Utah is on track to end homelessness by 2015 by simply giving away apartments

[Marnetmar]

This is tyranny! Because icky poor people! What is this, Scandinavia?

[Niemeyerite]

Congratulations, Utahns. This is the kind of policy the left should be pursuing all over the World. Not just Utah anbd Brazil

[Ban my account ffs!]

Utah has a very moralistic political culture.  The basis of such a political culture tends to place the collective over the specific interests of the individual.

Utah, therefore, isn't necessarily out to really help these people on a case by case basis as might be more effective in the long run... but to come up with a solution that will maintain social order and peace at a lower costs than the status quo.

We go about it differently here in even-more-moralistic Minnesota but the goal is the same:  Help the homeless and maintain social order.  (we just prefer to maintain social order through voluntary cooperation rather than through religious homogeneity)  The liberal vs. the conservative approach, if you will.

[Adam Griffin]

I'm surprised that a state like Utah of all places would embrace such a program, and now officials in Wyoming want to do the same thing.

[traininthedistance]

Good for you, Utah.

For all that LDS culture is alien to me, I do have a good deal of respect for many aspects of it, and would undoubtedly prefer them to, say, the Southern Baptists.  They really are nice and charitable to a fault, and value things like education and health.  Just for instance: Utah has been embarking on a massive expansion of light rail on the Front Range, and arguably has done more to improve transit over the past decade than anywhere else in the country, which is not exactly what you'd expect from such a red state.

[PJ]

Good for Utah. It definitely improves my impression of religion when it is used as a reason to help the working class, as opposed to oppressing minorities.

[Link]

Good for Utah. It definitely improves my impression of religion when it is used as a reason to help the working class, as opposed to oppressing minorities.

That's the point.  There are no minorities in Utah to oppress.

[opebo]

Further back still I think Malcolm Gladwell wrote about one man costing the systme a million dollars in a year.

Freedom Fighter!

"I shall go on drinking that milk, even if I do burst!"

[IceSpear]

Good for Utah. It definitely improves my impression of religion when it is used as a reason to help the working class, as opposed to oppressing minorities.

That's the point.  There are no minorities in Utah to oppress.

But I thought the GOP hated poor white people too? It's not like they cut out a waiver for whites when proposing to gut food stamps/Medicare/Medicaid/Social Security etc.

[Badger]

I see no blue avatars have yet dared to post in this thread in opposition to such obvious socialism, and why they'd oppose it happening in their own state. I'll start:



............



er.



ummmmmm


..........



Ok, I got nothing.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Utah has a very moralistic political culture.  The basis of such a political culture tends to place the collective over the specific interests of the individual.

Utah, therefore, isn't necessarily out to really help these people on a case by case basis as might be more effective in the long run... but to come up with a solution that will maintain social order and peace at a lower costs than the status quo.

We go about it differently here in even-more-moralistic Minnesota but the goal is the same:  Help the homeless and maintain social order.  (we just prefer to maintain social order through voluntary cooperation rather than through religious homogeneity)  The liberal vs. the conservative approach, if you will.

What about the program isn't helping them on a case by case basis, and what does MN do instead?

[ilikeverin]

Between this, public transit, same-sex marriage, a sane immigration policy, and various other reasons, there are some days where I feel like I'd be very, very happy in Utah.  And by "in Utah" I mean "in Salt Lake City" because not-Mormon.

[Zioneer]

Between this, public transit, same-sex marriage, a sane immigration policy, and various other reasons, there are some days where I feel like I'd be very, very happy in Utah.  And by "in Utah" I mean "in Salt Lake City" because not-Mormon.

To be fair, there's a few other good cities in Utah; Park City, West Valley, Murray.... It's just that all of them are in Salt Lake County (except for Park City), so any progressive person doesn't venture outside of the County except for skiing and hiking.

[King]

Damn these communist Mormons.

[Beet]

Doesn't New York City have a guaranteed housing program?

[Niemeyerite]

I'll tell the Spanish people about this. I see hundreds of Spaniards arriving to the SLC airport. Myself included (maybe).

[ilikeverin]

Between this, public transit, same-sex marriage, a sane immigration policy, and various other reasons, there are some days where I feel like I'd be very, very happy in Utah.  And by "in Utah" I mean "in Salt Lake City" because not-Mormon.

To be fair, there's a few other good cities in Utah; Park City, West Valley, Murray.... It's just that all of them are in Salt Lake County (except for Park City), so any progressive person doesn't venture outside of the County except for skiing and hiking.

I'd be worried about Park City being too far of a commute from my hypothetical position at the University of Utah, but West Valley and Murray could be doable.

