California’s War on homeless people is going about as well as the national war on poverty.
Poverty won the latter conflict, and people without homes are winning in California.
Defeat won’t stop California and its goofy voters from throwing more money at the problem the left created.
Here are some of the past remedies for homelessness proposed in the formerly Golden State that we’ve covered. Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., (or gruesome, if you prefer) — who may be in need of a prescription himself — announced with a straight face that, "Doctors should be able to write prescriptions for housing the same way they do for insulin and antibiotics."
The Daily Caller quoted Gavin’s explanation for his startling proposal, "Healthcare 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?"
What was left unclear was where the homeless individual would go to have his prescription for a two-bedroom ranch-style filled since Walmart isn’t in the building business. Details here.
Big thinkers in Los Angeles thought taking the poop off sidewalks and putting it in "Port-a-Poddies" would do the trick. Our thoughts were, if that were really the case, it wouldn’t be so expensive to operate the pit stops.
As the Los Angeles Times points out, "A big part of the cost for bathrooms is staffing: To prevent portable toilets from being trashed or taken over for illicit activity, such restrooms are monitored by trained attendants for 12 hours a day at a cost of more than $117,000 annually, according to city officials.
"Adding administration, toilet rental and other costs brings the price to roughly $339,000."
That hardly sounds like the sort of grateful response to a gift from taxpayers one would expect to come from a group of people running over with dignity or gratitude. Details here.
Los Angeles voters are repeat offenders.
Evidently unaware of the maxim, that if you subsidize something you will get more of it, Los Angeles County voters approved Measure H.
Measure H levied a quarter-cent homeless sales tax.
This is not a tax on the homeless, unless they’re shopping, it’s a sales tax on everyone else to support the homeless.
A quarter-cent may not sound like much money, but when applied to an economy like that found in Los Angeles, you’re talking real money.
The tax is projected to generate $355 million during the first year it’s in effect.
That’s an incredible amount of money. What happens to the money? Details here.
Most recently KTLA informs us, "California voters have passed a measure that will impose strict requirements on counties to spend on housing and drug treatment programs to tackle the state’s homelessness crisis.
"Proposition 1 marks the first update to the state’s mental health system in 20 years and a win for Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who spent significant time and money campaigning on the measure’s behalf.
"He raised more than $13 million to promote it with the support of law enforcement, first responders, hospitals and mayors of major cities."
Strangely enough, this isn’t a new tax layered on top of all the other homeless taxes and programs.
Instead "the measure gives the state greater control over a voter-approved tax enacted in 2004 on millionaires for mental health services that gave counties wide latitude in how to spend it. Counties will now be required to spend about two-thirds of the money on housing and programs for homeless people with serious mental illnesses or substance abuse problems."
This is good news for the homeless industrial complex.
Social workers, government employees, architects, developers, builders, campaign contributors, counselors, poop-scoopers, non-profits, academics, and even tent manufacturers are all profiting from the current status quo.
And with this vote they will continue to profit.
That’s who really benefits from homeless spending.
Much of it is patronage for the left.
This redirected money will be ushered into the California bottomless pit of homeless spending. KTLA additionally reports, "Newsom’s administration has already spent at least $22 billion on various programs to address the crisis, including $3.5 billion to convert rundown motels into homeless housing. California is also giving out $2 billion in grants to build more treatment facilities."
And what does this spending do?
It attracts homeless people to California.
The state has one-third of the nation’s homeless population. That’s about 181,000 urban campers. These aren’t middle class folks forced on the street by ruthless capitalists, as the regime media would have you believe.
California homeless are drug addicts, mentally ill, criminals, and people who are oppositional to any rules or order.
Until California politicians possess the courage to force the mentally into treatments centers, force drug addicts into detox programs and arrest the criminal homeless, the homeless problem won’t be solved. Regardless of how much money is thrown at the problem.
Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Reagan, is a Newsmax TV analyst. A syndicated columnist and author, he chairs The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Michael is an in-demand speaker with Premiere speaker's bureau. Read Michael Reagan's Reports — More Here.
Michael R. Shannon is a commentator, researcher for the League of American Voters, and an award-winning political and advertising consultant with nationwide and international experience. He is author of "Conservative Christian's Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now With Added Humor!)" Read Michael Shannon's Reports — More Here.