HOMELESSNESS IN CAPITALIST AMERICA:

A Socialist Perspective

By Todd Vachon ,

The Socialist Vol. 34, No. 2, Summer 2008

What’s the Problem?

Homelessness, as defined by Wikipedia, refers to “the condition and societal category of people who lack fixed housing, usually because they cannot afford a regular, safe, and adequate shelter.” According to The Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, 2.5 to 3.5 million Americans experience homelessness each year.

In its annual report on homelessness, HUD reported that on any given night an estimated 754,000 persons will experience homelessness throughout the U.S., leaving approximately 300,000 more people homeless than the total number of shelter beds. At the same time the latest census report for the first quarter of 2007 estimates that 10% of rental apartments are vacant and 2.8% of privately owned houses are vacant…. in other words, there is far more than enough housing available for every person in this country.

What’s the Cause?

Why is it that some people are unable to afford housing? The answer lies within the system itself…capitalism puts profit before people, Always! Don’t believe the corporate media hype, it’s not just a few greedy bad apples, it is the nature of the beast. Larger than any individual player, capitalism is like a giant profit-seeking virus that lays waste to any and all that falls in its path, especially those most vulnerable…the people at the bottom of the economic spectrum. These are the very same people that experience or are at risk of experiencing homelessness at any given moment.

Why Point the Finger at Capitalism?

Isn’t it the person’s own fault for becoming homeless? Don’t we all start on an even playing field of opportunity? Aren’t they all just drug addicts and alcoholics anyway? If they wanted to work they could get a job and afford a home, right?....right?.....Wrong.

Lets Look at 3 Major Causes of Homelessness:

Number One: The Lack of Affordable Housing. As defined by HUD, affordable housing is housing that costs less than 30% of annual income. One third of Americans spend more than 30% of their income and 13% of households spend more than half their income on housing. More than 1 million households are awaiting HUD assistance and only 27% of eligible families are actually receiving housing assistance. Recent news coverage has exposed the practice of predatory lending by mortgage companies that leave working class Americans with enormous payments they could not make on homes they could not afford. Why isn’t there more affordable housing? Because there is far greater profit in building and selling brand new 3, 4, and $500,000 luxury homes, which in turn artificially inflate the value of everything around them, including rents. This price ballooning makes it even more difficult to find affordable housing, even with a full time job, which leads us to reason number 2 for homelessness:

Number Two: The Lack of Living Wage Jobs. As capital is constantly moving from industry to industry in search of greater profit, competition constantly drives prices down ever closer to production cost. This process of accumulation forces wages down and jobs to be eliminated to ensure “reasonable” profit margins. With minimum wage at an abysmal $5.15 /hr and part-time jobs replacing full-time employment poverty and homelessness are “on the march.” At current minimum wage a full-time worker will bring in $10,300 annually. The Federal Poverty level for an average family is $16,800, which would require a full-time wage of $8.29 hr. The real value of min. wage is 18% less than it was 25 years ago, while CEO’s have seen a 300% increase in salaries over the same period. (The SPUSA calls for a minimum wage of $15 per hour, indexed to the cost of living).

Capital and workers are always at odds: Just watch the stock price rise when a company lays off a few thousand workers. How many of these now unemployed eventually end up on the street? The landlord is not going to let them slide, and most “homeowners” don’t actually own their homes, the bank does. The recent changes in the bankruptcy laws, enacted immediately after Bush “won” the 2000 election (with enormous campaign contributions from MBNA), ensure that creditors and lenders get their money back first. And even worse yet, what if this laid-off person or a family member comes down with a health condition? That leads us to the other major cause of homelessness:

Number Three: The Lack of HealthCare. A National study in 2004 showed that 13% of homeless individuals became homeless due to health problems. Approximately 4% of all Americans have serious mental illnesses, that number is 5-6 times greater for the homeless population. As recently highlighted in the mainstream media a growing number of returning Iraq veterans are becoming homeless. This is attributed to a combination of unaffordable health coverage, exorbitant bills and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Approximately 1/3 of returning vets suffer from PTSD and lack the necessary health treatment. The current privatized health care system generates enormous profit for pharmaceutical and insurance companies. These same companies gouge prices and waste resources to make big ticket designer prescriptions for privileged customers, but leave the poor, working middle-class and many veterans lacking basic treatments for real health problems.

What’s the Solution?

(Excerpts from the 2006-2007 Socialist Party, USA Platform)

Housing:

The Socialist Party recognizes the right of all people to high quality, low cost housing. We call for a vast increase in Section 8 housing subsidies as one element of major public investment in the construction of low cost, scattered site, community-based, high quality housing. We call for rent control for all rental units, and the right of tenants to organize. We support the formation of non-profit land trusts and of socially owned, tenant controlled housing cooperatives. We call for the organization of a housing rehabilitation program aimed at renovating and remodeling existing homes to bring them up to housing and safety codes, as part of a broader public works program. We call for an end to home foreclosures.

Health Care:
The Socialist Party stands for a socialized health care system based on universal coverage, salaried doctors and health care workers, and revenues derived from a steeply graduated income tax. We support a national health program with full standard and alternative medical, dental, vision, and mental health coverage for all, publicly funded through progressive taxation and controlled by democratically elected assemblies of health care workers and patients. The National Health Program should extend, and replace, Medicare and Medicaid. We call for a health care system that emphasizes preventive care. We call for public ownership and worker and community control of the pharmaceutical industry. We call for educational programs to help prevent drug addiction; for voluntary treatment programs for addicts and alcoholics; and for the availability of free, sterile needles for those still using IV drugs. We call for the reinstatement of funding to community mental health services so that low-cost or no-cost treatment is available on a voluntary basis, with clients' rights respected.

(For the complete platform visit www.sp-usa.org or contact your state or local party)

Conclusion

Homelessness is a major problem in the United States. It can be attributed to three main causes, all of which are derivatives of a capitalist economy. The quest for profit leaves many people out in the cold. In this, the richest country in the world; healthcare should not be a privilege, the minimum wage ought to be a living wage and housing should be a basic human right. There is a large systemic problem, namely our political/economic system, which fails to ensure justice and equality. And until these root causes of homelessness are addressed the problem will continue to get worse.

Sources:

The Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio (www.cohhio.org)

U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (www.hud.gov)

National Coalition for the Homeless (www.nationalhomeless.org)

Socialist Party, USA (www.sp-usa.org)

Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.com)