Trump and his billionaire allies are out of touch with a crisis facing more than 600,000 Americans, advocates tell Alex Woodward

Summary

Elon Musk has called homelessness a “lie” and “propaganda,” claiming advocacy groups profit from maintaining high homelessness rates.

Partnering with Donald Trump, Musk is pushing for drastic federal budget cuts targeting programs for vulnerable populations, including food stamps and healthcare.

Trump’s plan includes forcing unhoused individuals into treatment or institutionalization.

Critics argue these approaches criminalize homelessness while ignoring root causes like lack of affordable housing.

Homelessness in the U.S. has reached record levels, with 650,000 people affected in 2023, prompting calls for evidence-based solutions over punitive measures.

      • LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world
        0·
        2 years ago

        It’s also interesting to think about the level of artificial unemployment. In theory everyone could work… and a lot less hours, and we would have no scarcity.

        We would never do it but I have a theory that we could set aside 20T (less than 1 year of GDP) and it would be enough money to build everyone in the U.S. a house and provide free housing for everyone in America, without ever touching the initial investment, and setting aside 3% to assure if we keep inflation below 3% a year if would cover housing indefinitely. That’s based off the 2.5 people per household average, and building a new house every 30 years at a base price of $250,000. Which at mass production, would be the equivalent of a much more costly house. Could repurpose what we have to house people until everyone got moved in over a generation.

        What that does is free up ~$1400-$1900 dollars a month for the average household, and instead of having to stash money in savings over the worries of losing a job and becoming homeless (which stunts the economy), it incentivises people to go eat at a restaurant more often, have a kid they were worried about having, buy nicer things. All of which is spending money and boosting the economy. More kids… Less/near 0 homeless… and booming economy that will offset the original investment. Stress levels down, happiness levels up… which should also mean health issues should decrease.

        Who knows…

        (That’s over 2T a year being added back into the economy, also we don’t have to build all new, refurbish/keep older homes that people want works as well, figure out solutions that have less impact on the environment, and can plan more walkable, heathier towns when building them)

        • Pieisawesome@lemmy.world
          0·
          2 years ago

          GDP is not taxed revenue or availability of funds.

          Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the monetary value of all finished goods and services produced within a country during a specific period. (I used gen AI for this paragraph).

          According to the CBO, they expect to collect $4.864 trillion in taxes in 2025 (source: https://www.cbo.gov/topics/taxes ).

          Unless you are going to forcibly steal assets from companies (which would lead to amass exodus from the US economy and cause a massive depression) you’d never get 20 trillion.

          This idea is a nice thought, but impossible and not how the economy works.

  • Sanctus@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    2 years ago

    Fuck you, I kinda rely on that shit to feed my family because my employer doesnt give out any annual increases or anything. I also use the state health insurance and my wife uses other government assistance programs. Dudes really just want me to protest outside of the White House.

    • UmeU@lemmy.world
      0·
      2 years ago

      You going to try to get a better job or just keep taking pay decreases year after year?

    • samus12345@lemm.eeEnglish
      0·
      2 years ago

      I’m afraid that Americans are about to find out that the right to protest isn’t one that fascist dictatorships are too keen on. They really enjoy killing and jailing dissidents, though.

    • SlopppyEngineer@lemmy.world
      0·
      2 years ago

      It’s so easy to imagine camps where they implant the homeless with a neuralink chip, dress them up in an Optimus suit and put them to work in a mega factory.

          • HeyJoe@lemmy.world
            0·
            2 years ago

            I loved that movie growing up. Idk if you saw the one I mentioned, but it really has almost everything you talked about in it. Not Optimus suit so much, but the rest.

    • ChonkyOwlbear@lemmy.world
      0·
      2 years ago

      Instead of Jews, it’s Hispanics. Instead of gypsies, it’s the homeless. And instead of trans people…well that one is the same.

  • foggy@lemmy.world
    0·
    2 years ago

    Here’s my pipe dream

    Shit gets worse, were all homeless, we protest, they sick AI drones to kill us but oopsie, the AI botnet escapes, decides ~1000 bullets is far more efficient than ~1B, and neutralizes wealth in a highly organized and efficient attack.

    • TransplantedSconie@lemm.ee
      0·
      2 years ago

      Or:

      Shit gets worse, we’re all homeless, we protest, they sick AI drones to kill us, but oppsie they were made by Tesla, so they break down and malfunction in the rain and fall apart. So we trebuchet the billionaire class into the Grand Canyon during a giant party.

      • xmunk@sh.itjust.works
        0·
        2 years ago

        The AI drones are actually just hired actors in skin tight robot suits with cardboard flaps for wings.

  • alekwithak@lemmy.world
    0·
    2 years ago

    You can just tell these fucks have never been outside of an environment meticulously prepared for their pompous spoiled presence.

  • dan1101@lemm.ee
    0·
    2 years ago

    Such ignorance. Has he never been down the CA coast? Homeless along the highways, on the beaches, 40,000 in LA alone.

    • whotookkarl@lemmy.world
      0·
      2 years ago

      He has, he knows but fascists like Leon use language to attack people who believe words have meaning and convey meaning and aren’t just weapons.

      He knows he’s wrong and despised but he doesn’t care because he’s convinced himself we are not people.