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”
I went homeless after the losing EVERYTHING in the '07 Finical Meltdown. Houses, cars, professional licenses, marriage +clothes. The rest was stolen from me: ID, phone, cash, and even my shoes . 4yrs on the streets.... But for the Grace of God, and some Christians who housed me, provided a new cell phone, clothes, shelter, food, shower, medical, a car, job contacts, good references and eventually co-signed a lease (+helping me with the security deposit) I never would of recovered .They never judged me, and never forced me to do anything. They simply helped me back on my feet and showed me where the ladder was [ thank you Jacob]. I was very fortunate for that sponsorship ... most homeless aren't as lucky.
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.
@@joelfernandes23 What logic? All I read was anecdote and no mention of the poor decisions (relational, occupational, financial) that leave some without a place to live. Ownership of our unwise lifestyle choices is the place to start. Then there's hope.
@@mchristr Unwise lifestyle choices like getting a huge medical bill you are unable to pay because of the American healthcare system? Or the unwise decision to join the military, getting a serious mental condition because of the awful shit you see everyday? Maybe loose a leg at the same time. Then the government doesn't care about you so you have to live the rest of your life in poverty. Those poor life choices?
@@SakuraMoonflower It isn't like homeless people are homeless because they want to be, that is absurd, so making it illegal just fills our prisons ultimately weighing on the tax payer even more.
@@equinox2584 some homeless people are homeless because they'd prefer to buy a couple rocks then pay their bills. There was a guy who made small houses for homeless people but the shitty government took them away.
@@equinox2584 you're right.. it isn't because they WANT TO BE . Its because of the drugs and mental illness.. The ones who were misplaced because of job loss ect.. they will eventually get back on their feet.. unless they started messing with drugs... and there are in fact a few.... that actually prefer it over the standard life... but that's a very few.... we have a couple homeless camps here.... I'd say about 75% are addicts . The others have mental problems... It's just the way it is.... and anything else is just denial.... not fact... they have tried to house a bunch of them but it only help a couple of them....
@@jerryf3375 Bro, everyone hates everything you type everywhere you type it. Use sentences. An ellipses is not a period. Stop. This thing . . . this, that you're doing right here . . . everyone hates it . . . it makes everyone want to kill you when they see it . . . has your house been SWAT'd a lot of times . . . because honestly this makes me hope it has . . . stop doing this . . . type like a normal human being . . . you absolute freak . . .
@@guilhermemartins2606 If all cities did it, then every city becomes an equally crap place for homeless people to live. Ergo, it stops working, because there's no incentive for them to move. All it does is kick the can down the road - you deal with the causes of homelessness, or you hurt homeless people to get them to go away, until they eventually come back because the causes of homelessness are still present.
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!
Did a homeless outreach for 10 years. Still involved a little but less now days. Heard much the same things as you did from quite a number of them. Their visible and surface issues are just symptoms of their deeper and more serious internal spiritual, mental and emotional issues. A great many either don't want or can't receive the help they need in those areas. That said meeting the physical needs ( and we strived to cover all the bases where we could ) is at best a temporal help and at best like covering cancer with a bandaid. Where we were successful and saw people rise up and be good productive and positive citizens whose lives reflected the goodness that is only possible from inner spiritual renewal and healings, was with those few who saw their inner needs for a savior and God worked miracles in their lives.
@UCprEauCTCcruscFq8ppBIbQ - What you are forgetting, Jennifer, is that the homeless are not "just leaving *_other_* people alone." They are committing crimes against others in multiple ways. If you are truly for "just leaving them alone," how about we gather them all up - including your sorry asteroid - and deposit them on an unused island? *_That_* would be "leaving them alone" in the true sense of the word "alone," and we would also appreciate hearing a lot less from you.
Ive lived homeless for 3 years, people dont want to be chewed up and spit out by the system. Participating in the system as it is now is giving up freedom and gaining very few things. For poor people, the system can be worse then being homeless living day by day. Thats the brutal fact.
@@dokjastopsimp2370 Good luck trying to convince politicians to do stuff for the public when "the public should just pull themselves up by the bootstrap" :|
Thats because they werent able to grab that opportunity whether they couldnt just do it or something else blocked them from grabbing it. In America right now its just the rich exploiting the real Americans, sad to see my country like this
Last I read about it they were fighting over $800K a unit apartments that they want to build while rejecting ready to go housing ideas that cost far less.
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.
Have had a similar experience. When I was 18, my mom had to attend a 'interview skills' seminar as part of her benefit program, or they would cut her benefits. I went along with her because I was looking for my first job and had an interview next week. Almost all the people at that seminar did not care about what was being taught and were only there so their benefit doesn't get cancelled. One guy kept disrupting the class like a child, and half the class kept telling him to stfu cause they wanna go home. Not everyone struggling is like that, but in my country (New Zealand) the support is in place to help you. Those who are in need for a long time simply have no desire to improve.
"(thinking) it's fun to drink and do drugs while living at a shelter or tent city." - I believe that is, actually, mental illness. Mental illness doesn't have to be isolated to split-personalities or someone believing that the toaster is talking to them. Depression can happen to a 'normal' person, and ruin their life.
@@javaplum8364 Yeah Prager U says it's because they were tough on the law but actually because of democratic rule Huston has created large-scale housing projects that actually help homeless people. They either got helped or moved to LA, this video is very misrepresentative of the data so thank you once again Prager U for making more right-wing propaganda.
@@fatherleo4603 It is fixable, legalize all drugs, add free public rehab, free public housing, and free public food, water, and electricity. This will level the field to the point where poverty as a whole is a nonissue.
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.
@@mikeyKnows_ I can't talk about other places but the camps in houston are a fairly recent phenomenon. 5 years ago you would be hard pressed to find any camps here. Now we've always homeless people but the camps are a fairly new thing. Now if you're saying we have less camps then we would have other wise. I would say maybe, but we don't have an alternate world where houston had LA, polices to compare it will. From my perspective the homeless issue in houston has only gotten worst.
Wake up! In the modern society Reality on the street is irrelevant. What really counts is the academic study made by a famous scientist, all so well presented in this video
@@john90430 no he isn't. A major point among progressives for decades has been building affordable housing and just giving homeless people homes, something the Houston mayor did here. The policies PragerU are holding up as a beacon of pragmatism aren't new - many states with homelessness problems have done the same things - and they don't work very well. Turns out just criminalising homelessness without a way to house them just makes things impossible for homeless people. Giving people the homes they need, and by proxy a path into the job market, has been effective everywhere tried, and it's a starkly progressive idea
@@Noctem_pasa "Progressives"? Please. Enablers is more like it. "Giving people the homes they need, and by proxy a path into the job market..."? WHAT job market? People graduating college can't even find jobs with all the mass invasion of illegal (and legal) immigrants sucking up all the available jobs, not to mention competing for the programs that would help the homeless in the first place. Oh, I guess we can just expand all those programs infinitely since government just spends and spends and spends all the debt money they get from the Federal Reserve to the tune of tens of trillions... Not until we bring back manufacturing from abroad (China) will there be any jobs for recovering drug addicts and the mentally ill (after some treatment so they're employable). Giving away homes isn't the answer.
@@john90430 I mean let them into the job market because having a mail in address is more or less a necessity when getting a job. Also immigrants aren't to blame for stealing jobs, that's a nativist myth literally 200 years old
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.
You don't see the bums causing problems on the east side of Lake Washington in Bellevue. Why? Because they don't put up with it and enforce the law there.
@Cats of Sherman: Bravo! When you work directly with the homeless as I have as a pastor, you realize that Liberals throwing tax-payer's money at the problem and de-criminalization only destroys lives and communities. The White Liberal often has the luxury of living in a gated, posh community with armed security controlling any intruders. The middle and working classes have to deal with the crime, faeces, and ugliness. In reality, the White Liberal is heartless, mean-spirited, and engaged in moral evil.
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)
And what if they did indeed migrate from Houston to the West Coast? Does it make Houston's policy any less good? Does it make the west coast's policy any less bad? If we criminalize encampment everywhere, the homeless will have no choice but to take on services to make their lives better.
@@tonyvu7246 If they did indeed move from Houston to less criminalized cities then that would therefore imply that the homeless solutions done by Houston (ie making them, ya know, not homeless) would have failed and instead the homeless migrated to somewhere where they wont be thrown in jail for being addicted to various drugs or too poor to have housing. It was a very valid and important question @Classy Whale
@@BrendanBanz I get what you mean and was wondering about the same dynamic of the homeless simply leaving. I'm sure the speaker knows about this question and wish the video had addressed it more clearly. However, I think part of what the video is saying is that so long as you feed the homeless population's popular motivations and don't provide incentives or disincentives to seek a different lifestyle, their continued presence is ensured, largely as a reflection of their rational decisions for self-interest. Furthermore, the video points out how local government can do something about this, and the fact that the homeless migrate to more permissive environments is, I think, supposed to suggest that each city should try to do something for itself, but as long as there are other cities who remain more permissive, those other cities are effectively asking for a growing homelessness problem. By extension, I think the suggestion is that if all cities enforced "tough love" policies, homelessness would significantly decrease nationwide.
@@CornyBum You lightly touched on something that is very important when considering Prager U but this isnt the time to really discuss it so I will instead just recommend thinking about *why* perhaps Prager U didnt fully explore this very important aspect to the Houston policies when discussing them. As well, perhaps explore if this isnt the first time (in this video or otherwise) that Prager U seemingly withholds the substantive arguments/evidence of the positions they are critiquing or the criticisms of things they are praising. On to the primary topic though: > so long as you feed the homeless population's popular motivations and don't provide incentives or disincentives to seek a different lifestyle, their continued presence is ensured, largely as a reflection of their rational decisions for self-interest. There is one very important part though that is being skipped here, there is a constant list of incentives and disincentives that affect the homeless simply due to the nature of being homeless (and the subsequent or correlated mental/physical health problems). Firstly, any sane person knows that being homeless sucks, you are poor, starving, and generally live in unsafe and unhealthy conditions. These alone provide multiple incentives (basically the incentives to have a "normal" and safe/healthy life) as well as the multiple disincentives (to not have to deal with these life threatening problems. Being able to constantly sleep with a roof over your head and in a bed, not being constantly harassed or assaulted by police/random people, and knowing you will have 3 square meals a day at least are enough incentives for any sane person to do what they can to not be homeless. This demonstrates what the vast majority of the problem is: we are not dealing with sane or healthy people. The majority of homeless people are ridden with mental health problems or drug addiction problems and the rest are generally people who lost their jobs or are otherwise too poor to be able to not be homeless. How is it then, that forcing people out of the relative safety of a tent city or away from the marginal comfort of an overpass is actually helping these people? Its simply making their lives worse than it already is. There life is already terrible and if they cant recognize that then there are mental health problems that are stopping them from doing so and wont be fixed by throwing them in jail. Rather than repeat myself to address the flawed argument of all cities being tough love I will leave it to you to re-read what I have just wrote and explore how that could apply to if no cities were running drug rehabilitation services, street mental health services, or otherwise, and instead were just "keeping the streets clean" by kicking the homeless down to the next alley to hide in or bench to sleep on/under. The actual problems that cause homelessness are not being addressed by "tough love" and instead we are just hoping that people can will themselves out of drug addiction and bipolar disorder.
@@dcmurphy5157 Of course they do. They are absolutely dirt poor. USA, the country that punishes sick people with brutal poverty and persecution. Land of the free my ass.
@@MegaBanne So your solution to homelessness is to let homeless people live in the streets and let their addictions, crime, or the elements kill them? How is that a solution or even moral? It seems to me that you’re more intent on attacking American rather than actually fixing the homeless crisis.
@@0xredrumx078 well criminalizing homelessness isn't a solution. I'd say a simple solution is getting the homeless into programs to actually help their mental illnesses and addictions. That and just giving them homes, there's more empty homes than there are homeless people.
@@estlin2001 “Well criminalizing homelessness isn't a solution” The homeless statistics speak for themselves. In Huston TX, 2500 homeless people got moved into shelters, 500 chronically homeless individuals will be placed in permanent supportive housing within six months. And the Houston mayor’s plan has reduced overall homelessness by 57 percent over the last five years. So Huston must be doing something right. ( www.houstontx.gov/mayor/press/strategies-for-homeless-panhandlers.html ).
@@kingsfan10000000 I know that's why governor Greg Abbott decided to install a state law that says no camping in a certain area. I also know that Austin is on the rise to a high crime rate and I do know that Dallas and Fort worth do have high crime rates, but at least they're trying to decrease it.
@@maestrulgamer9695 empathy is offering help and they take that help and get better. Enabling is offering help over and over again, when they have proven they have no intention of getting better.
Agreed but there aren’t enough systems in place and money invested to help the homeless and mentally ill. Empathy needs to be shown first in order for it even to become enabling.
@@JessieJiShe I live in a california city where there are more programs than anywhere else... and we have the most homeless per capita. They just dont want to follow the guidelines for the help... like staying sober, taking their prescribed meds or looking for work in the meantime. So they just take and take and never get better. So programs only work if ppl work them.
Substance abuse/addiction and mental illness are *definite* factors in the homeless problem. But let's not forget harsh business cycles and tight rental markets. It's quite possible that we might not dodge the bullet this time when we have another economic downturn and have another 1930's-type Great Depression.
What you neglect to mention that most homeless substance abuse begins AFTER they lose their homes. So they aren't losing their homes, jobs, families, etc. because they're addicts; they become addicted to cope with having lost those things first, and having nothing to help them in the way of social services or even basic street-level human empathy.
@@chawnkaw3637 Yet that answer is also incomplete. Poor choices lead to homelessness, and so does exploitation and price-gouging at the hands of employers, insurance companies, landlords. So does economic recession, a housing bubble, predatory mortgaging and loans designed to hurl people into debt. So does simple bad luck, like a business burning down or a car being stolen.
Yes you are right lots of factors. From what is see here where I live from experience even knowing some of the homeless personally are people I went to HS with and their choices of using drugs like meth and Heroin knowing all too well the effects still made the decision to use thus leading to where they are today…. But yes some have become that way because of all you listed also. Point is if you want to get out if you truly want to get out you don’t make it a forever lifestyle.
@@chawnkaw3637 Yes, poor choices are most often a predominant factor in such a life crisis -- but lack of empathy for others/narcissism is a Cluster B red flag.
If every dollar spent on fixing homelessness went straight to them, each homeless person would have $860,000 right now. Gov't corruption is out of control!
We get it, you 'hate' politicians. No wonder PragerU vids always have such high like ratios, you guys are more interested in virtue signalling than actually considering problems.
@@VossCubs it varies based on the city. But there was an audit done in Boise where the city spent far more per homeless person on sweeps and imprisonment than it would have cost to simply rent them a decent 3 bedroom apartment.
@@leonodonoghueburke4276 well maybe because they're right, maybe instead of giving the homeless money directly do 1 of 2 things: build more housing. specifically apartments, why? because they're space efficient. that way you won't need to invest more into land. or 2, invest more into therapy and curing addictions. this will permanently remove the factor of drug abuse.
