This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

About 25 years ago, Minneapolis decided to implement an enormous welfare program to help their ever-growing homeless problem by offering numerous and expensive benefits of every sort. What happened was every bum and vagrant within 1,000 miles descended on the city.

Salt Lake City can quickly, efficiently and, most important, economically solve its homeless problem. Instead of using millions and millions of dollars spending responsible taxpayer money on counter-productive shelters that are immediately trashed by their occupants, buy one-way bus tickets to San Francisco where homeless persons, drug dealers and other assorted vagrants will be welcomed with open arms.

A one-way bus ticket costs about $75. Provide a box lunch ($5) for the 15-hour trip, and the total is about $80 per person. Estimating that there are about 2,000 homeless, the total cost to taxpayers will be $160,000, a tremendous savings and there will be no continuing burdens to the citizens of Salt Lake City who now have to endure incessant and increasing and often violent crime and other negative consequences.

Salt Lake City has yet to learn the harsh lessons learned by Minneapolis; the more you try to do, the worse (and more expensive) the problem becomes.

In the end, everyone will be better off.

Ron Heckman

Morgan