Keen On America 2% of Americans are Homeless: America's Most Shameful Open Secret
Dec 8, 2025
Patrick Markee, a homelessness advocate and author of "Placeless: Homelessness in the New Gilded Age," dives deep into America’s shocking 2% homelessness rate. He argues that mass homelessness is a modern symptom of policy failures dating back to Reagan’s cuts. Markee reveals how normalization has led society to overlook the plight of nearly 35,000 homeless children in New York alone. He also discusses the impact of gentrification and promotes the effective Housing First model while urging listeners to engage politically and support local solutions.
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Homelessness Is A Policy-Created Crisis
- Mass homelessness in the U.S. is a modern, sustained phenomenon that began in the late 1970s and 1980s.
- Patrick Markee argues it's driven by structural economic change and policy, not inevitability.
Three Structural Drivers Explained
- Major drivers include deindustrialization, rising housing costs, and cuts to federal housing programs since the Reagan era.
- Systemic racism amplifies homelessness in Black and Latino communities.
Harvard Square Friendship With Daniel
- Patrick Markee recalls befriending a homeless man named Daniel near Harvard Square in the early 1980s.
- They sheltered him during cold nights and learned shelters sometimes ran out of space.
