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How should we address homelessness?
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People are homeless by choice

Homeless people do not want to change their circumstances.
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The Argument

With the help of social services like government housing and food stamps, the homeless have ample opportunity to leave the streets. Despite these resources, many individuals continue to embrace this lifestyle, making it fair to assume that homelessness is a personal choice. It is pointless to try to help people who willfully reject a traditional lifestyle. For this reason, helping the homeless is a waste of precious personal and government resources.

Counter arguments

If a person chooses to remain homeless, the choice itself is indicative of serious emotional, mental, and relational problems. We should not interpret a person's embrace of a homeless lifestyle as an expression of their freedom, but as a cry for help with deeper issues.

Premises

[P1] If a person is homeless despite the option of government resources, they have chosen to embrace this lifestyle.

Rejecting the premises

References

This page was last edited on Friday, 15 May 2020 at 21:49 UTC

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