# Who's to blame if Biden loses? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 7, 2024, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-to-blame-if-biden-loses/1001233 "2024-05-07T18:41:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 25
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2024, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-to-blame-if-biden-loses/1001233/562 "2024-05-19T13:52:35Z")
but…but…but… some people FEEL that crime is up. Biden’s fault! ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2024, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-to-blame-if-biden-loses/1001233/564 "2024-05-19T14:22:18Z")
> [@On another topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1001913/80): > > When liberals routinely ascribe voter antipathy towards Biden as the product of Russian bots and GOP propaganda, intentionally or not, they are calling others brainwashed idiots who can’t be trusted to report on their own experiences. Are you claiming that the Russian bots and the combined Russian/Republican propaganda machine has no effect on American voters? ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2024, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-to-blame-if-biden-loses/1001233/565 "2024-05-19T14:24:38Z")
> [@On another topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1001913/81): > > ([plus other indicators such as vagrancy and homelessness](https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2024/01/two-michigan-regions-saw-homelessness-increase-by-roughly-50-in-a-year.html)) The headline giveth, > **Two Michigan regions saw homelessness increase by roughly 50% in a year** and the actual story taketh away, > Homelessness increased by 8% in 2022 going from 30,113 people to 32,589, according to the latest report from Michigan’s Campaign to End Homelessness. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2024, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-to-blame-if-biden-loses/1001233/567 "2024-05-19T15:02:14Z")
And what should Biden say to people about the rise in homelessness? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2024, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-to-blame-if-biden-loses/1001233/568 "2024-05-19T15:03:37Z")
Thank you for both admitting and demonstrating that you are adding meanings to my posts that were not there before. If you are not willing to discuss this in good faith, I see no point in continuing to engage with you. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2024, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-to-blame-if-biden-loses/1001233/570 "2024-05-19T15:06:43Z")
> [@On another topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1001913/82): > > An 8% rise in homelessness is a lot for just a year period, but please continue to minimize, deflect, and deny. Perhaps the word you are looking for is “clarify”? ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2024, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-to-blame-if-biden-loses/1001233/572 "2024-05-19T15:09:09Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > And what should Biden say to people about the rise in homelessness? ‘I hear Trump has plans for some very nice prisons and workhouses!’ ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2024, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-to-blame-if-biden-loses/1001233/573 "2024-05-19T15:11:01Z")
If a region is a state went from two homeless people to three homeless people what was the percentage increase? ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2024, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-to-blame-if-biden-loses/1001233/575 "2024-05-19T15:20:28Z")
It should be a different thread, but I wonder how well a “who’s to praise if Biden wins?” would go? Is the answer there also the same? ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2024, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-to-blame-if-biden-loses/1001233/576 "2024-05-19T15:21:50Z")
The people who voted for him. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2024, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-to-blame-if-biden-loses/1001233/577 "2024-05-19T15:23:26Z")
> [@On another topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1001913/85): > > Can you acknowledge this without concocting a ridiculous hypothetical about a region with 3 homeless people in it? You know that is not what is actually happening, so why even cheapen yourself by going there? The correct answer was 50% . . . just like in that, intentionally misleading, headline. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2024, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-to-blame-if-biden-loses/1001233/578 "2024-05-19T15:26:23Z")
That would make the state-wide 8% stat more valid then the misleading and handpicked 50% stat, right? ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2024, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-to-blame-if-biden-loses/1001233/580 "2024-05-19T15:39:59Z")
