From what I understand about Portugal, they incentivised Visa aquisition to introduce "rich" Americans to the country with the goal to bring revenue to the country. However, the downside that is realized is the cost of housing is rising and pushing out "the bottom". And along with it the price of food. They have recently discontinued or modified the Visa program to make it less attractive to foreigners.
The price of housing is a diffult problem to solve. They can impose rent controls, put up government project housing, raise the minimum wage, etc. Nothing is a good plan and I don't know a solution. I checked a few years ago and there were only two cities in the USA where a person could make minimum wage and live. Like a cheap single room apartment and eat. I don't know what is today. I think possibly the concept of a minimum "hourly wage" is problematic and i don't see other countries operating that way. (If you know different let me know) i think rhe "hourly wage" ties to industrialization and making people cogs in a machine. Most countries have monthly pay and monthly minimum wage, with weekly hour limits. Like in Mexico the weekly hourly limit is 48 hours, and there is a concept of "overtime" but people just don't often do that. The issue with monthly pay is the "13th month" because 4 months have five weeks. (52/13 is 4). What happens is employees get double their monthly pay in December. So i read the bernie guy wants a 32 hour work week, but i think a better solution is to abolish hourly pay. But it's complicated because we are a corporate run society in the USA, we aren't people friendly. We scoff at the high 23% tax in "socialist countries" and pay 29% instead thinking somehow it's better. But our programming begins in elementary schools, we have a consumer behaviour training program.
So with the elimination of an hourly wage, the pizza billionaire will whine and moan and say "how am i supposed to make pizzas!" Which is what is going on now in the USA. A friend told me the other day that the GDP in the USA is now 80,000. I haven't checked that out but it's seriously nutty. What's so good about that.
California just passed some homeless aid bill to provide money taken from millionaires to homeless mentally ill drug abusers. There are a huge number of people living in tents on the city sidewalks. Of course I feel bad for people but i don't think this money is going to 'solve' anything. In my opinion, the homeless problem is making rich people sick, they don't want to 'see' it. People have lived 'outside' since humans have existed. I just don't understand why someone would 'want' to live on a city sidewalk and 'hunt' for prepacked food from 7-11 and McDonalds. They could live anywhere and i would prefer living in the woods and 'hunting' animals and planting vegetables and stuff. Sounds so much better.
California voters pass Proposition 1 to tackle the state's homelessness crisis
Counties must spend about two-thirds of the money from a tax enacted for mental health services on housing and programs for homeless people with serious mental illnesses or substance abuse problems.
