If folks are in Williston having arrived looking for a job and don't have one, they need to move on. Idle hands -- illicit drugs, fights, etc.
If folks are in Williston with a (high-paying) job, they need work with their employer for a place to stay, and/or hotel, motel, or man-camp.
It sounds very, very hard-hearted, but life is not fair, and the city is inviting additional problems, not the least of which is removing a recreational facility.
Helping folks move on can be done humanely with the help of a social worker and/or the clergy, with the funds that would be used for a homeless shelter to pay for transportation back home.
I could not agree with you more, Bruce. A very bad idea indeed.
ReplyDeleteI seldom opine on any Williston issue since I no longer live there, only visit, but this one (homeless shelter) has "DISASTER" written all over it. Thank you for your support.
ReplyDeleteI have several prospective on this type of thing. First off we had the Minneapolis Hiawatha Reroute occupation a decade ago which attracted
ReplyDelete"slackers" who didn't want to pay rent and went downhill from there despite
some well meaning "Catchers in the Rye". (think hippie "diggers"). Next you have the current "occupy" "Flea Party". Enough said there.
I live in Minneapolis and we have a saying here "Minnesota has a terminal case of compassion". Minnesota has among the most generous welfare benefits in the USA and the world with no residency requirement. Minnesota is not an inherently poor state. If we wish to put "race" in the mix" Minnesota is/was the state with a large urban area that had the lowest minority percentage and the lowest poverty indices.
That said, according to the Census, Minnesota is the state that has the highest percentage of the state budget paid for welfare. If Williston wants "to feel good about itself" put up some subsided housing with a a legacy criteria (retired cops, teachers and such who now rent but have live their life here) so you don't get the "No Minnesotans (who paid into it) need apply system we currently have for subsidized housing here in the Twin Cities.
Once the "poverty industry" which we have here in Minnesota" gets started it is very hard to stop.
http://www.winonadailynews.com/news/local/article_d949dfaa-ad74-11de-99cc-001cc4c03286.html
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Welfare spending in Minnesota is among the highest in the nation, according to new census figures, and it's been growing steadily for more than 10 years due to the rising cost of providing health care for the needy.
Read more: http://www.winonadailynews.com/news/local/article_d949dfaa-ad74-11de-99cc-001cc4c03286.html#ixzz1kOl4O7wm
Nice post, thank you.
ReplyDelete