Homeless in Democracy's House

One morning recently as I was working my way through the seemingly endless pile of stories in my Google Reader I came across one that struck the proverbial chord on plans to "deal" with the homeless population in Washington D.C. during the upcoming inauguration ("Finding havens for D.C.'s homeless", Washington Post, 01/15/2009).  The issue is apparently one of security in that during the inauguration a secure perimeter is being created around the Mall and Capitol for the swearing in and along Pennsylvania Avenue for the parade. As a result security sweeps will start to make sure that no unauthorized persons are within the security zone and this includes the Capital's homeless population many of whom make their home in the doorways and alleys of Pennsylvania Avenue. 

The plan created by authorities is I suppose about as humane as it can be given the circumstances. An outreach campaign has been on going attempting to inform those on the streets that once the perimeter is in effect their best option to avoid crowds, security sweeps, etc. is to take one of the busses to the city's shelters where they can watch the inauguration on TV, get a warm meal, bed, etc.  I respect that provisions were made to allow the homeless to attend the inauguration itself.  What amounts to a bag check has been setup, they can check in their belongings to a secure warehouse, and then attend the inauguration on the Mall with their fellow citizens.  Is it perfect? Probably not. Will there be isolated incidents? Probably. Reading this story though reminded me of the larger plight of the homeless in our Nation's Capital.

I guess it was about five years ago now that I was last in D.C. on a personal trip as a tourist.  I remember one day as we were walking from one attraction to another being slightly lost and wandering out about a block or two from the Mall area.  Now by no means were we in anything close to the roughest areas of D.C., our guidebook had warned us sternly not to even contemplate a trip to one of those areas with anything less than the 1st Infantry Division as an escort, as we made our way back to the mall I remember passing some kind of shelter, soup kitchen, something and the line that must have stretched the entire block.  The people in door ways, on street corners, etc. also increased significantly in these areas.  The experience that made an immediate mark on me. 

The point I'm attempting to make here is this, there you are in the seat of the world's largest and most powerful democracy and all it takes is a block or two and you're smack dab in a city with one of the highest poverty rates in the country.  Really think about that for a bit here you are in a city with grand monuments, dazzling architecture, culture, museums, a place where power, money, and influence flow on an unparalleled scale. Funny though it just seems some how wrong to know that just a few blocks down from the power lunches, cocktails, and hallowed halls of power people are sleeping in the streets and struggling to find the discarded remains of that night's black tie dinner for their next meal.

D.C. has it's share of problems no doubt.  I have to wonder though how much of a role its unique status plays in those problems. It's not a state, it's not part of any other state. The United States is the only country in the world where the people that live in its capital aren't even represented (with votes) in the legislature. As I understand it the city government, such as it is, in D.C. has relatively little power with the real strings being controlled by the U.S. Congress.  Yes ponder that one the federal legislature of the entire United States is essentially also the city council for the nation's capital. I mean really how much more convoluted can we get in this country? Oh wait, Electoral College.

I have to believe that at least part of D.C.'s problems stem from this convoluted system. I mean even just from a money perspective if they were a normal city in a normal state (in a normal economy but that's another matter) they would be eligible for both state and federal money. As it stands now their budget is completely separate from the normal channels. 

My solution to this problem is actually quite simple and while I'm not saying it will end homelessness in the District it seems like it would have to be better than the current state of affairs. The remaining land that currently makes up Washington D.C. is land that was originally part of the State of Maryland. So we just give it back to them. Simple really. Federal buildings and land remain under the control of the federal government and free of state influence.  In all other respects Washington functions just as any other city in Maryland would.  Maryland would probably gain a couple of representatives maybe an electoral vote or two and the increase in population might even help the state secure more federal funding. In addition we end this weird representational state of limbo for those who live in the District.

So this week as you're watching the inauguration give some thought to the plight of those, particularly those on the streets, in the Nation's Capital and ask yourself if maybe we can't do better. Surely for the world's richest (for now) nation we ought to start with the capital after all it's sort of the brochure for America with the number of people who visit there...what do we want this country's first impression to be?  It's been said nations are judge on how they treat the lowliest of society. What's our scorecard look like right now?