The Supreme Court to rule on laws impacting the homeless

In 2018 many Western officials were outraged by a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision that said Boise, Idaho's ban on camping outdoors – aimed at deterring homeless people from sleeping on the streets – was "cruel and unusual punishment" prohibited by the 8th Amendment of the Constitution. Now, the city of Grants Pass, Oregon, has challenged that argument before the Supreme Court, and what the Court decides will impact how all cities and counties across the country can handle the unhoused. Correspondent John Blackstone reports.

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[mrhappy]

This country does it’s very best to create homeless

[tibedog]

What the Supreme Court should really be doing is making it illegal for corporations to own a house. Make it only legal for just normal people to own houses. No houses for rent. No houses for big corporations.

[SeanTalkoff]

Home Prices are too high. With rates not subsidised in ’24 and mortgage still high, currently seeking alternatives to maximize savings without an RV move or taking a loan. I’m seriously contemplating the latter.

[adhdoggo]

They're all talking about solving the problem while also trying to allow the criminalization of homelessness which does the EXACT opposite then solving the problem...

[peacenow]

There are many old buildings, old bases, old hospitals that can be made into apts for them.

[kayakchrispy]

Fix the cost of living / inflation
Close the gap between rich and poor, bring back the middle class .. make it possible to afford a decent life

[laurametcalf]

If you don’t want homeless on the streets then Build affordable housing!!!

[Benice]

We need more mental health hospitals. Many homeless are unable to work

[douglasskinner]

Private corporations need to get out of the housing market. AirBnBs need to be treated like motels and not apartments, and any corporation dipping their toes into the housing market need to get their licensing revoked. That will help bring the cost of housing down, along with passing rent control laws and lifting barriers for those with criminal backgrounds from accessing housing. THAT'S the real housing crisis in America. Corporations and the governments they buy off want you to believe it's the homeless vs everyone, when it's really about greed.

[IcemanSK]

This is the best explanation I've seen of the issues around homelessness done by a major news outlet. Thank you.

[daisyle]

Corporations buying up property and raising rents so no one can afford them is the main cause of this. There needs to be rent ceilings and rent based on income. If SC rules on homeless not sleeping on streets they better have a solution for this. Greed is constantly rewarded now by politicians. These billionaires want to pursue endeavors, they can start with this problem. Start with the drugs and mental illness that is one of the reasons and step up to the plate for the children, the vets and the elderly.

[Missy-Missy]

There are so many barriers to building & obtaining affordable housing: 1) fewer landlords accepting Section 8 vouchers 2) the gentrification of older neighborhoods 3) the "don't build affordable housing in my backyard" attitude 4) private equity firms becoming landlords 5) landlords joining forces & using an algorithm to raise rents 6) short-term rentals 7) cumbersome & convoluted bureaucracy & regulations that prevents the development of multi-unit housing. All of these reasons contribute to the scarcity of affordable housing.

[ElizabethE]

With all the money being spent on lawyers, these cities could be building shelters like Portland has.

[farginargle]

Just imagine driving your friend who can't pay their rent to jail. Skip the street, go straight to jail. This will happen. And prison is more expensive than free housing.

[lrs]

We shelter dogs in the US. Dogs & people need shelter.

[SullyAfgarshe]

The reality is…

You cannot address homelessness without also simultaneously addressing mental illness, drug addiction, and care for veterans

I am sick of the myriad of social services and NGO that attempt to address these intertwined issues by only focusing on one aspect of people’s lives.

Housing won’t be solved in a country that sees housing as a means to profiteer and create wealth, a means for speculative investments by corporations, and a means for governments to control how they can raise revenue.

There has to be more money invested by everyone to create better social programs. We need universal healthcare first and foremost and we need to ban corporations from being able to buy homes.

[JeffreyGillespie]

5:22 “Criminalizing poverty is failed policy” too damn right! 👏

[wienerghost]

The fastest growing demographic of homeless are those 65 and older. How, in good conscience, are you going to fine and jail such a vulnerable population?

[vanessawhitneypro]

So well reported! Thank You, CBS Sunday Morning... Here's to ALL who are struggling on the streets... And, to Those who HELP them.

[MistressMeowMix]

As someone who has been homeless, through unforseen circumstances, I am angered by this potential ruling. We live in a world that's run by greed. Which helps to cause this problem, what's their solution? To make it illegal to be homeless! The people who make these laws are clueless! First off they are human beings! Everyone is entitled to shelter, food, health care and a basic income in which to meet their needs. To punish people that need help is evil and cowardly! Politicians will never come up with a solution, because there is money, to be made off of the poor and suffering.