London, the millionaire capital of the world, has 750 homeless people sleeping on its streets – a staggering 27% of the national figure. A report published by the Department for Communities and Local Government has revealed that levels of homelessness in London rose by 37 % between 2013 and 2014; the rest of the country saw an average 14% increase. This data clearly shows that the homelessness prevention schemes are failing.
Housing benefit cuts are one of the main drivers of this trend. Rising numbers of people are struggling to pay their rent in an increasingly insecure private rented sector. So what is the solution? Legal reforms, according to Crisis. The a British charity works to house the homeless, and has called for a law that will force councils to provide help for people who are not prioritized on local authorities’ housing lists. Additionally, it has asked the government to provide more affordable homes as well as take political action to fix England’s broken private rented sector.
Jon Sparkes, the charity’s chief executive, said, “Welfare reform, benefit cuts and a chronic shortage of affordable homes mean more and more people are coming to their council as homeless. But as the law stands, far too often when single people ask for help, they are turned away to sleep on the street”.
Six homelessness charities – Crisis, Shelter, St Mungo’s Broadway, Centrepoint, Homeless Link and Housing Justice – signed an open letter calling on political parties to “carry out a review of the assistance given to homeless people in England. The review should consider options for improving the assistance provided by local authorities to single homeless people who are not currently classified as priority need, while ensuring that vital protections for families and those considered priority need are maintained”.
Crisis’ solution is noteworthy; however, there is a painfully obvious solution to homelessness worth paying attention to: Agorism.
Homelessness is a result of economic decline, elitism, hierarchical corporate monopolies, wealth disparity, and a culture with no hope for prosperity. Agorism is about self-sufficiency, sustainability, decentralization, alternative currency, entrepreneurship, counter-economics and self-responsibility. Agorism entails growing community gardens over buying 100% of your produce from a store, and utilizing your own water supply rather than rely on city water.
Due to the lack of independent infrastructure and economic opportunity, people become jobless, homeless, and hopeless. The hurdles of arbitrary taxes and regulations have to be disobeyed to pursue agorism in the US and the UK. There is an urgent need to bring the economy back into the hands of the people and create a free society. Homelessness cannot be fixed by passing more laws; it is the entire economic system which breeds oppression that needs to be overhauled.
Although I agree, the people with money won’t let this happen, the politicians are making laws to make the poor go away, and the revenue agents don’t have a problem enforcing them. It is getting ugly.
I have tried to get people onto the idea of agroism. I didn’t call it by that.. but I will from now on. My page died and I didn’t receive any support. But I have not given up! New growth organics will be a thing one day!
750 PEOPLE ON THE STREETS OF LONDON ? These figures are way way off, I know anonhq are prone to typos but come on, this is awful.