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San Diego continues to face a hepatitis A outbreak:
Like other major cities all along the West Coast, San Diego is struggling with a homeless crisis. In a place that bills itself as "America's Finest City," spiraling real estate values have contributed to spiraling homelessness, leaving more than 3,200 people living on the streets or in their cars.
Most alarmingly, the deplorable sanitary conditions help spread a liver-damaging virus that lives in fæces, contributing to the deadliest U.S. hepatitis A epidemic in 20 years. "Some of the most vulnerable are dying in the streets in one of the most desirable and livable regions in America," a San Diego County grand jury wrote in its report in June — reiterating recommendations it gave the city over the past decade to address homelessness.
San Diego has struggled to do that. Two years ago, Mayor Kevin Faulconer closed a downtown tent shelter that operated for 29 years during winter months. He promised a "game changer" — a new, permanent facility with services to funnel people to housing. But it wasn't enough. The result? Legions of Californians without shelter. A spreading contagion. And an extraordinary challenge to the city's sunny identity that threatens its key tourism industry.
Previously: San Diego Declares Emergency Due to Outbreak of Hepatitis A
San Diego Power-Washing Streets to Fight Hepatitis A Outbreak
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Sulla on Friday December 08 2017, @09:22PM
There is a difference between those who for various reasons cannot work and those who for various reasons will not work. In the city in which I live there is a pretty big segregation between those two categories. For a number of decades you would have year-round homeless who had a legitimate need that the community can and did address between work programs, food kitchens, lodging, clothing, etc. Once a year right after the forest festival the festival goers (transients) would wander into town and use up the whole year's worth of homeless resources (can't really tell who is who) and then leave town as soon as the resources are done. A couple of years ago the transients realized that as long as they "needed it" the community would find a way to get more resources. We went from one person for every couple street corners to arguing and bickering between people on every street corner.
They would shit on the sidewalk so the city started paying for portapoties, they kept shitting on the sidewalk so now the city has to wash the sidewalk. They would violate private property (peoples back yards) so the city paid for homeless camps to be set up with what have become permanent dwellings, the response was for more transients to come and do the same things so the city would react the same way.. I think we have around ten right now. We have gone from being barely listed to being listed near the top for violent crime in our state. The resources that transients want are the free stuff and lodging resources but refuse to use the free job services even though we have jobs available in the area for people with no history.
If someone is down on their luck and needs some help, I absolutely am for giving them assistance to try to get into a better situation. But I have no desire to help those who refuse help and only want to live on the dime of those who are forced to work. There are millions out there barely making ends meet, the answer is not to continue increasing the burden of taxes so they end up getting laid off or can't afford their rent.
Blaming capitalism doens't do much good because in a communist society these would be the same people that would refuse to work and needed to be pulled along by the people who are willing to work. Marx suggestion of solving this problem was to cull the lumpen-proletariat, at least in capitalism they can live on the streets without being shot.
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam