Summary
Elon Musk has called homelessness a “lie” and “propaganda,” claiming advocacy groups profit from maintaining high homelessness rates.
Partnering with Donald Trump, Musk is pushing for drastic federal budget cuts targeting programs for vulnerable populations, including food stamps and healthcare.
Trump’s plan includes forcing unhoused individuals into treatment or institutionalization.
Critics argue these approaches criminalize homelessness while ignoring root causes like lack of affordable housing.
Homelessness in the U.S. has reached record levels, with 650,000 people affected in 2023, prompting calls for evidence-based solutions over punitive measures.
Homelessness couldn’t possibly be the result of late stage capitalism though, right?
It’s a result of any stage of capitalism
Excellent point.
Yeah, during the communist era in my country all the homeless were locked up in prisons.
Pretty sure that’s what their shooting for here as well
At least that gave them shelter, capitalism can’t even do that.
Artificial Scarcity
It’s also interesting to think about the level of artificial unemployment. In theory everyone could work… and a lot less hours, and we would have no scarcity.
We would never do it but I have a theory that we could set aside 20T (less than 1 year of GDP) and it would be enough money to build everyone in the U.S. a house and provide free housing for everyone in America, without ever touching the initial investment, and setting aside 3% to assure if we keep inflation below 3% a year if would cover housing indefinitely. That’s based off the 2.5 people per household average, and building a new house every 30 years at a base price of $250,000. Which at mass production, would be the equivalent of a much more costly house. Could repurpose what we have to house people until everyone got moved in over a generation.
What that does is free up ~$1400-$1900 dollars a month for the average household, and instead of having to stash money in savings over the worries of losing a job and becoming homeless (which stunts the economy), it incentivises people to go eat at a restaurant more often, have a kid they were worried about having, buy nicer things. All of which is spending money and boosting the economy. More kids… Less/near 0 homeless… and booming economy that will offset the original investment. Stress levels down, happiness levels up… which should also mean health issues should decrease.
Who knows…
(That’s over 2T a year being added back into the economy, also we don’t have to build all new, refurbish/keep older homes that people want works as well, figure out solutions that have less impact on the environment, and can plan more walkable, heathier towns when building them)
GDP is not taxed revenue or availability of funds.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the monetary value of all finished goods and services produced within a country during a specific period. (I used gen AI for this paragraph).
According to the CBO, they expect to collect $4.864 trillion in taxes in 2025 (source: https://www.cbo.gov/topics/taxes ).
Unless you are going to forcibly steal assets from companies (which would lead to amass exodus from the US economy and cause a massive depression) you’d never get 20 trillion.
This idea is a nice thought, but impossible and not how the economy works.
Very nice idea, but that’s assuming the 1% give a fuck about helping people and not having an army of slaves to make everything they want. Why does money have to be involved in feeding or housing human beings?
Elon Musk is a certified piece of shit.
We don’t certify pieces of shit.
We just set them on fire.
How many keurigs do he think he weighs?
Lol, Courics! Keurig is a coffee maker whereas Katie Couric is a piece of shit.
😂😂, I hope that’s in the slang dictionary
It totally is: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Couric
Ahaha! That’s hilarious. I also meant urbanDic. Thanks for understanding me with my quickly written ‘slang dictionary’ 🙈
Centrist?
He has no moral code beyond what benefits him most. Even centrists have ideals they somewhat stick to. Elon just believes in whatever benefits him most in the moment. I think it is like a character trait almost, he has a great instinct for how to make money with (other people’s) money. Kinda like the world class poker players. Doesn’t mean I admire them, or hold more weight to their opinions.
But people worship famous gamblers Why not someone who looks like they belong in middle stage of an Animorphs cover?
Reread the comment.
Lmao Wow thank you! What a dummy idk if I ever would have caught that!
“What you actually have are violent drug zombies with dead eyes, and needles and human feces on the street.”
Yo this is the most cartoonish out-of-touch shit take I’ve see. In an election that accused a disenfranchised minority group of eating people’s pets!
So the one thing that differentiates homeless people and CEOs in shit in the street?
It Depends, thank you very much no further questions.
The law, in its majestic equality, forbids rich and poor alike to shit in the street.
What an objectively evil thing to think, let alone say.
How far up the ivory tower do you need to be to ignore homelessness by denying its existence?
It’s an old old myth. Ronald Reagan said that everyone who is homeless in America is by choice since there’s so many shelters and charities already. It’s incredibly out of touch, but today people like Musk brag about their ignorance.
Can’t he fuck off and die on Mars already?
Removed by mod
Remember people Luigi didn’t do it and it’s very important that twelve people in either new york or Pennsylvania say the same. But if he did do it, which he absolutely didn’t, I think it was pretty [redacted] (not condoning it 👉👈 unless).
Fuck you, I kinda rely on that shit to feed my family because my employer doesnt give out any annual increases or anything. I also use the state health insurance and my wife uses other government assistance programs. Dudes really just want me to protest outside of the White House.
Dudes really just want me to protest outside of the White House.
Dudes want you to die.
Yeah, he’s going to gas anyone outside the white house. That’s not a bad reason to protest, though, honestly.
You going to try to get a better job or just keep taking pay decreases year after year?
Apparently no one wants me. Never stopped applying.
Sorry to hear that, I wish you the best.
Market Capitalism needs homelessness.
If you will not make the owner’s money through labor, You will help them make money as capitalist scarecrows. A warning to any laborer thinking of failing to comply.
You WILL serve the owner’s greed disease, or else.
It would literally be cheaper to house them without conditions than all the conditioned programs and homeless encampment clean up costs.
But that doesn’t send a message of fear.
Herp derp Freedom 🇺🇸
Depose Musk
Sir, you can’t sleep here.
“Didn’t you hear? I don’t exist.”
Wow, I didn’t think I could hate him more. But - here we are.
Im almost convinced Trump is picking the worst people possible so he looks good in comparison…
If you’re picking shitty people it doesn’t make you look good, it makes you look like a shitty person for picking shitty people.
Yeah, but you’re thinking beyond a 5th grade level.
Musk just went from giant douche to pure evil.
The man is literally insane now.I suppose it’s good he moved to USA, he is fitting in nicely.
Elon Musk is actually bullet proof. Impervious to bullets. I guarantee it.
*Ymmv
Forcing the homeless into privately run concentration camps. What a sick bastard.