Obama vows to end homelessness in 10 years

[ProSense]

Source: McClatchy

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Tuesday unveiled an ambitious plan that aspires to end homelessness among some of society's most vulnerable groups within the next decade.

"Opening Doors," a "Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness," calls for ending child and family homelessness in 10 years while wiping out chronic homelessness and homelessness among veterans in five years.

According to the 74-page plan, "Stable housing is the foundation upon which people build their lives — absent a safe, decent, affordable place to live, it is next to impossible to achieve good health, positive educational outcomes or reach one's economic potential."

The plan is a significant breakthrough because there's never been a comprehensive federal effort to end homelessness with a timeline and measureable goals, said Nan Roman, the president of the National Alliance to End Homelessness.



Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/06/22/96322/obama-administration-vows-to-end.html

---

Report:

Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness :: 2010 (PDF)

[tekisui]

1. This sounds like a great initiative.

I am interested in looking through the details.

[Zhade]

76. It would be great, if he didn't embrace economic policies that create more homelessness every day!

NT!

[babylonsister]

2. Can you imagine? Now watch the rethugs block this initiative. nt

[SunnySong]

3. This is great and important news if true.. I hope they also help single adults

addicts, felons and the mentally ill... all our homeless are equally important as they are all human beings.

[maxsolomon]

4. good luck to this effort

i don't know if they know many affordable housing options cities currently lack. SROs are gone 40 -50 years now. if you want to subsidize new ones, i'll be happy to design them.

[Morning Dew]

7. SROs are a good idea.

So many of the shelters and such require sobriety so people with addiction issues are exposed to more dangers by living on the streets.

[maxsolomon]

11. here's what's happening in Seattle

http://www.desc.org/1811.html

the need is probably 100x what this building can accomodate.

[EFerrari]

66. That's best practices, right there. Good for Seattle.

That's what Gavin should have done here.

[Hannah Bell]

85. except that seattle lost more low-income units than it gained during the last 10-year plan to

10 year plan to end homelessness.

net loss of 5000 just from 2005-2007.

[Raksha]

101. "Housing First" - that makes SO much sense!

I'd love to see other cities adopt this model--Los Angeles, for example.

[KamaAina]

27. One wonders if the SRO principle could be updated along the lines of cohousing.

(shared facilities such as kitchens, etc.)

SROs survive, barely, in a few high-density locations such as NYC and SF, with even a few down here in San Jose.

[newtothegame]

70. Part of the issue is we have too many people moving to big cities...

to pay $1000 rent while working at an independent coffee shop for $7 an hour. And the whole "that's where the jobs are" argument just doesn't ring true. We have PLENTY of medium size cities here in the Midwest where you don't have to go broke to pay your rent, but every wants to be in LA, NYC, etc. even if there's no good reason to be there.

[Catherina]

5. If he reallly did this, it would be great. Let's start right now

with cutting down the war budget and increasing funds for homeless shelters.

[maxsolomon]

12. Seattle is in year 7 of a 10 year plan

the streets are almost devoid of the homeless! :sarcasm:

[Hannah Bell]

86. it wasn't just seattle -- it was national. my city of 30K also has a 10 year plan.

Bush's 10-Year Plan To End Homelessness Underfunded

http://www.planetizen.com/node/19091


History of the Ten Year Plan

In 2000, the National Alliance to End Homelessness released A Plan, Not a Dream: How to End Homelessness in Ten Years. Drawing on research and innovative programs from around the country, the plan outlined key strategies in addressing the issue locally, which cumulatively can address the issue nationally.

Since the release of this blueprint, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Bush Administration endorsed the idea of planning to end chronic homelessness in ten years, the US Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) challenged 100 cities to create plans to end homelessness. The momentum built across the country—to date, there are 234 completed plans to end homelessness across the country...

http://www.endhomelessness.org/content/article/detail/1786


The director of the local homeless shelter said on our way to a planning meeting --

"Now we're all going to go in & pretend we're going to end homelessness in 10 years."

But the consultants got paid.

[Xenotime]

6. They can start by allowing people to live in foreclosed homes.

[sylveste]

51. what?

They can start by allowing people to live in foreclosed homes.

how exactly would that work?

[Xenotime]

52. Ah...simple. Open the homes and let people stay there.

[Abq_Sarah]

68. Even a foreclosed home

Is owned by some person or entity.

