Given that homelessness rates almost directly correlate with cost of living, and not whether or not mental institutions exist, that’s the wrong reason to blame Reagan for a rise in homelessness. All of the union busting under his presidency is a much better reason
What about all the homeless that are too mentally ill to even sign up for welfare? Not that welfare even comes close to cost of living. There are quite a few of them.
He also oversaw a doubling of the prison population during his presidency. That’s not entirely (and maybe not even mostly) his fault - Congress and plenty of states were all about being “tough on crime,” but he was definitely on board with it. That probably also contributed to homelessness. People are significantly more likely than the general population to be homeless post-incarceration, and anyone who’s done time can tell you that it makes a lot harder to get a good job.
Given that homelessness rates almost directly correlate with cost of living, and not whether or not mental institutions exist, that’s the wrong reason to blame Reagan for a rise in homelessness. All of the union busting under his presidency is a much better reason
What about all the homeless that are too mentally ill to even sign up for welfare? Not that welfare even comes close to cost of living. There are quite a few of them.
He also oversaw a doubling of the prison population during his presidency. That’s not entirely (and maybe not even mostly) his fault - Congress and plenty of states were all about being “tough on crime,” but he was definitely on board with it. That probably also contributed to homelessness. People are significantly more likely than the general population to be homeless post-incarceration, and anyone who’s done time can tell you that it makes a lot harder to get a good job.
Well when you just dump people out of their (admittedly terrible) psyche housing into nothing, the homeless population increases quickly.