BLOOMBERG! GET ME THE FUCK OUTTA HERE!!!

When I first saw the headline in the New York Times recently that read “City Aids Homeless With One-Way Tickets Home,” my first thought was that of sarcasm at the idea that NYC was trying to transfer the burden onto someone’s shoulders other than theirs. But, the more I thought about it, the less there was to rant about.

New York City is actually handling their homeless issues constructively and humanely. The homeless have the choice on whether to stay at the shelter or take NYC up on their offer to fly them wherever in the world they need to go. Plane tickets ranging from around $500 to $6000 show that the city is willing to get you anywhere. They even verify first if the family members of homeless persons to those particular destinations are able and willing to take them in.

The administration, under Mayor Bloomberg, launched this program in 2007 and since then has paid the way for 550 families to get out of the city. The program which has cost an average of $500,000 a year to run has proven much cheaper than the upkeep of families in shelters in the city which costs about $36,000 per family a year. So 550 homeless families times $36,000 a year equals approximately $20,000,000 a year; 40 times more than paying for those families to leave the city. Sounds like Mayor Bloomberg is on to something.

What Do You Think? Click Here.