EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN.

In the early days of the so-called War on Poverty, I recall stories, generally offered by advocates of more Federal Action, of states whose welfare benefits were a bus ticket to Detroit.  Judge for yourself, dear reader, what the subtext therein was.

Now comes Sarah Hoyt, reporting that in Woke Seattle, the benefit to people camping in the streets is a bus ticket out of town.

The concept of sending homeless people back to where they say they’re from or may have support has been in place for decades in parts of the US struggling to get people off the streets. Big cities like San Francisco and New York and smaller communities like West Palm Beach, Florida, have such programs.

The city of Seattle and community organizations already offer free bus tickets as part of their broader approach to homelessness. Reagan Dunn, a council member in King County, where Seattle is located, wants to go a step further by creating a stand-alone bus ticket program that will emphasize “family reunification.”

It's likely that many of the potential clients of this program are on the streets because their family has previously disowned them ...

Dunn said his plan targets roughly 1,000 homeless people who said they wanted to reconnect with family as officials counted 11,200 people living in shelters or outdoors in King County one night in January.

Seattle officials say its homelessness diversion program allows people to determine how the city can best help them, whether that’s deposit money for rental housing, car repairs or finding a way to return home for long-term support if it’s “a safe and realistic solution.”

“Seattle’s diversion program is not focused on one solution — such as transportation home when it is outside of Seattle. Our program is person-centered, client-driven and provides a diverse array of support,” said Kamaria Hightower, a spokeswoman for Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan.

Dunn, who represents part of the wealthy Seattle suburb of Bellevue and the southeastern corner of Washington’s most populous county, said his pilot program would be better funded and promoted than the city’s piecemeal approach. He said the money would come from reserves.

“We have the highest homelessness rate per capita because we’re promoting failed policies,” said Dunn, who opposes combining county homelessness services with Seattle. “We don’t need more government to promote Seattle-centric policies.”

It’s not clear what strings would be attached to his proposed bus ticket program, which would have to be approved by the County Council.

The welfare-rights organizations and their willing accomplices have yet to weigh in.