A San Francisco Democrat has claimed that his crime-infested city’s homelessness crisis is caused by “capitalism,” and not by poor local governing.
San Francisco Supervisor Dean Preston made the claim in an upcoming documentary with UnHerd.
Preston ignored the role of the open-air drug market in District 5’s homeless crisis.
He explained that he believes it to be “completely counterproductive” to arrest people for drug crimes under his jurisdiction, according to the New York Post.
Preston’s jurisdiction includes the notorious Tenderloin District.
“I think what you’re seeing in the Tenderloin is absolutely the result of capitalism and what happens in capitalism to the people at the bottom rungs,” Preston, a Democratic Socialist, told UnHerd.
“The biggest driver of why folks are on the street is because they lost their jobs, income or were evicted from their homes, usually for not being able to pay the rent.
“So you have major landlords literally causing folks to lose their homes, and real estate speculation making it impossible for folks to find an affordable place to live.”
San Francisco Supervisor Dean Preston will look you straight in the eye and tell you "the city’s homelessness problems are “absolutely the result of capitalism,” and it is “counterproductive” to arrest people openly doing drugs. https://t.co/ZJMlGL9iYk pic.twitter.com/lMpTOsmDz5
— Noah Fencebutt (@Noah_Fencebutt) December 12, 2023
Preston argues that the “inconsistent” enforcement of the California city’s drug offenses and removal of homelessness encampments “has not made our city any safer.”
The supervisor insists that this approach made the city “less safe” and “increases overdose,” according to the outlet.
“I don’t think every instance of poverty or addiction or behavioral health issue is a safety threat to someone walking by,” Preston explained to UnHerd.
“I mean, there’s a lot of people who are doing things that are very harmful to themselves on the streets, who aren’t necessarily a safety threat.”
Preston also declared that he believes in defunding the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD).
He claims that the SFPD has a “very bloated” budget which should be slashed, the outlet reported.
He suggested cutting $100 million from the crime-ridden city’s police department, per the outlet.
Nearly half of crime goes unreported in San Francisco, a poll published in October found.
Approximately one-quarter of city resident respondents reportedly said they were victims of a crime.
However, 47% chose not to report the incident to police.
