By Dick Platkin : citywatchla – excerpt

Many people feel the income gap resulting in the diminishing middle class is largely to blame for the homeless crisis.

PLANNING WATCH – The city, county, and state of California are spending billions to eliminate homelessness, yet the number of homeless people is still increasing. For example, by mid-2023, the State of California had spent $17.5 billion on homelessness. LA Countyhas allocated about $800 million for fiscal year 2024-25, and the City of Los Angeles has budgeted $961 million…

Let me explain why I think the numbers of homeless and overcrowded people are still increasing, despite so much local spending.

The problem is NOT a housing shortage. Even though well-funded pressure groups, public officials, and the corporate media endlessly repeat this bogus claim. What they rarely say, however, is that the basic problem is a lack of low-priced housing, and that private sector solutions only make the low-priced housing shortage worse.

For example, in San Jose there are 11 empty housing units for each homeless person, and in San Diego there are three (3) empty housing units for each homeless individual. Since some people have roommates, spouses, or partners, the ratio of vacant houses and apartments per homeless persons is actually higher. As for Los Angeles, the ACCE Vacancy Reportdocumented 93,000 vacant housing units, half of which are withheld from the housing market. This is more than LA’s 45,000 homeless people.

If a housing shortage is not the underlying cause or the housing crisis, then what is?… (more)