Residents may be fleeing California in droves, but more homeless people are flocking to California's major cities. Government data shows sharp increases in the homeless populations of California's most populated municipalities. Even worse, the number of homeless people is likely much higher than the government data suggests.
As The New York Times reports, city governments measure their homeless populations by sending out volunteers on a single night to count the number of homeless people present. Using this method, the city of San Francisco counted 8,011 homeless people in 2018, a 17 percent increase over the previous year.
But a more comprehensive method of counting the homeless population in San Francisco utilizes the city's database of individuals receiving health care and other government services. Using this method, the number of homeless people living in San Francisco in 2018 was determined to be 17,595 people, more than double the number previously reported.
As The New York Times notes, the more comprehensive measure of the city's homeless population is rarely cited in debates on homelessness.
California is incapable of managing its mounting homeless population. Last week, Matt reported on a homeless man in Los Angeles who dumped a bucket of hot diarrhea over a woman as she was climbing into her vehicle.
San Francisco's streets are littered with feces and dirty needles. In October, President Trump criticized Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose congressional district includes San Francisco, for being more concerned with the impeachment witch hunt than with cleaning up the "bad and dangerous conditions" of her own district.
....We should all work together to clean up these hazardous waste and homeless sites before the whole city rots away. Very bad and dangerous conditions, also severely impacting the Pacific Ocean and water supply. Pelosi must work on this mess and turn her District around!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 26, 2019
Couple the staggering number of homeless people with San Francisco's dangerous sanctuary city policies, and it's no wonder American nationals are leaving the city in droves.
And the problem is only going to get worse. Earlier this month, San Francisco voters elected the son of two former cop-killing terrorists to serve as their District Attorney. The radical DA has already pledged to decriminalize public urination, prostitution and other "quality-of-life crimes."
Please don't say, "as California goes, so goes the nation."