What Do We Do About the Homeless? | 5 Minute Video

Homelessness is one of the most vexing public policy problems we face. If you live in a big city, especially on the West Coast, you literally face it every day. And every day, it seems to get worse. Why? And what can we do about it? Christopher Rufo, Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, has answers.

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Script:

What do we do about the homeless? 

This is one of the most vexing public policy problems we face. If you live in a big city, especially on the West Coast, you literally face it every day. And every day it seems to get worse. Why?

Let's start with a couple facts: 

First, the word itself is misleading: Homelessness is not primarily a housing problem. It's a human problem. The primary drivers of homelessness are drug addiction and mental illness. According to data from UCLA's California Policy Lab, approximately three-quarters of people living in cars, tents, and on the streets suffer from serious mental illness, drug addiction, or both.

Second, despite these conditions, the homeless actually make rational decisions about where they want to live. Not surprisingly, they move to the most permissive environment they can find. Make your city attractive for the homeless and they will beat a path to your doorway. 

The Venice Boulevard underpass on the border of Los Angeles and Culver City brings home this point. It’s one of thousands of concrete structures in Los Angeles County, but there's a curious detail: the Los Angeles side is full of tents and the Culver City side is empty. Why? Because the two cities have different public policies. Los Angeles has effectively decriminalized public camping and drug consumption while Culver City enforces the law.  

This pattern—that the homeless go where the policy environment is the most permissive—can be seen up and down the West Coast. In San Francisco County, it's estimated that 30% of the homeless migrated there after becoming homeless somewhere else. In the city of Seattle, that number is 51%. 

The San Francisco Chronicle estimates that hundreds of homeless individuals move to the Bay Area each year because of the "perception that it is a sanctuary for people who are unwilling to participate in programs designed to get them off, and keep them off, a life in the streets."

At first glance, this would seem to make no sense. Why would an individual with no shelter or stable source of income move to one of the most expensive cities in the country? But in the world of the homeless, it makes perfect sense. That's because they operate under a different set of incentives than the average citizen.

In a research survey of homeless migrants in Seattle, 15% said they came to access homeless services, 10% came for legal marijuana, and 16% were transients who were "traveling or visiting" when they decided to set up camp. But this dramatically understates the biggest draw of all: the de facto legalization of street camping, drug consumption, and property crime.

As former Seattle public safety advisor Scott Lindsay has shown, the city is now home to a large population of homeless "prolific offenders"—people who commit property crimes to feed their addictions but are rarely held accountable for those crimes by the criminal justice system.

So is ever-increasing homelessness our inevitable future? If our goal is to make life as attractive as possible for the homeless, the answer is yes. If our goal is to actually help the homeless, the answer is no. 

Houston mayor Sylvester Turner is a Democrat, but his approach to homelessness is a world apart from his counterparts in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle. "It is simply not acceptable for people to live on the streets; it is not good for them, and it is not good for the city," Turner has said. 

[discodynamitetnt]

11 years ago I was homeless and addicted to heroin- I was arrested for theft and even tho it was EXTREMELY uncomfortable to detox in jail it gave me enough time to start thinking straight. Saved my life. Now have a beautiful family with a beautiful home. Thx Houston. Thx everyone that showed me uncomfortable tough love rather than easy “compassion”

[easygame]

You have oversimplified a very complicated issue. I was homeless for over 1 year, and I had no addiction or mental health issues. Once you find yourself homeless, with no support, there is little to no help to get you back on your feet.

[rolysantos]

I've been an officer for 27 years. I've always tried to help people, including the homeless. Yet even back then when homelessness was not as prevalent, the vast majority of homeless people did not want the help that was available to get off of the streets and get their lives in order. Yes, mental illness and substance addiction played a big part. What also played a part was the unwillingness to be accountable and follow rules. They told me so first hand.
Human nature requires incentives and disincentives, "Carrots and Sticks" so to speak. Most Left wing big cities have only "carrots" and no "sticks."
This has proven to be a recipe for disaster!

[manuelcuervo]

Decreased in Houston just means they moved somewhere else. Maybe instead of banning camping, fix the problem.

[chrisminblkdiamond]

"What Do We Do About the Homeless?"
We give them a key to all politician's homes and vacation properties.

[MWS]

I spent some time being homeless and staying at a shelter a few years ago. I got out and got working and a place to live as fast as I could. Not all people there are mentally ill. While at the shelter, I seen first hand many people that don't want to work or change. A lot of them think it's fun to drink and do drugs while living at a shelter or tent city.

[psyxypher]

Remember how one artist designed a $1200 dollar house that allowed homeless to have a leg up and the city of Los Angeles took them away?

[abdullahalajmi]

"What to do about homelessness? Make it illegal."
Where will they go?

[j.v.]

I like how they emphasized “democrat” for mayor of Houston. This shows common sense and getting along makes progress.

[catsofsherman]

As a mental health professional in the Seattle area, I agree with the ideas in this video. I know from extensive personal interactions with homeless in the area that many choose to remain homeless because they don't want to follow any rules. I have been told over and over from homeless people that they came here for benefits and laissez faire police. The elected officials think they can solve it with more money. The more they spend, the more people flock here. The wealthy have gated communities and private security while middle class and working class families suffer from the urban decay and crime.

[LR-nbov]

this is more like “how to get homeless people to go somewhere else” rather than “how to fix homelessness”

[Richjake]

Dude really said, “wanna solve homelessness, just make it illegal to be homeless”

[ClassyWhale]

Any data on how many homeless ppl have migrated from Houston to the west coast? The video says homelessness was cut in half in Houston, but it doesn't specifically say what % of homeless cleaned up their lives via Houston's services and remained in the region. It also mentions that ppl have moved to the west coast where policy is more lenient - perhaps they could have moved from Houston? (ngl, Houston's strategy sounds pretty good, this was just a question I had looking at the data in this video)

[jeffreyscott]

LA "mayor" called them unhoused!, she also made a grand announcement in a speech announcing that the unhoused are welcome in Los Angeles.

[chrishansen]

actually stop giving them money at intersections and they will leave that area. Behavior 101. The bigger issues are never solved by throwing money at it.

[kitsuziza]

Bro as someone from Houston I can honestly say we have our fair share of homeless camps in plain sight, I seriously don't know what this video is talking about.

[Mnch-tnrh]

"You're homeless? Why don't you just buy a house?" - some meme I saw in the internet

[samuelebincoletto]

It's kind of like a motto from Confucius: "Give a bowl of rice to a man and you will feed him for a day, teach him how to grow his own rice and you will save his life".

[DutchStar]

We give money to other countries that kickback to our politicians through corporate donations. Enough money to house the homeless and treat drug addiction, mental illness and educate and train them to be responsible skilled workers.

[Verhoefswords]

“At first glance this seems to make no sense” that’s because it doesn’t.