California WTF? A rant.

[EMNofSeattle]

Yeah and because we have the perfect climate we've always HAD more than our fair share.
They come here because of the weather.

The problem is, housing has become too expensive.
LIBERALS HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH HOUSING COSTING MORE!!!!!!!!
Working people had a place to live, then their rent got hiked.

It's the free market, try and get that.
But NO, you're going to just keep on shrieking about how liberalism causes homelessness, because Tucker Carlson says so, and Hannity says so.

I'm so fed up talking to automatons who refuse to think problems through and are convinced it's the scapegoat's fault.
I am done reading dogma from you.

Liberals have everything to do with housing prices going up, from zoning restrictions, to green space requirements, to building codes that mandate unnecessary inspections and environmental standards, to condo-liability laws that make condos expensive to insure. Every possible way they can interfere in a free market for housing they have

 

[Grand Mal]

Most of these people are addicts and if you make their life enough of a living hell they may choose to seek treatment.

How can you justify treating people differently under the law, if I as someone with a job and house just started parking derelict vehicles on the street and crapping on the sidewalk and dealing drugs you know full well the law would be enforced against me, as it should against them as well

What's the point of a law that incarcerates homeless people? What's the point of locking them up? Punishment? Rehabilitation? I'll tell you what the point is. Get them out of sight, that's the point.
Tell me something- what's the cause of homelessness in warm climate cities? I know one contributing factor. If you're in charge in a cold winter place just make life so uncomfortable for homeless people that they'll migrate to southern California and you can crow about how liberalism causes a homeless problem. Hell, if conservatives get control nation-wide those homeless people can be kept shuffleing along the highways and locked up wherever they try to settle. Who cares about solutions? Solutions are too complicated, they usually cost money and only liberals care about solving problems anyway.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

People with homes would be arrested if they took a dump in the street.

They wouldn't need to because they have homes, ostensibly homes with bathrooms.
Do you actually believe people crap in the street for the fun of it?

It's disgusting, no question about it but it's clearly an act of desperation.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

Liberalism may share some of the responsibility in attracting it, though, by the open display of near hostility toward enforcing even just basic standards of public decency.

I never expressed hostility toward basic standards of public decency.
Where would you like the Porta Potties installed?
That would go a long way toward supporting public decency.

 

[Bullseye]

Like anywhere, it all depends where you are. I never have any issues in LA when I go there. All depends on your neighborhood, its still a great city there are many wonderful US and world cities that have the same issues, you just need a bigger view of all the good stuff, instead of focusing on the bad stuff.

Interesting. LA is the poster child for this disaster. They have outbreaks of diseases that haven't been heard from in the US in decades. It seems like LA Times runs "**** story of the day" lately.

 

[Bullseye]

the point was to focus on the bad stuff because socialism.

Nope. Focus on declining quality of life. As I mentioned, even left leaning LA Times is complaining about the horrific conditions. **** is **** whether it's socialist **** or not.

 

[chuckiechan]

I spent the day in Los Angeles yesterday for a convention and, to be real, it wasn’t pretty at all. I had heard about human feces and trash in the streets but I thought that was exaggerated and hey, every city has their “bad” neighborhoods. Just in the drive to and from the venue, which was about an hour from LAX, I saw more than just some litter on the ground. I saw dozens of stuffed shopping carts blocking the sidewalks, people with giant bags of cans walking casually through traffic, drivers being hit up for spare change while waiting in line at a drive through, campsites and cardboard dwellings in virtually every open space along the freeway, tents pitched in the doorways of buildings and even streets lined with derelict, trashed out RVs (that **** would be towed away where I live).

No doubt, there are very nice areas of LA, much nicer than anything we have we live. I think, though, what I saw is an extreme example of what happens when you divorce people from any accountability for their lives and choices and, instead, place blame those who do work to take care of themselves. It actually isn’t selfish to take care of yourself so others don’t have to take care of you. Compassion is a great thing and we need social safety nets but compassion without some responsibility is just enabling and I don’t think anything I saw was beneficial to anyone.

