Romney has no basis for his 47% statements. Budget cuts at the federal and state levels are causing the cancellation of local programs that support 'marginal' citizens. This is the working poor. Their jobs are located in areas of cities where rent is unaffordable to them, so they have received subsidies to prevent homelessness. I am not sure where at the NY State level the funding was cut, but, the federal government has provided assistance through the Labor Department and Workforce Development.
The article below made predictions about the loss of subsidies and the correlation to homelessness. These folks simply don't make enough money to support themselves or their families. They never wanted to give up their housing. They just couldn't afford it.
Adults adjust, but, children are an entirely different issue. Putting Americans back to work with jobs that pay this low will not solve the country's poverty problem. These are the people Paul Ryan likes to state have no character and need jobs. That isn't the case. These people work, they work in jobs others don't want, they are marginal in their ability to live within the parameters of a decent life because they are low income, not because they are lazy. This is a return to Reagan when the homeless population across the country skyrocketed and he stated, "In the USA if you want to live on the street it is permitted." Same paradigm.
The city canceled the program after losing state and federal funding.
Saturday, Feb 4, 2012 | Updated 9:01 AM EDT
...New York City is cutting off rent-assistance payments (click here) to about 9,000 homeless families following a court decision, and advocates are warning that the move could flood the city's shelter system.
The city canceled the Advantage rent-subsidy program in March after it lost state and federal funding. A court order that was lifted Thursday had forced the city to continue payments while legal challenges to the decision played out.
An appeal is set to be heard next week, but officials said Friday the city plans to stop paying participants' rent immediately....
