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Fewer homeless, a Bush legacy
(CNN) -- Have you noticed that homelessness isn't worse? Here we are, living through the most protracted joblessness crisis since the Great Depression -- and surprisingly, fewer people are living on the street.
The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development reported that the number of the chronically homeless declined by 30% between 2005 and 2007. You might have expected the numbers to spike again when the financial crisis hit but no. Since 2007, the number of chronic homeless has dropped another 19%.
A broader measure of the number of homeless counts the number of people living out of doors on one randomly chosen night. That broader measure has also improved through the economic crisis. Between January 2011 and January 2012, homelessness among veterans dropped by 7%.
To what or whom do we owe this good news?
In very large part, we owe it to the president whose library opened in Dallas last week: George W. Bush.
For three decades, we have debated what causes homelessness and how to deal with it. Is homelessness a mental health problem? A substance abuse problem? A problem caused by gentrification and urban redevelopment? Or something else again?
The Bush administration substituted a much simpler idea -- an idea that happened to work. Whatever the cause of homelessness, the solution is ... a home.
In 2002, Bush appointed a new national homeless policy czar, Philip Mangano. A former music agent imbued with the religious philosophy of St. Francis of Assisi, Mangano was seized by an idea pioneered by New York University psychiatrist Sam Tsemberis: "housing first."
The "housing first" concept urges authorities to concentrate resources on the hardest cases -- to move them into housing immediately -- and only to worry about the other problems of the homeless after they first have a roof over their heads. A 2004 profile in The Atlantic nicely summarized Tsemberis' ideas: "Offer them (the homeless) the apartment first, he believes, and you don't need to spend years, and service dollars, winning their trust."
Many old school homeless advocates resisted Mangano's approach. They were impelled by two main objections:
1. They believed that homelessness was just the most extreme form of a problem faced by low-income people generally -- a lack of affordable housing for low-income people. Focusing resources on the nation's hardest cases would (these advocates feared) distract the federal government from the bigger project of subsidizing better housing for millions of people who did not literally live in the streets.
2. By 2002, the nation had been worrying about homelessness for several decades. Countless programs from state and local agencies responded to some separate part of the problem; tens of thousands of people earned their livings in those state and local agencies, disposing of massive budgets. "Housing first" threatened to disrupt this vast industry. "Housing first" was comparatively cheap, for one thing: a homeless shelter might look squalid, but it cost a great deal to operate -- more, oftentimes, than a proper apartment with kitchen and bath. The transition to "housing first" threatened jobs and budgets across the country.
There was only one counterargument to these objections: "Housing first" worked. It worked from the start, and it worked fast. It worked so well that the Obama administration has now claimed the approach as its own, even keeping Mangano on the job for the first weeks of the new administration.
Bush remains one of the more controversial and less popular ex-presidents. But if in the next days you happen to walk down a city street, take a moment to notice how many men or women are sleeping there. Results will vary from place to place, but on average, there are probably fewer than half as many as a decade ago. The job is not completed yet. But for the first time since the 1970s, the abolition of homelessness has become a real and near possibility.
Whatever else you think of the 43rd president, that achievement is part of Bush's legacy, too.
SOURCE: http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/29/opinion/frum-less-homelessness/index.html?hpt=hp_t4
The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development reported that the number of the chronically homeless declined by 30% between 2005 and 2007. You might have expected the numbers to spike again when the financial crisis hit but no. Since 2007, the number of chronic homeless has dropped another 19%.
A broader measure of the number of homeless counts the number of people living out of doors on one randomly chosen night. That broader measure has also improved through the economic crisis. Between January 2011 and January 2012, homelessness among veterans dropped by 7%.
To what or whom do we owe this good news?
In very large part, we owe it to the president whose library opened in Dallas last week: George W. Bush.
For three decades, we have debated what causes homelessness and how to deal with it. Is homelessness a mental health problem? A substance abuse problem? A problem caused by gentrification and urban redevelopment? Or something else again?
The Bush administration substituted a much simpler idea -- an idea that happened to work. Whatever the cause of homelessness, the solution is ... a home.
In 2002, Bush appointed a new national homeless policy czar, Philip Mangano. A former music agent imbued with the religious philosophy of St. Francis of Assisi, Mangano was seized by an idea pioneered by New York University psychiatrist Sam Tsemberis: "housing first."
