Every day brings fresh revelations, but differentiating between mere noise and meaningful information requires discerning judgment. Today, we aim to help you navigate through this complexity.
Take California, for instance, where things often take a bizarre turn. Last month, State Senator Dick Pan introduced Senate Bill (SB) 1424, which proposes that websites in California must employ fact-checkers to authenticate news stories before they’re published. However, the identities of these supposed “guardians” of the truth conveniently remain undisclosed.
Ironically, state officials, unable to control their impulses, seek to meddle in the lives of citizens unconditionally. For now, however, such eccentric proposals emerging from Sacramento fall into the category of mere noise. It will likely take another presidential election cycle or two for the majority of lawmakers to take this matter seriously.
Meanwhile, at the local level, more pressing challenges demand attention. According to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, Los Angeles County currently harbors a homeless population of exactly 57,794. For some context, Chavez Ravine, home to Dodger Stadium, can accommodate 56,000 people.
This burgeoning cadre of homeless individuals roaming the sunny landscape of L.A. has become a considerable source of embarrassment for local leaders. Makeshift encampments have sprouted along the banks of the expansive Los Angeles River Channel, stretching from Downtown Los Angeles to Downtown Long Beach, creating an urgent situation that can no longer be overlooked.
A Novel Pilot Program
Clearly, a dilemma of this magnitude requires innovative solutions. Temporary handouts and basic necessities won’t suffice. In light of this, the L.A. Community Development Commission has initiated a pilot program designed to incentivize homeowners to build backyard dwelling units for the homeless.
This program offers loans of up to $75,000 for constructing these backyard units. Additionally, there’s a design competition aimed at creating model secondary dwellings. Notably, loan interest halts after five years, and the loan is forgiven after ten years, effectively transforming your backyard into a compassionate sanctuary. What could be more admirable?
While we mean no disrespect toward this innovative housing initiative, it’s important to recognize that every subsidy-backed solution gives rise to its own set of challenges. Our true aim today is to comprehend how we arrived at this degraded state.
What’s behind this situation? What has led to a reality where homeowners need to be rewarded for constructing dwellings for the homeless? The official statistics provided by the government certainly do not tell the full story.
The last figures indicated that the U.S. unemployment rate stands at just 4.1 percent—a 17-year low. In Los Angeles County, the rate is approximately 4.5 percent, close to historical lows. If employment is high, why is homelessness so pervasive?
From Fake Boom to Real Bust
Similarly, the economy has been on a growth trajectory since June 2009, marking the second-longest expansion in U.S. history post-World War II.
The ongoing nine-year bull market in U.S. stocks also sets records, cementing its place as the second-longest bull market in history. So, what’s really happening?
After a staggering 400 percent surge in the S&P 500, shouldn’t we all be thriving? Wasn’t Ben Bernanke’s “wealth effect” theory expected to usher in widespread prosperity?
Following this nine-year economic upturn and an unemployment rate of just 4.1 percent, shouldn’t everyone be in a position to afford at least a modest, rundown apartment? Why have so many people resigned from the pursuit of a productive, self-sustaining life?
Perhaps it’s because this prolonged economic growth has, in reality, been a façade. While government statistics suggest progress, a keen observer can easily detect a vastly different reality—a significant portion of the population has been overlooked.
Eventually, when the stock market falters and the artificial inflation of economic growth is exposed, the so-called “fake boom” will likely collapse into an actual bust. We anticipate that this collapse will coincide with the unraveling of the debt-based fiat money system.
This means that the entire capital structure that has kept alive the illusion of prosperity may descend rapidly, reminiscent of a massive avalanche. In such a scenario, chaos could very well ensue.
Sincerely,
MN Gordon
for Economic Prism
