https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/22/us/supreme-court-homeless-case-oregon.html (“Supreme Court Seems Poised to Allow Local Laws That Penalize Homelessness”) NIABY- Not in anyone's back yard. That is the solution likely to come from the Supreme Court in addressing the homeless crisis in this nation.
The court is hearing the wrong case. It should not be about whether local governments are entitled to punish the homeless or what jurisdiction they should or can have. The case should be about whether local, state, and federal governments sufficiently value people and whether government should bear a direct liability in causing homelessness. For decades, government allowed corporations to export a massive number of jobs for short-term corporate profits. We have failed to recognize that homelessness is correlated to unemployment, drug addiction and mental health. By ignoring these bigger picture societal issues, we have allowed a national security crisis to take hold. The public can no longer be placated with falsely calculated unemployment numbers designed to make the government look like they are doing an adequate job. One can only hope that Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo will re-prioritize things.--RE
The court is hearing the wrong case. It should not be about whether local governments are entitled to punish the homeless or what jurisdiction they should or can have. The case should be about whether local, state, and federal governments sufficiently value people and whether government should bear a direct liability in causing homelessness. For decades, government allowed corporations to export a massive number of jobs for short-term corporate profits. We have failed to recognize that homelessness is correlated to unemployment, drug addiction and mental health. By ignoring these bigger picture societal issues, we have allowed a national security crisis to take hold. The public can no longer be placated with falsely calculated unemployment numbers designed to make the government look like they are doing an adequate job. One can only hope that Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo will re-prioritize things.--RE
What a horror.
Wishing you and your family a zisn Pesakh.