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Comment by s17n | Hacker News Reader

I live in an urban neighborhood where the housing is all apartments. I'm sure that some of my housed neighbors have trouble handling their trash and do destructive things to their own spaces, but it essentially doesn't affect me at all because its happening inside a closed concrete box. Homeless people doing the same thing, on the other hand, mean that I have to pick through the piles of trash and shit every time I leave my home, which in my opinion is just not reasonable.

I'm not saying that the homeless people are worse people or something, but the massive negative externalities they are causing are a result of them being homeless. Giving them housing would obviously be one solution! I'm not very optimistic about that happening in the USA, though, unless you consider prison to be housing.

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You really have no external problems with neighbors? People leaving trash outside the dumpster? All the other externalities of life near other people?

Where is this wonderful neighborhood? :)

> pick through the piles of trash and shit every time I leave my home

There are piles of trash and shit? Wow. Why don't you use your freedom and move?

> massive negative externalities they are causing are a result of them being homeless.

Words like "piles" and "massive" don't increase the evidence or reason; they aren't an argument.

Your argument is that you can't think of a solution, so you'll just abuse these people. Then your preferences are creating a massive externality. The people without homes aren't causing you to be arrested.

> People leaving trash outside the dumpster?

Have you ever actually lived in a city?

> There are piles of trash and shit? Wow. Why don't you use your freedom and move?

I'm doing just that, moving to another neighborhood on Feb 1.

> Your argument is that you can't think of a solution, so you'll just abuse these people.

Like I said elsewhere in this thread: I think the need of the thousands of residents of the neighborhood to have livable streets outweigh whatever concern you might have about the well being of a few destructive individuals.

I've lived in many cities. I don't think I've ever lived someplace without a few troublesome, housed, neighbors - including those who left their trash outside the dumpster!

> the need of the thousands of residents of the neighborhood to have livable streets outweigh whatever concern you might have about the well being of a few destructive individuals.

It's their rights and freedom, and that applies to everyone. Other people can't outweigh them - rights are not subject to majority rules, that is the point of having rights.

'Liveable' is too loose a standard. Actual harm would be meaningful.

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