[hipster duck]

Originally Posted by thewave46

The societal breakdown seems to be among lower-class white men, from my anecdotal (yes, I know) experience. Homeless person standing at a stoplight most of the time? White guy.

Some spitballing as to why:

Men are just more Darwinian to their less useful compatriots. Maybe it's an evolutionary trait (and not a good one per se), but the attitude of men towards other less motivated men has always been one of scorn. I suspect it was a more military-like attitude to motivate other men (A boot in the ass always works!) under harsher conditions. It just now serves to isolate them, I suppose.

Stereotyping a bit, but men are more Darwinian at/towards men on the lower rungs, while women are more Darwinian toward other women on the upper rungs of society.

Apart from men and women who are basically unemployable, the lowest-skilled jobs for men are much more likely to lead to chronic pain and the addiction to painkillers/opioids than the lowest-skilled jobs aimed at women. Our gender norms haven't evolved to the point - especially among the underclass - where low-skilled and in-demand jobs aimed at women, like being a PSW, are dignifying to men, and men really need dignity in their lives. So being a day labourer in construction or moving boxes, or a job with repetitive stress motion that nobody should be doing past the age of 40 it is.

The erosion of community supports. Not in a governmental sense, but the idea that people are part of a community - church, fraternal organizations, whatever. That seems stronger among the immigrant community (perhaps why fewer of them slip through cracks) but has seemingly faded among the long-term locals. So, yeah, when one loses their sense of place in something bigger, one kind of ends up in bad places.

This is a huge problem, and one that government can't solve. It's a "spiritual" or "emotional" crisis, while government welfare can only address material shortcomings. The church, for all it faults, was able to do both - it could provide material supports through tithes/donations, and it offered a sense of community to its worshippers, and often its community cut across class lines.

Then there's the other things we've discussed: Housing/rent prices inflating, making bottom-feeder rentals a poor business. The lack of mental health facilities. Addiction issues.

Okay, while rent is a problem for some, I honestly don't think rent prices are as big a problem as the media makes it out to be.

Canada's housing affordability problem mostly affects young professionals who are trying to purchase their first home, and not poor people just looking for a roof over their heads. In the US, the second problem is definitely more dire, and it's sad that it affects both people in high cost places like California, but even low income renters in places where housing (to buy) is practically free, like inner city Detroit or St. Louis. Of course, somebody who lives paycheque to paycheque, does all their financial transactions at MoneyMart and has no credit history can't even buy a $10,000 house, so they're stuck renting a rat-infested shithole at American rents (which are higher than in Canada for similar housing quality in similar metros).

Poor people make concessions when it comes to housing that don't usually show up in official statistics. If you're a single poor person, you don't base your shelter costs on the median 1 BR rental price reported by CMHC and live by yourself in a suite with full amenities. You rent a bedroom in a home with roommates; you couch surf (this is precarious, but better than being "hard homeless"); you shack up with a partner that you might not have been prepared to shack up with.

Even today, with inflation and low wages, living on the streets is a desperate last resort that anybody who doesn't face mental challenges and the ability to take care of themselves will avoid at all costs.