California Gov. Gavin Newsom, when pressed by Sean Hannity in an exclusive interview, admitted that his efforts at curbing the spiraling homelessness crisis of California have failed to produce any progress.
Newsom took part in a comprehensive interview with Fox News’ host, which will be broadcast on Monday. Hannity, in a Monday preview, pressed Newsom on his efforts at curbing the rising homelessness. He cited the example of tent-lined street streets rife with crime and drug abuse.
Newsom blamed the lack of progress on housing costs, regulatory tangles and local pushback.
Newsom stated that “this state has not made any progress in the past two decades with regards to homelessness, because housing costs are just too high, and our regulatory thickets have been too problematic. Localism has also had a large impact, meaning local people are resisting new housing construction.”
“I’ve worked here for four years.” “I can’t make it up for 2005, when we had an historic number of homelessness under a Republican Administration,” he said.
Hannity pointed out that California has over 170,000 people who are homeless in the state compared to Florida which only has about 26,000 homeless.
“Similar state, similar weather” The “Hannity’s” host stated, “I have lived in both.”
Newsom called California’s homeless population “disgraceful.”
Hannity said, “The dynamics of the situation are quite different.” Sean, this is ours. “I’m not here to defend this.”
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, California is home to 50% of the country’s unsheltered homeless. This translates to 171,521 unsheltered residents. In addition, one third of all homeless people in the United States live in California.
Newsom has been a long-time advocate for bolstering social safety programs in the state to combat the crisis. Housing First is a policy he has adopted that prioritizes “low barrier” housing access for those who live on the street and doesn’t require residents to meet any thresholds such as sobriety. Newsom’s critics, frustrated by the lack of progress in the city, claim that he is throwing money into a problem which requires new solutions, while also slamming Newsom’s approach as completely ineffective.
The Los Angeles Times reported that in March, Newsom asked the Biden Administration to fund a program called “transitional housing” using federal taxpayer funds. This would “provide low-income enrollees relying on the state’s safety net for health care up to six months worth of rent.”
Recently, the State of California, along with the City and County of San Diego, agreed to spend over $157 million to purchase hotels for the homeless. This is equivalent to more than $400,000 per hotel unit.