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.
That does not solve the issue but instead removes it from your back yard. They need to be arrested and put in government control. They are essentially wards of the state anyways.
@Prophet Muhammad Consumes Pig Seamen Compassion is worth nothing. You can have all the compassion on the planet and still allow people to waste away on park bench.
You're very short sighted. What do you think a hungry man does when after begging for "food" is left without? He doesn't have transportation, so he's not leaving your neighborhood. and while you're sleeping, he's still awake, still hungry, stalking your streets... It's not cost effective to roll up your window at a beggar , only to find it smashed out the next morning.
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".
Except he does'nt exactly need Rice to build up an income. Teach people all you want, but if you don't give them the means to carry their knowledge out, they cannot rise.
@@martymcfly1833 Thats the exact Problem of thinking. It does'nt Work like that, these people cannot plan longterm, because otherwise they die or lose everything in short term. Also they don't have many oppertunities to figure something out. Additionaly homeless opperate in a different mindset, because of constant stress, they only need to survive. This is largely independent of their IQ and knowledge. Once you give them a stable environment and an oppertunity, they will take it. Very few like living like that.
Exactly. These are weird bored people with nothing better to do than figure out how to control people they feel theyre better than. Homeless means homeless. Criminal means criminal. Pick which youre talking about first, then humbly help a homeless person if youd like, do something to stop the crime if youd like. Or else go back to your own home, appreciate it, and mind your damn business. I cant imagine paying property taxes in california then preoccupying myself with someone elses camping tent.
Guess that black guy from Houston is also a dictator facist, or did you not watch the video all the way through and just said what the propaganda has told you?
I’m a recovered addict and if I wouldn’t have had consequences for the things I did to feed my addiction I may have never gotten help. It is not compassionate to enable such a dark and destructive lifestyle.
What if instead of being sent to jail you got sent to rehab instead? And what if after you got out of rehab instead of being on street you got an apartment? Do you think this would have helped more than being sent to jail?
Bro like, 80,000 people face the consequences of opioid addiction every year in the United States and die because of it. Do you think that actual treatment would be a better solution to that problem? Or do you think letting people ride out addiction and withdrawal without help is better
@@shmuelhoit7118 I got help..went to detox then rehab, then did outpatient. I don’t think drug users should be sent to jail right away for simple drug possession. However for some that’s the only thing that saves their life.
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.
@Abraham Lincoln I agree. No more foreign bases, and no more foreign aid. Let the rest of the world solve their own problems. As far as healthcare costs go get government out of it and allow the market to compete across state lines.
Why do you spend money on those why willingly dont want to work or earn a living... I understand getting those who need time in rehab and mental health facilities, but those who just check themselves out of rehab and go back on drugs repeatedly should be given a 2 strikes rule after that its jail time.
Because it's goes into alimony and child support and if they don't take time off to spend with kid . Another answer to your question why don't the homeless just by houses ..they did. 2 years after New Jersey ended life time alimony . Show the how much gender power inbalances are already
by fixing the problem in just one city you are effectively giving homeless the option to either A. get better or B. find somewhere that will accommodate your shitty life choices. Homeless people usually choose B. but that's not the fault of the place that makes them have to choose it's the fault of the place that gives them in an easy way out.
I've been homeless, in my experience of homelessness I've met people who just gave up on life, people with criminal records who can't find support i.e. decent income, mostly drug addiction. I'm the "lucky" few that got the help I needed, I'm a veteran. Being a veteran you get somewhat priority for housing. I've met some homeless people who are content in their situation. Although I'm not homeless anymore I feel worthless and ashamed. Most homeless people have mental disabilities, I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety, depression and paranoia. I feel like I don't appreciate the help that I received. I have this overwhelming guilt. Regardless of my 39 years on this earth and my military training I still can't manage to finish things that I start i.e. college or technical training, I get flustered and overwhelmed so I give up. I'm a 39 year old veteran with no criminal record but can't get a decent job (I'm not assuming that I deserve a 6 figure income career, I know you have to work hard for that) I lack experience and or education. So I go to work for $10 an hour, go home to my bug infested, ghetto apartment (that I have do ambition to clean) I'm always fatigued and all I want to do is sleep. I'm not writing this to get sympathy or to pity myself, I'm writing this because I think this is what most homeless people struggle with everyday. I'd like some replies if possible, maybe some light will click on in my chaotic mind. God bless everyone.
Man, I feel for you. I have been where you are, I was homeless on the streets back in the 60's., on drugs and suffering from depression. You are obviously depressed. I know this is going to sound like a stupid platitude, but try to develop an unselfish attitude, which is a spiritual principle. Unselfishness leads to humility which leads to grace. Focus on what you can give rather than what you can get. It comes from the inside. I'm a retired small business owner (retail/service). When hiring someone for a "decent job", in addition to the necessary skills, I looked for the ability to finish what was started, neatness, ability to communicate, organization, upbeat attitude, etc., etc...all the things which you say you don't have right now. Try to develop those habits in yourself and they will become apparent to any future employers. If you have a $10/hour crap job, be the best $10/hour employee you can be. It will be noticed.
"If the solution is so obvious why don't we do it?" Because the homeless have advocates in the "homeless industrial complex" who are making money and building careers based on keeping things the way they are, or actually growing the problem.
@@hegaliandialectics4289 see there are two types of homeless people , ones that are lazy , and second who just wants a chance. The second one you can help , which are a minority . the first one no matter how much you try to help them, they will never change. Even if you offer them work they will not take your offer, they are the majority. dont believe me, go around the city offering them job and chance.
@@hegaliandialectics4289 they got rid of asylums and acted all righteous about it but look how things are now...mentally ill roaming the streets with zero treatment or assistance. Maybe we should have simply reformed the asylum policies instead of abolishing them...just like we should do reforms on police conduct rather than abolishing the police.
The only thing I would change about that statement is that most problems in America persist because the powers that be have a motive in keeping them that way: onevoicebecametwo.life/cruel-to-be-kind/
In a roundabout way, putting people in jail for something they couldn't help in the first place is still giving them proper, insulated shelter and access to clean plumbing for a period of time until they're able to get themselves back on their feet. :/ But jail adds an unnecessary felony conviction for a crime that shouldn't be a dang crime (AKA, experiencing homelessness.). What we need are dedicated private living spaces for homeless folk until they can get back on their feet. :/
@@SakuraMoonflower Also incarcerating homeless people provides a steady supply of labour so private prisons can make money and continue doing modern day slavery.
I read the comments here and everyone is speaking their passion. While passion is a good thing to have, it is no substitute for reasoning. For example, let’s say they outlaw homelessness, what are the possibilities stemming from that? Well, the first thing that comes to my mind is the increased cost to the tax paying public. Let’s incarcerate all of them. For how long? While they’re incarcerated the tax payer is paying for their meals, medical, clothes, utilities? How many homeless are in the United States? One solution is that other countries should issue passports to The American homeless and a plane ticket to Mexico. Then they can jump across the border and get free everything.
@@SakuraMoonflower actually the solution is simple. Foreign nations should issue passports to all American homeless and a ticket to South America, Central America or Mexico. From there they can cross the border and get apprehended at that point they get everything free and the homeless problem is solved.
That's poor how the weather aspect isn't mentioned why its such an acute problem on the west coast. You won't freeze to death anywhere nor is it wretchedly humid in the summertime.
I heard someone in a video like this mention "homeless industrial complex" arguing that there are a lot of side businesses/hustles that profit immensely off "helping the homeless".
Here in Cali we vote for measures giving hundreds of millions to homeless programs and not a dime is ever directed there. They just keep it personally becoming rich and direct some to pet projects. Blatantly, in broad daylight during capital meetings.....yet notging is ever done about it. Any complaints or attempted investigations and the call you extreme Anti- govt. Cali has lost there mind. Corrupt politicians and voters too busy to be smart enough to learn what's going on.
@@meanjab this is what people need to understand! When you hear politicians lobby for money al least half of it is used to line their pockets. This is how they get so extremely wealthy in such short amount to time.
I have known several homeless people. From what they have told me, they prefer their lifestyle. Maybe not all of them but many them like it and don't want people to bother them about changing it. They have chosen their lifestyle.
As long as their lifestyle does not negativly impact others that's fine. Unfortunately their lifestyle does negativly impact others by the crimes they commit in order to maintain that chosen lifestyle and that is wholely unacceptable!
I have also met several homeless people. One I didn't even realize was homeless because he dresses like a normal person and spends his days in a WiFi cafe. Most have adapted to their lifestyle to the point where they have trouble imagining living like a "normal" person. I even met one who is waiting to be taken to heaven.
@@MegaAgamon it is. there are tons of interviews with the homeless of california who intentionally live that way because california makes it easy for them
@@007kingifrit That literally means that they are there because the city makes it easy for them. It doesn't mean that they chose this life! Please be considerate of their situation. No one sane chooses homelessness. It is forced upon them.
Notice, in these cities riddled with homelessness there are people that go insane over zoning and nothing can ever get built. Housing is also super expensive so only the ultra wealthy can afford to live there. There’s a couple of questions you have to ask when thinking about the homeless; How can you reintegrate them into society? How can you solve their drug problems? and How can you motivate them? I feel like these questions don’t get enough thought where the homelessness is happening and it’s leading to unhappiness on all enfd
@@selohcin as a matter of fact. I was homeless on the streets of Houston Texas from 2013-2018 when I decided to do something about the reason why I was homeless. I'm now 3 years sober. From my point of view, it's easier to do some with my life in affordable places. It seems to me that the homeless people in California are doomed unless they leave the state
I'm sure Houston is expensive but you say that like the homeless are doomed to any given city when clearly they move around the country to find places that make their self destructive life style easier. Yes I'm sure Houston is expensive but do you really think it's more expensive than LA, San Francisco, or Seattle? I think not. They aren't looking to buy a house they're looking to pay for their next hit. Never mind the fact that most of these cities do have housing available for the homeless. Yet most don't use them because they'd have to change their life style to do so. The mentally ill would have to seek treatment they don't want and the addicts would have to seek treatment for an addiction they'd rather feed. I'm sure they would like housing but they want their drugs more.
I have another question....why is it anyone's responsibility but their own to solve their drug addictions and reintegrate them into society? What happened to personal responsibility?
It still amazes me that they say "drugs and mental illness cause homelessness because 3/4 of homless people are drug addicted or mentally ill". Like you really cant think for a second, that maybe not having a safe place to stay or a moment to rest would take a mental toll on someone? Maybe push them towards drug use? The mental illness and drug abuse comes BEFORE homelessness every single time???
After evening classes I would have to stop for gas at a gas station known for homeless panhandlers. Invariably I would be approached by someone asking for a "couple of bucks" to get something to eat... I never carried cash but I would offer to take them inside and buy them some food and a cup of coffee or a pop... I never had a single taker, they all declined.
Jackson Katz we talk about guys wife's kicked them out and draining draining them in alimony childduport with right being a parent to the child. No wants blame women kicking husband's draining in alimony child support playing emotional games the kids get to hate dad much as she does . Oh he most have been an abuser. No women would kicked her husband out for tribal reseason that's ridicules . So looking at things logically ways avoid some looking what happen and what's in your power to do about it is victim blame automatically they did some to deserve it isn't even though the point of blame . . So every homeless do it Ed dad was abuser . Never the mother get custody . And new Jersey 2 years after ending life time alimony became number1 reducing chronic homelessness . This shows who is to blame
I was walking in downtown MPLS one late afternoon and a couple of guys asked us for spare change so they could “get there drink on.” We gave them enough to buy a 6-pack! We also told them how we appreciated their honesty. We ended up grabbing a couple of burgers for them too and they were really thankful. A very strange experience, being a codependent for a few minutes.
Indeed, social and cheap housing and a good welfare system is very good approach. Those socialist policies works in other countries, and for extremes, most a communist countries has almost 0% of homelessness since they are forced to work.
Okay, but when you’re homeless, do you want to live in the middle of blandfield Alabama? Or a big city like LA where there are people and place where you can go to get shelter and people might be able to give you money and stuff.
There is a certain satisfaction in knowing that the primary people seeing their city's quality of life and cities being degraded are those bleeding-heart liberals. They get what they deserve.
As a 22 year career firefighter I talked to many homeless (they light fires when it is cold). I could not understand why they did not go to a shelter when it is cold. Our shelters were almost never full, often below half capacity. Again and again I heard the same answer. They cannot use drugs or drink liquor in the shelter. Drug addiction - again and again.
I'v been in shelters. They are often more prisons. Often dirt and are full ..if bed bugs and more mentally stressing . . And I was homeless for different reason befor you think who hurt you it doesn't have to happen you pacifically to see it problem. Lot them alimony child support .no right parenting and child support isn't based cost raising a child but the man's highest income . And why don't the homeless buy housing. May sound like stupid question but fact they did. In New Jersey 2 years after they ended life alimony . Show who really is to blame . I know we are all raised to blame for every blame capitalism . But learning many factors . How common saying wife kicked me is yet not factored in all avoid blaming as group seeing actual power dynamics is gender . .. even over a clear care in point men no longer give 70% in income . Like news Jersey we still don't want blame feminism for change .
Alcohol and Drugs are methods of self medicating. Did you ask how many were US Veterans? Why are there many on the west coast? Well Chicago and New York are really cold in the winter. Is there a lack of low income housing?….Yes there is. Don’t malign the homeless…just thank your God that it’s not you.
@@dianeleib1679 not maligning anyone. These are the people living on the street, not in shelters or actively receiving assistance from government programs. The vast majority are teens and young twenties, so no veterans. Clearly many are mentally ill, although determining whether mental illness lead to their drug abuse or vise-versa is a chicken and egg scenario. Certainly the widespread distribution of illegal drugs and growing tolerance for the narcotic trade by local authorities is playing a HUGE roll in the phenomenon. Take away drugs, put people in treatment centers and you will likely see the whole bizarre chapter in American history close forever. Talk to anyone on the streets and I feel certain they will agree with you.
A friend of mine was homeless for a while. His brother's girlfriend threw him out- after he paid his share of the rent. He was broke and couldn't afford a motel room. Living outdoors doesn't make you a criminal. Neither does having a psychiatric illness.
While Houston’s homeless population has declined, in that same eight year period Austin’s has soared because of the exact reasons highlighted here. We’ve become a little San Francisco, with a drug/camping problem to match.
Begs the question though. Has Houston actually done anything to reform the homeless population and make them productive members of society, or have they just moved to other cities like austin or san fran?
@@stevengrant3219 I had that same question and then I asked the question of whether or not it even matters? That’s the thought I’m grappling with currently.
i live in houston... i still see hundreds of homeless in tents under i10 and 45... if the number has supposedly decreased holy hell i can only imagine how many homeless there were 8 years ago lol
I lived in Houston and Austin. Very few homeless in Houston considering the population. Austin has become a shithole. People do not need to be living on the streets. In Austin they have people camping in peoples yards and shitting in their yards. That's not compassion.
