Suppose you spend billions on a problem, and it gets twice as bad? Welcome to homelessness in Los Angeles . . .

Chart above - I blame drugs for the doubling of homelessness in Los Angeles. And mental illness. And probably government ineptitude . . .

Apparently nobody can say for sure how much money is being spent to help the homeless. Or where it’s going. Today's headline (link below) is the possible eradication of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. It spends $2.4 billion a year. On 73,000 homeless people. That’s $30,000 a year per person. For a tent, and an EBT card, and . . . ?

Los Angeles might not be the worst in the nation, though. In New York, some audits suggest the city is spending $50,000 per homeless person each year. Of course, those lucky souls live in hotel rooms provided by the government. In Los Angeles the solution is apparently tents lining the sidewalks in posh shopping districts, in parks, at the beach, and in front of city hall. $30,000 would buy a LOT of tents, meals at KFC and Wendy’s (which accept homeless EBT meal cards). And controlled substances. That’s a lure some people might find irresistible.

The head of the LAHSA is a woman named Va Lecia Adams Kellum. She’s an “ally” of Mayor Karen Bass, and earns $430,000 a year. That’s not as bad as the LA “water chief” who earns $750,000 and is complicit in the $150 billion fire. But still . . .

Wait, it gets worse Ms. Adams-Kellum was caught last month trying to funnel over $2 billion in city contracts to her husband’s company, Upward Bound House. State law prohibits government officials from authorizing spending in which they or their families have a stake. Ms. Adams-Kellum has described the multi-billion-dollar deal with her husband as “an oversight”. Stop laughing. All of this is really true. See the link at bottom.

As of this morning, Ms. Adams-Kellum is still on the job, drawing her $430,000 salary. So is the $750,000 a year water chief, Janisse Quinones. She drained the reservoir in the middle of peak fire season. There have been no charges, no arrests. The Los Angeles District Attorney is George Gascon, another known associate of Mayor Karen Bass. He earns $400,000 a year . . .

Why did homelessness double in Los Angeles? It would be ludicrous to claim this was the goal all along. Like most malfeasance, helping the homeless probably started with good intentions. But when you give money away . . . or food, or narcotics, or tents and space to pitch them. . . people are going to show up. It just works that way. Like a backyard barbecue. If you grilled it, they will come.

I have zero confidence that if LA Mayor Karen Bass takes control of that $2 billion in misspent homeless money, and appoints another crony handle things, that this will get better. At the very least, as a lifelong “community activist” Mayor Bass is out of her depth. As her lavishly paid direct reports apparently are. Or possibly this is a massive case of cronyism and corruption. If Mayor Bass wanted to funnel money to her friends, she should have set up something where they get paid for NFT artwork. That’s less obvious, and it wouldn't burn down the city, or attract drug addled vagrants.

I’m just sayin’ . . .

Los Angeles moves to take control of homelessness agency, citing audits that found reckless spending

L.A. City Audit Uncovers $2.4 Billion in Untracked Homelessness Spending - LAmag

LAHSA CEO Signed $2.1 Million in Contracts with Her Husband’s Employer. Agency Calls it an ‘Oversight.’ | California County News