Big State, Big Bucks, Big Neglect
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
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
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.
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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