@@stevengrant3219 If a homeless person can’t find a city to be homeless, then they could move to the country and camp in the woods and learn how to survive without drugs and help from others. Yeah I’m a dreamer.
It’s the difference between pandering, corruption, and lack of accountability and actually caring about people down on their luck. Just because you say you want to help doesn’t mean anything you do actually helps.
Then you support them . I am tired of working just too be taxed out the rump to “ help the homeless “ and have more of these bums move in my neighborhood park , camp behind the store and use the streets as their toilet .
@@wesbittick4567 It’s not like they’re living on the streets by choice. Some of them may have made poor decisions at one point or another, sure, but that’s to be expected of humans. More than anything else governmental policy (state & federal) is responsible for the crisis.
@@AkioWasRight That choice could very well be one of MANY factors responsible for their situation…. 35% of all homeless men are US Military veterans, yet I don’t think any sane person would say that our troops WANT to be homeless.
@UCcm4zSaf8F5dMy6Pd_DSDtQ It's not a matter of what they want, it's matter of what they'd rather. Most homeless do not want to be on the street, but they'd rather be there to feed drug additions, because there are no rules or people telling to clean up and behave. So, for them, they would rather be on the street.
It boggles my mind how their solution is to make life a living hell for homeless people so they're forced to move to another city and burden somebody else with their filth.... Instead of just giving them homes. 🤷🏾♂️
@@Gstunfisk Some homeless do want drugs more than anything else. In some areas that's 80% of the homeless. In other areas it's 40%. One size does not fit all.
I'm getting a little sick of people that work and provide for themselves being called privileged that word os so over used. If one of these homeless people suddenly got their act together and was able to buy a house would you just look down your nose at them and call them priveleged?
I urge all of you PragerU listeners to look into the scourge known as the "Homeless Industrial Complex". Sadly, this is reason #1 why 'homelessness' is not going away anytime soon.
Here in Vancouver, Canada they are known as poverty pimps. It's in their best interest to maintain homelessness so they can keep the tax dollar tap on.
@@Jeremvy he obviously meant "houses" but made a typo and the "they'd rather hurt the homeless than the politician" argument doesn't work if they're literally saying the politicians are the ones hurting the homeless in liberal cities by keeping them homeless. you could make the argument they their propossed solution doesn't work or something along those lines (you'd have to explain why), but that's not what you're doing here. their solution is basically make them stop being homeless by making them get help, so... is making people stop being homeless racist? are houses racist?
Thats because like the video said homelessness is mostly due to mental illness and drug addiction. The majority of them dont want to live a normal life, they prefer to get free food, and live freely without having to work or follow any rules. To fix the homeless problem we would have to start by fixing the drug and mental illness problem.
@@rogue1537 and we can only do that if its their only option, they don't want to fix it, and therefore wont use anything we give them to fix it, it has to be made the only option. this is what the video is saying, give them tough love, and stop letting them live the way they are.
@@aidenaune7008 yes I agree with the video. I dont agree with dirty corrupt politicians that use the homeless and drug problem as an excuse to get more taxpayer dollars from hardworking Americans which is then used to line their pockets. I disagree with their methods.
I love how they say panhandling is so wrong and most of their links are just online forms of panhandling and he even begs for donations at the end of the video. Priceless irony
When nutrition is lacking, our brain suffers first. The homeless crisis is a reflection of both our “Rx good, vitamin supplements bad” medical system right now, and our bad food.
In my little town, homelessness is a big problem because there are literally no houses to buy or rent. It's been like that for years. And so houses are absolutely packed with large families. You could be clean and have a job and still be homeless, despite all your efforts. It's very disheartening.
When your little town has been the same for years, that is when you leave. You have to be willing to relocate if that's what it takes to be functional. We not only left our stagnant little town we left our STATE rather than be poor. You cannot sit in a mud puddle and blame the mud. We left Michigan for a better life in Oregon and have never regretted the decision.
@@kristinebailey6554 I like to think I'm contributing somewhat to a shitty life and not just running away from it. Besides, I can't just abandon the kids in my family with their deranged moms, one of which forced the kids to wash their hands with hand lotion instead of soap for a month. Now I taught most of them proper hygiene.
put them on a remote island where they can live in perfect harmony and free food from the ocean for life. You don't work, you don't eat. They would all have to learn hunter-gather skills real quick in order to survive. Instead of skating by in life and given a free ride for choosing to be homeless. Becoming homeless can happen to anyone. Staying Homeless is most certainly a choice!
There was a time when these people would have just died off because humans had to work for their survival. Only in the last 100 years we have enabled people to do nothing.
Ancient Rome too had bums, it just wasn't nearly as profitable as in the here and now and hence there were far fewer. The more and better free stuff you give vagrants, the more vagrants you get.
Yea during WWI if you were a vagabond and not drafted and able bodied they’d pick you right off the street and throw you to the army… in Europe at least before later when every able bodied guy was going.
If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you. - Leviticus 25:35
@@joelourenco3935 Bruh the United States is the richest nation on earth, something like house the homeless wouldn't even be 0.1% of their military budget.
@@joelourenco3935 The immense amounts of money going directly into politicians pockets, military budget wasted and untaxed billionaires would be a good place to start, hell or you could just use the vacant homes that already exist that far outnumber homeless people to begin with
I live in San Francisco. Yesterday there was a homeless man in front of my home for an hour, walking the same small circle for an hour. On occasion going off on 5 minute semi-coherent rants. We throw about $20K of taxpayer money per homeless person at the problem, with practically zero results. It's mostly a make work program for city employees.
Just curious. Not trying to be mean, but who is voting in these leaders who think all of this is okay? Because as Houston has shown, it begins at the top. Which means it begins in the voting booth.
I’m not even a thief but I’m so desperate for money when I heard I could steal $900 worth of crap in Cali and risk zero jail time I was literally disappointed I didn’t steal anything while I was there. That sounds like California has a $900 value souvenir program to me. If that policy inspires me to feel that way I can only imagine how it affects actual thieves.
And that's just per offense. People literally go and do that every single day. It's led to places like Walgreens and Target closing at 6pm. And many businesses closing their doors altogether because they couldn't survive anymore. Pharmacies especially. An elderly man Interviewed, said he used to be able to walk downstairs from his apartment and have a short walk to the pharmacy for his medication. Now he needs to walk 5 miles across town to get them. Of course this is happening the most in poor communities, so when the narrative inevitably comes out "black people/POC can't get access to medication or food." This will have been exactly the cause. We know that incentives drive us as well as they do everyone else. It's in our DNA as human beings. We even found this to happen in Dolphins. When researchers trained dolphins to bring ocean trash back to them in exchange for a treat, the dolphins soon began taking a single bit of garbage, and tearing them into pieces to get multiple treats for a single find. This showed us that exploiting systems for the most gain from the least effort is hard wired into us on a deep level.
@@alexanderrahl7034 You're so close Please, just try to extrapolate that idea just a tiny bit further. If people are driven by incentives, do you think there's a great solution to desperate people stealing medications they can't afford? Just think about it on your own for a bit, you're inches away
@@criticalthinker3262 Except many/most are not stealing medication they can't afforded. They are stealing medications they don't need because it can be sold the easiest and with the highest markup to others and is easy to get in large numbers with little bag/storage space (you can dump a shit ton of full pill bottles into a backpack or trash bag) when taken thus making them the most profit. A bottle of pills can be sold for anything from $20 a bottle to $200 a bottle depending of what is in them and that does not even have to be a full bottle one bottle of oxy with only 10 ills can get you $60 to $100 depending on local street value at the time and if they bottle originally had 30 that is $120 to $300 on the streets but only worth $40 or $60 in the store meaning they are making a 7 to 8 x profit and it would take stealing average 18 bottles to get into trouble legally yet can net them minimum $3,240 and that is just from 18 bottles of oxy. if they mix and match say only 5 bottles of oxy and a bunch of other things thus not risking going over $900 or depleting the pharmacies supply at once and having to wait a week or so for them to restock and did it daily for a week they could make $20,000 to 25,000 in a week and not have to worry about being arrested. And on top of that it is stealing the meds from those that need them. They are no better them pharmaceutical companies that make a needed pill for $1 and sell it for $1,000.
I wonder if it's illegal to set up a makeshift store outside the shop... Chuck a sign saying "find anything you like inside and we'll beat it by ten percent" Then people go in, tell you what they like and you send one of your goons in to grab it from "out the back" Here you go mate, that'll be $87 Would you like a receipt?
I just did job interview in Durham, NC, HORRIBLE with homeless everywhere, I asked a local and they said that once they had more homeless resources, the # of homeless people skyrocketed. Support attracts homeless... We need to reopen the asylum's for the true mentally ill, for the others, a basic warehouse with bunkbeds and a cafeteria to get them off the street, with on site police for safety and a career counselor to help people who actually want help, for those that WANT to work, give them clothes and training and if they get a job, help them get an apartment so they can succeed, but if the people are lazy losers, just let them live in the warehouse, but do NOT let them beg at street corners or at stores, begging and homeless NEEDS to be illegal.
History lesson during the 1960s some people was hosed with fire trucks. The water what tear off their skin. Imagine protesting in a fire truck comes and shoot pressurized water at you because your margin for equal rights. I understand their side of the argument
One little thing. If homelessness is growing in the West Coast and in Housten homelessness is decreasing, instead of good policy, isn’t it transferring the issue from Houston to California? I would like to believe that Houston’s policy is the reason for its success, but that isn’t properly adressed. How many succeed to recover from mental health issues? And long term?
You’re probably right, and yet, if L.A. adopted Houston’s policies of providing houses for them yet also forbidding criminal behavior they might have similar outcomes. If you want to increase anything be sure to government subsidize it.
I just commented the same thing, you said it more elegantly though. That is definitely the vibe I got from this video. Also, there is zero data mentioned about any of these policies.
Unfortunately, it's probably not unlike deterring criminals by making one's house harder to break into than your neighbors. They're gonna do it somewhere, you're just making sure it's a lot more difficult for them to do it to you...
I see your point, but the video's point is that we are talking about people who make personal decisions, not inanimate objects that "transferred" or shipped off somewhere. The majority of those homeless still are native to places like LA, San Fran, Seattle and increasingly so because they grow up in an environment that encourages this as an option. Houston, simply, does not. We also have an increasing problem with children who live at home well into their thirties. I don't allow it with my children but other homes foster that idea...yet I have not transferred that problem to those other homes.
I think the point of the video is that people have always responded to incentives and sympathy when they can find it. Most will also modify their behavior if they see their options as being limited or decreased or If they encounter more discomfort in their options. Its why we leave home, or choose not to commit crimes if the consequences aren't worth the risk. Human nature 101. If we overall take a different response to the homeless the homeless to a greater extent will diminish. It will never go away though...
after playing dishonored I think we shouldn't be asking "what should we do about the homeless" because that caused a plague last time someone asked that
The video about how atheism makes one inherently less moral made me laugh, the videos denying scientific understandings of topics like climate made me angry, and the videos about lgbt people just made me sad, i thought the video about the decline of the white race in europe was a new low but this might be the first time a pragerU video has left me completely numb, i am speechless. I understand this channel is extremely well-funded and everyone involved is very fairly compensated, but i can not understand how they sleep at night
It is ridiculous how they spread this propaganda. The obvious solution to homelessness is public housing but I think secretly they would rather just kill all the poor people.
Lmao we found ourselves a saint here. I'm willing to bet my last penny that if virtue signalling and blame game was a sport, people like you would be the champions.
"Reduced their homlessness numbers." I'd like to see evidence of Houston actually helping these people as opposed to just running the out to Seattle or where ever. Making the homeless leave your city isn't the same thing as helping them not be homeless.
Well you can only control your city/state. The US political system is a comples and bureaucratic one. What can the mayor of a city do to another city? He can only control his city.
I don’t know where this guy is getting his information about Houston, but we still have a very serious camping in transient problem. I live here, and I see no evidence that we are doing significantly better than California.
@@HQSCJIPZ 'Bout 6 months ago. Definitely worse than Houston. I just think it's bizarre for PragerU to frame Houston as a model for any public policy. We're broke, we're broken, and we're overrun with some of the worst elements of modern civilization.
@@beldiman5870 By that logic, reality itself is irrelevant. What really counts is what you are told to believe. "Trust the experts." (assuming you weren't being sarcastic)
Thank you for talking about this. We do need to help, but there is real help, and there is continuing the cycle. Someone I love became homeless. Said it was cool to be homeless on the beach. He was such a good man. So loved. So smart! And wasted his good brain and tender heart by choosing being allowed to smoke over a clean bed here in flyover country. I don't even know how to leave flowers at his grave because his also addicted daughter lost his ashes at an airport. Sometimes I find a dark humor in that . But mostly, I just miss my Uncle. Every day.
Such a well put-together video, good work. Hey anyway, everyone else who liked this one should really go check out the sources they're citing, it's uhh... very illuminating.
I’ve been saying it since day one as a Los Angeles resident….carrot or stick. If You don’t have the stick, you will have exactly what we are all living through right now.
This was a very informative look at it. I always questioned why people did not take advantage government services to get themselves the help they need. Your answer is depressing as I can't imagine anyone NOT wanting to improve their lives.
To them, living according to their moment by moment impulses IS improved. They don't want to put in any effort for delayed gratification whatsoever... typical of any addiction.
@@Vr0nt it's all the homeless living so visibly right in the public's face, being an eyesore and trashing public property. There are plenty of homeless living with friends and relatives, or taking advantage of the numerous services to try and get back on their feet.
@@cherylmockotr 45% of homeless people have some kind of mental illness. 20-25% of that group have a severe mental illness. Thats almost half don’t lump all of them together some of these people need and deserve help.
@@hegaliandialectics4289 yes, they all deserve help, and letting them live on the streets isn't giving it to them. There is plenty of help available for those mentally capable and who want it... that's the carrot. The rest need a stick in the form of laws against being under the influence in public, living on public property, theft, defacing public property, and public harrassment. Reopen mental institutions and add mandatory drug rehab... those who can will start making better choices, and those who can't will get the care they need. Enough with the magical thinking of the bleeding heart liberals of the 60s and 70s... they weren't grounded in reality, either.
A friend of mine who works with me in an east coast fire department recently moved to Seattle to work for the Fire Department there. He was there less than a year and came back East because he said that all the Seattle Fire Department did was deal with homeless vagrant problems all day long - and that it was a living nightmare.
Compassion, an honorable intent, can be overdone. The involuntary homeless SHOULD get assistance. However, the voluntary homeless want an "easy life" with no obligations.
Not always. There’s sometimes runaway minors who need a better life or 18 year olds who got kicked out. Yes, some homeless people don’t want to work or get a house but some really do and can’t get those benefits.
