New York Throws Taxpayer Money at Homeless

The Major of NYC has come up with a problem to solve one of his campaign promises: solving the rising homeless problem.

How does he do it, you might ask. Well, as if the tax payer wasn't exploited enough, their money is being thrown away to throw away the homeless people to anywhere they wish to go, whether it be Paris or a tropical island.

Now, you might say "lucky them" because they will at least be homeless in a nice area. Sure, it would be a nicer place than the slums of NY.

The problem, or should I say problems, that I have with this is that for one, the tax payer money is being used to "bailout" the city of New York from its homeless, and two, they have little to no regard for the sentimental issues at stake here for these people.

NY is their home. Just because they don't have a house, apartment, loft, or hotel to put on permanent reserve, they still make the streets their home. It may be the only place they know, and you want to send them away?

Shame on you.

Here is a video of ABC News' coverage of the story:

cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com...

[edit on 31-7-2009 by Bushido Kanji]

Dude I live in seattle, which has one of the worst homeless problems I have ever seen anywhere in the world. You know what, I'd pay my tax payer dollars to have these scumbags shipped off to anywhere but here. Homeless people for the most part are just sorry losers, failures of society that don't have the brains, will power, or emotional stability to secure something as simple as food and shelter.

I can't stand the homeless in my town, but my city won't do a thing about them. I wouldn't be happy about taxes going to get em out of town, but I bet once they were gone I'd get over it.

[edit on 31-7-2009 by liquidsmoke206]

ooops dbl post...

[edit on 31-7-2009 by liquidsmoke206]

According to the video, these people were being sent to locations in which they had family or friends. That suggests the either NYC *isn't* their home, or they at least have something of a home for them elsewhere. It's not just dumping, say, me into France just to get rid of me. I couldn't go to France, because I have no family or friends there (if I understand the clip correctly).

Also according to the video, this *saves* NYC money, since they pay $36,000 yearly to shelter a homeless family. Not sure whether it applies to the people who aren't sheltered, but chances are those guys aren't trying the ones getting sent anywhere.

Finally, I see no problem with spending tax dollars on the homeless. They need help. A good number of them, some say as many as 1/3, are veterans who suffer from service-induced mental problems. They weren't given the veteran's benefits they should have received, and eventually wound up homeless. A lot of these guys fought for us. We owe them.

Oh, yeah. And what's the alternative, anyway? Round them up and shoot them? It would get rid of the problem, I guess. If we weren't so heartless about those who are unfortunate, we could help rehabilitate many of these people, get them back to being productive, tax-paying citizens whose tax money would likely offset whatever money we spent on them.

Nobody wants to pay their precious taxpayer dollars for a mental health system that keeps the mentally ill off the streets, so guess what?

You have streets full of crazy people.

Duh

Lets face it, we're a nation of spoiled brats.

Everyone wants the .gov to take care of these problems, but nobody wants to pick up the tab.

You can't have it both ways.

After years of getting ticked off at politicians, I am starting to see the truth - the politicians are only giving the idiot public what they want - which is to have their cake and eat it too.

Most of us are so blinded by ideology (left/right/whatever) that nobody cares to actually face the facts.

reply to post by chiron613

If we weren't so heartless about those who are unfortunate, we could help rehabilitate many of these people,

no we couldn't. have you seen these people? They don't wanna be rehabilitated, they love the street life...you sound like your typical bleeding heart seattlite. Do you live here?

I had one of these guy follow me to my cab the other day, because all the change I had in my pocket for him, wasn't enough! Thats when I decided to never help one of these scum again...

Not a week later my buddy stepped outside the bar to smoke and a guy came up askin for money, my buddy gave him a dollar, and the guy actually has the nerve to say..."hey a dollar can't really get me anything, think I could have another one?"

these people are human garbage, don't even try and sugar coat it. Yeah yeah, maybe some are victims of mental illness, but whatever, I want em off the streets one way or another.

you said it yerself, rounding them up and shooting them solves the problem...

reply to post by xmotex


yeah i think yer right, I heard we had more funded mental facilities until the 80's and when people stopped wanting to pay for it the homeless population blew up....but why do they all have to hangout in my town....it's not like I'm nice to em or anything!

Rounding them up and shooting them isn't practical, humane, nor is it morally correct. Sure, it would rid the streets of the homeless, but you would create new problems.

