Would Million-Dollar Apartments Fix Homelessness? | Man on the Street

What's up guys, Aldo here with PragerU. California currently homes almost 30% of the entire nation's homeless population. So today, I came to Santa Monica, California, one of LA's largest homeless hubs, to ask people what they think about the situation and what we can do to fix it. Let's go see what people have to say. How do you guys describe the situation here in California? I think something should be done, mainly because you live in a state where you have all of this money. I mean, you have people living in hills of homes, you know, crazy amounts of money, but yet you have people living on the street. I can see people in each corner during the day, during the night, and I don't know why they are in this situation, actually. I think it's terrible. I think it's really dangerous. I actually just bought a taser and pepper spray. And skid row, I honestly thought was an adjective. I didn't realize it was a noun. So yeah, something can be done and should be done. Sometimes it can be a choice, but I'm not pretty sure. This past Saturday, when I was over at my friend's house, we find a homeless guy just sleeping in her bed. Oh my God. Yeah. Have you heard a lot of stories like that? Yeah. This lot over here, a million dollars per apartment unit, $123 million project to address homelessness. Do you guys see this as a good use of taxpayer funds? Absolutely not. Absolutely not. Do you think that it could be not a lack of resources, but maybe behavior and life decisions? I think so, because we were talking about that the other day as we were driving around, and we were saying maybe they want to be here because when they go into those homes that are accessible for them, they're not allowed to have the drugs that they need. But they can't get clean. Right. Exactly. So you have to be clean, or you have to become clean to stay there. Right. I think it's the mental illness and the drug addiction. You know, you can give them anything in the world, but what they want to spend it on and what they want to do with it is basically up to them. So some people are homeless by choice. How long have you been homeless? Since 1999. No, it's not resources. I think it's information. If people don't have enough information or they don't feel well-adjusted enough in their spiritual body, they would start to hit the street. Some people decide to be homeless. Money is the least important thing. You've got to find out what people's issues are, what the problems are, what do they need help with. Right behind me, in this lot right here, the city of Santa Monica just approved a $123 million construction project to house the homeless. Each apartment unit will cost the taxpayer over a million dollars per apartment unit. Do you see this as a good use of taxpayer funds? Not really. I think I might need to convert to homeless for a little upgrade here. A million dollars a unit? Seems like a good deal. That money goes to construction companies. That money doesn't go to homeless people to address anything they need. We build a house and a certain number of these units will be reserved for low-income people. When you bring homeless people in, bringing them indoors does not change their behavior. Assuming everybody has the same problem, and that is the problem. Do you think that the state incentivizes homelessness when they give out things like cash vouchers, they give out drug kits, they give out cell phones, they give out free housing? Do you think this incentivizes people to stay homeless? Yeah. That's definitely a possibility. It could be. And also, there's no accountability. So if they know they can go out and get these things, they're not accountable for anything. Just get what I need, leave, and be gone. Do you think the government is doing enough to address this? You want to make the government responsible for everything. I don't think the government is responsible for everything. The SROs are truly doing the best they can. But there's tale after tale of negligence. It's not an easy-fix problem. But we're always looking for that instant fix, that pill. There's no such thing. It's like giving everybody the same treatment for different diseases. Society has cracks in it that people slip through. There's no catch-all for everybody. Well, you guys, that's it for this episode. Let me know what you guys think down in the comments below. If you guys enjoyed this video, please give it a thumbs up, share it with your friends, and be sure to subscribe to PragerU. Make sure to follow me and PragerU across social medias, and I'll see you guys in the next episode.