How many at teens are taught money skills... budgeting, expense sheets, income projection, credit rating? Now consider "at risk teens" who eventually turn 18, equipped with less skills, support , or mentorship going into a tight housing market? Making immature decisions when facing drug, alcohol use, pregnancy, criminal activities --- and now We as a Society are surprised they're homeless? What the fck did you expect from this receipt ? It may not be Our fault, but it's now Our responsibility , and I'm not gonna punish someone who never even learned the rules for life, let alone trained for it, when they can't play at a pro level. That's not a solution. That's elitism justifying it's own ugly attitude.
When i see all the EMPTY hospitals, hotels, warehouses, motels, and other such structures with plumbing and wiring in them, not to mention abandoned shopping centers, I wonder what is stopping local governments from making homes for the homeless out of those buildings!!!
"Los Angeles has effectively decriminalized public camping and drug consumption while Culver City enforces the law. Los Angeles has effectively decriminalized public camping and drug consumption while Culver City enforces the law." Bruh your own source literally states the opposites. State Law is that homeless people cannot be arrested for sleeping on government property if they have no other option. Los Angeles complies with the law, Culver City meanwhile was forcing homeless people to go to LA.
There are plenty of help to get off the streets for the homeless. These organizations come directly to them. If they are in the street for any appreciable amount of time it’s their choice.
@@josheternal If they were out of sight and didn't steal/rob/assault and deficate all over the place then I'm sure everyone would just leave them alone wouldn't they?
In Tucson Az, the homeless epidemic is quickly picking up. My low income family suffers as a result. The city moves them into our neighborhoods, has purchased 4 or 5 apartment buildings with our tax dollars to provide them with "temporary" housing, they do not enforce the law with them, but do with my non homeless neighbors - Essentially we have become Los Angeles light, and all to appease the woke, entitled left who are seeking to remake a good place by using everyone else's money and resources. Certainly homeless are people, but, for the super poor/non homeless who want to improve, they are a road block and their increasing existence is making our lives more dangerous. 6 years ago in our neighborhood we had no dangerous crimes, now we have drive bys weekly, needles on the street and sidewalk and I cannot let my daughter and son play outside for fear of these roaming crazies who honestly remind us of feral 28 days later type zombies with their hyper aggressive life approaches I'm tired of the homeless, and while well off people may be wanting to get points from the big guy/gal above by talking and using others money, we poor, suffer because of these people
The people who can most clearly and honestly speak about helping the homeless are the pastors, ministers and leaders of other Churches. This is because they are mainly the only ones who have been doing it, and not for decades, it has always been the case. If you want to know, ask them.
Dude your so right!!! I'm tired of the left and right saying they "help the poor" I'm on the right, but your the one who's correct. Ask the peeps with the most experience, ya know?
I mean it helps when churches and pastors have the financial freedom to help the homeless because they pay hardly anything (usually nothing) in taxes and have housing, power, water, network resources, and a universal basic income provided for them. It's almost as if people do better when the basic necessities needed to not die are easy to come by and acquire.
At first I couldn’t believe you to be serious, but I think your world view is so far from mine you might really be serious. Allowing drug addicted folks to commit petty theft in order to feed a drug habbit while they literally live in the streets is helping nobody. Not only is it making everyone around them live a worse life, it is no way to live period. Literally anything to get them out of that cycle will help them. If you want to call the solutions presented persecution, you may want to think about that a little harder.
Another issue facing the California model is that many of the "outreach" organizations make substantial sums of money from state and city grants. There is no accountability for the job they do, which in turns demoralizes the transients who do want to get help. They see these organizations as not wanting to really help them get off their feet and into a better life.
This is actually so true. In Pennsylvania a lot of nonprofits are supposed to help homeless people are very very religious. And basically if you don't believe in God they're not going to help you. And even if you do believe in God they still most likely won't help you so they can keep cash in their own pockets. The one time I went in before this pandemic they literally had $20 bills on these Plastic Trees on their desks. It was like they have so much money that they use it as a decoration. I think there should be more oversight into these organizations.
PragerU’s argument here is unsatisfactory. With the point on Houston’s policies- did homelessness fall because the homeless people got off the streets, or did it help because they left the city? If the homeless people were helped, was it by the severe restrictions or by the programs to help them find housing?
Hey, I read the Los Angela’s Times article you cited as a source and it really says the opposite of what you claimed? Also if something has been decriminalised in 1 area why should a law in a different area still be enforced?
I am homeless… I live in a van… but I am employed, and I park close to my job and my storage unit. I don’t do drugs- I don’t drink- and if you were to ask those I work with or who know me I am perhaps the most competent and intelligent person, the nicest person you’ll ever meet! Except for my political views, which I try to be careful regarding what I say: Why am I homeless??? I had begun a study, of which the homeless issue became an aspect of my study and how to deal with it… From my studies and research I had encountered- spirituality- politics- economics- philosophy- psychology- and the errors related to all these subjects. Furthermore, I have discovered the faults of intellectualism and how it affects the psychology of the system. My study addresses what could be done to creating a better balance in society as a whole.
“Hoses are racist!” ??? Which races are offended by hoses? I may have missed this one. My wife waters are plants all the time using a hose. I have washed so many things using a hose…
The thing with an overly simplified (most likely cherry-picked if actually a direct quote and not instead just overly simplified paraphrasing) statement such as "hoses are racist" is that it doesnt tell you what the statement actually means and the understanding of language that the statement is built upon. Since the idea that "hoses are racist" doesnt make sense in the "common" understanding of the terms used (since hoses are inanimate objects and cant itself discriminate or attack a race) we must ask ourselves, is this what the speaker understood about the language when they said it? Seemingly not, else we would just have to assume that the person is an idiot which isnt very charitable. Lets try and be a bit charitable here and see what "hoses are racist" might truly mean in the context of the situation. In the video the phrase was brought up in connection to the idea of washing sidewalks that have been dirtied by the homeless right? Well, if we were to take the knowledge gained from this video that the homeless live on the streets (and whether they should be removed via violence or let to live), it might be that the context of the quote could be about whether or not homeless should be evicted from their camps to clean the areas (example: wash the areas down with hoses) and what the impacts of this decision could be. If we are to be charitable enough to take this understanding of this overly simplified quote ("hoses are racist") we now know WHY hoses are being talked about negatively here. But we still dont know the "racist" part of the hoses yet, so lets look into that. This part is thankfully much much easier to understand. The homeless population of the USA is disproportionately (aka, represented in the statistics more so then they "should" based off of the overall population percentages) made up of racialized groups (black, Indian, Mexican, and etc). As such, to do aggressive homeless removal programs you are enacting violence/force against racialized groups more often then not and therefore are being racist towards them in the policies. That is not to say obviously that it would be fine if the violence was being proportionally split amongst the population, it just means that due to the nature of the situation, the policies will end up being racist towards minorities. Now after going through the, presumed, logic behind the statement "hoses are racist" it doesnt seem too absurd afterall no? That is not to say you must agree with the conclusion that "hoses are racist (in this specific context)", although I personally think you should agree, but it is at least understandable no?
@@BrendanBanz I appreciate you taking the time to explain that for people who actually have a hard time imagining how such a statement could ever form. The video is basically taking a protest slogan that sounds absurd on its face to represent opposition that seems like the opposite of "common sense" policies. I don't know if this would qualify as a strawman fallacy, but it doesn't explore the other side as thoroughly as it could...but that's also something that's understandable in a concise video meant to forward one argument. However, the protest slogan of "hoses are racist" that seems absurd on its face, when more carefully explored as you have, reveals an argument behind it that many also find absurd to its core: the idea that something is racist simply by disproportionately affecting members of one race more than those of other races. And when that idea is used to vilify a commonplace tool used to fulfill the _very_ understandable interest of keeping the neighborhood clean, it looks more than absurd: it seems like an insidious tactic.
The "why" is simple. There's billions of Federal aid dollars to be syphoned in these liberal cities, and millions of votes to be harvested from the homeless. Keep the rich comfortable and the poor compliant and you'll never have to work outside of politics.
Oh, yes, the homeless are the ones voting multiple times and stealing elections from Deserving Donnies. Go back to those contortionist insertion moves, jake.
last time I went to vote in San Francisco the lines of homeless people voting was crazy bro. The same people who give so little shits they literally live on the streets are voting en masse
Because "when the state does something" it's communism. ...Except when they enforce christian values, ... Or when they give away billions in tax dollars for the military,
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”
keep trucking; God Bless you
You're one in a million
Imagine if people kept giving you free money and let you rob people. Tough love is important.
Hell yeah!
I went homeless after the losing EVERYTHING in the '07 Finical Meltdown. Houses, cars, professional licenses, marriage +clothes. The rest was stolen from me: ID, phone, cash, and even my shoes .
4yrs on the streets....
But for the Grace of God, and some Christians who housed me, provided a new cell phone, clothes, shelter, food, shower, medical, a car, job contacts, good references and eventually co-signed a lease (+helping me with the security deposit) I never would of recovered .They never judged me, and never forced me to do anything. They simply helped me back on my feet and showed me where the ladder was [ thank you Jacob]. I was very fortunate for that sponsorship ... most homeless aren't as lucky.
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.
Oh no. You're talking logic. We don't do that here on this channel.
@@joelfernandes23 What logic? All I read was anecdote and no mention of the poor decisions (relational, occupational, financial) that leave some without a place to live. Ownership of our unwise lifestyle choices is the place to start. Then there's hope.
@@mchristr lmao shut up
@@mchristr Shut up miles
@@mchristr Unwise lifestyle choices like getting a huge medical bill you are unable to pay because of the American healthcare system? Or the unwise decision to join the military, getting a serious mental condition because of the awful shit you see everyday? Maybe loose a leg at the same time. Then the government doesn't care about you so you have to live the rest of your life in poverty. Those poor life choices?
Dude really said, “wanna solve homelessness, just make it illegal to be homeless”
It is already illegal to be homeless in several counties. This is not helping to ease or erase homelessness. :/
@@SakuraMoonflower It isn't like homeless people are homeless because they want to be, that is absurd, so making it illegal just fills our prisons ultimately weighing on the tax payer even more.
@@equinox2584 some homeless people are homeless because they'd prefer to buy a couple rocks then pay their bills. There was a guy who made small houses for homeless people but the shitty government took them away.
@@equinox2584 you're right.. it isn't because they WANT TO BE . Its because of the drugs and mental illness.. The ones who were misplaced because of job loss ect.. they will eventually get back on their feet.. unless they started messing with drugs... and there are in fact a few.... that actually prefer it over the standard life... but that's a very few.... we have a couple homeless camps here.... I'd say about 75% are addicts . The others have mental problems... It's just the way it is.... and anything else is just denial.... not fact... they have tried to house a bunch of them but it only help a couple of them....
@@jerryf3375
Bro, everyone hates everything you type everywhere you type it. Use sentences. An ellipses is not a period. Stop. This thing . . . this, that you're doing right here . . . everyone hates it . . . it makes everyone want to kill you when they see it . . . has your house been SWAT'd a lot of times . . . because honestly this makes me hope it has . . . stop doing this . . . type like a normal human being . . . you absolute freak . . .
this is more like “how to get homeless people to go somewhere else” rather than “how to fix homelessness”
agreed
@LR dammit you stole my comment
Well, then all cities should employ those strategies so that they don't become that somewhere else.
@@guilhermemartins2606 Or we could, you know, help homeless people?
@@guilhermemartins2606 If all cities did it, then every city becomes an equally crap place for homeless people to live. Ergo, it stops working, because there's no incentive for them to move. All it does is kick the can down the road - you deal with the causes of homelessness, or you hurt homeless people to get them to go away, until they eventually come back because the causes of homelessness are still present.
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!
Bingo!
Did a homeless outreach for 10 years. Still involved a little but less now days. Heard much the same things as you did from quite a number of them. Their visible and surface issues are just symptoms of their deeper and more serious internal spiritual, mental and emotional issues.
A great many either don't want or can't receive the help they need in those areas. That said meeting the physical needs ( and we strived to cover all the bases where we could ) is at best a temporal help and at best like covering cancer with a bandaid. Where we were successful and saw people rise up and be good productive and positive citizens whose lives reflected the goodness that is only possible from inner spiritual renewal and healings, was with those few who saw their inner needs for a savior and God worked miracles in their lives.
@UCprEauCTCcruscFq8ppBIbQ - What you are forgetting, Jennifer, is that the homeless are not "just leaving *_other_* people alone." They are committing crimes against others in multiple ways. If you are truly for "just leaving them alone," how about we gather them all up - including your sorry asteroid - and deposit them on an unused island? *_That_* would be "leaving them alone" in the true sense of the word "alone," and we would also appreciate hearing a lot less from you.
Your government stole my children and enslaved me. Gfy
Ive lived homeless for 3 years, people dont want to be chewed up and spit out by the system. Participating in the system as it is now is giving up freedom and gaining very few things. For poor people, the system can be worse then being homeless living day by day. Thats the brutal fact.
"What Do We Do About the Homeless?"
We give them a key to all politician's homes and vacation properties.
Oh I like that! Put it on their doorstep
Love it!
do homeless people choose to be homeless
@@bobnight6261 90% do.
@@chrisminblkdiamond can i get a source please, thanks
"What to do about homelessness? Make it illegal."
Where will they go?
If we're smart, in quality public housing which we should build
No, no, this is a solution from the Patrick Star school of thought.
You take all the homeless people, and PUSH THEM SOMEWHERE ELSE!
Back home?
@@SibylVane-w9q Yeah, the homeless should just buy homes.
@@dokjastopsimp2370 Good luck trying to convince politicians to do stuff for the public when "the public should just pull themselves up by the bootstrap" :|
Fun fact: In America, the land of opportunity, there are more empty homes than homeless people
On brand
Thats because they werent able to grab that opportunity whether they couldnt just do it or something else blocked them from grabbing it. In America right now its just the rich exploiting the real Americans, sad to see my country like this
we should just give homeless people free houses, this makes sense to me .
@@JDG-hq8gy That's not how anything works
@@Scroolewse Explain
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?
Yeah
Yup
@Lelouch the Douche how dare they??
Last I read about it they were fighting over $800K a unit apartments that they want to build while rejecting ready to go housing ideas that cost far less.
@Lelouch the Douche Been saying this for YEARS
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.
I can support this. I have friends who are reaching their 40s who still lives their lives like they are in high school.
Those people ARE mentally ill.
Have had a similar experience. When I was 18, my mom had to attend a 'interview skills' seminar as part of her benefit program, or they would cut her benefits. I went along with her because I was looking for my first job and had an interview next week. Almost all the people at that seminar did not care about what was being taught and were only there so their benefit doesn't get cancelled. One guy kept disrupting the class like a child, and half the class kept telling him to stfu cause they wanna go home. Not everyone struggling is like that, but in my country (New Zealand) the support is in place to help you. Those who are in need for a long time simply have no desire to improve.
Best of luck, great job getting out of "the life." Glad to see things are going well.
"(thinking) it's fun to drink and do drugs while living at a shelter or tent city." - I believe that is, actually, mental illness. Mental illness doesn't have to be isolated to split-personalities or someone believing that the toaster is talking to them. Depression can happen to a 'normal' person, and ruin their life.
