Does anyone here believe they've ever heard a suitable explanation for the abrupt appearance of armies of homeless people on the nation's streets in the mid 80s?

I would like to hear your theory.

I’m curious about your theory too. I have a couple of possibilities:

1) returning Vietnam veterans who couldn’t find work, or were unable to hold a job as a result of their PTSD or other problems.

2) Too many college graduates (who had attended college rather than being in Vietnam) and not enough jobs for art history majors, no work.

3) Reagan’s presidency and the dissolution of the social safety net that had been around since Johnson and the Great Society.

4) The release of the various Star Wars movies that moved American thinking from the profound to the world of fantasy.

5) The creation and completion of the Interstate Highway system that made it easier for people to evade responsibility, move from place to place, and never have to work.

The closing of inpatient mental health facilities.

The horrible presdiency of Ronald Regan

1. Deteriorating economy and high unemployment.
2. Cut in Federal funds to city budgets especially low income housing programmes.
3. Wages so low that even low cost housing becomes unaffordable.
4. Low benefits levels.
5. Lack of treatment facilities for the drug addicted.
6. Cuts in mental health treatment forcing people onto the streets.