They should be working to solve the problem not criminalize it.

That seems to be the corporate-fascist way to do things... don't solve the problem, CRIMINALIZE IT!

attractive to the homeless and this increasing their numbers.

If homelessness is illegal then they can put people in jail or prison and "wallah" free labor. That is the only reason I can see to make homelessness illegal. Hell, illegal immigrants will no longer be "so called taking your jobs" it will be people who are homeless but not by choice. I also see homeless people being murdered on a bigger scale just because they are now illegal and trump like people will feel they have an obligation and right. The murder of these people will rarely be punished. Just my opinion and how I read into it.

and some argue that Duterte's war on drugs is essentially a war against the poor. Hmm...

However, I do see "wallah" all over the place online (including here on DU), and when I see it, it normally seems that the person using it has no clue that it is wrong.

Is deliberately spelling it that way some sort of internet meme?

Now, do you know my mother?

the internet.

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to call you out about it. I am just curious about where that spelling got started or why people use it.

with cords. I can usually type fast and watch TV pretty well but when you have a cat who will not stop playing with cords you get distracted. I asked if you know my mother because she is an English major. Not that I did well learning very well.

english major or teaching English does not guarantee familiarity with French.

have a conversation. I speak proper English and am a pronunciation Nazi but when it comes to writing I am horrible. Part of my problem is ADHD, dyslexia, and a learning disability but I try.

Arrest a homeless person, fine him/her. When said person can't pay, jail him/her. Add cost of being in jail to the fine-rinse repeat...now the person essentially serves a life sentence for being poor. It is disgusting and evil.

Secondly, local jail can not handle the population nor afford the escalation of expenses.

I've been homeless several times. Bad luck or bad planning. I would lose an apartment and not be able to get another without a gap of homelessnes. There was no alternative but to sleep in my car.

I was woken once by cops who, fortunately, did not arrest me. Instead, they essentially told me to get out of town. I will side with the homeless on many issues.

that our society is failing. It should be a signal for a correction of some kind but no - this country has to turn it into a crime.
It takes about $3K to get into a 1 bedroom apartment and pass credit checks if someone has bad luck that caused them to lose their apartment.
The WalMart parking lot is the refuge in this town.
It is disgraceful.

the homeless. They're finding that this saves them enormous amounts of tax dollars.

One would think that would encourage other areas to try it. But nooooooo. Republicans won't allow it. Because they live to be senselessly cruel and vindictive.

If you don't live in the West Coast it can be hard to conceptualize just how out of hand things have become.

...chunk of the populace', then yes, it most certainly helps!

I mean, it's not like we've got a huge bubble about to burst timed with the automation of about half the economy. I'm sure housing will be FINE!

But when politicians want to look like they're doing something without having to think too hard about it, they bleed it out of the innocent, the powerless, the defenseless, and the suffering.