Four decades of rising homelessness has led many to seek alternative explanations. The most common blames homelessness on drug addiction, rather than the lack of housing low-income people can afford.
By Randy Shaw, BeyondChron
Forty-Plus Years of Federal Inaction
Prior to 1982 the United States had no widespread visible homelessness since the Great Depression. Since 1982 homelessness has exploded. What happened? Why has the United States normalized nearly a million people living without homes even during economic boom times?
Maria Foscarinis, a longtime activist and attorney representing the unhoused, answers this question in And Housing For All: The Fight to End Homelessness in America. Foscarinis details how the federal government’s failure to fund real solutions has allowed homelessness to not simply to persist but increase.

Blaming federal policies, rather than the unhoused themselves, goes against the current political mood. But I also began combating homelessness in 1982 and found her analysis indisputable. Extreme cutbacks in government funding for affordable housing and mental health care that began under Nixon and worsened under Reagan have left far too many Americans unable to avoid homelessness.
Four decades of rising homelessness has led many to seek alternative explanations. The most common blames homelessness on drug addiction, rather than the lack of housing low-income people can afford.
I offer the author’s and my own response to such claims below.
Homelessness Exploded Under Reagan
Foscarinis’ first three chapters should be essential reading for anyone interested in why homelessness skyrocketed in 1982. In addition to Nixon’s ending of new public housing in 1974 and Reagan’s massive 1981 budget cuts to affordable housing, she reminds us of other misguided policies.
Recent Posts
‘Extremely Dangerous For Humanity’: Trump Orders Resumption Of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Testing
October 30, 2025
Take Action Now “By foolishly announcing his intention resume nuclear testing,” said one expert, “Trump will trigger strong public opposition in…
The Stunning Hypocrisy Of U.S. Foreign Policy
October 29, 2025
Take Action Now The US government regards the entire world as its legitimate sphere of influence, including the backyards of its rivals.By Donald…
The Lost Language Of The Working Class: Reviving Economic Populism In The Democratic Party
October 29, 2025
Take Action Now A detailed account of the Democrats’ alienation from working America and how candidates like Dan Osborn and Zohran Mamdani point the…
New Report From Corporate Democrats Falsely Claims Medicare For All Is “Unpopular”
October 28, 2025
Take Action Now The report declares that Medicare for All is in the category of “unpopular economic policies.” The claim is false.By Jeff Cohen…




