Seattle's Shiny New Homeless Program

The political geniuses of the Pacific Northwest have vowed to forge the most elusive of all creations -- a community without vagrants. Ending homelessness within 10 years is the plan. Hear that? Ten years! The man behind the plan is Bill Block, Chairman of the Committee to End Homelessness in King County.

Block estimates the project will cost $80 million per year which "is substantially more than what is being spent now." No information is reported as to the actual source of all the funds, however, Block said that the city of Seattle and King County would contribute a portion. One is left to assume that about $70 million will come from the federal government.

Let's see. The total for the project is $800 million dollars ($80 million for ten years) and the estimated number of homeless in Seattle is 8,000. Through the magic of arithmetic, one finds the theoretical allotment for each homeless person is $100,000.

Let's pretend. On a yearly basis, the city could give every homeless person $10,000 to leave town. With a little negotiating, the number could be reduced to, maybe, a few thousand dollars. That amount and a plane ticket to the other side of the continent would end homelessness in Seattle, one by one. Any other method of ending homelessness is a dream since some people have chosen it as a lifestyle. Face it, there are adults who prefer never working or being responsible for anything and are as happy as clams living in a cardboard box. Others don't want an address, preferring to remain hidden within a societal underclass. As a result, homelessness is an attractive lifestyle option for some.

Worth mentioning is the fact that the number of homeless people in a given location is determined by the quality and quantity of benefits available in the location. When more goodies are provided, more homeless people show up. Key West is an example. The island built temporary housing and provided food, showers and free laundry. Predictably, more and more homeless people showed up for the cozy benefits. Oddly, liberal do-gooders who try to help the homeless seem to ignore this simple fact.

Interestingly, if the liberal politicians applied their grandiose solutions for ending homelessness to ending bear attacks in national parks, there would be an explosion of bear attacks. Park visitors are warned "Don't Feed The Bears" to keep them away. If citizens want the homeless to stay away, benefits shouldn't be provided.

Getting back to Seattle, the ten-year plan to end homelessness is an ambitious idea of Bill Block and I'll go on record as stating that it won't work, it won't come close to working and the best that can be hoped for is that the total cost doesn't exceed $800 million. I'll also predict that the number of homeless will at least triple when huge wads of money start being spent.

I'll also assess Bill Block's dedication to the project as considerably less than complete. He's stated that he will only work four or five years on the ten-year project. Presumably, that will leave him time to work on another liberal snow job. Just guessing but the Pacific Northwest might be ready for a $100 million Bill Block earthquake eradication program.