[Xenotime]

73. Yes. And that person or entity would be open to letting people stay...

...if there is some government incentive. The solution is so simple and fair.

[Lagomorph]

83. Who pays for the...

water, sewer, garbage, electricity, natural gas, wear and tear and property taxes?

[Xenotime]

96. Who is paying for them now? They could continue while people live there.

THis isn't that hard, people.

[prolesunited]

8. Well, if they don't pass the unemployment extensions NOW

and create a program for the 99ers, they are going to have a lot more homeless in the interim.

[politicasista]

9. Kick. Good luck Mr. Pres.

:kick:

[Oregone]

10. Mandate private home purchases!

Subsidize the difference. Embrace utopia!

[tomm2thumbs]

13. sounds familiar

Curious if poverty is automatically eliminated if everyone is in a home

win/win

[jwirr]

28. Yeah, they will give you a voucher to rent but not to buy. Never understood

that.

[mbperrin]

41. Rent goes to landlords. Payments go toward building equity for families.

Which do you suppose has had more clout since the beginning of the Republic?

[mwooldri]

45. People on Section 8 *can* get mortgages and buy homes with public assistance.

The problem is that the federal government does allow this, but it's the public housing authorities that decide whether they will fund a Section 8 Homeownership Voucher.

The simplest way I can see is a reform of "Section 8" - to allow people who find themselves suddenly unemployed and with a drastically lower income qualify for Section 8 immediately, and provided they are living in a modestly priced home then they can stay in it and have Section 8 pay most of the mortgage - the homeowners pay 30% of their income towards the cost of the mortgage and Section 8 pays the rest. This should be a right, it should be made available immediately, and it should also be made open to present people on Section 8 for rent to have the opportunity to purchase their home if they so desire.

The advantages are that home owner evictions are greatly reduced, they can afford to stay in their homes, and the banks have less foreclosures. In some cases, tenants would have the right to purchase their present home with public money going to their mortgage company rather than their landlord...

Other programs that may work are partial ownerships - the housing authority owns a percentage of the home, the home owner owns the rest. If the home owners financial situation improves somewhat that they can afford to refinance to buy the entire house, then that's great - and if their financial situation a few years later suddenly deteriorates then Section 8 can step in to pay the mortgage.

There are plenty of solutions... but what's right I don't know. I'd like to be able to fight homelessness - it's too visible around Greensboro...

[Turbineguy]

14. I suppose

now that Reagan is dead we can start on this.

[JTFrog]

15. Excellent. K&R n/t

[Greyskye]

16. This is so, so needed.

I hope it works.

And I hope the GOP choke on the outrage due to erupt from their bowels any second now.

[MilesColtrane]

17. Good news.

Many of us may end up needing this if Washington ends up dismantling Social Security.

[corpseratemedia]

18. This is good news..no rethug would ever suggest this

this is what I want to hear from Dems - and helping the most vulnerable is what reagan derided most.



of course the foreclosure crisis has made more people homeless..

"stable"..a word anathema to republicans

[salguine]

19. Yeah, like he solved health care. He'll force everyone to buy a house or be fined.

[Fearless]

21. +1

[Jefferson23]

22. Some part of you must be thrilled to see he will enact federal legislation for this.

[salguine]

25. After the health care disaster, are you kidding!? I won't be thrilled with anything before

seeing what it actually ends up being. Given the way this White House has handled things thus far, I don't anticipate any thrills in my future.

[Jefferson23]

26. I understand the lack of trust, yes. But he doesn't have to do this,

meaning the lack of interest by past presidents and politicians on both sides has been pathetic. To the point, the homeless have been
invisible and America does not seem to even talk about it.

I believe HE wants this, no one out there padding his campaign coffers is the reason he is doing it.

[dflprincess]

79. +1

[Jefferson23]

20. Finally, we have a president who not only says the word homeless

but is going to implement a federal plan to end it!


I am overwhelmed, honestly.

[Ter]

44. Isn't it a state issue?

n/t

[Telly Savalas]

78. He won't implement it if the assholes that inhabit the building in your avatar get their way.

If we've learned anything from the last 18 months, it's that even in a political climate about as favorable as one can reasonably hope for, Congress is a dysfunctional organization that will trash any well-intentioned legislative agenda.

