I am submitting my response to John Donegan’s opinion piece, “Predictable outcomes 2.0,” published in the July 6 edition of New Times.
I realize that opinions aren’t necessarily based on facts, but you take that to a new level in your column, which is primarily based on your guesses and unfounded “predictions.” You admit that you’re just “guessing” that the $13.4 million awarded to SLO to relocate 200 homeless people “will be spent on providing them with rental housing, probably hotel rooms, until the money runs out.” You don’t know this, or anything factual about how these funds will be used, and yet you’re saying it’s not a solution but rather a waste of taxpayer money.
You blatantly contradict yourself when you first infer that all homeless people are drug addicts, alcoholics, and non-functioning individuals then turn around in the next paragraph and say, “many of the homeless are pretty mobile and can make rational decisions in obtaining necessities like food and a place to live.” So which is it? Are all homeless people under the influence and/or mentally non-functioning, or are they functioning people capable of making rational decisions about food and housing?
Simply because you describe fighting homelessness as a “Sisyphean task,” doesn’t mean that we do nothing. You know what are also considered examples of “Sisyphean tasks”? Parenting, commuting to work every day, keeping a clean house, washing dishes, ironing clothes, for just a few. Simply because those are never-ending, mostly thankless, or unrewarding tasks, aka “Sisyphean,” doesn’t mean we stop doing them.
I agree with you that funds earmarked to help the homeless situation are funds that come from our taxes simply because that’s how it works in this country. That’s not news to anyone. And maybe as taxpayers, we might be “entitled to a more long-lasting fix” to this problem. Of course it is “in our own interests to spend this money wisely.”
But you know who else’s best interests it’s in? The homeless. There will always be homeless people, for many reasons. Not only because of addiction or mental illness. There is truly a huge lack of affordable housing in California. There are people who’ve lost their jobs and homes due to circumstances not in their control—like COVID-19 or extreme fires and flooding. So it’s in everyone’s best interest to do all we can to lift up everyone, including homeless people, yes? Instead of just criticizing the solutions others are coming up with, maybe come up with some better solutions. That might actually be helpful.
Please try to stick to a specific topic for these opinion columns. You are all over the place by digressing from the SLO homeless issue to illegal immigrants. With this, you continue to spread the misinformation that California is “giving stimulus checks to illegal immigrants.” First, this has absolutely nothing to do with SLO’s homeless issue. And second, stimulus checks are not going to “illegal immigrants” as they do not qualify. You know who does qualify though? People living in America on work visas who are working, have Social Security numbers, and are paying U.S. taxes. They are eligible to receive stimulus checks. They are not illegal immigrants. Please do some real background research first. Δ
Margie Slivinske wrote to New Times from Arroyo Grande. Respond with a letter to the editor by emailing letters@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Jul 13-23, 2023.
Open your home to one homeless person. I dare you. Prove how much you care. I won’t do it but you should.
My “predictions” were based on the articles in the Tribune and KSBY, which indicated the money would be used for housing and services. And if the funds for housing were not intended for hotels or apartment rentals, what other housing could they be used for? $14.3 million won’t buy that many houses in SLO.
Your claim that California stimulus checks were not given to illegals is just not true. See CNN 4/16/20.
Let’s put this expenditure in perspective. This $14.3 million could have provided 295 $50,000 college scholarships to deserving students, kids who were trying to do something with their lives instead of throwing them away getting high. Instead, it will be spent trying to delay the probable self-destruction of the 200, and funding the industry which has sprung up to care for the homeless.
John
Wihout false premises, distortions and lies, what would the rioght EVER have?
San Luis Obispo County will receive $13.4 million to move 200 people out of an encampment “in a flood and fire danger zone,”
https://news.yahoo.com/slo-county-just-got…
The Bob Jones Bike Trail Encampment Resolution Project has 3 main phases:
Clean-up of the San Luis Creek and associated open spaces near the Bob Jones Bike Trail
Expansion of ongoing field outreach efforts to those living in the area
Development of a non-congregate housing facility with on-site wraparound services, dubbed the “Welcome Home Village.”
https://www.slocounty.ca.gov/Departments/S…
Undocumented immigrants aren’t getting stimulus checks from the federal government, but in California they’ll be eligible for cash payments from a $125 million coronavirus disaster relief fund.
