Recession Creating Legions Of Newly Homeless

Washington Post:

The ravages of the recession, including a surge in foreclosures and unemployment approaching 10 percent, have driven thousands of families onto the streets.

Although the number of homeless individuals remained relatively stable between 2007 and 2008, the number of homeless families rose 9 percent, and in rural and suburban areas the number jumped a staggering 56 percent, according to a report released last week by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Read the whole story: Washington Post

Comments

[repugnicansfearme]

T. Boone Pickens should not have a blog on HuffPost. His despicable and reprehensible actions supporting the "Swift Boating" of John Kerry, among other ultra-right wing support he provides, should negate his appearing on this site.

[rollingdivision]

T Boone Pickens is receiving Billion in subsidies for his energy business from our Congress. Pickens is on the list of the world's wealthiest people, the US economy is in the dumps, millions of unemployed are losing their homes, every additional penny Congress spends is being borrowed from the Chinese and our Congress is giving our money to T Boone Pickens.

[Winston Smith]

You enjoy making stuff up?

[rollingdivision]

EVERY single unemployed US citizen could have been given over $68,000 EACH with a Trillion dollars. So $1,000,000,000,000 dollars and we shouldn't hold Obama and the Democrats to their word on the stimulus? Really, a trillion dollars and they have no responsibility?

[hark]

And your point is?

[KnightOfTheRight]

You don't pay the unproductive for doing nothing. Paying the unemployed for being unemployed sounds "compassionate" , but it accomplishes nothing. It's pouring money down a hole. You pay the *productive* to do even more of what they do so they can create opportunities for the unproductive to become productive again.

Actually, you don't even have to *pay* them. Just stop stealing their money and let them keep more of what they earn. And then step away and let them do their job.

[gallon]

Right. And give 'em a big tax cut just to be sure. How did that work out the last 8 years?
Earth to Knight: Reaganomics did not work.

[Adartist777]

Easy to say if you're working, right?

[miriamfl]

None of you the repugs complained when the clowns of the last administration took us into 2 wars the second one totally unnecessary and illegal and it will cost a trillion dollars not to mention the billions that were shipped and lost in Iraq. This money was borrowed from the Chinese by the drunken sailors of the past 8 years. At least the stimulus is staying in this country and trying to help real americans.

[rollingdivision]

Completely out of touch Obama is now trying to reassure us by insisting his $787 billion stimulus bill “has worked as intended.” Obama intended hundred of thousands to become homeless, the economy to destroy 400,000 jobs a month, unemployment to go over 9.5 percent, home foreclosures to reach a record high, for more US citizens to be on food stamps then ever, for California unemployment to reach 11.5 percent and more US small and medium size businesses to close then at any other point in history? A TRILLION dollars and things only get worse. Intended?! That’s sort of like saying Andy Roddick blew two sets to Roger Federer to set up Roger for the fifth. It transcends “spin” and goes into the realm of outright BS.

[MNmommy]

Why don't you roll on outta here.

Obama didn't create this mess, you dear leader did.

[rollingdivision]

Obama and the Democrats got their $1,000,000,000,000 stimulus and the economy gets worse. Obama and Democrats flat out told the public the stimulus would stop unemployment from going above 8, that's EIGHT percent, it's on the way to over 10 percent. When your president spends a Trillion dollars you don't get do overs.

[iSeeDumbPeople]

No one here is blaming Obama for what Bush did. Obama is being blamed for what OBAMA did. Bush and Paulsen may have started it, but Obama and Geithner continued it.

[mamacat]

Most of us are only a couple of paychecks or one major illness away from homelessness. It is a shame. Instituting universal healthcare will do a lot to help with the homelessness problem.

[rollingdivision]

Then you are living beyond your means.

[NotARhetoricalQuestion]

So, how much have you saved up for your major illness?

[LorettaSingbiel]

ALL OF US are one major illness or injury away from homelessness!!! But those who are "entitled" to EMPLOYER-paid "healthcare" won't worry about that UNTIL their FREE "healthcare" is CAPPED or CANCELED. And if (when) that happens, they'd be first in line for their "socialized" healthcare, youbetcha!!!