/end rant

Its because California is a one party state and with the cooperation of the media, no tales are told. When a newspaper has something to say derogatory about a democrat, the act as if they are walking on eggshells.

Its a perfect storm: no accountability and no publicity. The state is corrupt from head to toe. Funds are routinely rerouted from highways and schools, to pet projects or upside down public retirement funds.

 

[justabubba]

Interesting. LA is the poster child for this disaster. They have outbreaks of diseases that haven't been heard from in the US in decades. It seems like LA Times runs "**** story of the day" lately.

wonder why anyone experiencing severe poverty/homelessness would be attracted to the beautiful weather available in southern california
also wonder why such desperate people would wander to a community that both tolerates their plight and spends enormous monies trying to deal with the needs of the homeless
those damn california liberals trying to help the least among us. it's not like Jesus encouraged Christians to reach out in such a manner. nope, not what today's prosperity gospel tells us























ok you ****ing reich wing evangelical Christians, discard your WWJD bracelets

 

[joko104]

Setting aside the 10% or so that are mentally ill (I do not count alcoholics and junkies as mentally ill), street people WANT to be street people. They are not "victims." It is a life style they selection.

Around here, they are called "forest people" because they set up small tent communities in the forest (the police keep them off the street and away from businesses and houses.) It is a lifestyle they want. Someone we know used to hiring them - offering jobs as contract labor at $600 cash per week - 9 to 5, 40 hours, simple warehouse type work - no skills required. 3 out of 4 would decline. Of those who accepted, they would no-show or quit by the end of week 3 at longest - and most the first time they were paid.

They don't want to work. They don't want homes to maintain, though might move into an abandoned house (which they quickly completely trash out). They live for drugs, liquor, sex and create their own mini-society that ebbs and flows. They don't want the life most people live. They don't want to do ANYTHING they don't want to. Do want to take baths. Don't want to bother to find a bathroom. Don't want to wash their clothes or comb their hair.

The problem in Democrat cities is they tolerate criminality by them. They can litter. They can trespass, use the street for a toilet, do illegal drugs in the open (and even hand out free needles - a NIGHTMARE situation for parents of young children). To most Democratic politicians, criminal behavior by both illegal migrants and street people is excused, which creates the horrific situation in their cities. The more criminal conduct they are allowed, the more they will commit, it is that simple.

The reason these massive bum tent cities are forming within Democratic run urban areas is because their Democratic politicians furiously oppose rule of law/law and order. They define bums, alcoholics, and junkies as victims, when in fact they are lazy ass bums who have no respect for laws, the community, others or themselves.

There will always be hobos, wanderers, people who refuse to work any job. Always has been, always will be. However, the new "progressive" Democrats so desperately WANT people to be victims that they define petty criminals and bums as victims - calling anyone who complains of the horrific harms this causes to their community and neighborhoods - the REAL victims - cruel, greedy and also racists, bigots and every other foul name they can think of.

THERE IS NO REASON to allow bums to live on sidewalks and in front of businesses and homes. It is just some backassward claim of compassion combined with themselves living in gated rich communities that the Democrats who run these cities do nothing. Move into their neighborhood past the gate and guard shack? They'd be in jail for trespassing within the hour - just like the illegal migrants dropped off at Pelosi's home were quickly hauled away.

 

[TurtleDude]

:agree

LA has invested a lot of money for housing and services but the numbers of people living in the streets grows. It's now estimated that there are over 50,000 homeless in LA.
Public dollars don't seem to be helping to alleviate the problems.