This cynicism shouldn't be a rationale for abandoning the political process. The lesser of the evils is a dramatic improvement over the worse of the evils. I'm just saying that we need to be realistic about what we can really expect from things like this.

[Hannah Bell]

87. bush also had a 10 year plan to end homelessness.

History of the Ten Year Plan

In 2000, the National Alliance to End Homelessness released A Plan, Not a Dream: How to End Homelessness in Ten Years. Drawing on research and innovative programs from around the country, the plan outlined key strategies in addressing the issue locally, which cumulatively can address the issue nationally.

Since the release of this blueprint, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Bush Administration endorsed the idea of planning to end chronic homelessness in ten years, the US Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) challenged 100 cities to create plans to end homelessness.

http://www.endhomelessness.org/content/article/detail/1786

it's not a new idea.

[valerief]

23. But…but…but…what about the BOOTSTRAPS???? nt

[corpseratemedia]

24. there's really good stuff in that pdf folks..

[zalinda]

32. And what about jobs?

Does it mention jobs in that PDF? Most people wouldn't be homeless if there were jobs.

zalinda

[rucognizant]

29. Nan Roman...........

There was never a problem with homelessness until reaghan! I should say between FDR & reagan.
Uhu...WWII Vets got Fed home loans! Vietmnam Vets got trashed!~.............

[MetaTrope]

30. Ahhh, starving homeowners...

But I imagine a federal initiative will also be in place to get them cable TV, so everything will be fine.

[RedSock]

31. and then, to paraphrase charlie brown ...

he will flap his arms and fly to the moon.

[conspirator]

33. Talk is cheap n/t

[Old Vet]

34. Talk is not cheap, Obama promised no................

Homeless veterans. I can tell you first hand that there is NO reason for a homeless vet in the finger lakes region. It is now policy that any homeless vet can go to or call any va facility and get a bed, I have volunteered for years and thought Id never see the day. The VA also works with drug and alcoholic facilities if veterans need 3-6 month halfway houses to transition, Its been a long time coming. Now whether the va is as aggressive in helping in big cities I don't know, But they have taken major strides in the Finger Lakes Region for sure.

[Zephie]

35. I would LOVE to see this happen

Having been homeless myself this would be an amazing step forward for the US homeless population. One of my best friends at the time was homeless with two small children, living out of a car. It's shocking how poorly treated you are because of your circumstances. I once had people throw things at me and accuse me of being a crackhead during the time I was on the streets - in reality I was having a heat stroke.

[Jefferson23]

39. I think it will happen, and good to hear you are living better times.

Welcome to DU Zephie.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

36. Pretty sentiment

But it won't happen, not in this country.

[ProSense]

37. Statements:

National Alliance to End Homelessness Responds to the Federal Strategic Plan to End Homelessness

“We welcome this first-ever, comprehensive federal commitment to end homelessness. The plan has a timeframe and clear, measurable national goals; these will help to drive an organized and committed federal response,” said Nan Roman, President of the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

<...>

What we need now is action,” said Roman. “Communities that are able to show real progress are those that have not only created a plan, but harnessed the political will and public support necessary to commit real resources to implementation. These communities now have a federal partner to stand alongside local stakeholders in the effort to prevent and end homelessness. Together, we can all turn this plan into real action.”

National Low Income Housing Coalition statement.

[defendandprotect]

84. Good news -- haven't read the details, however . . .yet ==

[Cal Carpenter]

38. Let's see...people need homes, and there are lots of empty homes all around out there...

I'd say we could get it done in 6 months :shrug:

[bemildred]

40. A chicken in every pot, I say ... nt

[Politicub]

42. I love the abitiousness of this

Good for President Obama! And what a noble goal.

[Art_from_Ark]

82. A 10-year timeline is an eternity in politics

In 2000, they were predicting budget surpluses well past 2010 based on Clinton's surpluses.
In the 1980s, Jimmy Carter's long-range energy goals were unceremoniously shit-canned by an idiot who thought that trees caused more pollution than cars.

In both cases, the work of Democratic presidents was destroyed by stupid, myopic Republican successors.

