Homelessness and Poverty in the US: How it Works

Remember how things work in the US:

--If you are homeless, you are often a "criminal" even if you never commit (a real) crime.
--If you are poor but not homeless, you will in many cases be homeless at one time or another, in which case see the previous item.
--If you are poor but never homeless, you deserve an award. But instead of an award, there is a good chance you too are a criminal, since statistics show that the poor are far more likely to have violated a law than the non-poor. By far the most prevalent motivation for breaking the law among the poor is to avoid total destitution and homelessness. In other words, they break the law to try to avoid being a homeless-criminal.
--If you are rich, except in rare cases, you are not a criminal regardless of how many crimes you commit. The rich very often know how to avoid getting caught, and they have plenty of money for highly qualified defense attorneys if they do get caught.
--Many rich people make some of their huge pots of money by doing things that are considered crimes in many other countires of the world. Selling health insurance policies and then refusing to pay for care is an example.
--The rich are getting richer, everyone else is getting poorer. Some formerly middle class people are falling into poverty so quickly that their heads are spinning.
--Even though it is more than ever society's fault, homelessness and poverty in general is virtually always blamed on the victim by the established institutions. There may be some sympathy for the poor from time to time, but officially the poor themselves are always to blame for poverty. For example, if a poor person (or anyone, actually) can not get a job, it's the individual's fault, even when the number of jobs available is shrinking, so that it is not mathematically possible for everyone to get a job!

I know, this stuff is very confusing and very disturbing to say the least, but what can I say? Don't expect things to make sense in countries run by right wingers.

Here is the full report, 194 pages, pdf:

http://nlchp.org/content/pubs/2009HomesNotHandcuffs1.pdf

[The above is in response to this report.]