The "housing first" concept urges authorities to concentrate resources on the hardest cases -- to move them into housing immediately -- and only to worry about the other problems of the homeless after they first have a roof over their heads. A 2004 profile in The Atlantic nicely summarized Tsemberis' ideas: "Offer them (the homeless) the apartment first, he believes, and you don't need to spend years, and service dollars, winning their trust."
Many old school homeless advocates resisted Mangano's approach. They were impelled by two main objections:
1. They believed that homelessness was just the most extreme form of a problem faced by low-income people generally -- a lack of affordable housing for low-income people. Focusing resources on the nation's hardest cases would (these advocates feared) distract the federal government from the bigger project of subsidizing better housing for millions of people who did not literally live in the streets.
2. By 2002, the nation had been worrying about homelessness for several decades. Countless programs from state and local agencies responded to some separate part of the problem; tens of thousands of people earned their livings in those state and local agencies, disposing of massive budgets. "Housing first" threatened to disrupt this vast industry. "Housing first" was comparatively cheap, for one thing: a homeless shelter might look squalid, but it cost a great deal to operate -- more, oftentimes, than a proper apartment with kitchen and bath. The transition to "housing first" threatened jobs and budgets across the country.
There was only one counterargument to these objections: "Housing first" worked. It worked from the start, and it worked fast. It worked so well that the Obama administration has now claimed the approach as its own, even keeping Mangano on the job for the first weeks of the new administration.
Bush remains one of the more controversial and less popular ex-presidents. But if in the next days you happen to walk down a city street, take a moment to notice how many men or women are sleeping there. Results will vary from place to place, but on average, there are probably fewer than half as many as a decade ago. The job is not completed yet. But for the first time since the 1970s, the abolition of homelessness has become a real and near possibility.
Whatever else you think of the 43rd president, that achievement is part of Bush's legacy, too.
SOURCE: http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/29/opinion/frum-less-homelessness/index.html?hpt=hp_t4
As for blaming BO... you are correct sir. I assign blame where I think it should be assigned.
Which just happens to start with his waking up for the day it seems. You constipated then blame obama, having a bad day, blame obama, woman cheating on you, blame obama..... Yep, uh huh! Yep, he sure does walk on water doesnt he as far as you all are concerned. If you say so it absolutely MUST be true!!!!
Which just happens to start with his waking up for the day it seems. You constipated then blame obama, having a bad day, blame obama, woman cheating on you, blame obama..... Yep, uh huh! Yep, he sure does walk on water doesnt he as far as you all are concerned. If you say so it absolutely MUST be true!!!!
I've never defended GWB.
I don't think the same things about him that you Democrats do, but I by no means liked the job that he did while he was in office.
As for blaming BO... you are correct sir. I assign blame where I think it should be assigned.
Just as I blamed GWB for his shortcomings, I blame BO for his.
If you don't want to take the blame for how the country is doing, then don't become president.
Economy in the toilet? Blame BO
Unemployment in the toilet? Blame BO
Housing market in the toilet? Blame BO
Deficit at an all time high? Blame BO
National debt blah, blah, blah? Blame BO
You can blame GWB for those very same things, and I would have too DURING HIS PRESIDENCY... but he's gone now, so it's BO's turn to take his share of the blame.
I don't think the same things about him that you Democrats do, but I by no means liked the job that he did while he was in office.
As for blaming BO... you are correct sir. I assign blame where I think it should be assigned.
Just as I blamed GWB for his shortcomings, I blame BO for his.
If you don't want to take the blame for how the country is doing, then don't become president.
Economy in the toilet? Blame BO
Unemployment in the toilet? Blame BO
Housing market in the toilet? Blame BO
Deficit at an all time high? Blame BO
National debt blah, blah, blah? Blame BO
You can blame GWB for those very same things, and I would have too DURING HIS PRESIDENCY... but he's gone now, so it's BO's turn to take his share of the blame.
Obama walks on water and is like Teflon®, but everyone else is to blame.???
Really?
LOL, I have heard nothing else on this forum from you other than to blame Obama, even to the point of defending Bush in order to do it! Good one! But not reality now is it?
