So yes, we can solve a public problem (housing).
The question is whether we can recognize and want to solve the problems imo. Today our media seems incapable of highlighting issues. The media pushes a narrative to effect social change (ie political); rather than presents the issues. On the ground most people agree on the issues, but half the population take the narrative at face value and push the same political ideology (which often doesn’t address the root issues).
To be frank, we have a cultural issue. Most of our institutions rely on a solid cultural basis. With the degrading of our culture (classically liberal, ie conservative values, but libertarian in policy) we no longer have a conservative value system being presented. So we have the libertarian “you do you” mentality, without the public shame that comes with certain actions (such as public displays of nudity, open drug use, etc).
To me, this comes across as many places in the United States have become unsafe for children - SF being one. I can’t let me kids walk down the street with needles, human waste and screaming homeless.
We don’t help those people because we don’t have the cultural foundation to.
In short, we can solve more problems than before, but the culture itself has the problem.