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LA wildfires force thousands to evacuate, NASA JPL closed

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Re: LA wildfires force thousands to evacuate, NASA JPL closed

#531

Post by xyzzyz »

Terr_ wrote: post #399
azemetre wrote: post #324

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And go where exactly? To towns that don't even have the tax base to support themselves and lack jobs? It's not like suburbs aren't sitting on financial bombs either.

> It's not like suburbs aren't sitting on financial bombs either. Reminds me of a video (part of series), titled "Why American Cities Are Broke - The Growth Ponzi Scheme". Previous HN submission and discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32495647 TLDR: Suburban and certain commercial development is money-loser because tax-revenue is way under the long-term costs of the infrastructure to support it, and alre…

This is just false, and a quick look at any municipal budget is enough to confirm it. Infrastructure costs are small fraction of spend of any municipality. It’s typically under 10%. Making infra spend twice aa efficient will only increase ability to spend by 5%, which is equivalent to two years of revenue growth. The growth Ponzi scheme people say that it’s all deferred maintenance and in long term it will collapse, but it simply has not happened anywhere, even in places where suburban development pattern has existed for three quarters of a century.

Re: LA wildfires force thousands to evacuate, NASA JPL closed

#532

Post by rayiner »

friend_Fernando wrote: post #520
rayiner wrote: post #493

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would you want more decisions to be moved up to the state level, where officials will be elected by a low-information statewide electorate, instead of a local level, where there’s at least hope of an informed electorate that’ll hold the government accountable? That’s certainly been my experience living in a well-run county in Maryland. This guy is my county executive: https://www.aacounty.org/pittmanandfriends .…

It's not so much an informed electorate as a rent-seeking one.[1] The regulatory capture [2] of obscure local boards is much easier than that of state agencies. Voters who are part of a special interest group are much more aware of what and who they're voting for. The prime example are landlords and homeowners. They have managed to strangle the supply of housing to inflate prices, creating the crisis we're in now. [1…

The home ownership rate in my county is 75%, so “landlords and homeowners” is the vast majority of the population, not a “special interest group.”

And your point doesn’t contradict mine. The homeowners in my county are highly informed and conscientious voters, and their decisions are good for most of the people who already live in the county.

I agree in certain circumstances, including land use, you want to make decisions at the state level. But for most government services, like education, policing, local roads, etc., I want Kim who runs our HOA to be voting on who makes those decisions and hassling those officials to keep them accountable.

Re: LA wildfires force thousands to evacuate, NASA JPL closed

#533

Post by ExoticPearTree »

Yeul wrote: post #515
ExoticPearTree wrote: post #495

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From behind a keyboard and who knows how far away from Los Angeles you are, you may look at it with other eyes than the people who lost their homes in the fires. And yes, in the end the mayor is responsible for the wellbeing of the city. And people see the mayor is nowhere to be found when their homes burned down. Who do you want them to be mad at?

Texas governor was in Acapulco and nobody blamed him. Anyway on topic an aunt of mine is a mayor of a small city (55k). Her opinion is that firefighters fight fires and having a politician walk around a disaster area with a hundred journalists isn't helping.

> Texas governor was in Acapulco and nobody blamed him.

Wasn't that Ted Cruz, the senator? During the blizzard?

Re: LA wildfires force thousands to evacuate, NASA JPL closed

#534

Post by trogdor »

bushbaba wrote: post #437
throwup238 wrote: post #353

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Are you lucky enough to be in a place where insurers in California are still operating? California has had a state fire insurer (FAIR) of last resort for over fifty years and fire insurance is practically mandatory for mortgages so there aren’t many places that are excluded. It’s entirely funded by premiums and has never been bailed out by state or federal funds. It’s not like the National Insurance Flood Program t…

Mortgage firms demand Home insurance policies which it covers some fires, but not all fires. E.g. if there’s an earthquake and it causes a natural gas fire, you’re not covered by home insurance. Same goes for if there’s a flood and it causes a fire, not covered. I suspect long term fire insurance due to wildfire will not be covered by home insurance policies. As it’s not a “random” event, and instead a risk of certai…

> I suspect long term fire insurance due to wildfire will not be covered by home insurance policies. As it’s not a “random” event, and instead a risk of certain areas.