Homelessness Strains Compassion For Some Los Angeles Residents : NPR

when government subsidizes an activity, that activity grows and increases. LA has subsidized the growth of street parasites and related activity. There is no real wonder why such things increase.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

Liberals have everything to do with housing prices going up, from zoning restrictions, to green space requirements, to building codes that mandate unnecessary inspections and environmental standards, to condo-liability laws that make condos expensive to insure. Every possible way they can interfere in a free market for housing they have

This is hilarious.
All the things that ensure you don't wind up with substandard hovels that collapse for no reason and strip clubs don't pop up on the corner, and you're whining that it's liberals who are responsible.

California's most stringent earthquake codes were last visited by what used to be the Republican majority, in 1994 after the Northridge Quake. Anything built after 1994 in California is more likely to withstand a shaker, and you think that's a bad thing.

Hilarious.

You just love making crap up.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

when government subsidizes an activity, that activity grows and increases. LA has subsidized the growth of street parasites and related activity. There is no real wonder why such things increase.

Give me a break, LA has subsidized street parasites my ass.
That post was the equivalent of empty calories, junk food.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

Its because California is a one party state and with the cooperation of the media, no tales are told. When a newspaper has something to say derogatory about a democrat, the act as if they are walking on eggshells.

Its a perfect storm: no accountability and no publicity. The state is corrupt from head to toe. Funds are routinely rerouted from highways and schools, to pet projects or upside down public retirement funds.

And California used to be a "one party state" with Republicans in control. And it almost went bankrupt.
Nobody STOLE the elections from you guys, you LOST them because you screwed the pooch one too many times and the people couldn't stand it anymore.

 

[TurtleDude]

Give me a break, LA has subsidized street parasites my ass.
That post was the equivalent of empty calories, junk food.

Opinion noted and not shared. LA has made such a lifestyle a viable option-so not surprisingly, the number of those engaged in such a lifestyle has increased.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

Why not bring back the county poor houses that existed before WWII?

If you're going to spend money to build and set up "workhouses" how does that help homeless who are already working?
Why not use that money to just build affordable housing instead?
Some can be temporary, some can be semi-permanent, all can be predicated on the notion that the occupant couldn't afford housing elsewhere, and once they can, they have to secure a new place and move into it thus opening a vacancy for another wh was in the same situation.

See, you like many others, don't understand that one third to one half the homeless actually do earn money.
Some even have regular jobs.

 

[chuckiechan]

If you're going to spend money to build and set up "workhouses" how does that help homeless who are already working?
Why not use that money to just build affordable housing instead?
Some can be temporary, some can be semi-permanent, all can be predicated on the notion that the occupant couldn't afford housing elsewhere, and once they can, they have to secure a new place and move into it thus opening a vacancy for another wh was in the same situation.

See, you like many others, don't understand that one third to one half the homeless actually do earn money.
Some even have regular jobs.

What has strangled affordable housing is outrageous building and permit fees, and environmental rules as opaque as mud, and refusal to re zone land for building what people can afford.

Re: homeless... San Diego has an interesting plan they are trying.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

What has strangled affordable housing is outrageous building and permit fees, and environmental rules as opaque as mud, and refusal to re zone land for building what people can afford.

Re: homeless... San Diego has an interesting plan they are trying.

What has ALSO strangled affordable housing is outsized demand and the fact that enormous amounts of housing were bought up by an investor class, an investor class that has a habit of making buildings uninhabitable to push out undesirable tenants, also known as poor people.

Landlords in Los Angeles Are Allegedly Making Buildings Uninhabitable to Push Out Poor People

Last November, the tenants of the Madison Hotel, a 220-room residential hotel in downtown Los Angeles, sued the property owners for conditions they described as "untenantable." Among the complaints listed: Trash wasn't being collected within the building, leading to a cockroach infestation; the elevator frequently broke and wasn't fixed; the communal TV room and lobby were stripped of furniture; mold grew up the walls; there was a bedbug infestation; and the landlord allegedly threatened to forcibly remove certain tenants, some of whom said they were harassed about their sexual orientation or their disabilities.

As to refusal to rezone land, I agree that LA should follow San Diego's lead on this.

