HN Explorer

Tell HN: Why homelessness in San Francisco is permanent

3 points by pacerier ↗ HN
I've just found out why homelessness is basically a permanent or decades-long affair in SF: the city has outrageously costly rental rights bundled in a 28-day (or more) purchase of a basic roof over one's head. Thus the market cannot provide bulk discounts >27d (the payment schedule makes no difference), and in practice it gives a 7d max discount, which is lol.. 15% off daily rates? (How much can a 7d discount go?)

Thus the price one pays for lacking upfront loans for Long '[1]' rent: a mere haircut off daily rates (until one can afford them no longer).

Just saved the city $0.5b [2] on research.

==

[1]: long enough to divide out that outrageous bundle to workable rates.

[2]: though entrenched greed means perfectly zero chance for the $ to be directed to people with lived knowledge, so more like 0.5b, annually, to keep the show going until appetite changes (then 0.8b/yr).

[3]: Solution: bundle-in minimum rental rights instead of maximum; and stagger as much as possible, like someone who has lived in a house for 7 years needing more guardrails than someone 7 weeks.

4 comments

[ 3.8 ms ] story [ 21.7 ms ] thread
BMc2020
Um, they can move away easily, because they are homeless.

Also it seems you meant to link to something but never did.

pacerier
- [1] And move away to where exactly? From there to where exactly? NYC? Millionaires can move anywhere they simply will, but homeless can't physicsally move too far since moving and storage requires $$. Almost 24h/d is spent on getting whatever waterfood and hygiene is available so what's left at the end of each day? (Aside from a necessary permanent health/lifespan reduction due to low waterfood and hygiene which means even lesser of those now per the same 24h?) What's left at the end of each year? Pretty much the only hope is to pray whatever you have left for survival [2] at ages ~60 can be grouped together with senior housing cohorts.

- (re "also"; no the text's complete)

==

[1] ain't even laughing; and here comes (equally half-thought and vague) another "can"

[2] Everyone else is secretly hoping you don't make it for there's no money in it; and if godforbid you made it pls die Asap without hogging the ambulance and whatnot, just because we didn't give you loans doesn't mean that the senior housing is free.

jacobriis
There are a lot of vagrants in San Francisco because they can do basically whatever they want.
pacerier
- Nope, if sf homeless are attacked, they risk getting shot by the sf police. Also, the rich folks will use water hoses to harass, it's actually one of the worst places to be homeless in.

- re "can/want"; Is the self-serving "homeless wants to be homeless doh" feelgood from the fiction or nonfiction bookshelf? To state the obvious fact: all homeless want (loans for) housing. All. And not a single one can.