A Colorado think tank has released a report on homelessness after four years of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, and nine of the top ten states with the worst homelessness increases are Democrat-run States. The outlier is North Dakota, which might be due for a rebound in the right direction now that Mr. Trump has unshackled energy production.
We should, of course, take a breath. The survey ranks states by percentage growth, which, as we have shown here, can be misleading if you do not know the percentage of what. And while no one should be homeless, research reports often lend themselves to political action based on perception rather than fact. A December 2024 report claimed a 51.8% increase in New Hampshire, while the national average was closer to 12%. NH’s hike in chronic homelessness was a rise from 359 to 545 people. Still too many, but not as many as 12% of a larger state. In other words, percentages can be deceptive.
Vermont, for example, was the bell of the “homeless hike” ball, clocking in at 212%. This is based on Homelessness per 1,000 residents (NH is ranked 18th, with a 34% rise from 2020 to 2024).
The first question I’d ask is how many of these are illegal aliens imported into the states or who wandered from wherever the Biden/Harris dream team dropped them. No one wants to say, which suggests a strange cure. Returning illegal immigrants to their country of origin will reduce the number of homeless people. It will also free up “housing” currently occupied by illegal aliens.
Advocates for government solutions to what are, at their root, almost always government-created problems, need to be told to take a breath. Headline perceptions rather than facts often drive calls for increased spending, shelters, other housing, or services. What if deportations of law-breaking illegal entrants reduce the homeless problem by 212%?
Blue-state and federal progressive policies are also suspect—higher taxes on everything, including more expensive electricity, water, and motor fuels. Regulatory expenses increase development costs, and bureaucracy slows down the process. Business taxes and regulations impair growth and increase costs. And these states also have a disproportionate tendency to be sanctuary and welfare states that attract people more likely to be or remain homeless.
New Hampshire’s 51.8% hike was fewer than 200 people in a state of 1.4 million. Still too many, but before we let the growing government-first crowd call for more taxdollars, many of which will be lost or wasted on process, why not try something else?
Deport the illegals. Empower and incentivize private non-profits and their donors without using tax dollars. Unburden us from past tax and regulatory policies that create joblessness, which leads to homelessness. Stop blocking federal action that allows freer, more open markets and lower prices (energy policy is a significant factor in this regard). End government and special interest meddling in housing markets and investigate companies like BlackRock, countries like China, or local developers that buy up inventory and sit on it, artificially forcing prices higher and out of reach.
And remember that the government, not oligarchs, created this problem at the state and federal levels. The government will never be the solution, especially one run by a party that wants us dependent and fewer of us.
Mr. Trump’s solution is to bring manufacturing back to the United States. To drive innovation here. To make starting and running a business more affordable. To spurn growth, job creation, and opportunity. And to secure a domestic supply chain.
Trump 1.0 was less aggressive, and it stimulated massive job growth and income across every sector and demographic. Let it happen.
And while we wait, be careful of those percentages.