Really?
LOL, I have heard nothing else on this forum from you other than to blame Obama, even to the point of defending Bush in order to do it! Good one! But not reality now is it?
People DO seem to forget about that little fact, don't they.
Yes, GWB was in office, but he had a Democrat-majority Congress signing off on the "American Dream for Everyone!" bill(s).
And don't forget, it was Bill Clinton that put the ball in play in the first place.
But that said, when has this country ever been about assigning blame where blame is due?!?
It's Clinton's fault.
It's GWB's fault.
It's Carter's fault.
It's Reagan's fault.
It's GWB's fault (gotta blame him twice, as he is the WORST!)
Obama walks on water and is like Teflon®, but everyone else is to blame.
Yes, GWB was in office, but he had a Democrat-majority Congress signing off on the "American Dream for Everyone!" bill(s).
And don't forget, it was Bill Clinton that put the ball in play in the first place.
But that said, when has this country ever been about assigning blame where blame is due?!?
It's Clinton's fault.
It's GWB's fault.
It's Carter's fault.
It's Reagan's fault.
It's GWB's fault (gotta blame him twice, as he is the WORST!)
Obama walks on water and is like Teflon®, but everyone else is to blame.
Yes the market did go BOOM thanks to certain people in congress.
And the housing market went BOOM! I think dsert said it best.
I didn't realize brice was speaking facetiously...too bad. I was thinking about how accommodating he has been lately. (lol at me)
Iused to get upset with this crybaby stuff, but now I just don't think it would be CE without this funny animosity. Funny guys.
Iused to get upset with this crybaby stuff, but now I just don't think it would be CE without this funny animosity. Funny guys.
What's even more hilarious than that is whenever Bush is mentioned, you have to chime in. You can't resist! Now that I've brought it to your attention, there is at least a 50/50 chance that you won't do it again. If this happened on Obama's watch, you'd blame Bush... Again, you can't help it.
Cry baby!
Cry baby!
NO ONE is saying that Bush was amazing and that he should get credit for this.
Brice, actually, said quite the opposite (facetiously).
Brice, actually, said quite the opposite (facetiously).
When have I ever railed against a program that is set up to help people that actually helps people without raising taxes for everyone? I don't want programs set up that is going to make people dependant on the government.
What is hilariously funny is seeing you three - who rail against every single program that is intended to help the poor and disadvantaged - suddenly trying to celebrate the laughable notion of Bush helping the homeless.
It's ridiculous alright but it's really funny too.
It's ridiculous alright but it's really funny too.
No, now you're crying but that's to be expected with you crybaby types.
No, You're crying.
I'm not crying this time - I'm laughing at you three knuckleheads.
Cry baby....
What a joke!
It doesn't matter if there are fewer homeless. If it happened in a different era. it would be noteworthy. Not during the Bush era. Everyone knows that everyone got screwed under Bush. Come on Vance.....
I guess if you can't give Bush credit for this then you can at least give Obama credit for this great economy right?
I don't think he was a monster or a warmonger.
I also think it's silly to give him credit for something that was simply the byproduct of an overheated housing market combined with corrupt banking practices.
This is like telling someone with a wasting disease they sure look good with all the weight they've dropped.
I also think it's silly to give him credit for something that was simply the byproduct of an overheated housing market combined with corrupt banking practices.
This is like telling someone with a wasting disease they sure look good with all the weight they've dropped.
Sorry I meant *in this country*...
Unfortunately, Poverty is this country is mind blowing....
Less homeless is always a good thing..
No, he's the monster, idiot, war monger, etc that a lot of people think he was. Ask around.
CNN posted something positive about GWB. Did hell freeze over while I was sleeping?
I still disagree with a lot of what the guy did, and by no means was he a great President, but I don't think he's the idiot/ monster/ inept/ moron/ warmonger that a lot of people think he was.
Maybe we're witnessing history being rewritten before our eyes?
God bless revisionist history, I guess...
I still disagree with a lot of what the guy did, and by no means was he a great President, but I don't think he's the idiot/ monster/ inept/ moron/ warmonger that a lot of people think he was.
Maybe we're witnessing history being rewritten before our eyes?
God bless revisionist history, I guess...
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