 

[Grandpappy]

Low income housing here in San Diego is currently occupied by a high percentage of illegal aliens (sanctuary city). Sorry, bums- no room for you. Plus, California has a very "liberal" social services setup that, along with the weather, attracts a lot of losers. The morons in Sacramento are constantly scheming on ways to raise working people's taxes to pay for this and other senseless, money sucking garbage.
I would love to leave, but my wife wants to stay close to family. I'm thinking Nevada would be nice.

 

[joko104]

This is hilarious.
All the things that ensure you don't wind up with substandard hovels that collapse for no reason and strip clubs don't pop up on the corner, and you're whining that it's liberals who are responsible.

California's most stringent earthquake codes were last visited by what used to be the Republican majority, in 1994 after the Northridge Quake. Anything built after 1994 in California is more likely to withstand a shaker, and you think that's a bad thing.

Hilarious.

You just love making crap up.

I must be missing it. Where did he mention "earthquake standards?"

The liberals who control these cities use zoning laws to protect and enhance their property values by prohibiting small houses and apartments, prohibiting inexpensive modular housing, and limit how tall buildings can be - while restricting apartment construction by zoning laws - all maximize their real estate and home values - and keep poor people away from them.

Try to build low income high rise apartments in San Francisco or Seattle and see the local Democrat politicians don't even let it get past the zoning commission. What do you think the zoning commission would say if someone bought an 8000 square foot house in Nancy Pelosi's gated community - and wanted to use it for a halfway house for the homeless?

What are the odds the Democratic zoning committee of San Francisco would say "sure, go ahead, bring 100 bums into our own neighborhood?"

 

[joko104]

Low income housing here in San Diego is currently occupied by a high percentage of illegal aliens (sanctuary city). Sorry, bums- no room for you. Plus, California has a very "liberal" social services setup that, along with the weather, attracts a lot of losers. The morons in Sacramento are constantly scheming on ways to raise working people's taxes to pay for this and other senseless, money sucking garbage.
I would love to leave, but my wife wants to stay close to family. I'm thinking Nevada would be nice.

I suspect lots and lots of people would like to leave California for the reason you gave and other reasons, but can not for lack of money to do so, stuck there by their job or stuck their by family connections. Also, it does have a desirable climate and a person can become accustomed to the climate and community they are in.

So, instead, you just have to hope it won't just keep getting worse and doesn't affect you personally too much. Any person on the wrong side of a social revolution will feel that way - and you are trapped on the wrong side within a clear social revolution in California - whether you like it or not. To various degrees, much of the country now is.

The progressive socialist Democrat agenda, combined with being directed by the international super rich towards corporate fascism are very serious and their number is swelling, while largely entrenched within government and the corporate world. It is a real struggle for preservation of the USA as it has been versus being turned into a corporate-fascist country at all institutional levels. A complete revolution ala Mein Kampf.

 

[TobyOne]

Its sounds like you left LAX and went on the 10 toward downtown. There's nothing to see on the 10 so what you saw was downtown. Parts of downtown are a **** hole. Always has been. Yes, it is worse now but tbh nothing is being done about it.

 

[joko104]

What has ALSO strangled affordable housing is outsized demand and the fact that enormous amounts of housing were bought up by an investor class, an investor class that has a habit of making buildings uninhabitable to push out undesirable tenants, also known as poor people.

Landlords in Los Angeles Are Allegedly Making Buildings Uninhabitable to Push Out Poor People



As to refusal to rezone land, I agree that LA should follow San Diego's lead on this.

The money isn't in old low income buildings that are near city center with rapidly increasing property value. It is in building high dollar condos with trendy design done well, locked secured entry - ideally with a security desk - the right size for a couple of a good income, plus perpetual monthly HOA fees income, that sells for at least $650,000 for the smallest one - or rents for $3500 a month - though a 1 year lease only in case they want to sell it or rents can go up.