[Hannah Bell]

88. not the first time this 10 year plan thing has been tried, either.

http://www.endhomelessness.org/content/article/detail/1786

History of the Ten Year Plan

In 2000, the National Alliance to End Homelessness released A Plan, Not a Dream: How to End Homelessness in Ten Years. Drawing on research and innovative programs from around the country, the plan outlined key strategies in addressing the issue locally, which cumulatively can address the issue nationally...

Since the release of this blueprint, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Bush Administration endorsed the idea of planning to end chronic homelessness in ten years, the US Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) challenged 100 cities to create plans to end homelessness.

[Art_from_Ark]

91. It seems like the only 10-year plan that doesn't get scrapped

is one that dishes out tax cuts to billionaires

[Hannah Bell]

97. yes, those ones always seem to be successful.

[RobinA]

43. Oh Good!!

They are finally going to establish an effective mental health system. Job security and better pay for me, since I am currently in the disaster we call the current system, and the opportunity to provide meaningful treatment for my patients. I can't wait. :sarcasm:

[robcon]

46. Impossible: We'd have to alcoholism, drug addiction and mental illness.

Those are the three biggest contributors to homelessness, and the problems of helping people who don't want to be helped is daunting, IMO.

[Psephos]

48. Why let a few facts ruin a beautiful theory?

You nailed the structural (i.e., permanent) causes. I doubt you'll receive many accolades for that, though.

[U4ikLefty]

49. Get a room.

[Psephos]

50. Get a life. n/t

[U4ikLefty]

71. Get bent.

[Psephos]

72. Get laid...it's obviously been a long time. n/t

[U4ikLefty]

93. Ask your mom.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

60. can't be said enough,

The psycho who attacked my girlfriend theoretically was not homeless, she however refused to remain at the group home because they didn't allow her to "self medicate" as the more politically correct would put it.

For this exceptional young woman smoking crack was more important to her than living indoors,

[Hannah Bell]

89. all those things existed before reagan, but most people were nevertheless housed.

The most dramatic cut in domestic spending during the Reagan years was for low-income housing subsidies. Reagan appointed a housing task force dominated by politically connected developers, landlords and bankers. In 1982 the task force released a report that called for “free and deregulated” markets as an alternative to government assistance – advice Reagan followed. In his first year in office Reagan halved the budget for public housing and Section 8 to about $17.5 billion. And for the next few years he sought to eliminate federal housing assistance to the poor altogether.

In the 1980s the proportion of the eligible poor who received federal housing subsidies declined. In 1970 there were 300,000 more low-cost rental units (6.5 million) than low-income renter households (6.2 million). By 1985 the number of low-cost units had fallen to 5.6 million, and the number of low-income renter households had grown to 8.9 million, a disparity of 3.3 million units.

Another of Reagan’s enduring legacies is the steep increase in the number of homeless people, which by the late 1980s had swollen to 600,000 on any given night – and 1.2 million over the course of a year. Many were Vietnam veterans, children and laid-off workers.

http://www.nhi.org/online/issues/135/reagan.html

[Illuminated]

102. I was going to post this exact same thing...

Unfortunately, you cannot help those that refuse to be helped.

I truly feel sorry for those people who because of circumstance find themselves homeless. Especially with kids. Those people I help when I can.

For those homeless with mental health issues: We need to get them into an institution for their own good.

For those with alcohol or drug problems: I have NO sympathy for you. You have made your own choices. It is not my responsibility to clean you up or pay for your stupidity, self-destructive streak, or whatever.

That being said drug-legalization is fine by me, just dont expect me to pay for your clean-up when you are done with the drugs.

[Synnical]

47. Great, so long as it does not privatize public housing!!! See link below

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/05/21-1

HUD is Trying to Privatize and Mortgage Off All of America’s Public Housing

Published on Friday, May 21, 2010

by George Lakoff

The Obama Administration's move to the right is about to give conservatives a victory they could not have anticipated, even under Bush. HUD, under Obama, submitted legislation called PETRA to Congress that would result in the privatization of all public housing in America.

The new owners would charge ten percent above market rates to impoverished tenants, money that would be mostly paid by the US government (you and me, the taxpayers). To maintain the property, the new owners would take out a mortgage for building repair and maintenance (like a home equity loan), with no cap on interest rates.

With rents set above market rates, the mortgage risk would be attractive to banks. Either they make a huge profit on the mortgages paid for by the government. Or if the government lowers what it will pay for rents, the property goes into foreclosure. The banks get it and can sell it off to developers.

