealthy enough to own a home in a market where the homes are being scooped up by corporations, struggling enough to just pay the ever-increasing rent on an apartment (wouldn’t want you saving up enough to buy a home, after all), or become a legal slave to make the state money in the prison system. The American Dream but “You Must be This Wealthy to Ride”
