Rents over the last two decades have risen much faster than employee pay, contributing to an escalating homelessness crisis in the U.S.

A growing number of Americans are ending up homeless as soaring rents in recent years squeeze their budgets.

According to a Jan. 25 report from Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, roughly 653,000 people reported experiencing homelessness in January of 2023, up roughly 12% from the same time a year prior and 48% from 2015. That marks the largest single-year increase in the country’s unhoused population on record, Harvard researchers said.

  • ExLisper@linux.communityEnglish
    0·
    10 months ago

    Changing the electoral system would be a minor improvement? So you’re talking about some city level elections or do you actually think that changing how presidents and representatives are elected would only be a minor change?

    • iain@feddit.nl
      0·
      10 months ago

      On the scale of doing nothing to socialist revolution, this is a pretty minor change. But I’d love to hear some improvements that are not fantasies. Or do we just have to give up?

      • ExLisper@linux.communityEnglish
        0·
        10 months ago

        On a scale from doing nothing to revolution convincing the elite to willingly relax their absolute grip on power and let other people win elections is like an 8. It’s not going to happen.

        What are some improvements that are not fantasies? I would say the actually possible thing would be to get a slightly more progressive president that would push through some meaningful reforms despite Republicans bitching about it. Education reform, justice system reform, immigration reform could all be possible Of course this is not happening in the next 5 years if ever.

        Supreme court reform is less possible but still achievable IMHO. Things like term limits and some real ethical oversight. Most people understand how corrupt it is and would support some changes. It would affect both parties equally so some bipartisan deal could be possible. Of course this is not getting enough tracking right now to move anywhere.

        Any form of constitutional reform on the other hand is not possible and is pure political fiction.

        • stembolts@programming.dev
          0·
          10 months ago

          It has already been introduced in various places. In those places there was someone, just as you are doing now, declaring it was impossible. Then it occurred.

          Doom and gloom is easy, you see yourself win all the time because the conditions for victory are nothing happening. Hope is hard and full of heartbreak. I chose a hard outlook, but I can understand why you would choose an easy one.

          • ExLisper@linux.communityEnglish
            0·
            10 months ago

            I don’t live in US so for it’s not a matter of hope or gloom. It’s just my opinion based on what I see happening there. I know a lot of Americans would like the entire Internet to cheer them and lie to give them some hope but I just don’t see much sense in that. If you think it’s achievable than do you, fight for it. I was just wandering if people really believe they can get it.

            • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
              01·
              10 months ago

              I don’t live in US so for it’s not a matter of hope or gloom. It’s just my opinion based on what I see happening there.

              I don’t want to suppress you expressing your opinions (at this point assuming you’re not astroturfing for one/both of the parties) but you do need “to be closer to the ground zero” if you want to be taken as someone who understands the subject matter fully, versus being dismissed out of hand for spewing rhetoric.

              Ranked Choice Voting is truly the only way out of this mess, and it should be fought for, no matter its chance of actual implementation.

              Right now politicians are not even being asked about it, so it’s a little early to waive the white flag.