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burtonator

I have a modest proposal to end this problem.

There are too many homeless in San Francisco.

Additionally, California has too few wolves.

I propose that we release wolves into the streets of San Francisco once per month.

Only the strong will be able to evade the wolves and the weak and sick will be eaten.

This will lower the homeless population will simultaneously helping the wolf population rebound to record numbers.

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I doubt this will help. The wolves of Wall Street have done little to solve the homeless problem in NYC.

And if you like that idea, there's babies too; they can be a most delicious nourishing and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled

Wow, suddenly HN is grade 6 all over again.

I believe this a a reference to "A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift, a classic piece of political satire. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Modest_Proposal

6th grade was when most people first saw this, yes.

I now feel both wrong and vindicated at the same time. It's a very specifically HN state to enjoy. Thanks!

Problem is wolves also poop on the street. The poop-trade off is very inconclusive.

Coyotes preferentially poop on (human) trails.

We could always start another non profit to help the homeless and pay all our employees 80-400k. I mean it's not like homelessness is a lucrative industry in San Francisco or anything.

Increasing your salty standing! I like your proposal. We have coyotes, wolves can’t be far behind, no?

Even wolves have standards.

What about wolf poop?

Initially wolves will prosper as the food source is abundant. The net change in poop will go slightly up. Adding wolves to the biosphere will make it more diverse and green. See Yellowstone. Eventually though wolves will consume all of the available resources, birth rates will fall, and migration will start. The poop will lessen. At some point we’ll reach a stasis where the wolf, homeless, and poop is in equilibrium.

This was my thought. Also, this can’t really be that much more sanitary or clean.

You've never watched the homeless fight. I give 3 to 1 odds to the homeless vs the wolf. Meanwhile, I expect the wolves will instead go after San Francisco's few children.

I don't have enough points to downvote you... this is why people hate techies, you view the displaced as a separate species altogether, they are just like you and your family, likely without the same upbringing and privileges

Edit: Thanks guys I understand the proposal is a joke, it's just sick and callous. So all the people riffing on this joke are making nuanced social commentary as well with their analysis of homeless fighting abilities?

This is a sarcastic reference to a famous essay published by Jonathan Swift. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Modest_Proposal)

It might be more directly a reference to this:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/in-the-loop/wp/2015/03/...

Maybe he's on to something, just misdirected.

If we fed the wealthy to the wolves, we could fit like a hundred people in each mansion.

"modest proposals" are inherently tongue-in-cheek. OP is suggesting that current policy is nearly as inhumane.

You are giving OP benefit of the doubt, certainly the people responding riffing on this "joke" are not viewing the remark with much nuance

Disgusting

Swift's essay is commonly assigned reading in American public schools. The sarcasm of the essay is made clear to every middle school student who reads it.

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