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West Virginia has very high rates of drug addiction, and yet much lower homelessness than LA. It’s because housing is much, much cheaper. That only happens by building more.

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Comparing LA and WV is like comparing apples and oranges. At least those are both fruits.

Those locales differ on much more than just housing costs.

You're asking readers to imagine that LA is representative of other areas, but reject the idea that LA is comparable to WV? I think you need to pick one to make a coherent argument.

I suspect that there is a strong non-linear effect, i.e., introducing novel drugs into a state with very cheap housing does not move the needle that much on homelessness (WV) but is catastrophic when done in a city with expensive housing (LA).

We should address the housing problem. We should also address the drug problem.

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