This issue actually has come up in arguments from other counties. Can an astronomer take a nap while waiting for dusk at their observation site? Can someone doze while sunbathing on the beach? These laws are typically created to specifically be enforced on people who are obviously unhomed (e.g. less kempt, has all their stuff nearby.) So yes, it’s a way to deal with regional homelessness by NIMBYing it away to other places.
But it also takes the onus off the county for assuring there is housing for the 80%-ish of us who hover just above scarcity income, including those of us who need to work three jobs to eek out a living. This clears the way for a district to invest in gentrification so that it’s a fancy place for affluent people (because most counties want to be that, and not place where poor communities are left). This is government failure at the county level.
The real big brain move is to simply make homeless people into CEOs.
Then they can be just as productive as they are on the street, earn 100x the national wage rate, boost the economy with spending, engage in whatever conduct they please while being lauded for iconoclasm rather than criminalized for violating a social taboo, and they’ll have all their needs met by a legion of lobbyists and legislators desperate to court their favor.
This issue actually has come up in arguments from other counties. Can an astronomer take a nap while waiting for dusk at their observation site? Can someone doze while sunbathing on the beach? These laws are typically created to specifically be enforced on people who are obviously unhomed (e.g. less kempt, has all their stuff nearby.) So yes, it’s a way to deal with regional homelessness by NIMBYing it away to other places.
But it also takes the onus off the county for assuring there is housing for the 80%-ish of us who hover just above scarcity income, including those of us who need to work three jobs to eek out a living. This clears the way for a district to invest in gentrification so that it’s a fancy place for affluent people (because most counties want to be that, and not place where poor communities are left). This is government failure at the county level.
The real big brain move is to simply make homeless people into CEOs.
Then they can be just as productive as they are on the street, earn 100x the national wage rate, boost the economy with spending, engage in whatever conduct they please while being lauded for iconoclasm rather than criminalized for violating a social taboo, and they’ll have all their needs met by a legion of lobbyists and legislators desperate to court their favor.