Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Someone unclear on the concept dept

So the Bush administration announces today that there's been a 30% drop in the number of homeless people in the United States since 2005--but some critics don't like the way the way at which HUD arrives at its numbers:

"Critics of the annual report often complain that it undercounts the homeless because it does not include those in precarious living situations such as families living in campgrounds or individuals doubled up with friends or relatives. Dennis Culhane, a professor of social policy at the University of Pennsylvania and an author of this year’s report, acknowledged that “there are a lot of people in tough housing situations who don’t get counted.”

Hmmm. Well. So we're supposed to count someone living with a friend or a relative as "homeless"? That's ridiculous. Such people have in fact found a place to live (no matter how temporary); they have a roof over their heads. (and if they're living with a relative, there's a good chance they'll be able to stay there for a decent amount of time.)

Wow. Some people want to count persons who do in fact have a place to live as "homeless." Talk about lying with statistics...