While the United States may currently be divided on how best to address homelessness, both sides of the debate agree the nation is in the midst of a long-term crisis. In 2024, the number of people experiencing homelessness in the country reached a historical high of 771,480, or about 23 out of every 10,000 Americans.

Insufficient affordable housing is now the primary cause of homelessness. According to a report released by the National Low Income Housing Coalition in March 2024, the U.S. has a shortage of 7.3 million rental homes that are affordable and available to renters with extremely low incomes—that is, incomes at or below either the federal poverty line, which stood at $31,200 for a family of four last year, or 30 percent of their area's median income. Only 34 affordable and available rental homes exist for every 100 extremely low-income renter households.

Income inequality is also a major driver of the problem. U.S. Census Bureau data show that in 2023 the income of the wealthiest 20 percent of households is 16.7 times that of the poorest 20 percent, showing a stark disparity. Inequality affects homelessness both by crowding out low-income households from the rental market and by causing home prices to rise, read a 2021 paper written by a team led by Thomas Byrne, an associate professor specializing in public health, housing and homelessness at Boston University.

Beijing Review spoke to one such individual in California, who said his initial homelessness led to difficulties finding employment, trapping him without stable housing for years. Jack, a self-chosen pseudonym, said his two income sources, earning around $10 a day by panhandling and receiving a monthly unemployment benefit of $250 from the Government of California, are together insufficient to secure accommodation. His monthly budget of $550 per month is far below the federal poverty line of $1,304 for an individual, and access to public shelter has been temporary and inconsistent.

Exacerbating the problem, Jack lives in the country's fourth most expensive state. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, California's per-capita personal monthly consumption expenditure was $5,403 in 2024, or 9.82 times Jack's income.

Ultimately, homelessness is strongly linked to poverty, a problem shared by many countries, including China, which is the world's second most populous country and a developing economy. "The Chinese Government found an effective way to solve homelessness: fighting ceaselessly against poverty," Benjamin Norton, founder of the Geopolitical Economy Report website, told Beijing Review.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, China has implemented targeted poverty alleviation measures, including boosting the economy to provide more job opportunities, relocating poor people from inhospitable areas, compensating for economic losses associated with reducing ecological damage, improving education in impoverished areas, and providing subsistence allowances for those unable to shake off poverty through their own efforts alone. By the end of 2020, China had successfully eradicated absolute poverty, lifting 98.99 million rural poor people out of poverty under the current definition.

Among those who have been lifted out of poverty, some were once homeless. For these individuals, the Chinese Government not only provides emergency relief such as food and temporary shelters to meet their immediate needs, but also works on reuniting them with their families and offering long-term targeted poverty alleviation support. 

In contrast, the government support many homeless people in the U.S. receive is both inconsistent and insufficient. These stopgap measures only meet the recipients' immediate needs and do nothing to change their fate. BR

Comments to linan@cicgamericas.com