I am neutral

In South America, the merchants hired death squads to eliminate the 'problem' of homeless youth. We're not there yet, but with America going the way it has for the last six years, we may get there sooner, rather than later.

In olden tymes in the Merrie Emerald Isles there was always Debtor's Prison for the indigent, and ships to America and Australia for those willing to make the voyage.

On the other hand, too many folks on Berkeley's streets aren't homeless (before you go off on me, I know most of the so-called homeless by name). Many of the folks on the streets are there for a combination of reasons involving medical problems, social problems, psychological problems and addictive problems.

If you're unable to get work that is adequately compensating begging on the sidewalks is one answer.

If you're mentally ill, hanging out on the sidewalks is one answer (although make no mistake, the mean streets are no place to live if you're mentally unstable ...and even sane folk will go off kilter if they're left on the streets).

If you're a junkie or a drunk, hanging out on the streets is one of your only options. The other being the nightmare of rehab and then facing the horrible mess you've made of your life.

If you're selling dope, hanging out on the sidewalks is a good way to me customers. One of my kids learned to buy weed on Telegraph when he was bused to Willard Jr. High, even though we live near King Jr. High.

I don't know what the answers are. I researched many of the issues around homelessness in San Francisco for more than a year, and unfortunately, it's a very complex and national problem, not easily resolved by local laws.

It's a complex problem that would be most easily solved if we just stopped giving chump change from our pockets and we tithed real sums to those charities that offer those of us forced onto the streets another option.

There are plenty of laws on the books that aren't enforced but I'm not sure more police or more enforcement is the answer.

I know smaller classroom sizes, increased personal tutoring in elementary school, and alternative education programs offer hope for those who aren't yet homeless.

I know that a single-payer, national health care program that included psychological and addictive treatment would offer hope for those of us (or is it all of us?) who sometimes have difficulty with life.

I know that the money George Bush and his Repugnican cronies squandered this year killing innocent Iraqi civilians could have been put to better use making America the great country it claims to be.

'The greatest way to live with honor in the world is to be what we pretend to be.' --Socrates