Sweeping Problems Under The Rug By The Feds Doesn't Make Them Go Away

Forbes

5 days ago

A man walks his dog past a homeless man sleeping under a message painted on a boarded up shop in San ... More Francisco, California on April, 1, 2020, during the novel coronavirus outbreak. - The US death toll from the coronavirus pandemic topped 5,000 late on April 1, according to a running tally from Johns Hopkins University. (Photo by Josh Edelson / AFP) (Photo by JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)
For decades, every administration, every Congress, put many things off for someone else to deal with. No one can get everything done all the time, that's understandable. But many current economic and social programs aren't a result of juggling what might be possible. Instead, they have become the ultimate attempt to kick every can down the road.
That doesn't solve problems. It only hides them and allows them to grow and fester. One of the current examples is homelessness.
Here is a statement out of the presidential executive order, Ending Crime And Disorder On America's Streets: 'The overwhelming majority of these individuals are addicted to drugs, have a mental health condition, or both. Nearly two-thirds of homeless individuals report having regularly used hard drugs like methamphetamines, cocaine, or opioids in their lifetimes. An equally large share of homeless individuals reported suffering from mental health conditions.'
Homelessness is a problem in many parts of the country. And, yes, people on the streets are often troubled in one way or another. However, the entire executive order is a rhetorical setup, claiming that 'nearly two-thirds' of the individuals reporting having used 'hard drugs like methamphetamines, cocaine, or opioids in their lifetimes.' No source for the statistic that is then delivered to deemphasize that any such use might have been long before. And then a statement that an 'equally large share of homeless individuals reported suffering from mental health conditions.' No source, again, and no explanation of what mental health conditions mean. Broadly defined enough, like any amount of depression, anxiety, discomfort, and so on, it could include everyone in the country.
Next, a combination of claiming that spending by the federal government and states has run tens of billions on failed programs 'that address homelessness but not its root causes.' After claiming that homeless people leave 'other citizens vulnerable to public safety threats' comes the statement, 'Shifting homeless individuals into long-term institutional settings for humane treatment through the appropriate use of civil commitment will restore public order.'
After stating that previous spending never looked at root causes, presuming that the administration knows the root causes, the proffered solution is to lock people away. The message is to ignore the problem and put it out of sight. The point isn't really for safety, because most dangerous behavior in the country doesn't come from homeless people. It's for comfort and to pretend everything is fine.
This has economic and social implications. Institutionalize where? Privately owned prisons where someone makes a lot of money from incarcerations? Hospitals that have been financially struggling but will even more now that Medicaid has been so thoroughly cut?
Similar issues come in arguments over diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI. The administration wants it purged not only from websites and government discussions, but from corporations, universities, and anywhere else the term might appear. Again, the communication expressed by action is to strike any mention of the topic anywhere, to bury it from consciousness as though that makes issues go away. It never does.
Other parts of life are no different. Corporations want to promote the use of the most recent forms of artificial intelligence. Traditionally, the argument executives would use is not that technology was about enabling job cuts, but to free people up to do more useful and interesting work. That mask has finally begun to slip as CEOs and their corporations boast of shrinking their workforces. Ultimately, this will lead to fewer people being employed, greater degrees of consumer financial struggle, and economic weakness. But, again, that all gets brushed under the carpet.
No society can long stand with such undermining. So long as problems are ignored, they likely grow worse until there comes a point that they demand more resources than are available.