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Times Watch for July 3, 2003

At Home With the Liberal Worldview 

Reporter Andrea Elliott’s front-page story for Wednesday’s Metro Section, “Record Number of Homeless, But City Says It’s Prepared,” accepts hook, line and sinker the liberal worldview on homelessness.

     Elliott writes: “The weak New York economy has also played a role [in the homeless problem]. A shortage of low-wage jobs and low-cost housing has fueled the surge in the homeless, said city officials and advocates for the homeless.”

     Some housing analysts argue that a major reason for New York City’s shortage of low-cost housing is its restrictive rent-control regulations and zoning policies. But Elliott entirely ignores that view, quoting only city bureaucrats, “homeless advocates” and those seeking shelter, all of whom have a vested interest in making the problem of homelessness appear as bad as possible.

     Elliott claims: “The seasonal surge of homeless families is accompanied this year by a floundering economy and the highest number of homeless people in shelters -- more than 38,000 -- since the city began tracking numbers in the early 1980's, with roughly double the number of homeless children and families compared with five years ago.…A shortage of low-wage jobs and low-cost housing has fueled the surge in the homeless, said city officials and advocates for the homeless.”

      But figures on urban homelessness are notoriously unscientific, invariably based on estimates from city officials with a vested interest in increased funding. As Times Watch demonstrated back on May 29, The U.S. Conference of Mayors has claimed hunger and homeless have been rising ever since the conference issued its first report back in 1987. From 1987 to 2002, the Mayors have reported an average increase in demand for emergency shelter of a staggering 14% a year.

For the rest of Andrea Elliott’s story on New York City homelessness, click here.

• Homelessness | Hunger | New York City