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RANTZ & RAVEZ - Homeless. What does the California Governor, L.A. County Board of Supervisors, L.A. Mayor and City Council Members do to address the Exploding Homeless population that keeps increasing after spending BILLIONS and BILLIONS of DOLLARS to only see the Homeless population continue to grow day after day, month after month and year after year while negatively impacting more communities and residents along with a wide variety of large and small business operations?
What they do is what they always do. Ask for additional funding and time and fail again and again in the never-ending struggle that is not and will never end in the near or far future. It is like someone addicted to alcohol or hard drugs. It never ends in most cases. It just gets worse as time passes, and ultimately they too pass…Away….
To the hard-working taxpayers of Los Angeles and many cities in California, the Homeless population is here to stay in the once thriving Golden State of California that has been destroyed not by you the voters and taxpayers but by the “System” that feeds off the constant funding that we have all paid for over and over with no accountability or ending date. No significant improvement of the situation and the simple conclusion of an endless trail of Billions and Billions of dollars with nothing to show except more of the same….a growing Homeless population living on the streets, sidewalks, and other public areas of California.
The primary reason that prevents the authorities from permanently removing the homeless from our neighborhoods is the lack of Intelligence, Wisdom and Compassion for the taxpayers that are forced to live in the neighborhoods surrounded by the constant growing Homeless population and camps. It is the Powerful, Liberal, and out of touch Federal Circuit Court Judges who sit on the 9th Circuit in California that have little concern for residents and taxpayers and more compassion for the Homeless populations that block sidewalks, steal shopping carts, and defecate on public and private lands.
Take for example one of the most recent rulings by the 9th Circuit on a case out of Oregon. In this case, the Judges ruled once again that authorities must provide shelter for the homeless. In other words, the taxpayers must provide shelter for those who choose to be homeless and live on the streets. What ever happened to the old rule of get an education or learn a trade and get job, pay your taxes and be happy? I guess I am from Old School where we followed the common decency rules of society. The new standard is live, steal and enjoy the drugs and freedom and not work or become a member of civilized society.
I did some research and found an extensive list of the programs and Millions and Billions of tax dollars that have been spent on addressing the homeless population on the west coast. The interesting fact is that the Homeless situation has gotten worse and not better. This is verified by the annual and costly Homeless Counts. You can also judge this by driving around many communities in Los Angeles and other parts of California and see the Homeless camps. Scattered items and decay are all associated with the camps.
Here is a short list of some of the Homeless Projects and associated Tax-Payer costs…. L.A. County. $532.6 Million Homeless Initiative. Mayor Bass allocates $1.3 Billion to address homelessness. Three Los Angeles agencies returned $150 million in federal funds that were not spent. California has spent $10 billion dollars and provided services to 571,000 people. L.A. County approves over $600 Million for Homeless encampments. Governor Newsom announces $1 Billion in Homelessness Funding. $3.7 Billion to fight Homelessness with Project Homekey. Los Angeles is spending up to $837,000 to house a single person. The state is providing $12 billion dollars on homeless programs over two years. L.A. City Council approves $50 million emergency funds for homeless. California tripled spending in Sacramento to $191 million. In 2021 Mayor Garcetti signed a budget with nearly $1 Billion for homeless. California would have to spend $8.1 billion annually to address homeless!
The INSANE spending goes on and on. Here are the numbers…. $3 Billion, $650 Million, $9.6 Billion and this endless spending of our tax dollars continues and the result is more Homeless and fewer dollars for other municipal and state services for our communities. Funding for Parks, and Streets and Education and a wide variety of other programs for the people of California. Something to think about and consider when you are asked once again to vote for another TAX increase for another ineffective and costly Homeless program! Just say NO!
METRO Transit System….
The Los Angeles Metro Transit Bus and Rail system is governed by county and municipal government elected officials who most likely seldom if ever ride the crime plagued public transit system through the greater Los Angeles County region.
Direction has been given to start their own police department. What a joke by the CLOWNS in charge of the transportation system plagued with associated crimes and homeless. The Metro system once had their own police dept. They scraped that and have utilized the LASO, LAPD and Long Beach Police Dept to provide security in recent years.
They now want to start their own police agency again. Keep in mind that the LASO and CHP are both trying to hire 1,000 Officers and the LAPD is trying to hire 500 Officers. That is a total of 2500 personnel. What would you choose if you were looking for a career in law enforcement? Good luck out of touch with reality MTA Board of Directors!
NOTE: RantZ and RaveZ has been invited by the management at KABC 790 AM Radio to do a LIVE daily broadcast. If you want to Talk Back to RantZ and RaveZ and give your opinion, you may be able to do that soon. Remember I control the KILL switch! More on this soon.
(Dennis P. Zine is a native of Los Angeles and the author of RantZ and RaveZ. The column is published twice a month to bring you City Hall and related political information. Dennis is retired from law enforcement and the L.A. City Council. Please email your comments to www.Valley News [email protected]. )
