HOW THE GOP IS SCREWING THE HOMELESS

If you are a regular reader, you know how much I like numbers (facts, not fake news). So I'll start this post with a list of the 15 cities in the world (a) that have the largest populations of homeless persons (in decreasing order):

1. Manila, Philippines
2. New York, USA
3. Los Angeles, USA
4. Moscow, Russia
5. Mexico City, Mexico
6. Jakarta, Indonesia
7. Mumbai, India
8. Buenos Aires, Argentina
9.  Budapest, Hungary
10. Sao Paulo, Brazil
11. Boston, USA
12. Washington D. C., USA
13. San Francisco, USA
14. Phoenix, USA
15. Athens, Greece

Surprised? Of the top 15 homeless city populations in the world, 6 are in the United States of America, and 2 of these are ranked 2nd and 3rd. The U.S. economy remains the largest in the world in terms of nominal GDP. The $19.42 trillion U. S. economy is 25% of the gross world product. (b)

Homelessness in the U.S.A. increased during 2017 for the first time since 2010. It is estimated that there are 554,000 homeless people in our country; that's about 0.2% of our population of 327 million.

More than 42 million people in the U.S.A., including 1 in 6 children, struggle to put food on the table (2015 data). That is 13% of our population.

More than 43 million people in the U.S.A. live below the poverty line. The poverty line is an annual income less that $24,250 for a family of 4. (Think about that number for a moment!) 

The latest count in Multnomah County, Oregon, that includes the City of Portland, found 4,177 people experiencing homelessness (or houselessness) out of a population of 735,344. This number was a 10% increase over the 2015 count. Of the homeless persons, 76% were white, and 10% Hispanic/Latino.

American cities are struggling to address the crisis of homelessness, trying desperately to find solutions to house people and provide the services they need, including employment for those who can work. 

The response to the homeless crisis by the Trump Administration has been mixed, based on somewhat cursory research I have done. They recently announced a $2 billion grant program to help cities build affordable housing; on the other hand, they have made drastic cuts to the HUD and other budgets, and have tried to end some important federal programs designed to work towards an end to homelessness. 

But just looking at budget numbers for homelessness programs ignores the bigger picture. If we look at what the Congressional Republicans are doing, we see that the crisis might get worse. 

The GOP and the Trumpsters have been whittling away at the Affordable Care Act (or ACA, what they gleefully call "Obamacare."). Making health insurance less available and more expensive will harm many Americans, especially the poor. The result will be an increase in the number of people using hospital emergency rooms for their health issues, and also the number of people who simply don't get health care.

The major "victory" claimed by the GOP for 2017 was passage of a tax reduction bill that will put huge amounts of money in the pockets and coffers of wealthy Americans and corporations, have modest reductions in taxes for middle class working Americans, and have no benefit for the unemployed, the poor and the homeless. 

Notice that the tax reduction bill did nothing to increase the minimum wage in this country, leaving a huge number of Americans struggling to make a living wage (remember the $24,500 poverty line?). Sure, some corporations might bump wages up a bit as their profits increase because of lower taxes, but I predict this will be for workers already making larger salaries, not the minimum wage earners. 

And the tax reduction bill also ended the ACA mandate that people need to have health insurance, which will result in higher insurance premiums for the people who buy it. How much of the corporate tax savings will be plowed into health care for workers? I remain cynical. 

Major stated goals of the Trumpsters and the Congressional Republicans are to reduce the size of government, eliminate regulations, and make major cuts to "entitlement" programs - you know, the programs that help people. Budgets are being slashed across the board in the federal government, with the exception of the military. So what will that all look like for people experiencing homelessness? That's right - they get screwed. 

Talk about a "shithole country!" 

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Sources:
a. https://www.therichest.com/rich-list/poorest-list/the-15-most-homeless-cities-in-the-world/
b. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/022415/worlds-top-10-economies.asp