Mac Slavo reports through ZeroHedge that the number of homeless people in Los Angeles County has exploded:
The number of homeless people in Los Angeles is skyrocketing. In just one year, the figures revealed that the homeless population in the city grew 20% while the numbers for the wider Los Angeles County were even higher at 23%.
Given the fact that Democrats run the county, the solution they have provided is to throw money at the problem:
The county needs to build more than 550,000 affordable rental homes for low-income households, the [Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority] says. Los Angeles recently approved new measures to raise $1.2 billion in bonds to build 10,000 new units of housing for homeless people. There are also plans to raise about $3.5 billion over 10 years to pay for other homelessness projects.
This is in addition to the $100 million the Los Angeles City Council has pledged to tackle homelessness.
Unfortunately, none of these measures will alleviate homelessness in the county, primarily because they don’t address the the high cost of living in LA.
One primary reason living in LA is so expensive is because lots of people live here. However, another reason is all of the tax and regulatory burdens that exist in the county.
The county’s sales tax is 8.75%. Between the high taxes, the increasing minimum wage, and onerous zoning and building restrictions, it is becoming more challenging for poor people to find jobs and affordable housing, let alone keep them.
U.S. monetary policy is also a key factor why living in LA keeps getting more expensive over time. The Federal Reserve system expands the money supply by printing money (albeit electronically nowadays) out of thin air. Those closest to the monetary spigot benefit the most from money creation. Those farthest away from it, such as the working poor, suffer the most: as prices keep going up, their low and fixed incomes pay for less and less.
If county Democrats were truly concerned about the poor in general and the homeless in particular, they would reduce taxes and regulatory burdens to create a more vibrant job market, and make it more attractive for investors to build housing that people could afford. They would also learn how monetary policy hurts the poor and work to stop unnecessary money creation.
Unfortunately, none of this is happening. Unless and until county leaders recognize the errors of their ways, and understand how monetary policy is hurting the poor, all one can expect regarding homelessness in Los Angeles County is more of the same.
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Source: A Simple Fool – Homelessness in Los Angeles County skyrockets