[randmeerkat]

Yes, that’s exactly what I’m asking.

There’s people literally pooping on the streets in California. Do you think those people would be able to afford a toilet of their own if this was the 80s? Was homelessness then as bad as it is now? In our progress forward in technology has tech actually made California worse for people as a whole?

[techsupporter]

Homelessness has always been a problem in this country; it just wasn't as visible as it is now. That visibility is from a bunch of reasons (the Internet makes all things more visible, cities became more popular instead of "white flight," sprawl in more areas). All the way back in 1995--jesus, that's 25 years ago, I feel old--Star Trek: Deep Space Nine had a two-part episode on "Sanctuary Districts" and staggering wealth inequality. Those were depicted as having gotten particularly bad in the year 2024 (the year our heroes were transported back to) but the episode was commenting on the state of society around the late 80s and early 90s. We've had hobo slums, tent cities, and the like as long as I've been alive.

It's not a California-specific problem. Dallas had tent cities in the mid-90s that the local news would occasionally report on. Seattle has had a variety of encampments, from "the Jungle" to "Nickelsville" to "Skid Row" and older.

We see the problem more now. We don't like it, but we also don't do much to deal with it. So it festers, because we're too self-centered to spend the tax dollars at the state and federal levels to do programs like Housing First, but too polite to just round up the homeless population and drop them in a woodchipper like most people on Nextdoor seem to want. Instead, we leave cities and counties to work it out for themselves while their suburban neighbors spend tax dollars on luring businesses out of the urban core because it is "so dirty."

[randmeerkat]

I can’t find anything on a quick Google that shows differences between 1980 and present. I did find this though: https://endhomelessness.org/homelessness-in-america/homeless...

That site states homelessness across the country is down 12% from 2007 - 2019, but it is up 9% in California in the same time period.

I think this validates asking the question of whether or not tech has been detrimental to general human welfare in the state of California.

[mixmastamyk]

Mentally ill thrown out on the streets, and scarcity of housing are the major factors.

[randmeerkat]

Mental illness is something that gets regurgitated a lot and it is a part of the problem, but it’s ignoring the working homeless. The social contract in society is if you work hard and have a job that you’ll prosper, or at least have food, water, and shelter.

https://www.npr.org/2018/09/30/652572292/working-while-homel...