When choosing to run for high office, it is best to come armed with a background of success. Donald Trump had his business success to show off; even Hillary Clinton had a track record that (barring a few notable scandals) many people found impressive.
Los Angeles mayor, Eric Garcetti, is contemplating a bid for the White House that looks doomed to failure before it has even begun. His “success” and “vision” have seen LA become a pit of homelessness, destitution, and extreme poverty; now he wants to bring it to the rest of the nation.
Homeless explosion
Since being elected five years ago, Garcetti has had big plans for his city. He has been courting an Olympic bid and has sought out major tech companies in an effort to create bring wealth and jobs to the area. But it is all for naught. The current homeless population now sits at an estimated 25,000, up almost 50% since he took office. And with the massive illegal immigrant population, this figure is likely to be an underestimation.
Garcetti has grand plans to deal with this issue: he will throw taxpayer money at it and hope it sticks. A $430 million injection into the city’s budget this year is to be spent trying to get around half of the 25,000 into shelters; this works out to $34,400 per person.
Almost $35K to put a single person into a shelter! This is not money well spent and does nothing to address what he will do next year.
The mayor has fallen into the trap of thinking that if you give taxpayer money to organizations that share your social vision, all will be well, and problems will be solved. It is a view that ignores the fact that the city has been throwing money at this for decades and it hasn’t helped.
It is highly likely that just gifting $35K to each homeless person on the street that they come across would do more to solve this problem long term.
Root Causes?
The simple fact is that it is very easy to become homeless in Los Angeles. Zumper, the housing industry tracker, states that for a one-bedroom apartment in LA, the median monthly rent is around $2,300; for a person with children who may need more than one room, that rent is considerably higher. Regular workers and families are being forced out of the housing market and onto the streets because of massive rental prices; putting them in temporary shelters will not solve the problem.
So why is the rent so high? Is it because of the natural beauty of the area and the delightful weather? Or is it because demand for accommodation has rocketed due to massive illegal immigration?
A Cycle of Poverty
When we think about the people being made homeless, perhaps you envision a blond-haired single mother, working two jobs and relying on her mother for child care? And people like her do exist. But what is more likely is a family from Mexico, 3, 4, or 5 people living in a one-bed apartment, each of them working as many hours as they can just to keep a roof over their heads. What future does this family have in America? They cannot save money because they have to come up with $2,300 a month before they even think about eating. They cannot put money aside for a kid to go to college because they know that next year, the rent will likely go up.
The left does not care about illegal immigrants, or even legal immigrants, any more than they do about people born in the country. They fail to look after the people who are already here in favor of the future votes of those yet to arrive. And when they do arrive? Welcome to a life of poverty and a future where homelessness is just around the corner.
Mayor Garcetti does not have any solutions for this country. The idea that he could roll out his particular brand of “success” across America is a terrifying thought. We know what his policies will be, and we know the impact of them: spend as much of your money as possible and fail to achieve anything positive in return. Don’t forget to vote!
