Here's the link to the article:
Link
And here's an excerpt. The article is really long so I won't post all of it here.
Quote:
They are flown to Paris ($6,332), Orlando ($858.40), Johannesburg ($2,550.70), or most frequently, San Juan ($484.20).
They are not executives on business trips or couples on honeymoons. Rather, all are families who have ended up homeless, and all the plane tickets are courtesy of the city of New York (one-way).
The Bloomberg administration, which has struggled with a seemingly intractable problem of homelessness for years, has paid for more than 550 families to leave the city since 2007, as a way of keeping them out of the expensive shelter system, which costs $36,000 a year per family. All it takes is for a relative elsewhere to agree to take the family in.
Basically New York is giving people free rides out of NYC. Usually by bus. The measure is in an attempt to reduce the number of homeless littering the streets of NYC, and save the taxpayers money.
Of course, the opposition is always "Why should I have to pay for that? Whine whine whine"
And the answer is quoted above. NYC is actually spending MORE money by keeping the homeless there, rather than shipping them off to live with their families in other areas of the world. I really hope they keep this program running. I've been to NYC and it seems like every corner you turn, there's someone asleep on the street or begging for change. (Yes, i realize it depends where you are in NYC. This is a generalization, to you nyc snobs.)
Thoughts?
Free bus ride out of the country... Isn't that just another word for deportation?
nice! ive got relatives in germany.....so all i need to do is go to NY and pretend to be homeless! free trip!
ehh....how can they tell, ya know? "oh yeah, i live down by the hudson in a maytag box"
tabs wrote:ehh....how can they tell, ya know? "oh yeah, i live down by the hudson in a maytag box"
They probably couldn't. Hell, people making 6 figure salaries will dress up as homeless people and collect change on the weekends, usually getting an extra 10K a year from doing so.
ThatGuy85 wrote:tabs wrote:ehh....how can they tell, ya know? "oh yeah, i live down by the hudson in a maytag box"
They probably couldn't. Hell, people making 6 figure salaries will dress up as homeless people and collect change on the weekends, usually getting an extra 10K a year from doing so.
I was leaving the casino in STL the other night and there was a black guy dressed nicer than I was wearing fancy jewelry and a nice watch asking me for spare change I just looked at him like wtf.
tabs wrote:nice! ive got relatives in germany.....so all i need to do is go to NY and pretend to be homeless! free trip!
hmmmm ive got friends in hawaii. wonder if they could claim me. i hope indianapolis picks this up. and half my vacation would be paid for. then i could pretend to be homeless in hawaii and have them send me back home. sweet deal here.
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so wait.............we're going to pay to ship someone to "live with a relative"? If those relatives can't afford to pay for their bus ticket to come live with them, what makes you think they can afford to house them full time?
Sounds like dumping the problem on someone else to me.
Sidenote - Carnivorous Mouse may be able to take advantage of this program.
The relatives always have the right to refuse so no one is really being forced to be anywhere. They also call later on to check up on the situation and make sure that everything has gone well. I'm thinking the homeless family has a much greater chance of getting jobs and surviving in any place BUT new york, since the cost of living is so ridiculous.
We do all realise that there are people who CHOOSE to live on the streets, right? So what happens if the homeless guy doesn't want to be shipped off somewhere? Are they forcing them?
Some people fundamentally choose to live on the street, instead of collecting welfare, unemployment, and all the other benefits they could be taking. I respect those people.
I'm pretty sure they aren't "forcing" anyone to go anywhere. It's just the folks that want to go that get sent off. Not a bad idea, if it helps someone get a new lease on life.
J03Y wrote:We do all realise that there are people who CHOOSE to live on the streets, right? So what happens if the homeless guy doesn't want to be shipped off somewhere? Are they forcing them?
Some people fundamentally choose to live on the street, instead of collecting welfare, unemployment, and all the other benefits they could be taking. I respect those people.
Read the article. They have the right to say no.
Absolutely...if they want to go.
Honestly, I never understood why a homeless person would stay in any northern city. It would be so much nicer to be homeless down south in the warmth.
If it were me, I'd start walking until i hit heat, lol.
edit: and I'd like to see in a year if they've actually saved $ from the shelters. My guess will be no. This is NY afterall.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Friday, July 31, 2009 7:21 AM
shelters are always overrun so even if they ship people off they will still be full up. im bettign some of those guys can make a good chunk of change pan handling in nyc versus say fort wayne indiana. it basically is just a way of getting homeless out of nyc even though they put a nice spin on it, thats what it boils down to. chances are they will just head out and live on the street in another city. i mean if they have family who will take them in why weren't they? if someone has family who is willing to take them in and they still choose the streets. tehres some reason why. they will probably head to the family house. live on the couch for a few months eatin some food and then head back out on the streets.
okay done being a heartless bastard now.
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