It’s said in the Bible that the poor will always be among us. In Springfield, Ill., as in most cities across the U.S., the homeless are at the public library. They use the restroom in the stairwell of the parking garage on top of which the library sits and they store their meager tarp-covered possessions next to the building. And mayor Tim Davlin is apparently at his wit’s end trying to deal with the homeless problem.

But a local alderman has come up with a novel idea to clean up downtown Springfield: Suggest a terrorist threat from homeless people.

The local homeless stack their possessions next to the library building. Alderman Frank Edwards called the possessions a “security risk” and suggested they could be stored elsewhere in town.

But the city’s homeland security officer doesn’t consider it a serious threat.

“It’s getting worse and worse,” Edwards said. “It’s nothing against the homeless. Name me one other city in the United States where you can stack up boxes wrapped in tarp next to a public building. . . . It’s just unsafe. You don’t know who’s putting those packages there.

“They made a big issue out of homeland security, and it’s a joke.”

Homeland security director Ralph Caldwell, who is also assistant police chief, said he could see why Edwards is worried. Caldwell said he has similar concerns but added, “It doesn’t look like there’s a homeland security threat.” — Springfield State Journal-Register

Police looked over the possessions Monday but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, Caldwell said.

The local homeless community posts its own guard at the library to watch over the possessions. It’s certainly not a conventional solution, but I rate it unlikely that a terrorist would hide a bomb among the possessions of the homeless stacked up outside the library, especially with someone watching the whole time.

And while Springfield’s homeless problem certainly needs solutions, painting a terrorist threat where none is likely or even plausible isn’t going to solve the homeless problem. But it might get some of that federal homeland security money diverted into places it was never meant to go, like a more secure storage facility for the homeless to store what little they have.

(Aside from the mentally ill, the main cause of homelessness is social programs which hand out money and benefits like candy. These don’t help the homeless become productive members of society; they disempower their supposed beneficiaries by encouraging laziness and dependence. See San Francisco for the most obvious example of this. There are no easy solutions, because everyone’s situation is unique, but getting rid of government programs which encourage the homeless to stay homeless would be a good start.)