By John McClaughry
A major issue dividing Democrats and Gov. Scott is what to do with some 2,800 homeless who’ve been relying on a state-run motel program that is weeks away from terminating.
Apparently, everyone agrees that this can’t go on without the Federal COVID relief funding that is now disappearing.
At the last-minute left-leaning lawmakers and advocates, persuaded the Legislature to add $12.5 million to the budget but that just kicks the can down the road. Gov. Scott says no.
Burlington is most acutely aware of the problem since, as one prominent Burlingtonian accurately observed, “Burlington has all the services – you can get excellent medical care, three hot meals a day and be around the action. So that’s where the homeless congregate.”
Maybe Burlington should ask the homeless to serve in a community improvement corps in return for all the benefits that are attracting them there. But then Burlington would have to say no to the homeless who didn’t care to participate. Progressives can’t bring themselves to say no to people they believe to be victims of something or other.
Another approach would be to export the problem. Homeless volunteers would get a one-way ticket on the Amtrak train to Albany or New York City, and a hundred-dollar reward at the far end.
The one clear fact is that Vermont cannot forever spend millions of dollars a month supporting a homeless population, that doesn’t care to do anything in return.
John McClaughry is vice president of the Ethan Allen Institute. Reprinted with permission from the Ethan Allen Institute Blog.
Mayor Weinberger has repeatedly put out the message that EVERYONE is welcome here and they came.
Re: “The one clear fact is that Vermont cannot forever spend millions of dollars a month supporting a homeless population, that doesn’t care to do anything in return.”
Oh, yes it can. Just watch the legislature override Scott’s veto and give themselves raises for a job well done.
On the other hand, maybe they sense a change in the political wind and want to be ensure they have a place to live when they’re out of a job
Maybe they should be put to work building Conestoga units like the Community Supported Shelters (https://communitysupportedshelters.org/) that has a 10+ year history in Oregon. Or put the units on trailers and they can become an RV. These units cost around $3K for the materials. Too bad they weren’t encouraged to do this during their hotel accommodations. In 3 weeks time their hotel bill could have paid for the materials. In 6 weeks time they could have had a trailer RV unit ready to camp in a Walmart parking lot. To see samples of Vermont tested units visit – vthope.net/microd.html. The Conestoga unit pictured was holding 68 degrees on a minus 22 degree day in Vermont and cost only $50/mo to heat. The roof shape quickly removed snow loads.
The Vermont Legislature and Executive Branch knew this day was coming. They knew the Biden bucks were limited, particularly after the 2022 midterms and the Congressional purse strings changed hands. They created the crisis with decades long bad policies and kicking the proverbial can down the road. Instead of planning for the inevitible, the Vermont Legislature and Executive Branch were obsessed with crotches of all ages, death by assisted suicide, rigging election laws, climate hoax carbon taxes, infringing on civil rights, reverse discrimination, and all other “woke” alphabet mafia objectives. They own it. They deserve all the blame and consequences for all of it.
I don’t understand why we can’t bring back a modern day version of what we used to call “Poorhouses.”
They can be working farms that are self sustaining. Locals can buy what they produce, they could create all sorts of things to generate income to be self sustaining.
Housing can be dorm style, very basic. There can be any number of things that people can learn there..training, counseling, whatever these people need to get it all sorted out again.
It’s a bit of a Half Way House.. or transitional housing.. call it what you want.
Seems to me that it worked once and it can work again.
There should quite a few across the state to house the people that are from the area.. solving the issue of exporting the problem to Burlington.
Burlington, what used to be the ” Queen City ” is now the city of the ” Freeloaders “,
they are here because of the bleeding hearts liberals running the city…………..
If you’re a homeowner, and these lowlifes are in or around your neighborhood, thank
your city council, as they are a gaggle of fools !!
And you can lay the blame for this situation clearly on Bernie the Socialist/Marxist who was elected as mayor of the “Queen City” in 1981. Along with Bernie was the Burlington Democrats that enable him and his revolutionary socialist progressives to gain a foothold, and Voila, this is what you have today!
Dump all homeless funding and support programs then watch them leave. Problem solved.
While there may be a few(very few) exceptions, the cause of most homelessness is “the two D’s,” drinkin’ and druggin’. There is no government solution to addiction and the havoc it causes, the addict needs to want to change the behavior that leads to all the negative results of their addictions. Free hotel rooms just enable bad choices.
You make an important point that is often ignored by the homeless advocates. When you provide a good or service that is normally very expensive, such as housing, that frees up a lot of financial resources for recreational substances. Some of those substances are detrimental to health and now a well-meaning program has essentially “enabled” the health threat.
There is no government solution, but there is a solution. It involves love, forgiveness and a change of direction. Anxiety, problems, exacerbated by bad choices to escape lead down the wrong road, make no mistake it can be blissful at first, but it leaves you empty and broken.
God wants all his people saved, he loves them all. There is a better way to live your life, on earth……as it is in heaven.
But Vermont chooses government to be their LORD, like any good Marxist would do, and these are the results, epic waste of money that solves no problem and people are hopeless, dependent and lost.
Unlike stock picks, results seldom vary. choose your path wisely.
Thanks John for the concise commentary on the problem.
The biggest issue for Burlington is that many nearby locales have taken John McClaughry’s advice and exported the problem…to Burlington. Vermont taxpayers are hopefully done providing the luxury and privacy of hotel rooms to single persons based only on the honor system claim of having nowhere to live. The word spreads easily these days about where progressives are bending over backwards to give free stuff away and accommodate the needs of vagrants, and Burlington is no deep secret. It draws the most accomplished deadbeats from miles around. Mayor Weinberger thinks he will solve the “homeless crisis” by 2024 by mobilizing to create more free housing. That will only make the problem worse, both for Burlington and surrounding communities.
Another issue of balancing fairness to neighbors and providing for essential needs is that in Vermont, generally if you want to locate a business of some sort, there are neighbors who are going to want to limit the size of your business, the amount of traffic you can attract etc. There are zoning rules, Act 250 etc defining just what constitutes a motel and what constitutes a homeless shelter. These motels were opened as just that…motels, with the expectation that their clientele are short term stays, paying customers who use credit cards, and are generally law-abiding. With the current system, the state is playing absentee landlord, and the towns hosting these flophouses are now subject to excessive police and EMT calls, residential neighbors and other motel guests have had to deal with burglaries and car breaks and nearby businesses are being shoplifted into bankruptcy. As the police logs indicate, there is a discernible difference between the quality of people staying at a motel versus a homeless shelter.
Some in the legislature and advocacy community just wont accept that fact.