Because Trump has made such a hash of the response to the pandemic, we are going to see a cascade of problems, each one following the other like dominos. And the very next one is going to hit very soon, as John Oliver points out.
Mano Singham
Just another Freethought Blogs site
This is going to cause an epidemic of homelessness. Where are all these people going to go? Tent cities in parks? Sleeping in their cars in Walmart parking lots? Trumpvilles?
And where are landlords going to find tenants to fill the glut of vacancies on the market?
People are reluctant to move right now if they don’t have to. My landlady recently completed the renovations of a suite in my building and advertised it for rent. In the first week she got about 50 responses, then the pandemic was declared and the inquiries dropped to almost none. She took the suite off the market during the lockdown and only just started advertising it again. In the past 2 weeks she has had less than ten people come for a viewing and still hasn’t found a tenant yet.
15 million sounds like a lot and even better if it is something like we match what you pay (so a 50/50 split) but even with a rent of 400 a month (median is 1071) that is just 75 000 rent payments. That is not helping 75 000 renters that is payments so if people ask assistance for the past 3 months on average that is just 25 000 homes that receive help. There are 900 000 renters in Houston (though at least 1/5 to 1/3 should not need it due to the wealth & work of the tenants).
So basically Houston needs to spend 10 times what they set aside for help each month and that will then still only take the edge of the worst cases. And as is clearly implied they can’t due to restrictions imposed on the city from higher levels of government.
At this rate Mexico and Canada will be fighting off hordes of homeless refugees. I don’t feel good about this.
The US political and economic elites seem to be in a bubble that makes Russia and France before the revolutions seem like bleeding heart do-gooders.
@4: There is a reason Canadians can travel to Europe again but Americans can’t.