The homeless problem in Pittsburgh can be almost completely eliminated by taking a page out of the Texas and Florida illegal immigrant playbooks.
A one-way Greyhound bus ticket from Pittsburgh to Los Angeles is approximately $200. If the city offered to buy their tickets, there would be a lot of happy people willing to leave cold, dirty old Pittsburgh to enjoy some fun in the sun. California already has over 170,000 homeless, and they love to coddle them. They wouldn’t even notice a few hundred more.
California has spent billions of dollars on the problem. Homeless folks can receive cash and/or food stamps each month that they remain homeless. In fact, Los Angeles is preparing to open a plush new skyscraper devoted to housing homeless individuals, equipped with upscale amenities such as a gym, cafe and apartments featuring stunning views of the city skyline. Why bother flipping burgers for a lousy $20/hour?
Is there another way to solve Pittsburgh’s homeless problem for $200 per person? I doubt it. This would be a win-win for everyone. Pittsburgh’s so-called leaders need to step up and start buying those tickets.
E. Joseph Biss
Greensburg