Insurance companies cover known risks all the time. The greater the risk, the higher the premiums.

As long as insurance companies are permitted to accurately and fully price the risk into premiums, anything is insurable — at least in concept.

Re: LA wildfires force thousands to evacuate, NASA JPL closed

#535

Post by s1artibartfast »

pkulak wrote: post #406
s1artibartfast wrote: post #340

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yeah, I expect there are some foundational differences in world view at play. IMO, its not slavery because it is 100% optional. It is a restricted privilege that prisoners actively seek and compete for. It is sought after because it is an improvement over the alternative. I'm honestly unsure how this can be framed as a negative.

You can’t give someone only two options, one less bad, then claim there was a free choice made.

Sure you can. That is every choice in life.

Re: LA wildfires force thousands to evacuate, NASA JPL closed

#536

Post by jeffbee »

segasaturn wrote: post #51

Los Angeles Fire Department funding was cut by over $23M only a few months ago. The fires are currently being fought by a skeleton crew of remaining fire fighters and volunteers. Can't say if that funding would have prevented it, but cutting it definitely has not helped. Source: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/08/los-angeles-fires-m... Edit: Changing a word, "gutted" -> "cut"

Your source debunked itself a few hours later.

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/08/wildfire-threatens-...

This whole subthread should be printed out, preserved, exhibited in museums about the spread of misinformation among gullible Silicon Valley commenters, but also deleted from this site. It's an embarrassment.

Re: LA wildfires force thousands to evacuate, NASA JPL closed

#537

Post by baggy_trough »

drawkward wrote: post #484
baggy_trough wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"fair share" is always defined as more than they pay now, I've noticed.

They certainly hoard more than their "fair share" of wealth.

Nothing certain about that.

Re: LA wildfires force thousands to evacuate, NASA JPL closed

#538

Post by inferiorhuman »

tomohawk wrote: post #507
linotype wrote: post #303

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where the hell is Karen Bass? Our government?

[flagged]

  She cut the fire department budget by $20 million. Equipment, supplies,
  and salaries were cut.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/08/wildfire-threatens-...

  That assertion is wrong. The city was in the process of negotiating a new
  contract with the fire department at the time the budget was being crafted,
  so additional funding for the department was set aside in a separate fund
  until that deal was finalized in November. In fact, the city’s fire budget
  increased more than $50 million year-over-year compared to the last budget
  cycle, according to Blumenfield’s office, although overall concerns about
  the department’s staffing level have persisted for a number of years.
So… no?

  DEI obsessed fire chief…DEI office and bureaucracy.
Ah, there it is.

Re: LA wildfires force thousands to evacuate, NASA JPL closed

#539

Post by segasaturn »

taylodl wrote: post #528
segasaturn wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great question, lets take a look at the 2024-2025 budget sheet for LA City: https://cao.lacity.gov/budget/summary/2024-25%20Budget%20Sum... (This PDF is great, props to whoever made it for making it so easy and accessible for normal people to read.) If you look at the pie chart on Page 11, you will see that by far the largest slice of the pie is the police budget. It's 45% of LA County's entire budget, totalling almo…

Wait a second - you're suggesting to cut LAPD funding because "crime is still rampant in Los Angeles"? Wouldn't that be the same as advocating for cuts in the LAFD funding because they weren't able to do much about the wildfires anyway? That doesn't seem to be the best way to go about things, at least not to me.

How much of the city budget does the LAPD need for crime to finally go down then? 60%? 80%? Maybe all of it, replace the mayor with the police commissioner and run the city like a quasi-military dictatorship?

Studies have found "no consistent correlations between increased police spending and municipal crime rates". Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/27/world/canada/canada-lette...

Unlike policing, where clear alternatives to it like mental healthcare, drug rehabilitation and social welfare programs exist, there isn't really an alternative to the firefighting service for stopping fires.

Re: LA wildfires force thousands to evacuate, NASA JPL closed

#540

Post by gadflyinyoureye »

I hear how Californian laws make building difficult. I also hear that there is housing shortage. Will the complex and possibly convoluted build process limit the restoration of burnt communities?

For example, my understanding is that all new home construction requires solar. I assume that is about $60,000. Then the permitting process is something like $50-100,000. That is a sizable chunk of the insurance money just to meet new code.

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