[Zioneer]

Between this, public transit, same-sex marriage, a sane immigration policy, and various other reasons, there are some days where I feel like I'd be very, very happy in Utah.  And by "in Utah" I mean "in Salt Lake City" because not-Mormon.

To be fair, there's a few other good cities in Utah; Park City, West Valley, Murray.... It's just that all of them are in Salt Lake County (except for Park City), so any progressive person doesn't venture outside of the County except for skiing and hiking.

I'd be worried about Park City being too far of a commute from my hypothetical position at the University of Utah, but West Valley and Murray could be doable.

Correct. Though Salt Lake City plus West Valley is probably big and diverse enough that you wouldn't have to venture out very often. You may have to swing through the conservative suburb cities (West Jordan and so forth), but otherwise, you can generally stay within the progressive mecca of SLC.

Oh, and Ogden up in northern Utah is getting larger and more diverse. They'd definitely be too far if you think Park City is too far.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Between this, public transit, same-sex marriage, a sane immigration policy, and various other reasons, there are some days where I feel like I'd be very, very happy in Utah.  And by "in Utah" I mean "in Salt Lake City" because not-Mormon.

To be fair, there's a few other good cities in Utah; Park City, West Valley, Murray.... It's just that all of them are in Salt Lake County (except for Park City), so any progressive person doesn't venture outside of the County except for skiing and hiking.

I'd be worried about Park City being too far of a commute from my hypothetical position at the University of Utah, but West Valley and Murray could be doable.

Correct. Though Salt Lake City plus West Valley is probably big and diverse enough that you wouldn't have to venture out very often. You may have to swing through the conservative suburb cities (West Jordan and so forth), but otherwise, you can generally stay within the progressive mecca of SLC.

Oh, and Ogden up in northern Utah is getting larger and more diverse. They'd definitely be too far if you think Park City is too far.

I've heard good things about Moab, but I don't know if those extend to its politics.

[Zioneer]

Between this, public transit, same-sex marriage, a sane immigration policy, and various other reasons, there are some days where I feel like I'd be very, very happy in Utah.  And by "in Utah" I mean "in Salt Lake City" because not-Mormon.

To be fair, there's a few other good cities in Utah; Park City, West Valley, Murray.... It's just that all of them are in Salt Lake County (except for Park City), so any progressive person doesn't venture outside of the County except for skiing and hiking.

I'd be worried about Park City being too far of a commute from my hypothetical position at the University of Utah, but West Valley and Murray could be doable.

Correct. Though Salt Lake City plus West Valley is probably big and diverse enough that you wouldn't have to venture out very often. You may have to swing through the conservative suburb cities (West Jordan and so forth), but otherwise, you can generally stay within the progressive mecca of SLC.

Oh, and Ogden up in northern Utah is getting larger and more diverse. They'd definitely be too far if you think Park City is too far.

I've heard good things about Moab, but I don't know if those extend to its politics.

You're talking to probably the only Utahn alive who's never gone to Moab, so I can't help you there. The middle-to-upper-middle class yuppie types who make up most of Utah's LGBT community tend to like to visit Moab though. Very few people actually live there.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

The middle-to-upper-middle class yuppie types

That's bad.

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That's good!

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That's okay.

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That's good!

[tmthforu94]

Come to Davis County. Best county in Utah!

[Zioneer]

Come to Davis County. Best county in Utah!

Not to be all regionalist, but I literally can't think of a single thing to do in Davis County. Nor can I think have any cities besides Layton. And Bountiful, I guess. At least Weber has Ogden, but seriously, unless you're skiiing or hiking, SLCO is where everything is at.

[Indy Texas 🇺🇦🇵🇸]

Good for Utah. It definitely improves my impression of religion when it is used as a reason to help the working class, as opposed to oppressing minorities.

That's the point.  There are no minorities in Utah to oppress.

But I thought the GOP hated poor white people too? It's not like they cut out a waiver for whites when proposing to gut food stamps/Medicare/Medicaid/Social Security etc.

White people don't use that "welfare." When poor whites don't work, they "go on disability." There is a surprising number of men across the rural South and Appalachia who are too sick or crippled to work but seem to have no problem hunting, fishing or going up to the Wal-Mart to spend their checks. But, you know, that's okay because they "earned" that money, unlike those lazy black folks in the cities getting their housing vouchers and food stamps.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Why should Republicans be outraged about this policy? If it actually saves money and gives people a fighting chance, why not? Mind you, if I was working my ass off just to stay above the poverty line and live in an apartment much like the ones that these former-homeless people are staying in for free, I'd be pretty pissed off. What incentive would I have to work?

I guess on the surface it looks like the state is saving money, but if the policy encourages people to fall into homelessness to reap these benefits, it's another story. So actually, I'm kind of torn.