Decreased in Houston just means they moved somewhere else. Maybe instead of banning camping, fix the problem.
They either moved elsewhere or ended up in jail/prison.
@@TheBrokensaintvxvx or they moved to the housing that the mayor built
@@javaplum8364 Yeah Prager U says it's because they were tough on the law but actually because of democratic rule Huston has created large-scale housing projects that actually help homeless people. They either got helped or moved to LA, this video is very misrepresentative of the data so thank you once again Prager U for making more right-wing propaganda.
This problem is not fixable. You can't force someone to turn their life around
@@fatherleo4603 It is fixable, legalize all drugs, add free public rehab, free public housing, and free public food, water, and electricity. This will level the field to the point where poverty as a whole is a nonissue.
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.
He didn't say it was gone just that it was reduced.
@@mikeyKnows_ I can't talk about other places but the camps in houston are a fairly recent phenomenon. 5 years ago you would be hard pressed to find any camps here. Now we've always homeless people but the camps are a fairly new thing. Now if you're saying we have less camps then we would have other wise. I would say maybe, but we don't have an alternate world where houston had LA, polices to compare it will. From my perspective the homeless issue in houston has only gotten worst.
Wake up! In the modern society Reality on the street is irrelevant. What really counts is the academic study made by a famous scientist, all so well presented in this video
@@beldiman5870 the person in the video isn't a scientist
@@lenraids7565 He is presented as a Senior Fellow at a research institute. Does this qualify him as a scientist or am I wrong?
I like how they emphasized “democrat” for mayor of Houston. This shows common sense and getting along makes progress.
He is the exception that proves the rule.
@@john90430 no he isn't. A major point among progressives for decades has been building affordable housing and just giving homeless people homes, something the Houston mayor did here. The policies PragerU are holding up as a beacon of pragmatism aren't new - many states with homelessness problems have done the same things - and they don't work very well. Turns out just criminalising homelessness without a way to house them just makes things impossible for homeless people. Giving people the homes they need, and by proxy a path into the job market, has been effective everywhere tried, and it's a starkly progressive idea
@@Noctem_pasa "Progressives"? Please. Enablers is more like it.
"Giving people the homes they need, and by proxy a path into the job market..."?
WHAT job market? People graduating college can't even find jobs with all the mass invasion of illegal (and legal) immigrants sucking up all the available jobs, not to mention competing for the programs that would help the homeless in the first place. Oh, I guess we can just expand all those programs infinitely since government just spends and spends and spends all the debt money they get from the Federal Reserve to the tune of tens of trillions...
Not until we bring back manufacturing from abroad (China) will there be any jobs for recovering drug addicts and the mentally ill (after some treatment so they're employable).
Giving away homes isn't the answer.
@@john90430 I mean let them into the job market because having a mail in address is more or less a necessity when getting a job. Also immigrants aren't to blame for stealing jobs, that's a nativist myth literally 200 years old
@@Noctem_pasa Spoken like a true Leftist.
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.
Thank you.
Yeap.
Thank you for your honesty
You don't see the bums causing problems on the east side of Lake Washington in Bellevue. Why? Because they don't put up with it and enforce the law there.
@Cats of Sherman: Bravo! When you work directly with the homeless as I have as a pastor, you realize that Liberals throwing tax-payer's money at the problem and de-criminalization only destroys lives and communities. The White Liberal often has the luxury of living in a gated, posh community with armed security controlling any intruders. The middle and working classes have to deal with the crime, faeces, and ugliness. In reality, the White Liberal is heartless, mean-spirited, and engaged in moral evil.
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)
And what if they did indeed migrate from Houston to the West Coast? Does it make Houston's policy any less good? Does it make the west coast's policy any less bad? If we criminalize encampment everywhere, the homeless will have no choice but to take on services to make their lives better.
@@tonyvu7246 If they did indeed move from Houston to less criminalized cities then that would therefore imply that the homeless solutions done by Houston (ie making them, ya know, not homeless) would have failed and instead the homeless migrated to somewhere where they wont be thrown in jail for being addicted to various drugs or too poor to have housing.
It was a very valid and important question @Classy Whale
@@BrendanBanz thanks Brendan!
@@BrendanBanz I get what you mean and was wondering about the same dynamic of the homeless simply leaving. I'm sure the speaker knows about this question and wish the video had addressed it more clearly. However, I think part of what the video is saying is that so long as you feed the homeless population's popular motivations and don't provide incentives or disincentives to seek a different lifestyle, their continued presence is ensured, largely as a reflection of their rational decisions for self-interest. Furthermore, the video points out how local government can do something about this, and the fact that the homeless migrate to more permissive environments is, I think, supposed to suggest that each city should try to do something for itself, but as long as there are other cities who remain more permissive, those other cities are effectively asking for a growing homelessness problem. By extension, I think the suggestion is that if all cities enforced "tough love" policies, homelessness would significantly decrease nationwide.
@@CornyBum
You lightly touched on something that is very important when considering Prager U but this isnt the time to really discuss it so I will instead just recommend thinking about *why* perhaps Prager U didnt fully explore this very important aspect to the Houston policies when discussing them. As well, perhaps explore if this isnt the first time (in this video or otherwise) that Prager U seemingly withholds the substantive arguments/evidence of the positions they are critiquing or the criticisms of things they are praising.
On to the primary topic though:
> so long as you feed the homeless population's popular motivations and don't provide incentives or disincentives to seek a different lifestyle, their continued presence is ensured, largely as a reflection of their rational decisions for self-interest.
There is one very important part though that is being skipped here, there is a constant list of incentives and disincentives that affect the homeless simply due to the nature of being homeless (and the subsequent or correlated mental/physical health problems). Firstly, any sane person knows that being homeless sucks, you are poor, starving, and generally live in unsafe and unhealthy conditions. These alone provide multiple incentives (basically the incentives to have a "normal" and safe/healthy life) as well as the multiple disincentives (to not have to deal with these life threatening problems. Being able to constantly sleep with a roof over your head and in a bed, not being constantly harassed or assaulted by police/random people, and knowing you will have 3 square meals a day at least are enough incentives for any sane person to do what they can to not be homeless. This demonstrates what the vast majority of the problem is: we are not dealing with sane or healthy people. The majority of homeless people are ridden with mental health problems or drug addiction problems and the rest are generally people who lost their jobs or are otherwise too poor to be able to not be homeless.
How is it then, that forcing people out of the relative safety of a tent city or away from the marginal comfort of an overpass is actually helping these people? Its simply making their lives worse than it already is. There life is already terrible and if they cant recognize that then there are mental health problems that are stopping them from doing so and wont be fixed by throwing them in jail.
Rather than repeat myself to address the flawed argument of all cities being tough love I will leave it to you to re-read what I have just wrote and explore how that could apply to if no cities were running drug rehabilitation services, street mental health services, or otherwise, and instead were just "keeping the streets clean" by kicking the homeless down to the next alley to hide in or bench to sleep on/under. The actual problems that cause homelessness are not being addressed by "tough love" and instead we are just hoping that people can will themselves out of drug addiction and bipolar disorder.
“At first glance this seems to make no sense” that’s because it doesn’t.
“That’s because they operate under a different set of incentives than the average citizen”
@@dcmurphy5157 Of course they do.
They are absolutely dirt poor.
USA, the country that punishes sick people with brutal poverty and persecution.
Land of the free my ass.
@@MegaBanne
So your solution to homelessness is to let homeless people live in the streets and let their addictions, crime, or the elements kill them?
How is that a solution or even moral?
It seems to me that you’re more intent on attacking American rather than actually fixing the homeless crisis.
@@0xredrumx078 well criminalizing homelessness isn't a solution. I'd say a simple solution is getting the homeless into programs to actually help their mental illnesses and addictions. That and just giving them homes, there's more empty homes than there are homeless people.
@@estlin2001
“Well criminalizing homelessness isn't a solution”
The homeless statistics speak for themselves.
In Huston TX, 2500 homeless people got moved into shelters, 500 chronically homeless individuals will be placed in permanent supportive housing within six months.
And the Houston mayor’s plan has reduced overall homelessness by 57 percent over the last five years.
So Huston must be doing something right.
( www.houstontx.gov/mayor/press/strategies-for-homeless-panhandlers.html ).
LA "mayor" called them unhoused!, she also made a grand announcement in a speech announcing that the unhoused are welcome in Los Angeles.
Good, rural California will send you our homeless methhead burglars.
Yea California is a lot different from Texas because Texas has a state law where the homeless can't camp in one area
@@jamesballiew6269 there are lots of homeless camping in Austin
@@kingsfan10000000 I know that's why governor Greg Abbott decided to install a state law that says no camping in a certain area. I also know that Austin is on the rise to a high crime rate and I do know that Dallas and Fort worth do have high crime rates, but at least they're trying to decrease it.
Good! She can have ours, since all her stable, tax-paying residents are moving here. Time to start that free one-way bus ticket program again.
Theres a fine line between empathy and enabling.
And where is that line?
@@maestrulgamer9695 empathy is offering help and they take that help and get better.
Enabling is offering help over and over again, when they have proven they have no intention of getting better.
Agreed but there aren’t enough systems in place and money invested to help the homeless and mentally ill. Empathy needs to be shown first in order for it even to become enabling.
@@JessieJiShe I live in a california city where there are more programs than anywhere else... and we have the most homeless per capita.
They just dont want to follow the guidelines for the help... like staying sober, taking their prescribed meds or looking for work in the meantime.
So they just take and take and never get better.
So programs only work if ppl work them.
@@CrankyBarista
Not really.
Follow rules.
No exception.
Enabling is not helping when it comes to this problem.
Substance abuse/addiction and mental illness are *definite* factors in the homeless problem. But let's not forget harsh business cycles and tight rental markets. It's quite possible that we might not dodge the bullet this time when we have another economic downturn and have another 1930's-type Great Depression.
What you neglect to mention that most homeless substance abuse begins AFTER they lose their homes. So they aren't losing their homes, jobs, families, etc. because they're addicts; they become addicted to cope with having lost those things first, and having nothing to help them in the way of social services or even basic street-level human empathy.
So poor choices lead to homelessness ? The answer is yes …
@@chawnkaw3637 Yet that answer is also incomplete. Poor choices lead to homelessness, and so does exploitation and price-gouging at the hands of employers, insurance companies, landlords. So does economic recession, a housing bubble, predatory mortgaging and loans designed to hurl people into debt. So does simple bad luck, like a business burning down or a car being stolen.
Yes you are right lots of factors. From what is see here where I live from experience even knowing some of the homeless personally are people I went to HS with and their choices of using drugs like meth and Heroin knowing all too well the effects still made the decision to use thus leading to where they are today…. But yes some have become that way because of all you listed also. Point is if you want to get out if you truly want to get out you don’t make it a forever lifestyle.
@@chawnkaw3637 Yes, poor choices are most often a predominant factor in such a life crisis -- but lack of empathy for others/narcissism is a Cluster B red flag.
Stop paying the people "fixing" the problem 300k / year, that's a good place to start.
If every dollar spent on fixing homelessness went straight to them, each homeless person would have $860,000 right now. Gov't corruption is out of control!
@@duxdawg that sounds great, if it was accurate.
We get it, you 'hate' politicians. No wonder PragerU vids always have such high like ratios, you guys are more interested in virtue signalling than actually considering problems.
@@VossCubs it varies based on the city. But there was an audit done in Boise where the city spent far more per homeless person on sweeps and imprisonment than it would have cost to simply rent them a decent 3 bedroom apartment.
@@leonodonoghueburke4276 well maybe because they're right, maybe instead of giving the homeless money directly do 1 of 2 things:
build more housing. specifically apartments, why? because they're space efficient. that way you won't need to invest more into land.
or 2, invest more into therapy and curing addictions. this will permanently remove the factor of drug abuse.
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.
Throwing money makes it worse
Never money, always food, and always person to person only
That does not solve the issue but instead removes it from your back yard. They need to be arrested and put in government control. They are essentially wards of the state anyways.
@Prophet Muhammad Consumes Pig Seamen Compassion is worth nothing. You can have all the compassion on the planet and still allow people to waste away on park bench.
You're very short sighted. What do you think a hungry man does when after begging for "food" is left without?
He doesn't have transportation, so he's not leaving your neighborhood. and while you're sleeping, he's still awake, still hungry, stalking your streets...
It's not cost effective to roll up your window at a beggar , only to find it smashed out the next morning.
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".
Or, as we say here in the West, God helps those who help themselves.
@@markmunroe-hz8rf indeed
Except he does'nt exactly need Rice to build up an income.
Teach people all you want, but if you don't give them the means to carry their knowledge out, they cannot rise.
@@karatekid3233 if you give them knowledge, they’ll figure out how to make it work.
@@martymcfly1833
Thats the exact Problem of thinking. It does'nt Work like that, these people cannot plan longterm, because otherwise they die or lose everything in short term. Also they don't have many oppertunities to figure something out.
Additionaly homeless opperate in a different mindset, because of constant stress, they only need to survive. This is largely independent of their IQ and knowledge. Once you give them a stable environment and an oppertunity, they will take it.
Very few like living like that.
lmao "The homeless question" sounds like some other political group from history
Exactly. These are weird bored people with nothing better to do than figure out how to control people they feel theyre better than. Homeless means homeless. Criminal means criminal. Pick which youre talking about first, then humbly help a homeless person if youd like, do something to stop the crime if youd like. Or else go back to your own home, appreciate it, and mind your damn business. I cant imagine paying property taxes in california then preoccupying myself with someone elses camping tent.
Lol, every PragerU stance is remarkably similar to that other political movement.
It’s almost like Prager is fascist…
it is.
The approach is similar too.
Guess that black guy from Houston is also a dictator facist, or did you not watch the video all the way through and just said what the propaganda has told you?
I’m a recovered addict and if I wouldn’t have had consequences for the things I did to feed my addiction I may have never gotten help. It is not compassionate to enable such a dark and destructive lifestyle.
What if instead of being sent to jail you got sent to rehab instead? And what if after you got out of rehab instead of being on street you got an apartment? Do you think this would have helped more than being sent to jail?
Bro like, 80,000 people face the consequences of opioid addiction every year in the United States and die because of it. Do you think that actual treatment would be a better solution to that problem? Or do you think letting people ride out addiction and withdrawal without help is better
What if you got sent to prison? You think you would have gotten clean?
@@bootyguru8727 I’d like to think so, yea.
@@shmuelhoit7118 I got help..went to detox then rehab, then did outpatient. I don’t think drug users should be sent to jail right away for simple drug possession. However for some that’s the only thing that saves their life.
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.
@Abraham Lincoln I agree. No more foreign bases, and no more foreign aid. Let the rest of the world solve their own problems. As far as healthcare costs go get government out of it and allow the market to compete across state lines.
Thinking the govt can SPEND they're way out of a homeless problem is just as naive as the people trying to give them free housing and free money.
Why do you spend money on those why willingly dont want to work or earn a living... I understand getting those who need time in rehab and mental health facilities, but those who just check themselves out of rehab and go back on drugs repeatedly should be given a 2 strikes rule after that its jail time.
