Government Waste Watch: Massachusetts-Homeless Put in Hotels Indefinitely to Keep Off Streets

While this is a worthy cause, this is still a massive amount of government waste:

A record number of families are being put up in motels in Massachusetts. High unemployment and the rising number of home foreclosures is the reason the state is taking this action.

Housing Massachusetts’ homeless is costing tax payers around $2 million per month. It costs an average of $85 per night to have families, including nearly 1000 children, stay in motels.

A daily rate of $85 per night is outrageous. Their monthly rent ends up being $2635 per family. That is about 1/3 of the price of an apartment with much more square footage.

There are many ways to get families off the streets without resorting to hotels. They should rented an apartment for a fraction of price. If they would have done this, the $2 M per month spent would have been reduced to $667 K. It is still a huge amount, but at least it would have been easier to swallow.