[acudoc]

This unfolding unemployment scenario is completely unnecessary, and its solution depends on a critical mass of citizens who understand the faux nature of money as it is presently constituted: entirely debt-based and issued without consideration on the part of fractional-reserve money lenders, managed by a banking cartel that artificially sets interest rates and that props up a federal government that routinely runs deficits in order to fund its unconsttiutional welfare-warfare programs.

Without a return to honest money and banking, we are in the end phase of the United States of America. End the Federal Reserve System which has been fleecing the country for close to 100 years.

[dynwitch]

LOL. And here I've been thinking capitalism was working pretty well all these years, and it was just too little regulation that suddenly crashed it. Little did I know that it was a constitutional crisis of monstrous socialism and "pretend" money (as opposed to "real" money, whatever that is).

[BobsNotWorking]

You're right. There is no such thing as "real' money, but you'd be wrong to believe that the fractional reserve banking system is not a problem for humanity. One of its biggest problems, among many, is that it depends completely on an ever expanding economy in order to function. In the end, that's probably not going to be sustainable.

[Puller58]

I used to work at a homeless shelter. I saw no "families.­" What I saw were men and women with income such as social security that wanted a free place to stay and eat so they could indulge in smoking, drinking and drug taking. People love to throw "families" into the debate to justify some enormous fraud of government spending. You reopen state mental hospitals and reinstitute vagrancy laws and the ranks of the "homeless" would thin to the vagabond/hobo and winos. It's really that simple.

[quantumspin]

Spoken like a 'real' American: selfish to the core, and bitter.

[miriamfl]

You mean, "Spoken like a real repug" right?

[GalapagosTortoise]

Doesn't sound like you were qualified to work at a homeless shelter.

[swift goat pet for truth]

No doubt there were some people as you describe.

But to say that is the only situation, or that what you describe is applicable in today's environment is absurd.

But I can understand why you wish it was so.

[MNmommy]

Sure, we believe you ever stepped foot in a homeless shelter.

::eyeroll::

[LorettaSingbiel]

Only to harrass them ... NEVER to HELP them, that's for sure!

[WYHKTai-Tai]

I used to work at my churche's soup kitchen, and on their coat drives in NYC in the winter.

There were definitely families. Mostly as is described in the article, young single Moms w/ small kids, with a perpetually terrified look-in-the-eye. Horrible.

[QueenCeleste]

Terribly, terribly sad. And raising taxes is not the answer. Imagine if funding for the Iraq war, the space program (tremendous waste of money!), foreign aid, and illegal immigrants was used for our own citizens in these dire circumstances. It is an outrage that people are hungry and children are living in cars in America.

[dobberdoss]

Can i just say something here?, Some would like it but i'm going to say it . "Mortgages" are a personal choice, they are not mandatory to life nor success in life so if YOU chose to take one out withour reading the fine print or having the income to support your repayments well Sorry! It's not my problem or anybody elses, it's yours, not the governments, not the banks, Yours. Why yours? because "being taken advantage off" is a two way street. It first relies on fooling a fool who puts trust in anybody with a smile and a suit. Lets be honest here! this Credit Crisis is as much a legislative fault as it is the fault of our own greed mentality in society in general. Now that the "chicken has come home to roost" we ALL start looking to blame everyone but ourselves!. Good luck out there in a world that has always been harsh.

[abbyrose86]

Although you are correct that mortgages ARE a personal choice, you are not looking at the BIG picture. However, that isn't the only reason people are homeless, it is PART of the problem. If you lose your job and your unemployment and severance are not adequate enough to cover your monthly living expenses, you could find yourself in this situation as well. Depending on where you live in this country, cost of living vs unemployment benefits can cause this situation quite easily.

Don't be so quick to judge. Walk in another person's shoes. Really, put your thinking cap on and come up with all the possibilities as to WHY this could happen to a person or family. Divorce, illness, layoff, high cost of living, children, death of a bread winner, etc.

One more thing, all these foreclosures, and homelessness are bad for EVERYONE. Again, think BIG picture.

