What We Could Achieve With The Money We’re Wasting On Occupying Our Cities - Letters to the Housed by Paul Asplund of Second Grace LA
Greed vs. Generosity | art by delux multimedia
Occupation vs. Housing: The Shocking Mathematics of Misplaced Priorities
At this moment, the Trump administration is planning to deploy thousands more National Guard troops across American cities. The costs of this unwarranted military action expose a stark moral choice facing our nation.
The Numbers That Should Outrage Every American
Deploying 3,000 National Guard troops to Chicago costs almost $1.6 million per day, according to analysis by Hanna Homestead of the National Priorities Project. In contrast, housing all of Chicago's unhoused neighbors would cost about $383,000 per day—around one-quarter the cost of military deployment.
The breakdown reveals our distorted priorities:
Washington DC deployment: Over $1 million daily for 2,100 Guard members
Los Angeles operation: $134 million total cost for 2,000 Guard members and 700 Marines
Actual military tasks: Picking up 500 bags of trash, removing graffiti, raking leaves
LA's Long History of Failed Priorities
While pointing fingers at the current administration is tempting, Los Angeles demonstrates how systemic failures transcend individual politicians. LA houses the largest population of unhoused veterans in America—nearly 3,400 people—yet sits on enough housing vouchers to house every single one.
The Human Cost of Bureaucratic Failure
Six unhoused people die daily on LA streets
Over 4,000 HUD-VASH vouchers remain trapped in bureaucratic limbo
Veteran-specific units stay vacant for a year or more
County agencies achieve only 59% lease rate—20 points below national average
Doug Smith's LA Times reporting revealed units built expressly for veterans sitting empty while people die on streets. Monica Mejia's East LA Community Corp lost $190,000 in revenue with 14 units vacant for an entire year.
Veterans Asked to Violate Their Constitutional Oath
The cruel irony deepens: many deployed troops are veterans themselves, ordered to violate the Constitution they swore to protect. One National Guard recruiter told Mother Jones the DC mission deterred recruits and pushed soldiers to breaking points.
"This is an encroachment on everything we signed up for," the recruiter explained. "They just see us as little toy soldiers to put on the street to show some muscle."
The Financial Devastation for Service Members
Beyond moral injury comes financial ruin. Guard members miss civilian work because states run out of money sending troops to political operations. As one explained: "I'm missing work for the Army because the state ran out of money because they decided to send military police to DC."
Katherine Kozinski, military personnel expert, described the human cost: "That does not do you any good if you defaulted on your mortgage that month because you didn't get paid in time."
Legal Challenges and Constitutional Violations
US District Judge Charles Breyer ruled Trump's LA deployment illegal under the Posse Comitatus Act, stating: "Congress spoke clearly in 1878 when it passed the Posse Comitatus Act, prohibiting the use of U.S. military to execute domestic law. Yet there was no rebellion, nor was civilian law enforcement unable to respond."
Community Impact: Fear and Economic Damage
These deployments destroy the communities they claim to protect:
Chicago restaurants face disrupted operations and reduced business
Mexican Independence Day celebration postponed due to fear
Elementary schools require volunteer patrols against ICE agents
60% of Chicago residents disapprove of enforcement tactics
What Works: Housing First Success Stories
When resources target housing instead of enforcement, remarkable results follow. Los Angeles proves this approach works:
2024 Housing Achievements
1,854 veterans housed—more than any American city for three consecutive years
23% reduction in veteran homelessness year-over-year
93% housing retention rate among housed veterans
The HUD-VASH program demonstrates evidence-based success: fully subsidized apartments with rent calculated at 30-40% of income, adjusting with income changes, plus wraparound VA services.
The Alternative: What $134 Million Could Accomplish
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson outlined what the LA military deployment cost could have funded:
30,000 youth jobs
Every city mental health clinic reopened
Citywide mental health crisis teams
Double the violence interrupters
Faith Leaders Speak Truth to Power
Dozens of Chicago pastors published an open letter identifying the real violence: "The real violence in Chicago—like real violence across America—is not the violence of the streets, but the violence of policy: underfunded schools, disappearing jobs, healthcare deserts, food apartheid, and a criminal justice system that treats poverty like a capital offense."
The Path Forward: Community Organizing and Moral Courage
Communities are organizing protection networks while governments fail them:
Rapid response networks across Chicago neighborhoods
Veteran advocacy groups calling for refusal of unlawful orders
Residents documenting enforcement actions
Hyper-local mobilization when ICE appears
Our Greatest Hope: Each Other
The mathematics of this moral equation couldn't be simpler. We can continue spending millions to militarize cities and hunt immigrants while veterans sleep in streets, or redirect resources toward housing, community building, and actual problem-solving.
We have the capacity—military deployments prove we can mobilize enormous resources rapidly. We have the evidence—housing first programs work. What we need is moral courage to make the right choice.
When communities organize protection, when veterans refuse unlawful orders, when residents document neighborhood actions—that's where real change begins. The systems stacked against us are powerful, but we have something more powerful: each other.
Our collective voices, our willingness to show up for neighbors, our refusal to let fear divide us—that's our greatest hope. There is no cavalry coming. There are no heroes waiting to fight in our place. It's us. It's always been us. And we are enough.
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