Won't 4 Million new homeless Americans cost more than the 13.5 billion it'll cost to extend unemployment?

Why don't people realize that it's 2010 and in most states/cities you aren't allowed to live on the street? From what I know in New York, Newark, Detroit, Chicago and parts of Los Angeles sleeping in public is a minor offense that results in the police dragging you to a homeless shelter. Last I checked Shelter systems costs hundreds of billions in tax dollars. So what's the problem with spending 13.5 billion on a national level to avoid that? 4 million new homeless Americans would costs somewhere between 100-150 dollars a night.





I'm simply looking at it from a financial stand point. Homeless Americans cost just as much if not more than some one on unemployment.





1. In many if not most states homeless parents are not allowed to live on the street or in shelters with children. That means billions more in foster care dollars.





2. Single Mother's will go straight to the welfare/section 8 office and a large majority of them will receive tax paid project housing and welfare dollars.





3. Single Men will end up either in shelters or in jail after they fight police trying to drag them to shelters.





The idea of "well these people should go dig ditches or work at wendy's" is null stale and void at this point. In order to dig a ditch you need to be part of a union with a 6-12 month wait and even then who has the money for union dues? Many fast food places have back logs of applications a mile long and in reality they really aren't even hiring that often.





Also in many areas you're simply not allowed to live on the street. For example in New York anyone caught sleeping in public is dragged by force to a shelter. So even saying "let them hunker down and face the music" doesn't work because for all intents and purposes a person isn't allowed to live on the street begging for change. Eventually the police catch you and drag you to a shelter system which spends billions in tax dollars.





So wouldn't it be more cost effective to simply extend unemployment? Either that or make a national campaign to lift public loitering laws.|||Let's find out.|||Nobody wants to end unemployment.





The Republicans are just using it as leverage because they know that the Democrats would rather extend tax cuts on the rich than end unemployment.





The Democrats will be forced to vote to extend the tax cuts.|||actually that figure of 13.5 billion is mega low. They already extended benefits from 66 week to 99 weeks.....hello. The people out of work for 2 years need to move to where the jobs are. The should not be allowed to milk the system forever just because they don't want to work. Don't even try to tell me they can't find a job because I will tell you that's a lie. Dude also please don't tell me people can't live in New York homeless because they do. Look in some sewers, subways tunnels, and many other places that homeless reside. Many homeless were the victim of downsizing and will only be homeless temporally until able to get back on their feet. Some even live in there car as a home. I will not pay anymore for some that are to lazy to look for a job. Ask some in unemployment line and now its required that start looking for work or not money.|||yep, what cons never seemed to quite understand is... a person in abject poevery actually costs society money... not to mention lost tax income from him not working, which is another cost...





the simple fact is... there are social costs to eliminating social porgrams... and in the end, I think those costs often are much larger long range than the costs of these programs...|||Just something to think about when contimplating all those newly homeless. I'm sure they feel this way too. The Factor Limerick of the day:





We once had a great nation, the US


Which we humbly asked God for to bless


But now we are broke


Because our President鈥檚 a joke


So now we鈥檙e stuck with a Socialist mess.|||Maybe, Just maybe, Instead of going Homeless, they might get off their collective butts and get jobs?





That would be a site to see, People actually doing for themselves instead of sitting with their hand out.|||that's the whole point of unemployment, to stave off a free fall in consumer spending, which leads to decreased demand, which in turn leads to a loss of even more jobs.





Plus, we cannot judge the unemployment program by the 5% who are truely scumbags. I have been unemployed, and just like everyone else, barely got enough to survive.