I still think they should invest in a rehabilitation system that creates more jobs...gives remedial jobs to the homeless, and shelter from the winter months.

It would cost about the same as tossing them all out, and it would create more jobs.

That is the alternative, not shooting them.

reply to post by Bushido Kanji


yeah I know we cant shoot them, but rehab doesn't work, because they dont want it too, they like being on the streets, they like begging for cash, they like the lifestyle, no work, just cheap drugs, and crazy drama with other homeless...

They're scum, send em to an island somewhere and see if they can start a methlab outta nothin...

It's actually interesting, there is a direct correlation between the NYS Office of Mental Health beginning the process of "de-institutionalization" in the 1970s and 1980s and the rise in homeless and drug problems here in NY. The shutdowns in state hospitals and massive reductions for the few that did remain open were a direct cause of the crack epidemic in the 1980s and early 1990s.

They basically just woke up one morning and let almost 20,000 mentally ill people onto the streets of Long Island keeping only the ones that were severely mentally ill or criminally insane in custody and consolidated them at 1 little tiny facility that barely has any outpatient services.

reply to post by liquidsmoke206


whoa man! You have no idea how some people become homeless. Some have mental instabilities, lost their job and their house before they could another one, or their parents lost their house, there are numerous reasons for one to lose their home.

Don't pay your taxes, even if you can't afford them..you lose your house, your landlord didn't pay his note..you lose your home..i mean come on.

Jeez..the hate. I've seen bums, wine-o's, the whole run down.

Have you ever asked a bum if they still want to be a bum? An intriguing question depending on which one you ask..

[edit on 31-7-2009 by cenpuppie]

Originally posted by liquidsmoke206
Dude I live in seattle, which has one of the worst homeless problems I have ever seen anywhere in the world. You know what, I'd pay my tax payer dollars to have these scumbags shipped off to anywhere but here. Homeless people for the most part are just sorry losers, failures of society that don't have the brains, will power, or emotional stability to secure something as simple as food and shelter.

I can't stand the homeless in my town, but my city won't do a thing about them. I wouldn't be happy about taxes going to get em out of town, but I bet once they were gone I'd get over it.

[edit on 31-7-2009 by liquidsmoke206]

I sure hope You don't loose Your job and join the people You so hate.

reply to post by cenpuppie


yeah i get that some people got screwed and thats why they are homeless, but come on, those are few and far between. The guy with no legs, and hands that look more like feet...yeah i still give him money, but most of these slobs are just deadbeats who wouldn't even dream of tryin to better their situation. You know its true.

reply to post by jkm1864


yeah because thats how they got there...they lost their jobs.....

get real.

They got their because they don't want jobs! They want cheap booze, and cheap drugs, and cheap hookers, etc...

Ok I am going to take the perspective of someone that has been on the streets before here.

I didn't like it one bit. Staying in shelters, having to work at day labor places, going to soup kitchens. It was a terrible terrible time in my life.

There are those however that just loose hope. I nearly did. They just give up. It's all too easy to do.

But I tried really hard. and I still struggle. I am in a home, and I have a job. It's not like I wanted to be homeless. But depression will do that to a person.

The place I was at, if you went to a church they would offer to buy you a one way bus fare to anywhere in the country you had family. The problem is, a lot of times family doesn't even want these people.

So what do you do? Do you give up on them? Shut down the few places that do cater to the homeless? Dry up the few resources they have and hope they freeze to death in the winter? Or do you ship them off to be someone else's problem?

Perhaps you would like to put them in a work camp? Perhaps that is what they need right? Put into forced labor camps for being homeless? Some of these people are just crazy and can't survive on their own. Others have given up all hope for a better life. Both often fall prey to trying to escape that life with drugs or alcohol. It's a bad road to be on. And I didn't like it one bit.

I got myself out. It took cooperation with a couple other bums, we worked for the benefit of the common goal. Hopefully they are in the same house I left them in. As for me I am just one paycheck or my job shutting down from being homeless once again. And in Michigan I tell you that is not a favorable outlook.

Originally posted by chiron613
If we weren't so heartless about those who are unfortunate, we could help rehabilitate many of these people, get them back to being productive, tax-paying citizens whose tax money would likely offset whatever money we spent on them.

How much of your post tax income do you donate to the homeless or charities that aid the homeless?

Honesty would be appreciated.