moving on

 Watching the news about the homeless situation in Baltimore. There is a regular city of Red Tents where a good number of these folks stay. With the weather changing the call has gone out for blankets and such. The how and why these people are homeless covers the entire gamut of the human condition. What is the solution? I have no answer to that and no one else does either. I have thought about all of this before, how this has changed over the years. When I was young, I would hear about Hobo's. Hobos were transient workers that roamed the nation following the weather. They were willing to work for food or a few dollars. But at some point, the hobos quit traveling and settled down in one area. It was at that point they became known as homeless. Hobos were certainly homeless but not identified in that fashion, I wonder why that was? Well, that was in a time when the shiftless, the lazy, those that made poor life choices were held accountable for all of that. They weren't victims of anything but consequences. The consequences of their own choices. 

 Now there is a genuine homeless problem throughout the country. It is estimated that about half a million people are homeless in America. It's important to note that the vast majority of those folks are citizens of this country. The ones here illegally are being housed, fed and given medical care, along with educational and occupational opportunities. They are not counted among the homeless. I can't help but think there is something wrong with that picture. Perhaps if we channeled our resources to our citizens before illegals the homeless population could be reduced instead of increasing almost daily! But, that's not important because the homeless don't vote. You can't vote without an address; something being provided to those illegals. The push is on to allow those people to vote, no citizenship required. It is reported that about 15.5 million illegals are living in the United States! None of them are homeless. At least not according to official government accounting they aren't. They are refugees!   

 Yes it's an interesting thing about the homeless. We have had a pandemic raging, according to the media, for over two years. The fourth booster shot is being rolled out and the fear of Monkey pox is on the rise. Still, I haven't heard of any homeless populations being decimated by any of that. Why aren't we finding bodies all over the place? Could it be acquired immunity? No, the science says that takes too long to develop, we all need to be vaccinated and boosted! I'm guessing it must be the stellar hygiene and proper diet that is protecting them. 

 Typically, we think of the homeless people as living on the streets. The actual number of people doing that is far less than the reported half a million homeless. That's because homeless means simply not having stable housing. Homeless people live in shelters, other family members homes, or private boarding houses. If those houses don't contain a private bathroom, it is considered inadequate housing and you are homeless. They also include those that have been forced to leave their homes. We could fix all of that with mortage and rent forgiveness. Don't worry, you won't have to pay more taxes. Interesting to note is that the government defines those folks that have lost their homes or apartments as "refugees" but are not entitled to the same benefits as illegal alien "refugees." But it is the ones living on the street that draw the most attention. The hobos that became squatters. If we could just get them to move on, the problem will disappear.