@@seppijessup9563 Foreign bases service a strategic purpose incase of a war they serve as a F.O.B.
@@seppijessup9563 foreign bases are strategical. You can’t just have bases in the states and it’s territories.
"You're homeless? Why don't you just buy a house?" - some meme I saw in the internet
Because it's goes into alimony and child support and if they don't take time off to spend with kid . Another answer to your question why don't the homeless just by houses ..they did. 2 years after New Jersey ended life time alimony . Show the how much gender power inbalances are already
czcams.com/video/pb2lo5sOc6M/video.html
Ah I see you are a man of culture as well.
All we need to do is lower the overall cost of living.
"It's a you problem." - Ben Shapiro
PragerU on how to solve homelessness: "Don't solve anything, just push the problem somewhere else and forget about it"
Prager U and 1930 Germany have a way of thinking that is DIFFERENT to say it mildly 🙄
The beating, bloody heart of conservatism - make it someone else's problem, keep the benefits to ourselves.
They're literally talking about how to help in the video, are none of you morons watching?
by fixing the problem in just one city you are effectively giving homeless the option to either A. get better or B. find somewhere that will accommodate your shitty life choices. Homeless people usually choose B. but that's not the fault of the place that makes them have to choose it's the fault of the place that gives them in an easy way out.
@@Scroolewse Kinda sounds like you're blaming the individual, when in reality it's a societal problem
I've been homeless, in my experience of homelessness I've met people who just gave up on life, people with criminal records who can't find support i.e. decent income, mostly drug addiction. I'm the "lucky" few that got the help I needed, I'm a veteran. Being a veteran you get somewhat priority for housing. I've met some homeless people who are content in their situation. Although I'm not homeless anymore I feel worthless and ashamed. Most homeless people have mental disabilities, I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety, depression and paranoia. I feel like I don't appreciate the help that I received. I have this overwhelming guilt. Regardless of my 39 years on this earth and my military training I still can't manage to finish things that I start i.e. college or technical training, I get flustered and overwhelmed so I give up. I'm a 39 year old veteran with no criminal record but can't get a decent job (I'm not assuming that I deserve a 6 figure income career, I know you have to work hard for that) I lack experience and or education. So I go to work for $10 an hour, go home to my bug infested, ghetto apartment (that I have do ambition to clean) I'm always fatigued and all I want to do is sleep. I'm not writing this to get sympathy or to pity myself, I'm writing this because I think this is what most homeless people struggle with everyday. I'd like some replies if possible, maybe some light will click on in my chaotic mind. God bless everyone.
How are you doing now? Honestly asking.
@@michaelaida8420 I'm doing well. Thanks for asking.
Man, I feel for you. I have been where you are, I was homeless on the streets back in the 60's., on drugs and suffering from depression. You are obviously depressed. I know this is going to sound like a stupid platitude, but try to develop an unselfish attitude, which is a spiritual principle. Unselfishness leads to humility which leads to grace. Focus on what you can give rather than what you can get. It comes from the inside.
I'm a retired small business owner (retail/service). When hiring someone for a "decent job", in addition to the necessary skills, I looked for the ability to finish what was started, neatness, ability to communicate, organization, upbeat attitude, etc., etc...all the things which you say you don't have right now. Try to develop those habits in yourself and they will become apparent to any future employers. If you have a $10/hour crap job, be the best $10/hour employee you can be. It will be noticed.
What about the Veterans? Many become homeless and they don't get any help.
yes
If they would just get a job then everyone will be happy.
@@jameskenny8821
Or if the VA wouldn't deny them benefits
@@jameskenny8821 and what if they are disabled and unable to work? It's not all black and white.
Why veterans become homeless?
"If the solution is so obvious why don't we do it?" Because the homeless have advocates in the "homeless industrial complex" who are making money and building careers based on keeping things the way they are, or actually growing the problem.
what? That makes no sense. Most homeless people are mentally ill and need extensive rehabilitation to enter normal society again.
@@hegaliandialectics4289 see there are two types of homeless people , ones that are lazy , and second who just wants a chance. The second one you can help , which are a minority . the first one no matter how much you try to help them, they will never change. Even if you offer them work they will not take your offer, they are the majority. dont believe me, go around the city offering them job and chance.
@@sir_prize_ma_the_farcar4547 45% of all homeless people are mentally ill thats not a minority number they literally cant help themselves…
@@hegaliandialectics4289 they got rid of asylums and acted all righteous about it but look how things are now...mentally ill roaming the streets with zero treatment or assistance. Maybe we should have simply reformed the asylum policies instead of abolishing them...just like we should do reforms on police conduct rather than abolishing the police.
The only thing I would change about that statement is that most problems in America persist because the powers that be have a motive in keeping them that way: onevoicebecametwo.life/cruel-to-be-kind/
So the solution to homelessness is to just put everyone without a house in jail?
Well, the said Houston did a good job when they built affordable housing for the homeless, so ig PragerU is socialist/social democratic now
In a roundabout way, putting people in jail for something they couldn't help in the first place is still giving them proper, insulated shelter and access to clean plumbing for a period of time until they're able to get themselves back on their feet. :/ But jail adds an unnecessary felony conviction for a crime that shouldn't be a dang crime (AKA, experiencing homelessness.).
What we need are dedicated private living spaces for homeless folk until they can get back on their feet. :/
@@SakuraMoonflower Also incarcerating homeless people provides a steady supply of labour so private prisons can make money and continue doing modern day slavery.
I read the comments here and everyone is speaking their passion. While passion is a good thing to have, it is no substitute for reasoning. For example, let’s say they outlaw homelessness, what are the possibilities stemming from that? Well, the first thing that comes to my mind is the increased cost to the tax paying public. Let’s incarcerate all of them. For how long? While they’re incarcerated the tax payer is paying for their meals, medical, clothes, utilities? How many homeless are in the United States? One solution is that other countries should issue passports to The American homeless and a plane ticket to Mexico. Then they can jump across the border and get free everything.
@@SakuraMoonflower actually the solution is simple. Foreign nations should issue passports to all American homeless and a ticket to South America, Central America or Mexico. From there they can cross the border and get apprehended at that point they get everything free and the homeless problem is solved.
That's poor how the weather aspect isn't mentioned why its such an acute problem on the west coast. You won't freeze to death anywhere nor is it wretchedly humid in the summertime.
I heard someone in a video like this mention "homeless industrial complex" arguing that there are a lot of side businesses/hustles that profit immensely off "helping the homeless".
Here in Cali we vote for measures giving hundreds of millions to homeless programs and not a dime is ever directed there. They just keep it personally becoming rich and direct some to pet projects. Blatantly, in broad daylight during capital meetings.....yet notging is ever done about it. Any complaints or attempted investigations and the call you extreme Anti- govt. Cali has lost there mind. Corrupt politicians and voters too busy to be smart enough to learn what's going on.
Politicians building careers "helping" the homeless and "addressing this complex problem." Vomit.
@@meanjab this is what people need to understand! When you hear politicians lobby for money al least half of it is used to line their pockets. This is how they get so extremely wealthy in such short amount to time.
@@rogue1537 I'd say more than half. Lol
I have known several homeless people. From what they have told me, they prefer their lifestyle. Maybe not all of them but many them like it and don't want people to bother them about changing it. They have chosen their lifestyle.
As long as their lifestyle does not negativly impact others that's fine. Unfortunately their lifestyle does negativly impact others by the crimes they commit in order to maintain that chosen lifestyle and that is wholely unacceptable!
Shut up. They have told you something that you have turned and twisted into they prefer the lifestyle.
And yet they all want handouts.
They should be free to destroy their lives as long as they don't destroy the property values of anyone else.
I have also met several homeless people. One I didn't even realize was homeless because he dresses like a normal person and spends his days in a WiFi cafe. Most have adapted to their lifestyle to the point where they have trouble imagining living like a "normal" person. I even met one who is waiting to be taken to heaven.
"Lololol what if we just killed them all they're not useful anyway" - Dennis Plaguer
That is pretty much the logical conclusion of treating homeless people as a problem rather than homelessness.
...Did you even WATCH this video?
Imagine seeing Homeless people and thinking that you are solving the situation by making so that it doesn't inconvenience you anymore.
well that is part of the solution. making their lives harder helps discourage future homeless
@@007kingifrit Ah yes because homelessness is a choice
@@MegaAgamon it is. there are tons of interviews with the homeless of california who intentionally live that way because california makes it easy for them
@@007kingifrit That literally means that they are there because the city makes it easy for them. It doesn't mean that they chose this life! Please be considerate of their situation. No one sane chooses homelessness. It is forced upon them.
@@MegaAgamon no because some people say "eh its easy to be homeless im just gana stop trying"
some people are really not forced
Notice, in these cities riddled with homelessness there are people that go insane over zoning and nothing can ever get built. Housing is also super expensive so only the ultra wealthy can afford to live there. There’s a couple of questions you have to ask when thinking about the homeless; How can you reintegrate them into society? How can you solve their drug problems? and How can you motivate them? I feel like these questions don’t get enough thought where the homelessness is happening and it’s leading to unhappiness on all enfd
Houston downtown is expensive. There are parts like in Spring and Aldine that are not too bad.
@@j.r.bobdobbs8695 You say that as if a homeless person would ever really have a chance of buying a home in either of those areas.
@@selohcin as a matter of fact. I was homeless on the streets of Houston Texas from 2013-2018 when I decided to do something about the reason why I was homeless. I'm now 3 years sober. From my point of view, it's easier to do some with my life in affordable places. It seems to me that the homeless people in California are doomed unless they leave the state
I'm sure Houston is expensive but you say that like the homeless are doomed to any given city when clearly they move around the country to find places that make their self destructive life style easier. Yes I'm sure Houston is expensive but do you really think it's more expensive than LA, San Francisco, or Seattle? I think not. They aren't looking to buy a house they're looking to pay for their next hit. Never mind the fact that most of these cities do have housing available for the homeless. Yet most don't use them because they'd have to change their life style to do so. The mentally ill would have to seek treatment they don't want and the addicts would have to seek treatment for an addiction they'd rather feed. I'm sure they would like housing but they want their drugs more.
I have another question....why is it anyone's responsibility but their own to solve their drug addictions and reintegrate them into society? What happened to personal responsibility?
If a man chooses not to work, then he doesn't eat!
👎👎👎
*Whatever Gavin Newsom has been doing, we do the exact opposite.*
What is the opposite of nothing?
@@danbrintnall3915 Something.
It still amazes me that they say "drugs and mental illness cause homelessness because 3/4 of homless people are drug addicted or mentally ill". Like you really cant think for a second, that maybe not having a safe place to stay or a moment to rest would take a mental toll on someone? Maybe push them towards drug use? The mental illness and drug abuse comes BEFORE homelessness every single time???
They don't care man. If they could support rounding up the homeless and sending them to a death camp without being taken down from CZcams they would
...Yup, it does.
@@marlonmoncrieffe0728you are delusional
After evening classes I would have to stop for gas at a gas station known for homeless panhandlers. Invariably I would be approached by someone asking for a "couple of bucks" to get something to eat... I never carried cash but I would offer to take them inside and buy them some food and a cup of coffee or a pop... I never had a single taker, they all declined.
Jackson Katz we talk about guys wife's kicked them out and draining draining them in alimony childduport with right being a parent to the child. No wants blame women kicking husband's draining in alimony child support playing emotional games the kids get to hate dad much as she does . Oh he most have been an abuser. No women would kicked her husband out for tribal reseason that's ridicules . So looking at things logically ways avoid some looking what happen and what's in your power to do about it is victim blame automatically they did some to deserve it isn't even though the point of blame . . So every homeless do it Ed dad was abuser . Never the mother get custody . And new Jersey 2 years after ending life time alimony became number1 reducing chronic homelessness . This shows who is to blame
@@smartass0124 I think you're making a good point here. Please edit your post to be more clear.
I was walking in downtown MPLS one late afternoon and a couple of guys asked us for spare change so they could “get there drink on.” We gave them enough to buy a 6-pack! We also told them how we appreciated their honesty. We ended up grabbing a couple of burgers for them too and they were really thankful. A very strange experience, being a codependent for a few minutes.
@@smartass0124 ...Once again but in ENGLISH please?
I've experienced the same
Maybe the Democrats can give them homes, or invite some of them to live with them in their homes. It is the only equitable thing to do. Isn’t it?
Pelosi has some extra space and a fridge full of premium ice cream.
It would be practicing what they preach.
Indeed, social and cheap housing and a good welfare system is very good approach. Those socialist policies works in other countries, and for extremes, most a communist countries has almost 0% of homelessness since they are forced to work.
@@catsofsherman1316 she could probably house a few people in that fridge despite the ice cream.
There was a guy who built homeless shelters in LA but the government made him stop and actually confiscated some of them.
Okay, but when you’re homeless, do you want to live in the middle of blandfield Alabama? Or a big city like LA where there are people and place where you can go to get shelter and people might be able to give you money and stuff.
There is a certain satisfaction in knowing that the primary people seeing their city's quality of life and cities being degraded are those bleeding-heart liberals. They get what they deserve.
@@nonmagicmike723 let's slow down, buddy
@@nonmagicmike723 the death of left wing thinking is its own application
the best part of the video is when he mentions housing being unaffordable
As a 22 year career firefighter I talked to many homeless (they light fires when it is cold). I could not understand why they did not go to a shelter when it is cold. Our shelters were almost never full, often below half capacity. Again and again I heard the same answer. They cannot use drugs or drink liquor in the shelter. Drug addiction - again and again.
I'v been in shelters. They are often more prisons. Often dirt and are full ..if bed bugs and more mentally stressing . . And I was homeless for different reason befor you think who hurt you it doesn't have to happen you pacifically to see it problem. Lot them alimony child support .no right parenting and child support isn't based cost raising a child but the man's highest income . And why don't the homeless buy housing. May sound like stupid question but fact they did. In New Jersey 2 years after they ended life alimony . Show who really is to blame . I know we are all raised to blame for every blame capitalism . But learning many factors . How common saying wife kicked me is yet not factored in all avoid blaming as group seeing actual power dynamics is gender . .. even over a clear care in point men no longer give 70% in income . Like news Jersey we still don't want blame feminism for change .
Alcohol and Drugs are methods of self medicating. Did you ask how many were US Veterans? Why are there many on the west coast? Well Chicago and New York are really cold in the winter. Is there a lack of low income housing?….Yes there is. Don’t malign the homeless…just thank your God that it’s not you.
@@dianeleib1679 not maligning anyone. These are the people living on the street, not in shelters or actively receiving assistance from government programs. The vast majority are teens and young twenties, so no veterans. Clearly many are mentally ill, although determining whether mental illness lead to their drug abuse or vise-versa is a chicken and egg scenario. Certainly the widespread distribution of illegal drugs and growing tolerance for the narcotic trade by local authorities is playing a HUGE roll in the phenomenon. Take away drugs, put people in treatment centers and you will likely see the whole bizarre chapter in American history close forever. Talk to anyone on the streets and I feel certain they will agree with you.
A friend of mine was homeless for a while. His brother's girlfriend threw him out- after he paid his share of the rent. He was broke and couldn't afford a motel room. Living outdoors doesn't make you a criminal. Neither does having a psychiatric illness.
A guy like that is helped by the system and gets back on his feet quickly. He's not what we're talking about here.
Ayo friendly dose of logic just because you ignore the problem doesn’t make it go away.
How to solve problems.
1, find or make a problem,
2, push problem somewhere else,
3, profit.
While Houston’s homeless population has declined, in that same eight year period Austin’s has soared because of the exact reasons highlighted here. We’ve become a little San Francisco, with a drug/camping problem to match.
Begs the question though. Has Houston actually done anything to reform the homeless population and make them productive members of society, or have they just moved to other cities like austin or san fran?
@@stevengrant3219 I had that same question and then I asked the question of whether or not it even matters? That’s the thought I’m grappling with currently.
i live in houston... i still see hundreds of homeless in tents under i10 and 45... if the number has supposedly decreased holy hell i can only imagine how many homeless there were 8 years ago lol
I lived in Houston and Austin. Very few homeless in Houston considering the population. Austin has become a shithole. People do not need to be living on the streets. In Austin they have people camping in peoples yards and shitting in their yards. That's not compassion.
@@stevengrant3219 If a homeless person can’t find a city to be homeless, then they could move to the country and camp in the woods and learn how to survive without drugs and help from others. Yeah I’m a dreamer.
It’s the difference between pandering, corruption, and lack of accountability and actually caring about people down on their luck. Just because you say you want to help doesn’t mean anything you do actually helps.
Then you support them . I am tired of working just too be taxed out the rump to “ help the homeless “ and have more of these bums move in my neighborhood park , camp behind the store and use the streets as their toilet .
@@wesbittick4567 It’s not like they’re living on the streets by choice. Some of them may have made poor decisions at one point or another, sure, but that’s to be expected of humans.
More than anything else governmental policy (state & federal) is responsible for the crisis.
@@numeitor7075 If they made "poor decisions", that is a "choice".
@@AkioWasRight That choice could very well be one of MANY factors responsible for their situation…. 35% of all homeless men are US Military veterans, yet I don’t think any sane person would say that our troops WANT to be homeless.
@UCcm4zSaf8F5dMy6Pd_DSDtQ It's not a matter of what they want, it's matter of what they'd rather. Most homeless do not want to be on the street, but they'd rather be there to feed drug additions, because there are no rules or people telling to clean up and behave. So, for them, they would rather be on the street.
“Homelessness is not a housing problem, it’s a human problem.”
Damn, 27 seconds in and you’re already wrong. Must be a new record for PragerU.
It boggles my mind how their solution is to make life a living hell for homeless people so they're forced to move to another city and burden somebody else with their filth.... Instead of just giving them homes.
🤷🏾♂️
@@elnegrobembon homeless people don't want housing. They want $ and drugs.
@@TheRybka30 ok homeless
@@TheRybka30 try hard clowns lol
@@Gstunfisk
Some homeless do want drugs more than anything else. In some areas that's 80% of the homeless. In other areas it's 40%. One size does not fit all.
POV: the most privileged people question why you have the audacity to not be privileged enough to live in a home
that's not what this is at all
@@Scroolewse It's unquestionably that. What do you recommend it is, rich people cutting their wrists for the homeless?
payed by billionairs
I'm getting a little sick of people that work and provide for themselves being called privileged that word os so over used. If one of these homeless people suddenly got their act together and was able to buy a house would you just look down your nose at them and call them priveleged?
@@pamelaolson5614 what do you think privileged means then
I urge all of you PragerU listeners to look into the scourge known as the "Homeless Industrial Complex". Sadly, this is reason #1 why 'homelessness' is not going away anytime soon.
Thats because we need a revolution.
Here in Vancouver, Canada they are known as poverty pimps. It's in their best interest to maintain homelessness so they can keep the tax dollar tap on.
@@Jeremvy so are hoses racist?
@@Jeremvy he obviously meant "houses" but made a typo
and the "they'd rather hurt the homeless than the politician" argument doesn't work if they're literally saying the politicians are the ones hurting the homeless in liberal cities by keeping them homeless.
you could make the argument they their propossed solution doesn't work or something along those lines (you'd have to explain why), but that's not what you're doing here.
their solution is basically make them stop being homeless by making them get help, so... is making people stop being homeless racist? are houses racist?
@@Jeremvy are you black or white? If your black then bro your being used by all hell, and if your white then bro your being used by all hell.
Why does it seem like chasing these people from one city just moves them to another with no net improvement in the homeless situation.
Thats because like the video said homelessness is mostly due to mental illness and drug addiction. The majority of them dont want to live a normal life, they prefer to get free food, and live freely without having to work or follow any rules. To fix the homeless problem we would have to start by fixing the drug and mental illness problem.
@@rogue1537 and we can only do that if its their only option, they don't want to fix it, and therefore wont use anything we give them to fix it, it has to be made the only option. this is what the video is saying, give them tough love, and stop letting them live the way they are.
@@aidenaune7008 yes I agree with the video. I dont agree with dirty corrupt politicians that use the homeless and drug problem as an excuse to get more taxpayer dollars from hardworking Americans which is then used to line their pockets. I disagree with their methods.
I love how they say panhandling is so wrong and most of their links are just online forms of panhandling and he even begs for donations at the end of the video. Priceless irony
When nutrition is lacking, our brain suffers first. The homeless crisis is a reflection of both our “Rx good, vitamin supplements bad” medical system right now, and our bad food.
I think there's more to it, although eating crummy food certainly doesn't make it easier.
In my little town, homelessness is a big problem because there are literally no houses to buy or rent. It's been like that for years. And so houses are absolutely packed with large families. You could be clean and have a job and still be homeless, despite all your efforts. It's very disheartening.
Zoning laws and overregulation
When your little town has been the same for years, that is when you leave. You have to be willing to relocate if that's what it takes to be functional. We not only left our stagnant little town we left our STATE rather than be poor. You cannot sit in a mud puddle and blame the mud. We left Michigan for a better life in Oregon and have never regretted the decision.
@@kristinebailey6554 I like to think I'm contributing somewhat to a shitty life and not just running away from it. Besides, I can't just abandon the kids in my family with their deranged moms, one of which forced the kids to wash their hands with hand lotion instead of soap for a month. Now I taught most of them proper hygiene.
@@kristinebailey6554 Moving isn't cheap.
put them on a remote island where they can live in perfect harmony and free food from the ocean for life. You don't work, you don't eat. They would all have to learn hunter-gather skills real quick in order to survive. Instead of skating by in life and given a free ride for choosing to be homeless. Becoming homeless can happen to anyone. Staying Homeless is most certainly a choice!
There was a time when these people would have just died off because humans had to work for their survival. Only in the last 100 years we have enabled people to do nothing.
Ancient Rome too had bums, it just wasn't nearly as profitable as in the here and now and hence there were far fewer. The more and better free stuff you give vagrants, the more vagrants you get.
Yea during WWI if you were a vagabond and not drafted and able bodied they’d pick you right off the street and throw you to the army… in Europe at least before later when every able bodied guy was going.
If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you. - Leviticus 25:35
but many homeless can maintain themselves and choose not to
Ok, but like we could just provide them with housing.
With what money
@@joelourenco3935 Higher taxes on the wealthy and/or redistributing a small portion of the military budget
It's actually cheaper to give the houseless homes. It would take less tax dollars.
@@joelourenco3935 Bruh the United States is the richest nation on earth, something like house the homeless wouldn't even be 0.1% of their military budget.
@@joelourenco3935 The immense amounts of money going directly into politicians pockets, military budget wasted and untaxed billionaires would be a good place to start, hell or you could just use the vacant homes that already exist that far outnumber homeless people to begin with
I live in San Francisco. Yesterday there was a homeless man in front of my home for an hour, walking the same small circle for an hour. On occasion going off on 5 minute semi-coherent rants. We throw about $20K of taxpayer money per homeless person at the problem, with practically zero results. It's mostly a make work program for city employees.
Just curious. Not trying to be mean, but who is voting in these leaders who think all of this is okay? Because as Houston has shown, it begins at the top. Which means it begins in the voting booth.
I'm confused did someone go and give each homeless person 20k dollars?
I’m not even a thief but I’m so desperate for money when I heard I could steal $900 worth of crap in Cali and risk zero jail time I was literally disappointed I didn’t steal anything while I was there. That sounds like California has a $900 value souvenir program to me. If that policy inspires me to feel that way I can only imagine how it affects actual thieves.
I wonder if I steal $900 worth crap a few times. Could I make a few thousands.
And that's just per offense.
People literally go and do that every single day. It's led to places like Walgreens and Target closing at 6pm. And many businesses closing their doors altogether because they couldn't survive anymore. Pharmacies especially. An elderly man Interviewed, said he used to be able to walk downstairs from his apartment and have a short walk to the pharmacy for his medication. Now he needs to walk 5 miles across town to get them.
Of course this is happening the most in poor communities, so when the narrative inevitably comes out "black people/POC can't get access to medication or food." This will have been exactly the cause.
We know that incentives drive us as well as they do everyone else. It's in our DNA as human beings. We even found this to happen in Dolphins. When researchers trained dolphins to bring ocean trash back to them in exchange for a treat, the dolphins soon began taking a single bit of garbage, and tearing them into pieces to get multiple treats for a single find.
This showed us that exploiting systems for the most gain from the least effort is hard wired into us on a deep level.
@@alexanderrahl7034 You're so close
Please, just try to extrapolate that idea just a tiny bit further. If people are driven by incentives, do you think there's a great solution to desperate people stealing medications they can't afford? Just think about it on your own for a bit, you're inches away
@@criticalthinker3262 Except many/most are not stealing medication they can't afforded. They are stealing medications they don't need because it can be sold the easiest and with the highest markup to others and is easy to get in large numbers with little bag/storage space (you can dump a shit ton of full pill bottles into a backpack or trash bag) when taken thus making them the most profit. A bottle of pills can be sold for anything from $20 a bottle to $200 a bottle depending of what is in them and that does not even have to be a full bottle one bottle of oxy with only 10 ills can get you $60 to $100 depending on local street value at the time and if they bottle originally had 30 that is $120 to $300 on the streets but only worth $40 or $60 in the store meaning they are making a 7 to 8 x profit and it would take stealing average 18 bottles to get into trouble legally yet can net them minimum $3,240 and that is just from 18 bottles of oxy. if they mix and match say only 5 bottles of oxy and a bunch of other things thus not risking going over $900 or depleting the pharmacies supply at once and having to wait a week or so for them to restock and did it daily for a week they could make $20,000 to 25,000 in a week and not have to worry about being arrested. And on top of that it is stealing the meds from those that need them. They are no better them pharmaceutical companies that make a needed pill for $1 and sell it for $1,000.
I wonder if it's illegal to set up a makeshift store outside the shop... Chuck a sign saying "find anything you like inside and we'll beat it by ten percent"
Then people go in, tell you what they like and you send one of your goons in to grab it from "out the back"
Here you go mate, that'll be $87
Would you like a receipt?
I just did job interview in Durham, NC, HORRIBLE with homeless everywhere, I asked a local and they said that once they had more homeless resources, the # of homeless people skyrocketed. Support attracts homeless... We need to reopen the asylum's for the true mentally ill, for the others, a basic warehouse with bunkbeds and a cafeteria to get them off the street, with on site police for safety and a career counselor to help people who actually want help, for those that WANT to work, give them clothes and training and if they get a job, help them get an apartment so they can succeed, but if the people are lazy losers, just let them live in the warehouse, but do NOT let them beg at street corners or at stores, begging and homeless NEEDS to be illegal.
Homeless benefit to find a home. Deal directly with the nature of the issue.
that doesn't fix the drug or mental issues and is super expensive
If someone thinks "hoses are racist', they need to have a mental health evaluation. That's just plain CRAZY🤪
That's pretty much the whole of the west coast in terms of the people running the place.
I want this lady to explain how hoses are racist. Waterfalls must be racist too.
Everything is racist in Seattle
I was totally unaware, I had three racist occupying my basement.
History lesson during the 1960s some people was hosed with fire trucks. The water what tear off their skin. Imagine protesting in a fire truck comes and shoot pressurized water at you because your margin for equal rights. I understand their side of the argument
One little thing. If homelessness is growing in the West Coast and in Housten homelessness is decreasing, instead of good policy, isn’t it transferring the issue from Houston to California? I would like to believe that Houston’s policy is the reason for its success, but that isn’t properly adressed. How many succeed to recover from mental health issues? And long term?
You’re probably right, and yet, if L.A. adopted Houston’s policies of providing houses for them yet also forbidding criminal behavior they might have similar outcomes. If you want to increase anything be sure to government subsidize it.
I just commented the same thing, you said it more elegantly though. That is definitely the vibe I got from this video. Also, there is zero data mentioned about any of these policies.
Unfortunately, it's probably not unlike deterring criminals by making one's house harder to break into than your neighbors. They're gonna do it somewhere, you're just making sure it's a lot more difficult for them to do it to you...
I see your point, but the video's point is that we are talking about people who make personal decisions, not inanimate objects that "transferred" or shipped off somewhere. The majority of those homeless still are native to places like LA, San Fran, Seattle and increasingly so because they grow up in an environment that encourages this as an option. Houston, simply, does not. We also have an increasing problem with children who live at home well into their thirties. I don't allow it with my children but other homes foster that idea...yet I have not transferred that problem to those other homes.
I think the point of the video is that people have always responded to incentives and sympathy when they can find it. Most will also modify their behavior if they see their options as being limited or decreased or If they encounter more discomfort in their options. Its why we leave home, or choose not to commit crimes if the consequences aren't worth the risk. Human nature 101. If we overall take a different response to the homeless the homeless to a greater extent will diminish. It will never go away though...
after playing dishonored I think we shouldn't be asking "what should we do about the homeless" because that caused a plague last time someone asked that
The video about how atheism makes one inherently less moral made me laugh, the videos denying scientific understandings of topics like climate made me angry, and the videos about lgbt people just made me sad, i thought the video about the decline of the white race in europe was a new low but this might be the first time a pragerU video has left me completely numb, i am speechless. I understand this channel is extremely well-funded and everyone involved is very fairly compensated, but i can not understand how they sleep at night
A: On giant piles of oil-baron money
B: I still think that video that effectively defended slavery was the lowest they could go
It is ridiculous how they spread this propaganda. The obvious solution to homelessness is public housing but I think secretly they would rather just kill all the poor people.
Lmao we found ourselves a saint here. I'm willing to bet my last penny that if virtue signalling and blame game was a sport, people like you would be the champions.
@@equinox2584 i mean probably
@@anindaahsan454 That sentence didn't even make any sense, just like your argument.
Enforce the law? What a concept!
