Homelessness amidst flair, glittering wealth

Big State, Big Bucks, Big Neglect

P

oor amidst “Richest”

RT documentary now playing “USA: Being poor in the world’s richest country” June 15, 2020: 

• “43 million people in the US now live below the poverty line, twice as many as 50 years ago.
• Three times more than during the 1930s Great Depression
• “1.5 million children” in the United States are homeless
• “Entire families are tossed from one place to another to work unstable jobs that barely allow them to survive.
• “In the historically poor Appalachian mining region, people rely on food stamps.
• “In Los Angeles, the number of homeless people has increased dramatically.
• “In the poorest neighborhoods, associations offer small wooden huts to those who no longer have a roof over their heads.”

Focus on California

M

oneyed California Governors, Senators, Members of Congress amidst homelessness

Key California politicians, estimated Net worth

Governors

• Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (former California governor) $10 million https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-politicians/democrats/jerry-brown-net-worth/

• Gavin Newsom (California Governor): $10-20 million https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-politicians/democrats/gavin-newsom-net-worth/

US House and Senate

• Dianne Feinstein (US Senator 1991-present): ): $80 million https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-politicians/democrats/dianne-feinstein-net-worth/

• Kamala Devi Harris (US Senator 2016- present) $4 million https://moneyinc.com/kamala-harris-net-worth/

• Darrell Issa (Member of US Congress January 3, 2001-January 3, 2019) $357 million https://www.celebritynetworth.com/articles/how-much-does/the-10-richest-members-of-congress-and-how-they-earned-their-fortunes/

• Barbara Lee (Member of US Congress 1997-present) $240,507 (2015) https://www.opensecrets.org/personal-finances/net-worth?cid=N00008046&year=2015

• Nancy Pelosi (Member of US Congress 1987- present) $120 million (ranging $43 million to $202 million) https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-politicians/democrats/nancy-pelosi-net-worth/

• Scott Peters (Member of US Congress January 3, 2013-present) $45 million https://www.latimes.com/projects/how-much-are-they-worth/scott-peters/

• David G. Valadao (Member of US Congress 2013-2019) $3.7 million-$17.5 million  https://www.latimes.com/projects/how-much-are-they-worth/david-valadao/

• Maxine Waters (Member of US Congress 1991-present) $90,000 minimum https://www.latimes.com/projects/how-much-are-they-worth/maxine-waters/

The cofounder of a conservative and libertarian think tank, California Policy Center, commented in April of this year on the circular nature, and therefore the failure to solve the problem of homelessness.  This is some of what Edward Ring wrote.

California policies, touted as helping homeless people find shelter, “have little to do with helping the ‘unhoused’” [contemporary pseudonym for the homeless] find permanent housing. If these policies were indeed designed or intended to help the homeless find permanent housing (not refugee camps on streets or anywhere else), “the problem [of homelessness] would have been solved years ago, Ring wrote.

There is a “hidden agenda” that effectively perpetuates the problem states, individuals and organizations claim to end. Ring points to “a Homeless Industrial Complex [that] has arisen in California that acquires power and profit by pursuing an utterly dysfunctional strategy.”

Observing conditions in Los Angeles, he says policy makers and their partners feed an insatiable giant with tax dollars. For example, “instead of rounding up homeless people, sorting them according to their various challenges – drug addiction, alcoholism, criminality, mental illness, laziness, or just bad luck – and moving them into supervised camps in low cost areas of Los Angeles County, the Homeless Industrial Complex enriches itself promoting the problem, advertising that there is a problem, contracting out a show or progress; but never actually solving the problem.

Citing the Los Angeles example, he notes that wasting more than $8 million on the building of a 154-bed shelter cannot possibly succeed in housing the existing “tens of thousands of homeless people.” Providing no more than “140 apartments” at a cost of more than $200 million will not secure “permanent supportive housing” for the thousands of people languishing in temporary shelters.

“Locating supportive housing and shelters in inexpensive areas would solve the problem” but constructing “solutions” on high value land returns greater income for the industrial complex. Public bureaucracies get funding to expand. “Nonprofit” corporations and their for-profit subcontractors get public funding and tax incentives. The longer the game is drawn out, the more income is accrued by the Homeless Industrial Complex. 

Failure to Solve Homelessness

N

ews Accounts

September 9, 2019, Judith Prieve, East Bay Times https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2019/09/09/why-after-19-years-city-says-rv-dwellers-need-to-move-off-private-site-thats-welcomed-them/

• “Antioch RV dwellers’ future uncertain at private site they’re on: City to check on possible zoning change that may let them stay”

February 6, 2020, Aly Brown, The Press https://www.thepress.net/news/city-of-antioch-submits-application-for-gov-gavin-newsoms-homeless-trailer-program/article_4565fedc-490d-11ea-a157-0fb0360b8671.html

• “City of Antioch submits application for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s homeless trailer program: Officials and advocates say they will be used for transitional housing”A day before the deadline, officials met to approve an application requesting “three to five of Newsom’s 100 trailers intended to house homeless residents throughout the state.

“If Antioch qualifies, it will be able to house three to five individuals per trailer. City council documents originally indicated 10 people would live in a trailer — a figure that was later corrected during the council meeting.”