Sooner or later, the housing budget will be cut back and such foreclosures will happen. The structure of the proposal and the realities of Washington make it a virtual certainty.

[live love laugh]

53. I thought this was from The Onion. nt

[Steerpike]

54. sounds good

but who is gonna pay for this...there won't be a middle class in ten years

[killbotfactory]

55. Make decent affordable housing a right.

Otherwise any future administration or congress hostile to the idea can just add red tape and mess with the requirements for assistance to push people away from getting help with housing, and people will fall through the cracks.

[slackmaster]

63. It is already a right

Are you suggesting making it an entitlement?

[superconnected]

56. This is going to make so many "compassionate" conservatives angry beyond belief.

They hate that those "lazy" people will be helped.

[superconnected]

57. This is beautiful - wiping out Chronic homlessness and homelessness of vets in 5 years.

What an awesome news release. I hope it happens.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

58. And what about the not insignificant number of insane homeless?

The psychotic in San Francisco who assaulted my girlfriend had been 5150ed a million times and was theoretically the resident of a group home where she had not been seen in months. One can't address urban homelessness without recommitting the completely batshit insane.

[Gin]

59. what does SRO mean? standing room only?

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

62. well, it doesn't mean inpatient psychiatric care

[EFerrari]

65. Single room occupancy.

[AngryAmish]

61. So will homelessness be down 10% in 1 year?

[slackmaster]

64. LBJ was wise to not set a specific deadline or concrete goal for the War on Poverty

Modern History Sourcebook:
President Lyndon B. Johnson:
The War on Poverty, March 1964

Proposal for A Nationwide War On The Sources of Poverty'

Lyndon B. Johnson's Special Message to Congress, March 16, 1964

[]

Because it is right, because it is wise, and because, for the first time in our history, it is possible to conquer poverty, I submit, for the consideration of the Congress and the country, the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964.

The Act does not merely expand old programs or improve what is already being done.

It charts a new course.

It strikes at the causes, not just the consequences of poverty.

It can be a milestone in our one-hundred eighty year search for a better life for our people.

This Act provides five basic opportunities.

It will give almost half a million underprivileged young Americans the opportunity to develop skills, continue education, and find useful work.

It will give every American community the opportunity to develop a comprehensive plan to fight its own poverty-and help them to carry out their plans.

It will give dedicated Americans the opportunity to enlist as volunteers in the war against poverty.

It will give many workers and farmers the opportunity to break through particular barriers which bar their escape from poverty.

It will give the entire nation the opportunity for a concerted attack on poverty through the establishment, tinder my direction, of the Office of Economic Opportunity, a national headquarters for the war against poverty.

This is how we propose to create these opportunities.

First we will give high priority to helping young Americans who lack skills, who have not completed their education or who cannot complete it because they arc too poor. . . .

I therefore recommend the creation of a job Corps, a Work-Training Program, and a Work Study Program.

A new national job Corps will build toward an enlistment of 100,000 young men. They will be drawn from those whose background, health and education make them least fit for useful work. . . .

Half of these young men will work, in the first year, on special conservation projects to give them education, useful work experience and to enrich the natural resources of the country.

Half of these young men will receive, in the first year, a blend of training, basic education and work experience in job Training Centers. . . .

A new national Work-Training Program operated by the Department of Labor will provide work and training for 200,000 American men and women between the ages of 16 and 21. This will be developed through state and local governments and non-profit agencies. . . .

A new national Work-Study Program operated by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare will provide federal funds for part-time jobs for 140,000 young Americans who do not go to college because they cannot afford it.

There is no more senseless waste than the waste of the brainpower and skill of those who are kept from college by economic circumstance. Under this program they will, in a great American tradition, be able to work their way through school. . . .

Second, through a new Community Action program we intend to strike at poverty at its source - in the streets of our cities and on the farms of our countryside among the very young and the impoverished old.

This program asks men and women throughout the country to prepare long-range plans for the attack on poverty in their own local communities. . . .

Third, I ask for the authority to recruit and train skilled volunteers for the war against poverty.

Thousands of Americans have volunteered to serve the needs of other lands.

Thousands more want the chance to serve the needs of their own land.

They should have that chance.

