Last week, when Trump federalized Washington, DC's police force and deployed the National Guard to occupy its streets, one of his main orders was to "end vagrancy" by destroying homeless encampments and arresting and forcibly relocating the people taking shelter there. But according to an investigation published on Wednesday by Hanna Homestead of the National Priorities Project, in collaboration with The Intercept, deploying the National Guard and "getting rid of the slums" is costing far more than it would cost to simply provide housing to every homeless person in the city.
Earlier this month, DC officials cleared tents along the routes the president frequents.
-- Washingtonian (@washingtonian.com) Aug 27, 2025 at 3:55 PM
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From a link in the cited article ...
FACT SHEET: Taxpayer Trade Offs: D.C. Occupation vs. Public Housing
ips-dc.org
... As of this writing (August 21, 2025), there are more than 2,000 National Guard troops deployed in D.C., costing over a million dollars per day.
In all but two states, the daily cost of the D.C. troop deployment is greater than the daily cost of operating public housing for all unhoused people in the state.
In most cases, the disparity is many times greater. For example, the daily expense of deploying troops to D.C. is 4.3 times greater than the daily cost of operating public housing for D.C's entire unhoused population. ...
Per-state table, and references cited.
Regarding links, I see this ...
$750 a month was given to homeless people in California. What they reported spending it on is more evidence that universal basic income works. (2023)
www.businessinsider.com
... About 100 homeless people in California's Los Angeles County and San Francisco Bay Area were given $750 a month for a year " no questions asked.
The newly released results of the first six months of the study on the impact of basic income and social support intervention show how the recipients spent the influx of cash.
The findings appear to be the latest piece of evidence showing the benefits of a basic-income plan.
The study found that after six months, those who received the $750 monthly stipend were less likely to report being unsheltered and said they were closer to having enough money to meet all of their basic needs compared with a control group of people who accessed usual homeless services. ...
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