You are smart.

Our culture deliberately avoids talking about these issues because it's tightly controlled by the mainstream media which is owned by the ruling class. That's why they own the media and it's why American tent cities remain invisible.

This is neoliberalism - capitalism with gloves off.

Homelessness and unemployment are deliberately cultivated by governments to keep inflation low, to act as a visible deterrent against strikes and higher wages and to maximise profits for the ruling class.

The poverty and homelessness is actually there for a reason - to scare the shit out of everyone who's working so they don't complain. The end result is cheaper labour, higher profits.

'The Reserve Army Of Labour' (Marx/Engels) is something everyone should know about. Our politicians never admit to it. The closest it came to being acknowledged was when Margaret Thatcher euphemistically referred to it as 'natural unemployment'.

When you have government entitlements at the level we do...and tax breaks for creating more and more and more and more people.....and jobs going oversees.....and crappy public education....and bloated government.....and corrupt officials at ALL levels....it's not a matter of "why"....it's simply the result of a broken civilization.

Here in South Africa, it is just as bad. For 12 years I was helping the homeless, soup kitchens, clothing handouts, etc. but now that I am old, I find I will soon be joining them on the streets, in doorways, under trees, behind rocks. The reason is that the government has closed all the subsidised old age homes and the private accomodation is far too expensive for most of us. We have good people here, once responsible, economically active persons that have nowhere to go, no one to care..............

From outside looking in (I.e. from Canada) but no expert.
Pass anti-corruption laws: [anticorruptionact.org]
Tax the rich: the best years of the USA where when the rich were paying higher taxes that the middle class.
All full-time/permanent jobs should be paid a living wage.
Vote more women in office

Its simple, if you make wealthy people wealthier, they are not going to pass the wealth down the chain lol. they will instead invest on the stock market. So tax break for the rich don't do shit for the ones who actually needed it.

I've always tried to avoid radicalism and political extremes, but I'm coming to believe that the views we've been led to believe are extreme and against American values are the only logical solution.

They, and they are the politicians of both major parties who are in office, have used lies and scare tactics to keep the status quo and to dissuade the people from embracing our best hope for a fair and just society.

We live in a broken system and we are all slaves to it. Last week while eating lunch at a pizza place they had on some news channel covering votes by our lovely and ever-so rational representatives. You could literally tell which party proposed each item they were voting on by how the votes tallied. I saw at least a half dozen results where no more than 6 people ever went against their party with 3 or 4 consensus votes. I wasn't surprised, but it does re-confirm my reason for never having participated in the process. The system works like two sports teams playing against each other on separate fields.

More are interested pointing fingers at one another. Dehumanizing those who dare have a different opinion has become the status quo.

The homeless have no lobby to exploit. Look at the disenfranchise and destitute veteran population. There’s this blind loyalty to veterans, but nothing on both sides can effectively help them.

Homeless veterans and substandard healthcare, especially at the mental level.

Never mind the sorry excuse of mental health in our country, but all these politicians do is sell a blank check of promises that NEVER delivers.

Your priorities go to the highest bidder and the homeless will never get anywhere near of the front of the line because there’s virtually no lobby for them. Certainly nothing that could ever compete against the likes of the NRA, the major pharmaceutical or petroleum companies.

As a few have pointed out already, the lawmakers are too beholden to the wealthy and corporations for any needed changes to be enacted into law. How do we fix this problem? How do we get rid of the quid pro quo system?

I think the only way to fix this is to make all campaign contributions blind. If the two dominant parties and all these politicians don't know where the money is coming from, it seems to me they would be less eager to the bidding of the wealthy and corporations. Presumably, it would change their mindset toward the good of the people and society.

Global economics,the killing of unions,the money being paid to executives and stock holders are all having an affect on wages.Trump will kill aid to work force in this budget. He must do something to afford the tax cut. Have you ever heard of cutting revenue when you have a deficit.

I think a complete overhaul of how we live and reproduce across the world is a must.

The single most important thing to do is re-regulate the banking system. The US was saved when the Glass-Steagall Act, passed in 1933 during the Depression, finally separated investment banks from the money pies of ordinary savings and service banks. We had a stable economy for nearly 70 years.

Congress repealed Glass-Steagall in 1999 when the good times were rolling under Clinton, for the benefit of corporate interests. Eventually they replaced it with the much weaker Dodd-Frank legislation. Then Cheeto came along and further weakened bank regulation on what funds investment banks could take from the honey pots of their subsidiary savings banks. Now banks are back to selling mystery investments financed by mom and pop's savings. They weren't punished AT ALL, so why wouldn't they be gambling with our future again?

History confirms that the US went through the same boom/bust/boom cycles from our founding until the Depression wiped us out in 1929, finally leading to the tight controls of Glass-Steagall.

We very narrowly avoided another Great Depression under Obama, who took action and pumped cash into the system. We still haven't recovered, as you saw on the street. I'm voting for Bernie Sanders again. He seems to be the only candidate who doesn't believe greed is a virtue.

I totally agree with @nottheonlyone the pandering to corporations that our congress does is reprehensible. I honestly believe it is a war on the middle class so that ultimately the country will become the rich and their serfs. Not only are houses becoming unaffordable, so have rents. I live in a small city and a 500 square ft apartment costs $1,000/month. There is no big industry or plethora of jobs.

why? imo.....the rich have continued to scrape more and more money off the pile and buying the laws that allow them to do so.

We need to vote in people who have compassion and want to try to fix the problems of inequality. It's too big a problem for individuals, except for being generous and trying to help when and where you can.

The Whole World Is Goin To Shit! As Long As It's People Put Up With It,The Longer It Will Continue.

Raise the minimum wage to a liveable amount. Change the corporate tax laws, making all R&D tax deductible, and tax the fuck out of pure profit. Sprinkle pixie dust on the 1% that will make them truly able to see what they are doing to the rest of us.