+34
OPINION: Those who advocate various solutions to homelessness but do not stress government involvement beyond S.F. are playing politics rather than trying to solve a complex problem. They are engaged in performative progressivism and angry chest-thumping.
Whether you think of homelessness as contributing to fear and crime in The City, driving away businesses and tourists and making life more difficult for everybody, or as a humanitarian crisis in which thousands of people in San Francisco struggle to find a safe and warm place to sleep at night — or whether you support draconian “round 'em up and ship 'em away” measures or more compassionate efforts to make housing and treatment for mental illness and substance abuse more accessible — we are never going to resolve this crisis unless we see it in a broader context.
For decades, homelessness has been understood as a problem of American cities, not just San Francisco, but also New York, Los Angeles, Houston and so many others. This framing allows the federal government, and frequently state governments, to pass the buck to cities that do not have enough resources or political power to address a situation not entirely of their making. . State and federal funding decisions about mental health programs, unemployment assistance, Medicare and other issues contribute to homelessness in American cities. In San Francisco, powerful economic interests from outside The City buying up real estate, a tech boom that remade S.F. 's economy and the lack of adequate health care for many are just some of the causes of homelessness that no mayor or city politician can ameliorate. What’s needed is a federal policy to ensure that all Americans, even if they live in San Francisco or other big cities, have access to affordable housing. This would require coordinated efforts around housing, wages and employment, education, health care and other areas throughout all levels of government. Additionally, every proposal to address homelessness in San Francisco, including building supportive housing, paying overtime to police and making mental health or drug treatment more accessible, costs a lot of money. The responsibility of these costs falls to individual cities such as San Francisco, but no city has that kind of money. Those who advocate various solutions to homelessness but do not stress government involvement beyond San Francisco are playing politics rather than trying to solve a complex problem. They are engaged in performative progressivism and angry chest-thumping. America’s federalist system often makes it confusing to determine what level of government is responsible for solving what problems, but the extent to which homelessness is seen as the exclusive responsibility of municipal governments is absurd. Nobody believes that interstates should be built and paid for by the counties through which they happen to pass, or that paying for border security should be the responsibility of the states that have international borders, or that each state or local government should be solely responsible for social security, unemployment insurance or veteran’s benefits for their residents. Even Florida’s right-wing governor Ron DeSantis did not hesitate to ask Washington for assistance when his state was devastated by Hurricane Ian. In all these cases, the complexity and interconnectedness of the American economy is taken for granted and informs the policy approach. But for some reason, when it comes to solving problems of homelessness, individual cities are expected to go it alone. This is largely because urban interests are under-represented in Washington. For Republicans, it is also a lot easier to demonize big cities and the Democrats who run them than it is to try to help. Democratic presidential administrations further find it more politically useful to sidestep homelessness and frame it as a problem for cities to solve. Refusing to recognize the need for national solutions to national problems makes it easier to blame scapegoats like Mayor London Breed, any of her predecessors in City Hall or, more frequently, the alleged excesses of progressive government in San Francisco. This last charge is particularly dishonest. Right-wing policies that cut funding for social programs are much more responsible for homelessness than whatever policies progressives in San Francisco, who almost never control city government, might have implemented. Reframing homelessness not as something specific to San Francisco or Seattle, but as an American crisis that is most visible in major cities, would be an extremely important first step to moving from performative progressivism and angry chest-thumping to problem solving. Insisting that San Francisco, or any city, eliminate homelessness on its own is pointless and strengthens the view that cities, particularly San Francisco, have become failures. Place a free digital obituaryWe provide a free service for you to honor your loved ones. Click below to get started.
Scratch the next story
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News: You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Candidates weigh in on San Francisco drug crisis ahead of electionSan Francisco's open-air drug crisis and how to deal with it is front of mind for many residents, with less than a month to go before the election.
Read more »
Giants fan favorite Pence endorses hot-button ballot measureThe San Francisco resident and his wife starred in a new advertisement in favor of Prop. J.
Read more »
Homelessness in San Francisco: How do you talk topic with family?What do conversations about homelessness sound like in your own home? The Examiner wants to hear from you
Read more »
Brendan Fraser Apologizes to San Francisco for George of the JungleDuring a recent appearance at a film festival for an award, Brendan Fraser jokingly apologized for some unintended trauma he gave the city of San Francisco.
Read more »
San Antonio surpasses goal to get hundreds of homeless people off streetsSan Antonio became the first community in the U.S. to surpass a nationwide effort to help end homelessness, city officials announced Monday.
Read more »
City Leaders Look Into Preventing Fish Die-Off in San Francisco BayThis summer’s fish die-off in the San Francisco Bay has city leaders looking for a way to prevent it from happening again and scientists say there is something that can be done, but it won’t be cheap.
Read more »