[lillibelle]

Well said, abbyrose. Dobber's post made me think of Donne's famous poem, "Ask not for whom the bell tolls..."

[Librick]

I think dobberdoss IS looking at the big picture. A mortgage is purchase and a choice just like a car payment. One purchases on credit and contracts to pay according to the terms. This is actually the big picture, throughout modern history, on how things work. If one buys a product, should not the seller expect to receive the agreed upon price?

It's up to the individual to factor potential job loss, severance, cost of living, death of a breadwinner. etc., into the equation before making a home purchase or any purchase for that matter.

So many people extend their available credit too far and create a personal situation that leaves them and their family exposed and vulnerable to the business cycle winds.

No one likes the situation we're in right now and I agree that foreclosures and homelessness are bad for everyone. However, homelessness should not be conflated with foreclosures.

Losing a job, whether you own or rent, creates a dire situation. It is the lack of jobs that swell the ranks of the homeless. Historically, that is the BIG picture.

[swift goat pet for truth]

Societies are about groups of people working together.
It is how all great societies are constructed and survive.
Those that emphasize the individual over the health and welfare of the group are weakened and fail.

That is history.

While a little of what you say is applicable to some people, to assert it is the general case is statistically incorrect. And your "solution" is one that weakens our social fabric.

[LorettaSingbiel]

"It's not my problem or anybody elses, it's yours, not the governments, not the banks, Yours."

REALLY? NOT the BANKS' fault???

[mjtaylor22]

those with much to gain are currently and have been gaming the system to force people from things such as affordable housing (a term hardly heard anymore)
from jobs that pay a living wage, instead of just minimum wage, whcih has not moved since I was in college thats was over a decade n a half, ago all the while all cost of living have risen astronomically.
we were tricked into long term investing while the Cramers of wall street robbed us blind with billion dollar back room swindles.
and the Madoffs went un repnetent and un punished for a decade
all those with a lil money were to get into the rental property biz you can do it and make a mint, realestate never goes down
yea right the propped it up just long enuff for bush to be on his way outta town,
the mom n pop business were replaced by big box stores, the small town downstowns died as malls popped up onthe outskirts fo town, our wealth concentration was moved to wall street and then ferretted out the front the back and the sie door under police guard.
and no one even pretends to know what happened..­.........i­t was a set up, from the word go i see it clearly

[mcmchugh99]

Just like the Great Depression, and a lot more help actually needs to get down to the people hit hardest.

[Roguewolf]

But aren't they part of the 150,000 jobs saved per month?

[timewaster2dcore]

No. Goes to show you the extent of W's havoc. Who'd have though he made things this bad. It's gonna take some time for this administration to get it under control. The lesson: C students and drunks aren't presidential materials.

[blakestone]

Yeah because Obama was an 'A' student, right? Wait, his transcripts are under lock and key...darn­!

[Roguewolf]

Bush: From March 2003 to October 2003, the S&P 500 went from 835 to 1034 or +23.8%. Obama: From January 2009 through July 2009, the S&P went from 932 to 879 or -5.2%. By way of comparison, I also reviewed the market returns a full year prior to these time periods and the results show a very similar situation. The S&P 500 return under Bush 1-year prior was -26.2%, hurt by the internet bubble collapse, 9/11 and corporate scandals. Trillions of dollars in lost wealth. The S&P 500 return under Obama 1-year prior was -35.9%, hurt by the housing bubble collapse. Also trillions of dollars in lost wealth.

[kassandrasduplex]

...and it would appear the majority of the homeless are white people and a lot of white men. They've had it the hardest (excluding undocumented aliens) as they have had 25 year now of affirmative action going against them.

[lillibelle]

According to the article, "Women make up 81% of adults in homeless families..­.They tend to be younger than 25 with children younger than age five."

Whatever the gender, race, or age, what is happening is heartbreaking.

