Tax for housing part of perpetual cycle
All this talk of governments wanting to implement more property taxes in order to generate revenue to solve the homeless problem reeks of a perpetual cycle that will only result in more homelessness.
It would hurt the people most at risk of homelessness the most. They would be forced out onto the street, then the taxes would have to go up again because there’s more homelessness, lather, rinse, repeat. Seattle did this exact thing 30 years ago, but in spite of that they have the third highest homeless rate in the U.S.
I think instead we should tax something that goes to the root of much homelessness: convicted child abusers of every kind. Special emphasis on those who abused their own children so badly that the children had to flee prior to the age of 18 to stop the abuse. Many people I’ve spoken to are on the street or are on drugs because of terribly abusive or neglectful parents and relatives. Punish them for grossly overcontributing to homelessness and drug abuse, and I think we’ll kill two birds with one stone. Or if not tax them, at least garnish their money to force them to contribute financially to their own homeless children they don’t care about.
April J. Gibson
Duncan