Let's consider a few things.
1 - It is illegal to be homeless in the United States.
2 - Most people who are homeless refuse to go to a homeless shelter because they don't want to get clean, as homeless shelters don't allow drugs on their premises.
Also, I am disabled, live off the government, don't have my mom taking care of me at all anymore, and because I take advantage of so many subsidizes for the poor, I don't worry about money that much. Yes, my bank account gets low every month, and I can't afford everything I want, but let's just count all my welfare for a second.
1 - SSI ($1,000 per month)
2 - Section 8 ($166 a month for rent)
3 - Foodshare (more than $200 a month)
4 - Energy assistance (more than $300 a year)
5 - Lifeline program (discounted Internet and mobile service)
... there's more but those are the most important ones.
I don't own a car and use subsidized bus fare to get around. I get my groceries delivered for free because of my Foodshare. Everything I want is taken care for every month and I haven't worked in years, and I always have some money to play around with every month for fun.
Everybody is crying about a UBI and Universal Healthcare. I get Medicaid, which includes free visits to the doctor, medication that costs $1-$3 per script and free vision and dentistry.
Now I'm not saying that everybody can be in my condition. I have very severe bipolar. On a scale between 1-10 I'd rate my mental illness as a 8. But I make less than those people who make minimum wage do and I do pretty well. I don't, and can't, save money up, but I manage every month to own possessions most people in my position cannot afford. I don't smoke, I don't drink, and my most exaggerated spending comes from Sodastream and my Nintendo Switch.
Despite being on social security I don't believe in a UBI or universal healthcare. If I didn't have bipolar I would probably be a freelance computer programmer making multiple amounts of money that I already get from the government. I do believe that minimum wage should be $10 per hour at a federal level. The minimum wage was last raised in 2009 and is currently only $7.25. And in some states, like Wynoming, they can actually get away with paying less. However, for 90% of working Americans, they make more than minimum wage, so it wouldn't change most people's lives at all really.
Currently the average wage of an American is $20 an hour. There should be a law passed, that either does one or two things. 1 - raises the minimum wage based on inflation or 2 - makes minimum wage always half of the average wage.
As a pragmatic centrist that is what I would do. In many areas of the nation the minimum wage is already far above $10, like in California.
I'm sorry but as someone who has taken full advantage of the system I don't have much sympathy for those who don't want to take care of themselves. If you can work, work, if you can't, do what I did. I live a pretty comfortable life and I haven't worked in years.
