I wrote this piece, which runs in the current issue of The Progressive Populist, the weekend after the hearing in Ocean County that produced a deal that should lead to the end of Tent City, with housing for its residents. The essay offers my view that homelessness is more than just an issue of housing; it is an outgrowth of the systemic failures of corporate capitalism.
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Author: hankkalet
Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie.
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Hank Kalet 
The Scandinavian countries have all but wiped out poverty or reduced it to a very low level. They have done this while still maintaining free, open, capitalistic and democratic societies. This wasn't always true; about 120 years ago, there was much more poverty, inequality and lack of educational opportunity. So many people in this country have a real hatred for poor people and the homeless and just wish to avert their eyes and ignore this appalling problem in the richest country on earth.