It’s nice to see the Economist call a spade a spade:
This chronic [homelessness] problem dates back to the 1970s, when libertarians persuaded states to stop locking up the mentally ill unless they had actually broken the law. This saved the states money, because the federal government took on the financial burden of their disturbed charges through disability benefits. But it did not take long for these people to lose contact with such services and fetch up on the street.
As they note, there are actually two problems alongside one another: the chronic homeless (generally mentally ill or addicted to narcotics, or both) and the homeless suffering from economic misfortune. It sees encouraging signs that the first is being addressed but doesn’t see any way out of the second.
No comments have been added to this post yet.