Bleak with black coffee, page-26

I tend to follow what happens in the US more than I have time for, because still I see America as pointing to our own immediate prospects.

"While the elite are swimming in money, homelessness in the U.S. has reached “the highest level on record” and it also has been rising at the fastest pace ever recorded. The following comes from the Wall Street Journal…The U.S. count of homeless people surged to the highest level on record, reaching more than 653,000 people early this year as Covid-19 pandemic-aid spending faded, new federal data show.The increase reflects a collision of factors: rising housing costs; limited affordable housing units; the opioid epidemic; and the expired pandemic-era aid that had helped keep people in their homes, federal officials said Friday. A surge of migrants into shelters in places such as New York City, Massachusetts and Chicago also contributed to the challenge.The data released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development show a 12% gain since last year, marking both the biggest increase and highest tally since the U.S. first published comparable data for 2007.
Homelessness didn’t even increase this fast during the Great Recession of 2008 and 2009.On top of those that are living in the streets, millions of other Americans are living in cars, trucks, vans and RVs.In some of our wealthiest cities, you can see such vehicles lined up on the side of the road for miles.Areas that are right along a river or a lake are particularly popular for those living in their vehicles because that gives them easy access to water.Of course millions of Americans that actually have homes are also living in poverty.Today, approximately one out of every eight Americans is on food stamps.Just think about that for a moment.One-eighth of the entire country relies on the government for food every month.Sadly, things are only going to get worse as economic conditions continue to deteriorate.The cost of living just continues to become even more oppressive, and at this stage buying a decent home is out of reach for most Americans."

https://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/this-is-a-tale-of-two-americas-and-those-at-the-bottom-of-the-economic-food-chain-are-being-hit-extremely-hard/