"Reduced their homlessness numbers." I'd like to see evidence of Houston actually helping these people as opposed to just running the out to Seattle or where ever. Making the homeless leave your city isn't the same thing as helping them not be homeless.
That’s exactly what I was thinking. Are they actually helping these people, or are they forcing them to go somewhere else?
@@trentonbarton809 Drive them into the sea, or off a cliff.
Atleast there is no 💩 on the streets
Well you can only control your city/state. The US political system is a comples and bureaucratic one. What can the mayor of a city do to another city? He can only control his city.
You are right. Maybe "not encouraging" might be the best term.
I don’t know where this guy is getting his information about Houston, but we still have a very serious camping in transient problem. I live here, and I see no evidence that we are doing significantly better than California.
Well of course. Nobody in charge is ever going to admit that their hairbrained plans had no effect.
When’s the last time you been to LA? It’s a homeless disaster out here
@@HQSCJIPZ 'Bout 6 months ago. Definitely worse than Houston. I just think it's bizarre for PragerU to frame Houston as a model for any public policy. We're broke, we're broken, and we're overrun with some of the worst elements of modern civilization.
Reality on the street is irrelevant. What really counts is the academic study made by a famous scientist so well presented in this video
@@beldiman5870 By that logic, reality itself is irrelevant. What really counts is what you are told to believe. "Trust the experts." (assuming you weren't being sarcastic)
Thank you for talking about this. We do need to help, but there is real help, and there is continuing the cycle.
Someone I love became homeless. Said it was cool to be homeless on the beach.
He was such a good man. So loved. So smart! And wasted his good brain and tender heart by choosing being allowed to smoke over a clean bed here in flyover country.
I don't even know how to leave flowers at his grave because his also addicted daughter lost his ashes at an airport. Sometimes I find a dark humor in that . But mostly, I just miss my Uncle. Every day.
😢 Oh my God! I am so sorry!
The shopping cart is HILARIOUS!!!
since you can't buy one anywhere I'm gonna assume it's stolen.
I don’t know if the Houston policies really worked Bc it sounds like they all just left
Such a well put-together video, good work. Hey anyway, everyone else who liked this one should really go check out the sources they're citing, it's uhh... very illuminating.
I’ve been saying it since day one as a Los Angeles resident….carrot or stick. If You don’t have the stick, you will have exactly what we are all living through right now.
This was a very informative look at it. I always questioned why people did not take advantage government services to get themselves the help they need. Your answer is depressing as I can't imagine anyone NOT wanting to improve their lives.
To them, living according to their moment by moment impulses IS improved. They don't want to put in any effort for delayed gratification whatsoever... typical of any addiction.
@@cherylmockotr not all homeless people, though.
@@Vr0nt it's all the homeless living so visibly right in the public's face, being an eyesore and trashing public property. There are plenty of homeless living with friends and relatives, or taking advantage of the numerous services to try and get back on their feet.
@@cherylmockotr 45% of homeless people have some kind of mental illness. 20-25% of that group have a severe mental illness. Thats almost half don’t lump all of them together some of these people need and deserve help.
@@hegaliandialectics4289 yes, they all deserve help, and letting them live on the streets isn't giving it to them. There is plenty of help available for those mentally capable and who want it... that's the carrot. The rest need a stick in the form of laws against being under the influence in public, living on public property, theft, defacing public property, and public harrassment. Reopen mental institutions and add mandatory drug rehab... those who can will start making better choices, and those who can't will get the care they need. Enough with the magical thinking of the bleeding heart liberals of the 60s and 70s... they weren't grounded in reality, either.
A friend of mine who works with me in an east coast fire department recently moved to Seattle to work for the Fire Department there. He was there less than a year and came back East because he said that all the Seattle Fire Department did was deal with homeless vagrant problems all day long - and that it was a living nightmare.
You guys need to check your sources, cause half of em debunk your claims
Change it to what do we do about PragerU and you actually have a compelling argument.
Compassion, an honorable intent, can be overdone.
The involuntary homeless SHOULD get assistance.
However, the voluntary homeless want an "easy life" with no obligations.
Not always. There’s sometimes runaway minors who need a better life or 18 year olds who got kicked out. Yes, some homeless people don’t want to work or get a house but some really do and can’t get those benefits.
How many at teens are taught money skills... budgeting, expense sheets, income projection, credit rating? Now consider "at risk teens" who eventually turn 18, equipped with less skills, support , or mentorship going into a tight housing market? Making immature decisions when facing drug, alcohol use, pregnancy, criminal activities --- and now We as a Society are surprised they're homeless? What the fck did you expect from this receipt ? It may not be Our fault, but it's now Our responsibility , and I'm not gonna punish someone who never even learned the rules for life, let alone trained for it, when they can't play at a pro level. That's not a solution. That's elitism justifying it's own ugly attitude.
Put them where the elites would hide underground with thei're bulk of food!
Is Jeff Bezos hiding underground?👀
They need access to Pelosi's ice cream freezer.
When i see all the EMPTY hospitals, hotels, warehouses, motels, and other such structures with plumbing and wiring in them, not to mention abandoned shopping centers, I wonder what is stopping local governments from making homes for the homeless out of those buildings!!!
"Los Angeles has effectively decriminalized public camping and drug consumption while Culver City enforces the law. Los Angeles has effectively decriminalized public camping and drug consumption while Culver City enforces the law."
Bruh your own source literally states the opposites. State Law is that homeless people cannot be arrested for sleeping on government property if they have no other option. Los Angeles complies with the law, Culver City meanwhile was forcing homeless people to go to LA.
So, at what point do you simply ask if being homeless is a choice they’ve purposely made?
Who cares? Leave them the hell alone. How hard can it be to go about your day and mind your own business?
There are plenty of help to get off the streets for the homeless. These organizations come directly to them. If they are in the street for any appreciable amount of time it’s their choice.
@@josheternal If they were out of sight and didn't steal/rob/assault and deficate all over the place then I'm sure everyone would just leave them alone wouldn't they?
In Tucson Az, the homeless epidemic is quickly picking up. My low income family suffers as a result. The city moves them into our neighborhoods, has purchased 4 or 5 apartment buildings with our tax dollars to provide them with "temporary" housing, they do not enforce the law with them, but do with my non homeless neighbors -
Essentially we have become Los Angeles light, and all to appease the woke, entitled left who are seeking to remake a good place by using everyone else's money and resources.
Certainly homeless are people, but, for the super poor/non homeless who want to improve, they are a road block and their increasing existence is making our lives more dangerous.
6 years ago in our neighborhood we had no dangerous crimes, now we have drive bys weekly, needles on the street and sidewalk and I cannot let my daughter and son play outside for fear of these roaming crazies who honestly remind us of feral 28 days later type zombies with their hyper aggressive life approaches
I'm tired of the homeless, and while well off people may be wanting to get points from the big guy/gal above by talking and using others money, we poor, suffer because of these people
@@josheternal read^
Housing is a human right. Period .
Caring about human rights is communism tho we can't have that
@@Mae_Dastardly 🤣
@@tiblex1585
Wrong.
You have the right to *pursue* happiness. *Catching it* is up to *YOU*.
anything material is not a human right. rights are things you are born with. not things you need to be given
if i can give it to you. its not a right
Of course ... for those who deserve it.
The people who can most clearly and honestly speak about helping the homeless are the pastors, ministers and leaders of other Churches. This is because they are mainly the only ones who have been doing it, and not for decades, it has always been the case. If you want to know, ask them.
Dude your so right!!! I'm tired of the left and right saying they "help the poor" I'm on the right, but your the one who's correct. Ask the peeps with the most experience, ya know?
I mean it helps when churches and pastors have the financial freedom to help the homeless because they pay hardly anything (usually nothing) in taxes and have housing, power, water, network resources, and a universal basic income provided for them.
It's almost as if people do better when the basic necessities needed to not die are easy to come by and acquire.
@@AW27007 Which right are you, the right or the further right because those are America's two political parties.
I'd like to hear more on the mental health program, side of this conversation.
I live in Houston but did not know this about the Mayor. I'm a Conservative but would vote for him on this alone
It would be better if you voted for a true Conservative who also shares his views.
@@TracieClaiborne 'True' comservatives have no political party.
🗽 I'm a registered Republican but even I am rooting for Kathryn Garcia to get the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York City here.
Are you saying that we should not help but persecute homeless?
Did you watch the video?
@@SuperPf4 Yes, and hence my question.
At first I couldn’t believe you to be serious, but I think your world view is so far from mine you might really be serious.
Allowing drug addicted folks to commit petty theft in order to feed a drug habbit while they literally live in the streets is helping nobody. Not only is it making everyone around them live a worse life, it is no way to live period.
Literally anything to get them out of that cycle will help them. If you want to call the solutions presented persecution, you may want to think about that a little harder.
@@SuperPf4 no it's not about petty theft but about removing encampments and other measures which only push homeless to a different place.
@@hamobu Jail would be a good start.
We are experiencing this same problem in Austin, TX because our mayor INVITES them here!
Better services from mental health to house building and jobs creation for them is the solution.
Another issue facing the California model is that many of the "outreach" organizations make substantial sums of money from state and city grants. There is no accountability for the job they do, which in turns demoralizes the transients who do want to get help. They see these organizations as not wanting to really help them get off their feet and into a better life.
This is actually so true. In Pennsylvania a lot of nonprofits are supposed to help homeless people are very very religious. And basically if you don't believe in God they're not going to help you. And even if you do believe in God they still most likely won't help you so they can keep cash in their own pockets. The one time I went in before this pandemic they literally had $20 bills on these Plastic Trees on their desks. It was like they have so much money that they use it as a decoration. I think there should be more oversight into these organizations.
PragerU’s argument here is unsatisfactory.
With the point on Houston’s policies- did homelessness fall because the homeless people got off the streets, or did it help because they left the city? If the homeless people were helped, was it by the severe restrictions or by the programs to help them find housing?
Did you even listen he said they had programs in Houston?
@@DiligoBarba Yes, and he glosses over those programs as a solution to the problem and instead focuses on the toughness on the poor
Hey, I read the Los Angela’s Times article you cited as a source and it really says the opposite of what you claimed? Also if something has been decriminalised in 1 area why should a law in a different area still be enforced?
Every single one of his sources debunks his own claims.
I am homeless… I live in a van… but I am employed, and I park close to my job and my storage unit.
I don’t do drugs- I don’t drink- and if you were to ask those I work with or who know me I am perhaps the most competent and intelligent person, the nicest person you’ll ever meet!
Except for my political views, which I try to be careful regarding what I say:
Why am I homeless???
I had begun a study, of which the homeless issue became an aspect of my study and how to deal with it…
From my studies and research I had encountered- spirituality- politics- economics- philosophy- psychology- and the errors related to all these subjects.
Furthermore, I have discovered the faults of intellectualism and how it affects the psychology of the system.
My study addresses what could be done to creating a better balance in society as a whole.
“Hoses are racist!” ??? Which races are offended by hoses? I may have missed this one. My wife waters are plants all the time using a hose. I have washed so many things using a hose…
You probably don't notice they are racist because you are "racist" yourself. Everything is racist today.
Keep Hose in your basement, and before you know it your wife will bring you the divorce papers.
I tried googling it but I couldn't find anything. I'd really like to know who the person is who thinks this and why.
The thing with an overly simplified (most likely cherry-picked if actually a direct quote and not instead just overly simplified paraphrasing) statement such as "hoses are racist" is that it doesnt tell you what the statement actually means and the understanding of language that the statement is built upon.
Since the idea that "hoses are racist" doesnt make sense in the "common" understanding of the terms used (since hoses are inanimate objects and cant itself discriminate or attack a race) we must ask ourselves, is this what the speaker understood about the language when they said it? Seemingly not, else we would just have to assume that the person is an idiot which isnt very charitable.
Lets try and be a bit charitable here and see what "hoses are racist" might truly mean in the context of the situation.
In the video the phrase was brought up in connection to the idea of washing sidewalks that have been dirtied by the homeless right? Well, if we were to take the knowledge gained from this video that the homeless live on the streets (and whether they should be removed via violence or let to live), it might be that the context of the quote could be about whether or not homeless should be evicted from their camps to clean the areas (example: wash the areas down with hoses) and what the impacts of this decision could be.
If we are to be charitable enough to take this understanding of this overly simplified quote ("hoses are racist") we now know WHY hoses are being talked about negatively here.
But we still dont know the "racist" part of the hoses yet, so lets look into that.
This part is thankfully much much easier to understand.
The homeless population of the USA is disproportionately (aka, represented in the statistics more so then they "should" based off of the overall population percentages) made up of racialized groups (black, Indian, Mexican, and etc). As such, to do aggressive homeless removal programs you are enacting violence/force against racialized groups more often then not and therefore are being racist towards them in the policies. That is not to say obviously that it would be fine if the violence was being proportionally split amongst the population, it just means that due to the nature of the situation, the policies will end up being racist towards minorities.
Now after going through the, presumed, logic behind the statement "hoses are racist" it doesnt seem too absurd afterall no?
That is not to say you must agree with the conclusion that "hoses are racist (in this specific context)", although I personally think you should agree, but it is at least understandable no?
@@BrendanBanz I appreciate you taking the time to explain that for people who actually have a hard time imagining how such a statement could ever form. The video is basically taking a protest slogan that sounds absurd on its face to represent opposition that seems like the opposite of "common sense" policies. I don't know if this would qualify as a strawman fallacy, but it doesn't explore the other side as thoroughly as it could...but that's also something that's understandable in a concise video meant to forward one argument.
However, the protest slogan of "hoses are racist" that seems absurd on its face, when more carefully explored as you have, reveals an argument behind it that many also find absurd to its core: the idea that something is racist simply by disproportionately affecting members of one race more than those of other races. And when that idea is used to vilify a commonplace tool used to fulfill the _very_ understandable interest of keeping the neighborhood clean, it looks more than absurd: it seems like an insidious tactic.
The "why" is simple.
There's billions of Federal aid dollars to be syphoned in these liberal cities, and millions of votes to be harvested from the homeless.
Keep the rich comfortable and the poor compliant and you'll never have to work outside of politics.
You get it. Communism is the only solution
Oh, yes, the homeless are the ones voting multiple times and stealing elections from Deserving Donnies. Go back to those contortionist insertion moves, jake.
Rome's practice was "bread and circuses" to keep the public compliant. At some point, you're going to run out of other people's resources.
@@forgiven2812 you might want to bone up on your macro-Econ 101. The ‘other people’s money’ ruse is just a talking point.
last time I went to vote in San Francisco the lines of homeless people voting was crazy bro. The same people who give so little shits they literally live on the streets are voting en masse
This is a real form of love for the lost
Social housing can solve homeless easily but I wonder why prageru won’t mention that? Hmmmmmmm.
Because it doesn't align to their agenda.
the koch brothers arent gonna like that
Because that helps people
Because "when the state does something" it's communism.
...Except when they enforce christian values,
... Or when they give away billions in tax dollars for the military,
@@alphawolfun7840 Corporate welfare good.
Human welfare bad.