[untog]

There is hope on the streets. The cogs of the American economy seem like moving.

[...]

A lot of people are homeless. Every year I visit it’s increasing. Maybe I am using the wrong streets. I am surprised there’s no startup to fix this.

[cryoshon]

Seems like he's missed the elephant in the room.

The tech sector's cogs are moving at an increasingly rapid pace whereas nearly everyone else has been jammed to a standstill or losing ground since 2008. The proliterian hatred of the tech sector is based on jealousy and misplaced blame for the fallout caused by gentrification which follows higher incomes.

The homeless are the most blatant casualties of a depressed economy, but rest assured, there are countless others who suffer without falling onto the streets.

[throwaway13qf85]

I don't think you understand what the phrase "elephant in the room" means. If lots of people are talking about something (and certainly, a lot of people are talking about the tech sector vs the rest of the economy) then it's not the elephant in the room.

[untog]

(and certainly, a lot of people are talking about the tech sector vs the rest of the economy)

I'm not sure they're talking about it in the tech sector, though.

[dllthomas]

Sure they are. Whether arguing for or against it, they're talking about it. Not everyone, certainly, but enough that "elephant in the room" seems an inappropriate description.

[Kalium]

Homelessness in SF is a lot more complicated than that. With a mild climate, political sympathy (and associated city services), and lots of tourists to panhandle... SF is something of a destination for the homeless who can manage it.

[peterwwillis]

I laughed out loud at the last sentence.

[dntrkv]

Are you implying that the two are mutually exclusive? Solving homelessness is not an economic problem. There are so many factors involved, that you can have a great economy with low unemployment but tons of homeless people.

[untog]

Getting to 0% homelessness would require more than just economic action, but homelessness is still an economic issue.

[dllthomas]

Only in the sense that everything is an economic issue. My understanding is that mental illness is still the leading cause of homelessness.

[dntrkv]

Yes because the crazy guy outside my office yelling at the brick wall just needs a job, and he'll be living in a home in no time.

[untog]

But that's my point. Only 39% of homeless people have mental issues[1]. It's not correct to characterise homelessness as caused by mental problems.

[1] http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/526/homeless-facts.html

[dntrkv]

Sure, it may not be the leading cause. But the homeless that people are usually referring to when they talk about San Francisco's homeless problem, are the ones with mental issues or addiction problems. I rarely ever see the regular, sane, homeless people sprawled across the sidewalk in the middle of the day. It's always the drug addicts or the mentally ill.

[peterwwillis]

Well sure. People come to the conclusion that most homeless are crazy or addicts based on what they see. Of course they only ever see crazies and addicts. They're the loudest, the weirdest, the scariest, the least self-aware, and the least likely to have any kind of refuge.

The rest of the homeless are hiding from the myriad threads, difficulties and humiliations they're exposed to on a daily basis. The regular, sane, homeless people don't want to be sprawled across a sidewalk in the middle of the day. They want to watch over their stuff, or try to find food or medical assistance or clothing, or solicit donations, or try to contact estranged family/friends, or whatever else they can do to survive.

[dublinben]

>Solving homelessness is not an economic problem

Of course it is. If housing were not so expensive, there would be no "homeless" population.