The one-time benefit will provide $500 of support per adult, with a cap of $1,000 per household, Newsom’s office said. The fund combines $75 million in state donations with $50 million from private philanthropists.
Newsom said that 10% of California’s workforce is undocumented. And though they paid over $2.5 billion in local and state taxes last year, they benefit from neither unemployment insurance nor the $2.2 trillion stimulus signed by President Trump.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/16/us/californ…
NUKKING WHITE NATIONALISTS BS
John Donegan – you used the word “guess” specifically in your article when predicting what the funds for the homeless were going to be used for. Basing your article on the opinions you read in others’ opinion articles does not make your opinions any more true or factual than their articles were. This is exactly how misinformation is spread.
When I stated that “stimulus checks were not being given to illegal immigrants,” it was absolutely a true statement. Illegal immigrants do not qualify at all for stimulus checks. If you take just 5 minutes and go to an actual factual source, such as the government’s web site, you can research this yourself. Newsom’s administration has set up a “relief fund” to help undocumented workers in California who’ve lost their jobs and their homes during the intense flooding California experienced this year, especially in our agricultural areas. Undocumented workers. You know, all of those hard-working people in California who labor in our fields picking fruits and vegetables that feed not only Californians but much of this country. Those undocumented workers who enable California and its huge agriculture revenue to continue to support this state. You won’t see many “deserving students” who are busy “not getting high” laboring in those fields.
Jon: I hate to rain on your parade and spoil your “gotcha” moment, but exactly what “false premises, distortions and lies” did you supposedly demonstrate? You concede my statement about California stimulus payments to illegals, and confirm that the money will be spent on encampments along the Bob Jones Trail, merely adding that it will also be used for “clean up” of the existing camps, and that the housing provided will be “non-congregate”, a newly coined term used by officials who apparently dread speaking clearly. Perhaps if you had taken the time to read my column a little more closely, you might have actually contradicted me instead of feeling smug about largely agreeing with me.
Margie Silvinske: Before accusing me of falsehoods, I recommend that you invest in a dictionary. You claim that stimulus checks were not given to “illegal immigrants”, and instead assert that they were given to “undocumented workers”. Huh? You do realize that “undocumented worker” is the politically correct euphemism for illegal immigrant, don’t you? You lefties are so enamored of your jargon and efforts to obfuscate reality that you have apparently fooled even yourselves.
John Donegan – please point out to me where I accused you of falsehoods. You, on the other hand, pointedly accused me of falsehoods when you said that my “claim that California stimulus checks were not given to illegals is just not true;” then you referenced “CNN 4/16/20” as some sort of backup for accusing me of lying. I tried to follow up on your vague reference but found nothing from over three years ago (the date you reference) that backs up anything you said.
In addition, I did not assert that stimulus checks were being given to undocumented workers. Again, reading and comprehension play an important role in these discussions. What I did say was that the state of California set up a RELIEF FUND for the undocumented workers who recently lost their jobs and homes due to the catastrophic flooding experienced in California, especially in our agricultural areas. These are NOT “stimulus checks,” given to people so they can go spend money and boost the economy. But maybe you don’t actually know the definition of “stimulus checks.” The relief fund set up by Newsom’s administration is limited to $500 per individual undocumented worker to help them survive after losing their jobs and homes due to flooding. Once again, these are NOT “stimulus checks” to boost the economy.
And no, I don’t “realize that undocumented worker is the politically correct euphemism for illegal immigrant.” While all undocumented workers are illegal immigrants, not all illegal immigrants are undocumented workers. As I said before, undocumented workers in California are the laborers in our fields, the dishwashers in our restaurants, the maids in our hotel rooms, the nannies for children of parents wealthy enough to hire others to care for their children. Most of these people actually pay taxes and pay into our social security fund but will never be able to benefit from it. But you wouldn’t understand any of that because you’re so fixated on the fact that they illegally crossed a border into the US to make a better life for themselves and their families.
Lastly, before you start calling me names, like “lefties,” which to you is probably one of the most derogatory names you could call someone, you should think a little more about assuming anything about me. I’m neither a “lefty,” liberal or democrat. I’m also neither conservative nor a republican. I don’t identify myself to any political party, especially these days, because I don’t need some idiotic politician telling me how to think and what my opinions should be. If you feel the need to parrot these morons, that’s on you. Me, I can be liberal and free-thinking enough to feel empathy for people less fortunate than I am and still remain fiscally conservative and responsible.