Blame for the homeless problem falls equally on liberal and conservative politicians. The liberals thought it was cruel to keep the mentally ill in insane asylums, and the conservatives saw an opportunity to save money. It's that 'meeting of the minds' that put so many of the mentally ill out in the streets.

fair enough. but i'd argue that cutting the budget for the Department of Housing and Urban Development by three-quarters, from $32 billion in 1981 to $7.5 billion by 1988, had it's effects. The department was the main governmental supporter of subsidized housing for the poor. Add this to Reagans overhaul of tax codes to reduce incentives for private developers to create low-income homes and you had a major crisis for low-income families and individuals. Under Reagan, the number of people living beneath the federal poverty line rose from 24.5 million in 1978 to 32.5 million in 1988.