The Hooverville that wasn't | The Economist

The Hooverville that wasn

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The funny thing, though, is that the tent city had actually been around for close to a decade. There may have been a foreclosed homeowner or two among its denizens, but Justin Wandro, the office manager at nearby Loaves and Fishes, a food bank where the homeless can eat and shower, says that almost all of the people there have problems with mental health, drug abuse or both. Sacramento has about 1,400 homeless people in shelters, and another 1,200 or so on the streets, he says. For some reason,

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[edit on 4-5-2009 by yellowcard]

I remember a lot of people here pumping this story as a sign of an American depression, but the Economist has put that story to rest, by actually asking questions...and it turns out, the entire story was pretty much false. This doesn't detract from the economic downturn, I'm sure a lot of people moved in with some family members...but this is not the same as being on the streets and living in a camp. As the article suggests (to me) Oprah had an agenda to push this story...I mean she did support Obama, and what better way to emphasis the economic crisis than this story?

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