Why is the homeless population increasing?
An economy based on sustainable prosperity is the long-term solution to reducing homelessness
The homeless population in America has been steadily increasing for years.
Why? Because the economic drivers in play including lower wages to rising housing prices.
Both of the above are affected from population growth which creates increased competition for both jobs and home purchases especially in urban areas.
Wage stagnation results from globalization as US labor market exposed globally where unsustainable global population growth drives wages down through economic supply and demand
Additionally, employment opportunities unskilled labor hardest hit from automation noting machines replace easiest jobs
While the short run solution being presented regarding building housing for the homeless, this ignores the long run issues noted above.
This blog is dedicated to obtaining sustainable prosperity which offers a long-term solution but is not currently in our political discourse.
A recent study done in Seattle, Washington pictured below, asked a group of people how they became homeless.
As you can see, the top reason was losing their jobs.
And since the saving rates in America are at historical lows providing some cushion if you’ve lost your job, many people simply can no longer continue to afford the shelter they need facing eviction from a rental property or having their existing home foreclosed by the lender.
Notice: saving rates jumped briefly during COVID outbreak
In either case, those folks losing employment are increasing the amount of homelessness in America especially in urban areas.
In any event, the long-term solution requires recognizing that economic sustainability plays a key role in reducing homelessness where population size aligns with availability of resources.
Leadership and journalists need to expand the discussion to include the economic drivers discussed in this post.