If only someone had cited what both candidates wanted to do/did about the housing crisis… > [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > > The Washington Post reported on March 8 that the administration has considered more than $6 billion in cuts at HUD, which would shrink the agency’s budget by 14% to $40.5 billion in fiscal 2018. About $1.3 billion would be cut from the public housing capital fund and another $600 million from the public housing operating fund. > > > > The newspaper also reported that the popular Community Development Block Grant program, which received about $3 billion in fiscal 2016, would be cut entirely. The HOME program, which provides grants to communities to build affordable housing, would also go unfunded. > > [https://www.housingfinance.com/policy-legislation/pha-leaders-fear-drastic-budget-cuts\_o](https://www.housingfinance.com/policy-legislation/pha-leaders-fear-drastic-budget-cuts_o) > > > Biden-Harris Administration Announces $5.5 Billion in Grants for Affordable Housing, Community Development, and Homeless Assistance to Drive Economic Growth > > Funding empowers 1,200 communities: addressing urgent local needs, boosting economic growth, enhancing community resilience, creating jobs, and advancing housing solutions. > > > > WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced $5.5 billion in funding that will go to 1,200 communities through more than 2,400 grants to States, urban counties, insular areas, DC, Puerto Rico, and localities across the country. These annual formula grants provide critical funding for a wide range of activities to address their most pressing local needs, providing flexible resources to build homes, support renters and homeowners, provide life-saving assistance to people experiencing homelessness, create jobs, and improve public facilities, community resilience, and local economies. The White House announced these funds this morning, and HUD Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman will highlight the announcement at a press conference in Reno, Nevada today. > > [https://www.hud.gov/press/press\_releases\_media\_advisories/HUD\_No\_24\_103](https://www.hud.gov/press/press_releases_media_advisories/HUD_No_24_103) Sadly no one has. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2024, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-to-blame-if-biden-loses/1001233/581 "2024-05-19T15:40:19Z")
> [@On another topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1001913/86): > > We would not expect homelessness to be rising if economic prosperity is benefiting everyone. There is no possible way to benefit _everyone_ when there is economic prosperity, and nobody has claimed otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2024, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-to-blame-if-biden-loses/1001233/582 "2024-05-19T15:41:20Z")
> [@On another topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1001913/86): > > Another way to look at homeless numbers is to equate them to the number of people who are falling through available safety nets in the worst imaginable way. We would not expect homelessness to be rising if economic prosperity is benefiting everyone. And the obvious solution is…? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2024, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-to-blame-if-biden-loses/1001233/583 "2024-05-19T15:56:19Z")
You went from talking about minority communities in Michigan to homelessness in Michigan. Are you (general you, no one specific) saying that homelessness is primarily or exclusively a minority problem, or was it just a way to get to “things are getting worse”? Homelessness does seem to be on the rise, but not just in Michigan, and not just among minorities. I’ve heard Biden talking about housing and mental health, and nothing from Republicans other than fearmongering. Nobody is willing to raise taxes, though, so nobody is going to really address most of these problems. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2024, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-to-blame-if-biden-loses/1001233/584 "2024-05-19T16:01:32Z")
If taxes were raised to address the problem then homelessness would be dropped as a problem, and rising taxes would be the new problem. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2024, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-to-blame-if-biden-loses/1001233/586 "2024-05-19T17:12:12Z")
> [@On another topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1001913/87): > > I brought up homelessness in response to someone acting like concerns about crime and poverty are baseless. Who was that? 'Cause it sure as fuck was not me. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2024, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-to-blame-if-biden-loses/1001233/587 "2024-05-19T17:28:43Z")
Larceny is more or less just theft, right? What it seems like from these examples is not that crime is getting worse overall, but that people’s access to enough cash to buy stuff is getting worse. And since the economy overall is better by all indications, that is probably a widening gap between those who are doing well, and those who aren’t. The people who are doing well have don’t necessarily want to hear that they’re getting there on the backs of the poor, and if they can win the election without acknowledging the dark side of things, well, they’d probably rather. Detroit specifically is a bad example to bring up, because the issue of urban blight in Detroit is pretty well known and has much more to do with local politics than national politics, and nobody knows that better than the people of Detroit. I don’t think it’s a Biden or a Trump thing, or a D or an R thing, not to listen to the poor or minorities. The Just World fallacy is really prominent, and people tend to think that successful people, people who have never been poor or homeless, are in the best position to shape policy for the poor and homeless, and consultation with the community can be non-existent or patronizing. Again, nobody knows this better than the poor, the homeless, and the minority communities, and they’ve been working around it for generations. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2024, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-to-blame-if-biden-loses/1001233/589 "2024-05-19T17:46:08Z")
One notable thing about this campaign is that Democrats are behaving as if Biden has a substantial lead as opposed to being tied or slightly trailing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-to-blame-if-biden-loses/1001233.md?page=24) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-to-blame-if-biden-loses/1001233.md?page=26)