Gov. Gavin Newsom, President Trump spar over solutions to combat rising homelessness in California
President Trump pushes Newsom to deal with California's homeless issue; reaction and analysis from Democratic strategist Laura Fink and Republican strategist Lauren Claffey.
California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom raised eyebrows on Friday for saying doctors "should be able" to provide housing like they do medicine.
Newsom initially expressed the idea during his State of the State address on Wednesday, arguing that housing and health care are intertwined.
“Health care and housing can no longer be divorced. After all, what’s more fundamental to a person’s well-being than a roof over their head?” Newsom said. “Doctors should be able to write prescriptions for housing the same way they do for insulin and antibiotics. Why not?”
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Newsom reiterated his case on Twitter.
"Doctors should be able to write prescriptions for housing the same way they do for insulin or antibiotics," Newsom began his Twitter thread. "We need to start targeting social determinants of health. We need to start treating brain health like we do physical health. What’s more fundamental to a person’s well being than a roof over their head?"
He continued, "10 million Californians -- 1 in 4 -- suffer from some type of behavioral health condition. It’s not a narrow issue. It’s not a new issue. Physical health and brain health are inextricably linked. And our healthcare system has been designed to treat only one of those... Let’s be clear: Massive failures in our mental health system and disinvestment in our social safety net -- exacerbated by widening income inequality and our housing shortage -- has led us to where we are today: too many Californians left to live on our streets."
Many had fun at the expense of the California governor.
"Doctors should write you a prescription, because you're talking crazy talk," Ben Shapiro reacted.
"Legal weed in California seems to be going well," RealClearInvestigations senior writer Mark Hemingway quipped.
"Doctors should be able to write prescriptions for memes the same way they do for insulin or antibiotics," Townhall.com senior writer Julio Rosas said.
Others joked about the hypothetical situations that may ensue if doctors could prescribe housing to Californians.
"*Coughing* please, help, i need a 3 bedroom 2 1/2 bath with *cough* french doors to the patio," former Business Insider writer Joe Perticone tweeted.
"*Shows up to the emergency room with multiple broken bones* doctor: “Ah, yes. let me prescribe you a different home," Daily Caller's Logan Hall joked.
"California is gonna get wild when Real Estate agents start performing surgery," conservative commentator Stephen Miller quipped.
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