Written by Michael Palomba
It’s no secret that California suffers from a major problem with homelessness. However, I think we sometimes underestimate just how bad the problem is.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has revealed that the national rate of homelessness has spiked, and California is the direct cause. In fact, the homeless population has declined in more than half of the states over the last year.
This is the third consecutive increase in the country’s homelessness projection. And according to HUD, this year’s national increase of 2.7% is entirely caused by a 16.4% homelessness increase in California.
Earlier this week Governor Gavin Newsom attempted to blame California’s ever-growing homelessness problem on President Trump, of course.
In spin room at #DemDebate, @GavinNewsom slams Trump Administration and HUD for doing “nothing” on “housing first,” the priority to solve homelessness. pic.twitter.com/AQXRHUwZys
— Carla ‘Bluechecked’ Marinucci (@cmarinucci) December 20, 2019
However, President Trump quickly fired back warning Newsom that if he doesn’t get California’s homeless epidemic under control, the federal government will intervene.
Governor Gavin N has done a really bad job on taking care of the homeless population in California. If he can’t fix the problem, the Federal Govt. will get involved! https://t.co/2z8zM37PUA
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 25, 2019
Newsom’s accusation also does not make any sense because, as mentioned before, more than half of states are seeing decreases in homelessness.
HUD Secretary Ben Carson said, “As we look across our nation, we see great progress, but we’re also seeing a continued increase in street homelessness along our West Coast where the cost of housing is extremely high. In fact, homelessness in California is at a crisis level and needs to be addressed by local and state leaders with crisis-like urgency.”
So what gives? Why can’t California get its homelessness population under control?
Some will say it’s weather-related as homeless people would rather be homeless in California than somewhere with less pristine weather. And while that may be a factor, there is much more to it than that. After all, while people would prefer to be homeless somewhere the weather is nice, they would rather not be homeless at all.
The states with the lowest homeless rates are Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Virginia, and North Dakota. All Republican states (except Virginia, which was solidly Republican until recently).
What are the states with the highest homeless populations? New York, Hawaii, California, Oregon, and Washington. And what do all of these states have in common? They are Democrat-run states.
So, what is the common denominator in these Democratic states? High cost of living. That is where the problem lies, especially for California.
California has the highest marginal income tax, highest sales tax, and second-highest gas tax in the country. All of that plus high housing costs make it monumentally harder for people to afford to live here. And in the event someone loses their job, they will quickly realize how unaffordable California really is.
To add insult to injury, a large portion of California’s ridiculously high taxes go towards paying for illegal immigrants. In June of this year, California passed a budget that included healthcare for illegal immigrants.
On a side note, I went to the emergency room earlier this year and was slapped with nearly $1,000 in fees. So apparently illegals can access my tax funds for their medical care, but I can’t access those funds for my own care.
In addition to providing healthcare for illegal immigrants, California has pledged 30 million for “Dreamers” to pay for college. Illegals are also eligible for California’s plethora of welfare programs; Programs that are paid for by law-abiding, tax-paying citizens.
The state clearly has it all backward. Why are illegal aliens having their expenses covered before homeless American citizens? Unfortunately, that is a question that I do not have an answer to.
What I can tell you is that California’s strategy of more taxes and more spending isn’t working and isn’t sustainable. They still aren’t taxing enough to cover all of the costs, which is why Democrats are attempting to repeal Prop 13.
Prop 13 protects property owners from being overtaxed. It requires property taxes to be based on the sale price of the property, rather than the current market value. Stripping away these protections will hurt all tax-paying property owners. However, small businesses and the elderly will be most affected as they usually do not have much disposable income to cover the increase.
At the end of the day, California is beginning to look more and more like a sinking ship every day. Homelessness is running rampant, taxes are increasing, the illegal population continues to grow, and the list goes on. But it isn’t too late to save this once great state. Voters need to get smart and start voting in the right politicians before it’s too late.
