SAY WHAT? Los Angeles Proposes New TAX to Pay to Fix Street Lights Broken by Copper Wire Thieves

thegatewaypundit.com ^ | Apr. 23, 2026 | Mike LaChance

[V_TWIN]

The city of Los Angeles has a major street light problem. Thousands of the lights are out because thieves strip them of copper wire which they then turn around and sell for cash.

To deal with this problem and fix the lights, the city government is proposing a new TAX on the law abiding citizens who did not steal the copper wire. Can you even believe this?

The city wants to punish the people who didn’t ruin the street lights and make them pay to fix it. Unreal.

Mayor Karen Bass is urging voters to approve the measure, which would raise property-owner fees by an estimated 120% to help fund a $125 million program aimed at replacing more than 200,000 streetlights citywide. City officials say the current system generates roughly $45 million and has not been significantly updated since the 1990s, when Proposition 218 was adopted by California voters to require property-owner approval for new or increased local assessments.

[V_TWIN]

I tend to agree with that.

An often overlooked piece of the scrap metal theft issue is the scrap yards.

No better evidenced than with buying catalytic converters.

You know as well as I do those are stolen probably 99% of the time and scrap yards buy them......all that does is embolden thieves to keep stealing them.

[sten]

need money to fix the street lights?

take it from police salaries.

if they can’t catch a guy dragging gobs of copper wiring, they don’t deserve to be a cop.

if they want to protect their salary... then protect the citizens assets

[Ex-Con777]

There is such a thing as solar powered street lights. They could tax the crap out of the few remaining working Angelenos and save the planet.

EC

[LouAvul]

Democrats are stupid enough. But they go to great lengths to find black democrats who lower the bar even more. Hence, Bass.

Why don't they elect a Thomas Sowell or a Ben Carson? Oh, yeah. Cause anybody with more than 2 or 3 IQ points will have sense enough to vote Republican.

Never mind.

[Salman]

The definition of insanity is in full play here.

Is it? Or maybe they are lying about what they are trying to accomplish?

Or is that also insanity, but in a different way?

[EandH Dad]

Any new tax will just underfund more new stupid programs and spending.

[oil_dude]

How about arresting the thieves and then harvest all of their organs while they are still alive and sell them on the black market to pay for the fix

[eyeamok]

wouldn’t it be cheaper to tape $20 bills to the light poles?

[bdfromlv]

yes, 10 years ago I worked at a trailer storage lot and worked the 10 to 6 shift to keep the Mexicans from stealing the wiring from the trailers, 10.00 worth from each trailer but 3-400.00 to rewire the trailer.