[MikeDu]

You gotta love Republicans.
A corporation slashes your healthcare - is it the fault of the corporation? No, its the fault of the government somehow.
A corporation dumps its middle-age workers in favor of low wage part-timers - is that the fault of the corporations? No, its the fault of 'affirmative action' somehow.
A corporation moves all of its factory work to China - is that the fault of the corporation? no, its the fault of unions soomehow.
Your retirement money evaporates - is it the fault of corporation mismangement? No, it's the fault of congress somehow.
wildly excessive corpoate executive compensation transfers the wealth of the U.S. from the middle-class to the top 1% - Surely THAT'S go to be the fault of the corporation, right? No it isn't. its somehow the fault of the most disadvantaged who are on welfare.

Are you starting to see a pattern here?

[blakestone]

Get help with you "cooperation derangement syndrome". Seriously, The Stock market makes it very clear as it is a DIRECT indication of what is happening in our economy. Private Capital and Business are on the sidelines because no one is stupid enough to have THEIR money stolen or put to sleep by a Re-distributive, Collectivist, Central State Controlled government. And you can continue to applaud Obama's so-called economic justice against the producers in this country...­until you too will find yourself pissing in a tin cup on some street. That, sir...will be your reality.

[iSeeDumbPeople]

THANK YOU!

[dzent1]

More likely they had 25 years of acting like @$$h01es and now nobody wants to help them.

[Spikepine]

White men might have had affirmative action against them for 25 years, but black people had slavery, Jim Crow and out right racism against them for 200 years. Also, you will be surprised how much affirmative action has helped white men because they were able to use their white wives to open business using affirmative action..

[QueenCeleste]

Affirmative action has "helped white men?" I'm sure many would beg to differ!

[mjtaylor22]

who now hold the highest unemployment rate
African american Men.......­....
so shut up, I know its myfault i weas the first fired at the sign of trouble.
actually it was my fault for takignthe job in the first place, should just open my busienss and get a loan to get it up n running,
o wait that won't happen we do not get laons much either....­.........

[kassandrasduplex]

The homeless population increased under Bush for all of his 8 years I think. I recall that the applications for food assistance increased too, so this more dramatic increase comes on the heels of a long period of econoimic duress. We can solve much of these problems by returning to FDR style pro grez iv tachs ay shun. Tax folks like hen Ree Cr ah viss who makes $51 thousand per hour. His company is poised to make a windfall on the healthcare so-called "reform" coming down the pike.
Sadly, because Barack Obama is NOT a progressive, I fear things will get much worse for most Americans and might just likely NEVER improve. That's what has happened in Russia.

[blakestone]

Uh, look it up, we had Virtual unemployment at it's peek in 2006.

[blakestone]

School me please...p­rogressivi­sm is to Tax people/cooperation out of existance and subsequently, people loose jobs? Cool!

[swift goat pet for truth]

Good fear mongering.
When did this EVER happen?

[mjtaylor22]

what happened was taxes for the wealthiest in the midst of two wars andinsted of tickel down, all the money was schiponed up intot he bankers and ivnestement firm coffers,
we not even talking about the 4.00 gass debacle that set the stage for ruin......­...how much savings was eviscerated in those months last year,
yeah lets do that again becasue all the rest of us are loosing our jobs and homes and wil not have income nor property to pay tax on
maybe the ceo fo goldman will hire a few folks withtheir record profits instead of payout millions in bonuses and re decorate his office for the price of 50 jobs with healthcare insurance.­..........­i won't hold my breath

[kassandrasduplex]

testing the censors

[kassandrasduplex]

They block posts naming the rich robber barons some times. Those are th e people who need to be paying higher taxes.

[The Albany Kid]

Someone should organize a few "Bush Towns" (a la the Hoorvervilles of yesteryear) in a certain ritzy section of the DFW Metroplex.

[kassandrasduplex]

The homeless population increased under Bush for all of his 8 years I think. I recall that the applications for food assistance increased too, so this more dramatic increase comes on the heels of a long period of econoimic duress. We can solve much of these problems by returning to FDR style PROGRESSIVE TAXATION. Tax folks like Henry Cr ah viss who makes $51 THOUSAND per hour. His company is poised to make a windfall on the healthcare so-called "reform" coming down the pike.
Sadly, because Barack Obama is NOT a progressive, I fear things will get much worse for most Americans and might just likely NEVER improve. That's what has happened in Russia.