March 23, 2020 East County Today https://eastcountytoday.net/antioch-city-council-set-to-discuss-future-of-homeless-encampment-ad-hoc-committee/

• “Antioch City Council Set to Discuss Future of Homeless Encampment Ad-hoc Committee”

April 20, 2020 The Press https://www.thepress.net/news/contra-costa-county-delivers-sanitation-stations-to-slow-covid-19-in-homeless-camps/article_35ed138e-8371-11ea-9044-5339e55c9483.html

• “Contra Costa County delivers sanitation stations to slow COVID-19 in homeless camps”

April 26, 2020 East County Today https://eastcountytoday.net/antioch-firefighters-battle-homeless-encampment-fire-along-highway-4-v2/

• “Antioch: Firefighters Battle Homeless Encampment Fire Along Highway 4”

May 5, 2020 The Press https://www.thepress.net/news/contra-costa-county-shelters-250-homeless-individuals-in-hotels-during-shelter-in-place/article_1a4875c6-8f0e-11ea-9e51-b36210934838.html

• “Contra Costa Health, Housing & Homeless Services (H3) recently announced it has sheltered 250 individuals experiencing homelessness in hotels and motels through Project Roomkey.”

May 29, 2020 San Diego Union Tribune https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/california/story/2020-05-29/arrest-made-after-california-homeless-fed-poisoned-food

• “Arrest made after California homeless fed poisoned food”

• “One person was arrested after eight homeless people were given poisoned food that sent several to the hospital   [Source Southern California authorities]

 Antioch is a California city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area along the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta. It is the second largest city in Contra Costa County; its population, according to the 2010 census 102,372.

In 2016 the East Contra Costa County experienced “a 32.5 percent increase” in homelessness.  Just over half of these were in Antioch. The number of East Contra Costa County residents sleeping in cars, homeless encampments and empty buildings had risen by one-third and there was reportedly “little help available in the region.”

East County had but a “few shelters,” Antioch’s shelter had only “20 beds” and these were “available only to the mentally ill.” Brentwood and Bay Point, also in Contra Costa County, each had one shelter “limited to women and children.”

May 26, 2016 Rowena Coetsee Mercury News https://www.mercurynews.com/2016/05/26/east-contra-costa-countys-homeless-population-increases-by-double-digits/

“East Contra Costa County’s homeless population increases by double digits

May 20, 27, 2019 Annie Sciacca East Bay Times https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2019/05/20/we-just-havent-kept-with-the-pace-of-housing-needs-homelessness-in-contra-costa-on-the-rise/Big State s homelessness amidst flare and wealth

• “New data: Contra Costa’s homeless population up 43 percent: ‘We just haven’t kept with the pace of housing needs,’ county services director says”

• Despite the nation’s robust economy and low unemployment rate, Contra Costa County’s homeless population rose a startling 43 percent from two years ago”

• Also in the biennial report figures were Alameda County’s 8,022 homeless people, up 43 percent; and Santa Clara County’s 9,706 homeless people, up 31 percent from 2017.

E

ntrenched in California’s State Mansion

Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. - Estimated net worth $10 million

Secretary of State of California January 4, 1971 – January 6, 1975

34th Governor of California January 6, 1975 – January 3, 1983

47th Mayor of Oakland January 4, 1999 – January 8, 2007

Attorney General of California January 9, 2007 – January 3, 2011

39th Governor of California January 3, 2011 – January 7, 2019    

Gavin Christopher Newsom - Estimated net worth $20 million

San Francisco Board of Supervisors Member (2nd district) January 8, 1997 – January 8, 2004

42nd Mayor of San Francisco January 8, 2004 – January 10, 2011

49th Lieutenant Governor of California January 10, 2011 – January 7, 2019

40th Governor of California January 7, 2019 -

Sources

RT doc “USA: Being poor in the world’s richest country” June 15, 2020 https://www.rt.com/shows/documentary/491765-being-poor-richest-country/

Time of broadcast available on RT’s schedule page

https://www.rt.com/shows/documentary/491765-being-poor-richest-country/

LA Times “California’s members of Congress are worth at least $439 million” Iris Lee, Christina Bellantoni. March 5, 2018 “The total net worth of California’s delegation was at least $439 million in 2016”https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-richest-california-lawmakers-20180305-story.html

Also

“Two freshmen made the millionaires list: Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Fremont) and Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana).

Ro Khanna: minimum $27 million https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-richest-california-lawmakers-20180305-story.html

Lou Correa’s (2019-2020): $1-5 million https://celebstrendnow.com/lou-correa-net-worth/

Lou Correa estimated net worth 2016-2018: 6 million

https://www.rollcall.com/wealth-of-congress/

https://www.opensecrets.org/personal-finances/net-worth/Lou-Correa?cid=N00037260&year=2015

https://www.latimes.com/projects/how-much-are-they-worth/scott-peters/

https://www.latimes.com/projects/how-much-are-they-worth/nancy-pelosi/

California Globe “How the Homeless Industrial Complex Plans to Destroy Venice Beach: The City of Los Angeles intends to use bailout funds to buy distressed properties and use them to house the unhoused” Edward Ring, April 22, 2020 https://californiaglobe.com/section-2/how-the-homeless-industrial-complex-plans-to-destroy-venice-beach/

Edward Ring is cofounder of  the California Policy Center (CPC, formed 2010), a 501c(3) nonprofit think tank associated with the State Policy Network (1992 Arlington, Virginia HQ), an umbrella nonprofit organization of conservative and libertarian think tanks acting as a public policy clearinghouse and advisory on fundraising, operating nonprofits, and communicating ideas. The CPC advocates for school choice and the right not to join s union. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Policy_Center

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