Why Are There Homeless People?

Load video

The video above suggests that wealth disparity is increasing. That's why homeless people exist. But wealth disparity doesn't explain the particular reasons for why people are out on the streets.

While every homeless person's situation is unique, and not all homeless people become homeless for the same reasons, specific reasons exist for why there are homeless people in the modern world.

Here are the most significant reasons why homeless people exist:

THE COST OF HOUSING IS TOO HIGH

The first reason why there are homeless people is the cost of housing is too high. Compared to what people earn, rent costs too much.

Other than the greed that drives money-hungry landlords, gentrification and foreclosure cause unaffordable housing.

gentrification

Gentrification is a term that describes the attempt by society to make poor neighborhood s richer. The idea is that if we build more nice homes in the ghetto, in neighborhoods that are generally considered poor, richer people will move there. Then they will spend more money in the poorer neighborhoods.

While gentrification is often successful at making businesses in poor neighborhoods richer, it is often less successful in helping the residents in poor neighborhoods gain wealth.

The reason is building a city block of nice homes in a poor neighborhood makes outsiders move in. That drives up the cost of living for the natives.

So what was once a nice, $800 a month studio apartment in the ghetto before gentrification, is with gentrification, too expensive to afford. That forces some of the residents who live in gentrified neighborhoods to live on the streets.

foreclosures

As a result of the cost of housing being too high, foreclosure is another reason why there are homeless people.

Foreclosure happens when a person borrows money for a home, then does not keep up on loan payments.

When the person who borrowed the money does not pay their loan, through the court system, the bank takes ownership of their home. Some people are homeless due to that.

So the first reason why there are homeless people is the cost of housing is too high.

MANY PEOPLE ARE MORE BROKE THAN EVER

Another reason why there are homeless people is many are more broke than ever. This is due to poverty, unemployment, low wages, and inflation.

poverty

Sure, for many parts of the world, poverty is at an all-time low. New advances in manufacturing technology have made the things that people need abundant and more affordable.

But even though poverty is at a historical low, many people in the world are still broke.

Why?

The reason is poverty still exists. Not enough money, valuable goods, and services exist for everyone.

With the population increasing at an alarming rate, not even enough housing exists to keep everyone off the streets. So the first reason why people are broke is poverty is still alive and thriving.

unemployment

Another reason why many people are more broke than ever is unemployment.

Unemployment results from a lack of money flowing through society. Because too little money is flowing around, businesses have too little money to pay employees.

Then because employees are broke, other businesses make even less money. This just makes the problem worse. Thus, even more, people become unemployed due to unemployment itself.

Even though the economy is not as bad as it's ever been, it's still not perfect.

So unemployment is another reason why many people are more broke than ever.

low wages

Then of course low wages explain why many people are so broke.

While employees would like to get paid the most money possible for the time and work they put into the company, businesses would like to pay the least amount of money possible for the time and work that employees put in.

Thus, employers only pay the least amount necessary to keep employees coming back to work. And it doesn't take much with today's cost of housing. Employees are desperate to earn whatever they can.

inflation

The final reason why many people are more broke than ever is inflation. Inflation is the term used to describe what happens when items like bananas at the grocery store cost 10 cents more than last week.

In recent years, everything has gone up in price. While some employers are combating inflation with a slight bump in wages, most employers are too slow to act.

The reason why being broke causes Steve to be homeless, the cheerful vagrant who washes windshields while the stoplights are red at busy intersections, is because Steve is too broke to afford a home. That seems to be an all too familiar issue among people who are homeless.

Therefore, another reason why there are homeless people is many people are more broke than ever. This is due to poverty, unemployment, low wages, and inflation.

OTHER REASONS WHY THERE ARE HOMELESS PEOPLE

In addition to poverty and unaffordable housing, other reasons exist for why there are homeless people in every country of the world.

First, unexpected life circumstances are common. Unexpected life circumstances like a job loss, natural disaster, or war can displace people from homes.

If it is a job loss, eviction is usually the reason for homelessness.

A disability is another reason why there are homeless people. Disabilities like mental or physical illnesses prevent people from working.

With no way to generate income, people are forced to live off the government. Governments don't always provide free housing or rent money.

There are people homeless because of domestic violence too. These people were forced to leave their homes to escape an abuser.

Discrimination due to criminal records is another reason why there are homeless people. With a bad criminal record, it is almost impossible to get a good job. Further, many landlords also discriminate against people with criminal records. If a person has a felony, he can't rent from them.

Finally, homeless people exist due to choosing to be homeless. While it isn't the most common scenario, some homeless people choose homelessness.

FINAL THOUGHTS

It may be argued that if a person is more broke than ever, and the reason that he or she is so broke is due to poverty, unemployment, or low wages, then that person ought to do something about it. They ought not to accept homelessness as an inevitable fate.

For example, if a person is homeless due to a lack of jobs in his or her neighborhood, then that person should move. There is no excuse for allowing external factors like a lack of employment opportunities to cause homelessness. If a person truly wants to, they can regain housing. So, most people are homeless due to their fault.

While it may be true that many of the reasons for homelessness lie within a person's control, many of the reasons like unaffordable housing could be entirely solved if a person only moved, sometimes the causes of homelessness are outside a person's control. Sometimes homelessness is a result of complex factors that indirectly lead to homelessness.

For example, a person raised in a high-crime area may grow up hanging around with the wrong people. By the time they are 22 years old, they may already acquire a felony record. That criminal record follows them for life.

A person with burglary on their record, for example, may find it impossible to get a job. Employers aren't so eager to hire burglars.

So not always is it correct to assume that a person is homeless due to factors that are within their control.

summary

The reason why there are homeless people is because of poverty and unaffordable housing.

Many people today are more broke than ever. While poverty may be at its lowest point in history, it still exists, and it still causes homelessness. The reasons for poverty include unemployment, low wages, and inflation.

In addition, unaffordable housing explains why there are homeless people. With the cost of housing being too high, many people are forced to live on the streets. One reason why housing costs are through the roof is gentrification.
Gentrification causes homelessness by raising the cost of living in already poor neighborhoods.

Finally, many other reasons exist to explain why homeless people are in the modern world. These include job loss, eviction, natural disaster, war, disabilities, domestic violence, discrimination, and a personal preference to be homeless.

conclusion

So the next time you see a homeless person think about unexpected life circumstances, bad health, and a willingness to be homeless as reasons for why they sleep outside.