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It also has a network effect, their friends are out there so they want to go. More homeless people the more community they have and less hassle from the police. Same with drug users, the more junkies around the more drug dealers there will be to serve them. Most of those westcoast homeless areas turn into open drug markets which you wouldn't find in Toronto. A lot of the opioid stuff is coming from Asia so it's possible being closer to the west coast shipping ports attracts more users.
The biggest problem is certainly drug use. I've never been there, but I've heard horror stories, and exchange horror stories from California.
My other points, especially health care, still stand - and Chicago is comparable, weather-wise, to Toronto, and still contained far more visible homelessness, and things like needles on the sidewalk, that I just rarely, rarely see here.
Weather aside - Chicago, with a population of 2.7mil, reported 86,324 Chicagoans were homeless in 2017[1], vs. 9200 in Toronto[2], which has a population of 2.9mil. [1]https://www.chicagohomeless.org/faq-studies/ [2]https://homesfirst.on.ca/info-stats
I see needles all the time living downtown in Toronto. Especially when I lived near Parliament and Queen there were tons everywhere. Even now near Cityplace people constantly complain about needles on the FB group.
The difference with better . weather is that you see the homelessness a lot more in urban areas. But you're right the weather is not a good indicator it seems, although far more west coast cities seem to be having a problem with it: https://blogs-images.forbes.com/niallmccarthy/files/2018/12/... Numbers alone is probably a poor metric for it being a 'problem', since Manhattan was famously 'cleaned up'.
> Half of all people experiencing homelessness are in one of five states - California (129,972 people), New York (91,897), Florida (31,030), Texas (25,310) and Washington (22,304).
[0]https://files.hudexchange.info/resources/documents/2018-AHAR...
1. Health Care - Anecdotally, I've known people who moved down to the US from Canada because they could no longer receive care (or timely care). Of course, these specific individuals were elderly, but take from that what you will. Also, I've read that the U.S. pours more money than any other country into medical research (though I could be wrong about that).
2. Gun Violence - As always, the picture painted of the U.S. as being some sort of warzone where you are constantly afraid of being shot is just...false. The vast majority of the U.S. has the homocide rate of Switzerland (a country with many guns and low crime). There are generally just a few pockets of insane levels of violence related to the drug trade. As for suicide, it is an issue, but there are other first world countries that have few guns but comparable levels (e.g. South Korea) that your source fails to mention.
3. Homelessness is an issue, and I honestly don't know what the reason for the difference is between Toronto and Chicago. For California, climate may be a factor, but it definitely seems to have become worse in recent years.
Furthermore, I actually had to search, you're putting words in my mouth and misquoting me, there - I never, ever, said, anything along the lines 'in no way, shape or form is it free'. I'm aware of insurance, I lived there, I'm not dumb, and I don't appreciate people misquoting me, or putting words in my mouth, thanks.
I lived there, I would know...that's not something I think needs backed up by data...I'd be happy to provide it.
Also, how is something like ICE an 'anecdote'?
ICE is one of the biggest crimes against humanity that is still ongoing. I hear horror stories every other day.
EDIT: added references for everything.
Here: '6 reasons why health care is still so expensive in the USA' https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/08061...
Weather aside - Chicago, with a population of 2.7mil, reported 86,324 Chicagoans were homeless in 2017[1], vs. 9200 in Toronto[2], which has a population of 2.9mil. [1]https://www.chicagohomeless.org/faq-studies/ [2]https://homesfirst.on.ca/info-stats
It's hard to take you seriously when you say stuff like this. Kids in cages is bad but pick up a history book and you will find much much much worse. I can point to number events going on right now or recent memory that are worse.
> I hear horror stories every other day.
No, you don't. Stop being Miss Hyperbole and people will take you seriously.
Also, Health Care is NEVER free since you pay for it one way or another.
That's kind of nit-picky. Government services that aren't paid for by user fees at the time of service but rather out of some kind of general tax whose rate you pay doesn't depend on whether you use the service or not are often referred to as "free" in normal conversation.
For example, most people would consider GPS a free service provided by the government, but obviously there are costs to provide it. Those costs are paid out of general US tax revenue.
When people talk of "free" healthcare, they almost always mean free in that sense.
TANSTAAFL.
Also, it is a finite resource, and like all finite resources must be rationed in some manner. I'm saying I like how the U.S. health care system works, but I also don't think the only alternative is to have it government run.
Are you nitpicking over the definition of the word "free" because it's taxpayer-funded? You should know that "free healthcare" is shorthand for "you are unlikely to be bankrupted by, or forced to do without, necessary treatment because your insurance is not up to snuff."
People often use the word "free" to mean - I can use this service without even thinking about money.
As everyone on HN will tell you... Google and Facebook's services are not free (you're just paying in a different way) but they're commonly described as "free" services.
So.. you're both right.
When people say "free health care," they don't mean literally free, they mean you won't receive a bill after treatment. Maybe you don't like that usage. I don't like it when people use "literally" to mean "a whole lot." The language doesn't care what either of us likes.
I agree homelessness is dramatically less in Toronto.
Complaints about getting downvoted and flagged are also against the guidelines; please stop doing that as well.
Contrast Trump with the Ford dynasty, and the PPC. Populism is sharply rising. I work in a riding where a candidate (LLTT) ran on an explicitly anti-trans, anti-immigration platform and rallies with open white supremacists. It's Trump's brand of hatred with a sheen of professionalism that Trump will never manage. That should scare you.
Contrast ICE with the genocide of first nations, where indigenous women are still being sterilized against their will.
Yes we have health care, but the mental health care in this country is almost nonexistent. And when you enter that system while trans, good fucking luck, sister. I know.
Having lived in both countries. Both have an immense amount of pride. But Canadians, by and large, are too "polite" to speak out. Except for the proto-nazis, I guess