Among older people who have retired, as well as among the young, among women as \vell as men, there are many Americans who are ready to enlist in our war against poverty.

They have skills and dedication. They are badly needed. . . .

Fourth, we intend to create new opportunities for certain hard-hit groups to break out of the pattern of poverty.

Through a new program of loans and guarantees we can provide incentives to those who will employ the unemployed.

Through programs of work and retraining for unemployed fathers and mothers we can help them support their families in dignity while preparing themselves for new work.

Through funds to purchase needed land, organize cooperatives, and create new and adequate family farms we can help those whose life on the land has been a struggle without hope.

Fifth, I do not intend that the war against poverty become a series of uncoordinated and unrelated efforts - that it perish for lack of leadership and direction.

Therefore this bill creates, in the Executive Office of the President, a new Office of Economic Opportunity. Its Director will be my personal Chief of Staff for the War against poverty. I intend to appoint Sargent Shriver to this post. . . .

What you are being asked to consider is not a simple or an easy program. But poverty is not a simple or an easy enemy.

It cannot be driven from the land by a single attack on a single front. Were this so we would have conquered poverty long ago.

Nor can it be conquered by government alone. . . .

Today, for the first time in our history, we have the power to strike away the barriers to full participation in our society. Having the power, we have the duty .. . . .

We are fully aware that this program will not eliminate all the poverty in America in a few months or a few years. Poverty is deeply rooted and its causes are many.

But this program will show the way to new opportunities for millions of our fellow citizens.

It will provide a lever with which we can begin to open the door to our prosperity for those who have been kept outside.

It will also give us the chance to test our weapons, to try our energy and ideas and imagination for the many battles yet to come. As conditions change, and as experience illuminates our difficulties, we will be prepared to modify our strategy.

And this program is much more than a beginning.

Rather it is a commitment. It is a total commitment by this President, and this Congress, and this nation, to pursue victory over the most ancient of mankind's enemies.

Source:

from Public Papers of U.S. Presidents, Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-1964 (Washington: G.P.O., 1965), 1, pp. 375-380.

[Waiting For Everyman]

67. He might start by making HAMP mods mandatory for eligible loans.

3 million foreclosures will happen in the next 3 years, mostly to people who do qualify for the mods, but aren't getting them because entry to the program is up to the banks', which simply refuse to process them.

There should be a mandatory review board to look at every loan which is denied for a HAMP. Then the program might actually make a difference.

[Ignis]

69. Right on! This is a good start.

I just wish Edwards hadn't politically-suicided, or he'd be around to champion this issue.

[Exultant Democracy]

74. I think taking care of our children and wounded veterans is a reasonable expectation

[Greyhound]

75. "Ignore what they say, watch what they do" n/t

:popcorn:

[robcon]

77. I think it is a stupid promise.

Unless we have a "magic bullet" to end alcoholism, drug addiction and mental illness, we cannot end homelessness.

Those are the three most important causes of homelessness.

[mbperrin]

80. The failure to simply extend jobless benefits suggests this initiative is a total

pipe dream.

[Psephos]

81. Got that one right for sure. n/t

[Frank Cannon]

90. Here's how they'll do it: Throw all the homeless in prison. n/t

[Divine Discontent]

92. I fully support the president in his grand dream.

not gonna say anything sarcastic!

[Honeycombe8]

94. I don't think the timing for this is right. Don't we have enough to do right now?

We're barely treading water, as it is.

This will not be a popular initiative, I think. I hope he's not talking about building "projects." That's been tried before.

[fasttense]

95. Just like the bushes 10 year plan to end homelessness.

The bushes unveiled their plan in 2000. So, it's 2010 now, there should be no homelessness.

[Hannah Bell]

98. thank you. no one seems to remember. it's orwellian.

[Vinca]

99. It's a noble goal and I wish it would happen, but I fear

homelessness will be solved in the same way health care was "solved."

[NHLrocks]

100. I don't know how right now, but I'm sure corporations will have something to do with its downfall...

[mvd]

103. Hopefully, the President succeeds where the neglected Bush program failed

It will definitely require action on getting the appropriate funding.

[GlennWRECK]

104. Funding that simply is not there

Quite a claim from Obama.
To be honest, I doubt this is feasible.

Good for him though he'll be out of office by then; thus he can make these claims :)