Everything’s an Industrial-Complex

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Yesterday, I came across the following article in my Google feed:

How can NYC’s next mayor bring down homelessness? Housing groups weigh-in.

I decided to read the article. But not because I was curious about the answer. I already knew where the article would trod. More government spending on housing. More New Yorkers dependent on the government for their shelter. And more denial—homeless New Yorkers are homeless, not because they played Russian roulette with drugs or alcohol and lost, but because greedy capitalists and landlords refuse to blanket one of the most expensive and most coveted cities in the world with apartments that rent for a thousand dollars a month or less.

Nope. I read the article to see what housing groups weighed in, and what the heads of these housing groups made. Here’s what I found:

And to tell you the truth, I was shocked at some of the reported salaries. Ferrell lives in Washington, DC, and Saunders lives in New York City. And their respective salaries are very reasonable given their respective positions and zip codes. Ferrell is making roughly 150 percent of the DC median household income, and Saunders is making roughly 200 percent of the NYC median household income.

The salary of Mr. Jones, however, who also lives in New York City, was exactly what I expected. He’s making roughly 1,000 percent of the NYC median household income. Fighting for the homeless sure can be a very lucrative vocation.

So what did my investigative journalism reveal? Prior to researching the salaries of those heading the housing groups mentioned in the above article, I believed the mission to rescue the homeless had morphed into an industrial-complex. And nothing I found managed to allay that fear. Ferrell, Saunders, and Jones are all handsomely paid. Ferrell, Saunders, and Jones have all been fighting for the homeless for decades. And Ferrell, Saunders, and Jones are all pushing the same hidebound “solutions” to the homeless problem that haven’t done squat to solve the homeless problem in forty years.

Okay, groovy freedomist, that’s all I got. What say you? I say homelessness has turned into a giant racket. The only ones winning are those being paid to fix the problem. The homeless certainly aren’t winning—giving license to consume drugs and eat, sleep, and defecate in the public square isn’t a victory. And responsible, law-abiding citizens who must coexist with the homeless aren’t winning either—losing the ability to blissfully traverse your neighborhood sidewalks or happily recreate in your neighborhood park is anything but a victory.