Posted on 01/25/2018 9:02:13 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Back in the booming, Ronald Reagan 1980s, homelessness not-so-coincidentally became a national epidemic. It was all over the news. According to members of the American left, Reagan’s policies were the cause.
Interesting about the time in question was that immigrant inflows into the U.S., and in particular from Mexico, were on the rise. In a big way. The economically stimulating and moving arrival of the tired and hungry from Mexico and other countries existed as an inconvenient truth for emotional puddles on the left eager to reveal a downside to Reagan-era prosperity. If impoverished immigrants who didn’t speak English were rushing into the U.S. for economic opportunity, the notion that Reagan’s policies were causing poverty and homelessness among those lucky enough to already live here made little sense.
Amid the supposed Reagan-authored “homeless epidemic,” Los Angeles Magazine did a story on it. Actually, it probably did lots of stories. But the one that stood out revealed some homeless Los Angelenos in theoretical possession of keen entrepreneurial instincts. A Los Angeles reporter discovered in the process of following a few of the impoverished that they in fact didn't lack homes. In truth, they earned in the $30,00-$40,000 range (tax free, obviously) annually by virtue of dressing up as though they lived without shelter, only to drive each day to target-rich environments. In superrich Los Angeles, homelessness was a good business for some.
Economist Thomas Sowell noticed a variation of the above around the same time. The memory is hazy, but in a column he noted how one could frequently find the same people working the same streets in San Francisco each day. Everyone responds to market signals, and San Francisco’s homeless made sure to ask for money in areas of the city trafficked by those with the most money.
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearmarkets.com ...
John Tranny? Is that a typo or is that his real name that he goes by?
On topic, however, Just because some of the richest people in the United States and the world live in California, doesn’t mean you don’t have poor people there. In fact, there’s third world countries, with the super rich and super impoverished, and hardly anything in between.
I, prior to the last couple of years I was in the military, was a California citizen. I have watched the state self destruct financially for many years of liberal overpaid programs ham stringing the business and employment possibilities while chasing business out of the state at an alarming rate. And the state continues to hammer out non-working budgets based upon feel good programs.
In an article by the LA Times last month:
“Less than four years after declaring California’s budget balanced for the foreseeable future, Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday said the state is projected to run a $1.6-billion deficit by next summer — a noticeable shift in the state’s fiscal stability that could worsen under federal spending cuts championed by President-elect Donald Trump.” “The trajectory of revenue growth is declining,” Brown said in unveiling his $179.5-billion plan for the fiscal year that begins in July. The governor’s sober assessment comes on the heels of several months of lagging tax revenue collections, a change in the state’s fortunes that could stifle his fellow Democrats’ call for additional spending and give fuel to Republican demands for additional cuts.
Brown proposed to address the deficit primarily by slowing the growth in spending on public schools by $1.7 billion, a change that brings funding down to the minimum required by formulas enshrined in California’s Constitution. The governor also proposed scrapping $1.5 billion worth of spending ideas left over from last year’s budget negotiations, including higher subsidies for child-care programs and awarding new college scholarships to California students…..”
As you can see, they are having to reverse their great ideas because they just can’t pay for them. And who suffers? Those that voted them in because of those programs. The government of California is infamous for using bait and switch.
When I was transferred (PCS’d) to Washington State in 1993, one of the humorous kickbacks to their way of doing business in the state is that in the previous year, the state was sending out IOU’s on income tax refunds to, they say, random people. When the tax bill for a few of the people involved took that amount out of their state income tax requirement the next year, the state didn’t see the humor in it and ordered those people to pay the entire amount. That IOU is still on the books for those involved. I doubt they will ever see it.
rwood
...and now back to our bongs.
Back in the booming, Ronald Reagan 1980s, homelessness not-so-coincidentally became a national epidemic. It was all over the news. According to members of the American left, Reagan’s policies were the cause. Interesting about the time in question was that immigrant inflows into the U.S., and in particular from Mexico, were on the rise. In a big way... If impoverished immigrants who didn’t speak English were rushing into the U.S. for economic opportunity, the notion that Reagan’s policies were causing poverty and homelessness among those lucky enough to already live here made little sense. Amid the supposed Reagan-authored “homeless epidemic,”... A Los Angeles reporter discovered in the process of following a few of the impoverished that they in fact didn't lack homes. In truth, they earned in the $30,00-$40,000 range (tax free, obviously) annually by virtue of dressing up as though they lived without shelter, only to drive each day to target-rich environments. In superrich Los Angeles, homelessness was a good business for some.
You mean John Tamny, author of the piece? :^) I’m up to 250s in the reading glasses, myself.
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