Blah humbug on low income housing. Who wants THOSE people in YOUR neighborhood? I mean, look at how they dress, all those unruly children, and those crummy old cars! They don't belong there. Those people should stick with their own kind - the never ending demand of the Democratic Party - every possible social division between people - race, age, level of income, and educational level. However, this is not limited to Democrats. Most rich people feel that way about poor people. Not in my neighborhood. Be somewhere else - while throwing guilt money their way a little bit here and there.

 

[EMNofSeattle]

This is hilarious.
All the things that ensure you don't wind up with substandard hovels that collapse for no reason and strip clubs don't pop up on the corner, and you're whining that it's liberals who are responsible.

California's most stringent earthquake codes were last visited by what used to be the Republican majority, in 1994 after the Northridge Quake. Anything built after 1994 in California is more likely to withstand a shaker, and you think that's a bad thing.

Hilarious.

You just love making crap up.

Yeah, and that costs money. Why shouldn’t someone be allowed to spend less money for a worse house?

Your solution is to make housing more expensive, if you were honest about that then fine, but when regulatory overreach is why housing is expensive then don’t complain.

 

[vesper]

I have watched several documentaries on the devastating conditions posing real health risks to the public in LA, San Fran and Seattle. The threat of typhus in LA didn't just happen. They had an outbreak in October of last year. There are two main sources for typhus. One is infected fleas and the other type comes from body lice. The human feces and needles found daily on the ground is a major threat to the public. I watched a documentary of pre-school students that had to walk in one such areas and they had to step over human waste and used needles.
Typhus Outbreak in California Expands in LA and Long Beach — Precision Vaccinations
And then I read an article that jails in LA and other cities in California are battling bed bugs and fleas. Turns out that bed bugs are more dangerous than the fleas. Apparently they are one of the insects that transmit the parasite that causes Chagas disease. Chagas is a life threatening infection that can do bad things to the heart. It is called the American trypanosomiasis.. It is found in Latin American countries and in the southern states there have been increasing numbers of reported cases..

When the public's wellbeing is no longer a priority, then we have a real problem. Whatever these places have been doing is a total fail and they need to address it ASAP.

There are several factors involved in all the homeless. The cost for real estate is a factor in these cities but their unemployment rate is rather low. Last month they added over 16,000 jobs in California. These folks living on skid row in LA, San Fran, etc do not work. Most can't because they are strung out on drugs. The coast is a magnet for homeless people in general. It is a magnet for the homeless who are junkies. The weather is mild enough all year they can sleep outside. The drug usage is tied to the homeless population. And by the number of needles they have to cleanup daily there is no shortage of supply in these areas.

 

[joko104]

I very much like ordinary working people. Even on the lower economic end, struggling to get by - nor is their behavior ideal. The ordinary salt of the earth American. I also like middle income and upper income people. But most of my life is around and with ordinary people, though could pick among the 3 if I really wanted to (but do not).

That said, I don't like bums.

I don't like - as in greatly dislike - derelict alcoholics, junkies of any age, young beggars or street/homeless people - tent people. I do not trust them and see them as unsafe in many ways as minor as petty theft to a great as violence. I will not go into their tent communities - 1 tent or 25. I certain would not want my children to be alone in such a community, even if an older teen I'd let go anywhere in town within reason. (In fact, an occasion requiring my daughter in H.S. to go into a wooded area that included some such people, I had her take along a male, black pit bull/mastiff mix on a spiked choker chain - a well behaved immensely powerful dog even more powerful than he looked - which was terrifyingly powerful.) However, we bought her up well including about personal safety. We did not tell her to. She asked us if she could take him along with her and her female friend? A very wise young lady indeed.

I don't like young male homeless bums approaching my wife or I saying they need money for 1 gallon of gas, or bums/beggars waiting outside C-stores and gas stations, or approaching people in parking lots. I don't want them around my home or at any business I might go to. I do not want them forcing any business out of business by hanging out near the front.

I don't like bums - a lot.