Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Monday, July 4, 2016
The Cost of the Homeless? Why the numbers lie.
This is more of a lesson in false economic theory, creative spin and/or stupidity. I'm not sure which one or ones are the exact culprits, but the end result is misinformation sold as truth.
The cost of dealing with the homeless, if you take reports on the problem and associated financial data as provided by local governing bodies seems shockingly high. And it is. Way too high.
These numbers are fed to the taxpayers as problematic. They are very problematic, but not for the reasons stated by local agencies.
I give you Santa Barbara California.
Santa Barbara has been cracking down on the homeless.
" Average home prices top a million dollars, tourism is the fastest growing industry, vacancy rates are near zero, and the city’s 900 homeless are a constant source of tension for merchants and residents."
Tourism. Who are these tourists? The rich. They don't like seeing people who are less rich.
Near zero is not zero. 1, 2, 3, and 4 are also "near"zero.
The Santa Barbara solution is to criminalize homelessness. What does that mean? It takes more police hours, more jail time and more court time. The cost per day in the county jail per inmate is $160. That is $4,800 per 30 days. The cost of a two bedroom apartment in Santa Barbara is $2,000 per month.
To incarcerate 2 people for a month costs the taxpayers $9,600. 4 people run $19,200, Four homeless people could be housed in one 2 bedroom for $2,000 saving a total of $17,200 per month.
It gets better. Santa Barbara has 15 cops whose job it is is "predominantly" dealing with the homeless problem. That is an annual salary of $58,226 per officer x's 15 = $72,782.5 per month or $873,390 per annum. But the city government has no money to do much to alleviate the plight of the homeless.
None of these figures take into the costs incurred by the jailing staff, clerks both jail and courts or the judge's time.
This is government waste in the highest degree.
The monies if put into affordable housing would after 3 to 5 yrs save the city millions within the next 3 to 5 years.
So is it false economic theory, creative spin and/or stupidity?
The cost of dealing with the homeless, if you take reports on the problem and associated financial data as provided by local governing bodies seems shockingly high. And it is. Way too high.
These numbers are fed to the taxpayers as problematic. They are very problematic, but not for the reasons stated by local agencies.
I give you Santa Barbara California.
Santa Barbara has been cracking down on the homeless.
" Average home prices top a million dollars, tourism is the fastest growing industry, vacancy rates are near zero, and the city’s 900 homeless are a constant source of tension for merchants and residents."
Tourism. Who are these tourists? The rich. They don't like seeing people who are less rich.
Near zero is not zero. 1, 2, 3, and 4 are also "near"zero.
The Santa Barbara solution is to criminalize homelessness. What does that mean? It takes more police hours, more jail time and more court time. The cost per day in the county jail per inmate is $160. That is $4,800 per 30 days. The cost of a two bedroom apartment in Santa Barbara is $2,000 per month.
To incarcerate 2 people for a month costs the taxpayers $9,600. 4 people run $19,200, Four homeless people could be housed in one 2 bedroom for $2,000 saving a total of $17,200 per month.
It gets better. Santa Barbara has 15 cops whose job it is is "predominantly" dealing with the homeless problem. That is an annual salary of $58,226 per officer x's 15 = $72,782.5 per month or $873,390 per annum. But the city government has no money to do much to alleviate the plight of the homeless.
None of these figures take into the costs incurred by the jailing staff, clerks both jail and courts or the judge's time.
This is government waste in the highest degree.
The monies if put into affordable housing would after 3 to 5 yrs save the city millions within the next 3 to 5 years.
So is it false economic theory, creative spin and/or stupidity?
One city’s key to keeping its California paradise: Arrest the homeless
did i piss you off?
i will
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