San Francisco homelessness is not a question about rich vs. poor. It's a question about what to do with people who are mentally handicapped and/or drug abusers. This is partially a money problem, but it's largely a social problem. A lot of other countries deal with this better because they have stronger family support structures. Programming can help, but this isn't a programming problem. And there's no money in it, so anybody who's trying to solve this problem can't afford to live in San Francisco.
Stepping over homeless people on my way to a cushy tech job has given me loads of cognitive dissonance. I have a really hard time with this, and I think about it every single day on my way to work. Frankly, I'm not sure what to do about it, and I'd love to have an open discussion instead of an anti-american one. Everyone here who's arguing about their superior European social programs are really preaching to the quire, because most Americans on Hacker News would kill to have these social programs.
Indeed. We (the folks on HN) are mostly the good guys in this fight. We'd like to help, and I'd like to think we support the right political causes in the ways that we can. But there comes a point where you're doing what you can given your role in society, and you still have to go past homeless people on your way to work. It doesn't make you any less compassionate than the people in any other country.
I work in the Downtown Crossing section of Boston, which has the one of the highest visible homeless populations in the Boston area. I was also consistently troubled by the number of homeless people I encountered to and from work.
It really helped to volunteer at a nearby homeless shelter (Pine Street Inn). I was comforted to see some of worst cases (including people I encountered daily) have access to meals, a clinic, a shelter, and treated with courtesy.
I was also struck by how many people seemed normal - not someone who was mentally ill or spent time on the street.
In general America fulfills a lot of need with private charity - which can occasionally be really impressive. When I worked at a large financial institution there were lots of opportunities for matched giving and volunteering opportunities. I wish tech companies would do this more.
Matched giving seems to be one of those benefits that is more common at the larger employers (e.g. Microsoft employees broke the 1 billion dollar mark last year) and doesn't appear on the smaller tech companies benefits sheets
What programmers can do about homelessness(and poverty):
Simple. Work for places(or build startups) that:
1. Help develop better and cheaper healthcare systems, products and processes.
2. Help develop technology that reduces the price of construction and in general the cost of living.
3. Help non profits and social entrepreneurs.
4. Help political change through technology.
And yes, doing some of this things might mean less wages , and not living in San Francisco.
> San Francisco homelessness is not a question about rich vs. poor.
Yes, it is.
> It's a question about what to do with people who are mentally handicapped and/or drug abusers.
Drug addicts and the mentally ill and/or handicapped who are not also poor have support systems and treatment options available, and are not part of the homelessness problem. So, yes, its about mental illness and drug addiction -- but also very much about rich vs. poor.
> This is partially a money problem, but it's largely a social problem.
Its a resource distribution problem; its not "partially a money problem" or "largely a social problem", its is completely both (money problems are equivalent to resource distribution problems and are a subset of social problems.)
> A lot of other countries deal with this better because they have stronger family support structures.
There may be some cases where countries do this better because of family support structures, but I can't think of any clear examples -- perhaps you could provide some. Most modern developed nations do it better because they have stronger public social support structures.
> Programming can help, but this isn't a programming problem.
This much is true. Its a policy (and, at a more fundamental level, values) problem, not a technical problem.
> Everyone here who's arguing about their superior European social programs are really preaching to the quire,
"Choir" is probably the word you are looking for; preaching to sheets of paper isn't exactly a sensible metaphor.
> because most Americans on Hacker News would kill to have these social programs.
I don't see much evidence for that "most Americans on Hacker news" would be willing to give up America's bias toward largely privatized health care financing, and income tax system that's heavily favorable to capital, and policy of financing a major part of the existing social support system via additional taxes that fall exclusively on labor for a stronger social support systems, much less that they would be willing to "kill" for such systems.
As a matter of fact, many Europeans I've met in the US have moved here to get away from "these social programs" which are strangling their economies and destroying opportunity. Come to think of it, most Europeans I've met in Europe are trying to leave, also.
You probably are strongly opinionated and people you meet are strongly biased subset of Europeans. I personally know no one that would want to live in US. Even the entrepreneurial types. They are aware about rampant litigation, exorbitant costs of even simplest medical procedures that is reflected in costs of health insurance and sheer volume of US tax code. I knew one person though, who went to US to buy some goods and smuggle them back without paying customs and VAT.
Actually, most of my European friends are socialists, but that's not the point. We live in a global economy, and people want to go where the opportunities are, and there are still a lot of opportunities here, especially for upwardly mobile young Europeans who are having trouble finding employment what with a near 50% youth unemployment rate in some countries.
Stepping over homeless people on my way to a cushy tech job has given me loads of cognitive dissonance. I have a really hard time with this, and I think about it every single day on my way to work. Frankly, I'm not sure what to do about it, and I'd love to have an open discussion instead of an anti-american one. Everyone here who's arguing about their superior European social programs are really preaching to the quire, because most Americans on Hacker News would kill to have these social programs.