🏠 Street Sweeps or Studio Apartments?
What would you do with $28 billion?
📡 On my Radar
This week the Trump administration sent the military to Washington D.C. to round up the unhoused, fine them, and jail them - just for being homeless.
What if we just housed them instead?
Trump's tariffs are pulling in $28 billion a month. That number is expected to go up. What if we used those funds to help build the things we really need?
For three months worth of tariffs revenue we could: house every homeless individual in the United States. Every month, we could construct 186,000 studio apartments at $150k each. The entire U.S. homeless population is around 580,000 people. Do the math – we could house everyone in America experiencing homelessness in just 2-3 months.
For two months worth of tariffs revenue we could: build a comprehensive immigration system. Deportations cost $88 billion a year, and the cost is rising. Or we could spend some of that deportation/tariff revenue to just build permanent pathways to legal citizenship, a one-time cost at 1/3 of what we spend to deport people every year.
For one month worth of tariffs revenue we could: insure everyone in America. At $10k per person annually, $28 billion monthly could insure 33.6 million Americans – more than our entire uninsured population of 26 million.
If we're stuck with tariffs because of Trump's trade war obsession, at least let's use the money to fix things that matter. Housing people beats jailing them. Legal immigration beats deportation flights. Healthcare beats medical bankruptcy.
📈 By the Numbers
👊🏽 Make a Difference
14 jobs | 2 fellowships | 1 opportunity
JOB | Greg Weatherford is looking for a Social Impact Enablement Lead at The Allstate Foundation to advance strategic priorities and translate vision into tangible results.
JOB (2) | Friend and colleague Peter Gudaitis is hiring for two positions at New York Disaster Interfaith Services, seeking someone committed to building partnerships that support vulnerable communities.
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