The recent fires in Los Angeles have devastated areas like Pacific Palisades and Malibu, where homes of the rich and famous were destroyed. At the last estimate, 12,000 structures have been destroyed, not residents. If I were the governor of California, I would have prioritized protecting those homes, regardless of the cost. I would view each of these homes as a goose that lays golden eggs, given their significant contribution to the state’s economy. The average property tax income from these beachfront homes is about $150,000 annually, significantly higher than the state average of $75,000.
The state has potentially lost around $900 million in property tax revenue so far, a conservative estimate since it does not account for all businesses that were destroyed. In 2020, President Trump offered grants aimed at mitigating fire season risks in California. However, Governor Gavin Newsom was not willing to meet the conditions tied to these grants which included building additional reservoirs, increasing firebreaks, reducing fuel loads in wilderness areas, and upgrading power lines in high-wind areas by burying them.
The Mayor of Los Angeles cut the Fire Department’s budget by $17 million, leading to the layoff of many mechanics responsible for maintaining fire equipment. Fire trucks require complex maintenance, and according to the Fire Chief, over a hundred fire trucks were out of service due to needed repairs. Meanwhile, in the fiscal year 2023-24, the City of Los Angeles budgeted $1.3 billion for addressing homelessness, but only spent $599 million, with an additional $195 million encumbered for later spending.
Adam Corella has reported that firefighters know that many fires in the hills around Los Angeles start from homeless encampments. Michael Shellenberger has further claimed that homeless individuals start 50% of the fires in Los Angeles County. In his documentary, Shellenberger interviewed homeless individuals who admitted that the state of California essentially pays them to remain homeless through weekly food checks. Since 2019, Governor Newsom has spent $24 billion on homelessness, with the intention of reducing the homeless population. However, these subsidies have reportedly increased the number of homeless by 40%. In interviews in San Francisco, one homeless man told Shellenberger that the government pays them to be drug addicts, receiving $650 monthly in cash and $200 in food stamps.
On January 16th, I witnessed a Los Angeles fire official pleading, “To the unhoused, please do not start warming or cooking fires in the grasslands. Seek the shelters provided for you.” Weather forecasters had warned of the approaching Santa Ana winds, predicting fires. Yet, the Fire Department did not preposition their fire trucks where fires were likely to start because over 100 were down for maintenance. Last summer, there should have been controlled burns to reduce the fuel around the hills above Los Angeles. The reason these burns aren’t conducted in California is due to concerns over environmental impact, often tied to the broader narrative of climate change. State politicians attribute these fires to climate change, yet it’s critical that they make arrangements to mitigate its effects, particularly in how it exacerbates wildland fires spreading to urban centers.
Thus, Governor Newsom has seemingly prioritized a population that contributes no property taxes over those who do.
Published by Editor, Sammy Campbell.