Philadelphia's Compassion: $270K for One-Way Tickets to Nowhere
The Independent reports Philadelphia has spent a quarter-million dollars shuffling its unhoused population to other cities, provided they have an address to 'travel to.' One might ask why a city like Philadelphia, which boasts a budget of billions (its 2024 operating budget was $6.2 billion according to the city's official website), can't find $270,000 for actual housing, but can find it for a
humanitarian removal program. This isn't innovation; it's a centuries-old tradition repackaged with bus fare, not unlike what happened during the Indian Removal Act , just with less overt land grabs and more Greyhound. While cities like Philadelphia opt for costly displacement, actual solutions exist. Finland famously implemented a 'Housing First' policy in 2008, dramatically reducing homelessness
by simply providing homes. But perhaps a city with one of the highest poverty rates among major U.S. cities prefers to clear the streets rather than tackle the root causes. After all, it's easier to export the problem than to confront the economic structures that create it, especially when there's a public optics win for 'addressing' homelessness. Who needs expensive social services when you have
robust transit lines?