The homeless population in the United States surged by 18% in 2024, the largest annual increase since the Department of Housing and Urban Development started collecting data in 2007. Worse, the number of homeless families increased by 39%, also a record. Although the HUD report released in December tries to hide it, President Joe Biden is entirely to blame.

The “key findings” of the report identify “rising inflation,” “stagnating wages,” and “systemic racism” as the causes for the surge in homelessness, and it is true that inflation has made everything, including housing, more expensive. However, in any other context, the Biden administration has been bragging about rising, not stagnating, wages, and in the past year, wages have actually outgrown inflation — but not for Biden’s entire term.