LOS ANGELES FIRE BUDGET CUT, HUNDREDS OF HYDRANTS STOLEN FOR SCRAP BEFORE FIRES

Friday January 10, 2025
Kenneth Schrupp | The Center Square

Hundreds of fire hydrants were stolen from the ground for scrap metal in advance of the blazes raging across Los Angeles, highlighting the local government’s challenges in maintaining basic order and infrastructure.

“These fire hydrant thefts are yet another sign of how crime is out of control in Los Angeles County,” said Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman to The Center Square before his November election. “Thieves know they’ll face little or no consequences if they are caught, so they’re willing to risk the public’s safety for a small profit."

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who has been away on a taxpayer-funded trip to Africa as a member of a Biden administration delegation, recently cut the fire department’s budget by $17.6 million.

Upon her arrival back in the United States, Sky News asked Bass whether she regrets cutting the fire department’s budget, and if she feels she owes citizens an apology for being absent as the city burned.

Bass ignored the questions, her eyes glued to the ground as she proceeded through the airport.

Days before Bass left for Ghana, the National Weather Service’s Los Angeles Bureau warned of “extreme fire weather conditions.”

The day before fires broke out, Bass shared a NWS warning, suggesting she may have been aware of the fire before her departure.

“There is an expected destructive and potentially life-threatening windstorm starting Tuesday morning through Wednesday afternoon,” said Bass. “Stay safe LA!”

LAKETRAN WILL BE REINSTITUTING THE 1/4% SALES TAX?

Friday, January 10, 2025

Mr. Capelle,

Attached is a public records request for Laketran.

Citizens are very concerned about the public statement made by your Board member, Donna McNamee at a recent Commissioner meeting. She indicated that Laketran will be reinstituting the 1/4% sales tax. We would like to confirm that statement.

We do not believe that this will sit well with residents of Lake County when they are being taxed out of their homes with the ever-increasing property taxes, and they cannot keep up with the escalating food and energy prices.

We congratulate you on the grand opening, but be advised the timing could not be worse. The Board members seem tone deaf to what is happening in Lake County. Property tax bills are going out this month, probably before your grand opening. Making a big splash now seems inappropriate and ill-advised to us.

As always, thank you for your transparency. If you ever want to do a podcast again to reach out to the citizens, we would be happy to do so.

Brian Massie
Lobbyists for Citizens

NATIONAL DEBT TO INCREASE $196 BILLION AFTER SOCIAL SECURITY FAIRNESS ACT SIGNED

Tuesday, January 7, 2025
Thérèse Boudreaux | The Center Square

President Joe Biden signed the bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act, which increases payouts to retired public sector workers and raises the national debt by at least $196 billion.

The act rescinds the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset, which adjusted the retirement benefits for public sector workers and their families, including police officers, firefighters, public health workers and public school teachers.

The WEP reduced Social Security benefits for people who worked in both government and private-sector jobs before retiring, thereafter receiving both a pension and partial Social Security benefits.

The GPO made similar adjustments for spouses and survivors who also worked in government jobs not subject to Social Security paycheck reductions.

"Americans who have worked hard all their life to make an honest living should be able to retire with economic security and dignity," Biden said during the signing ceremony Sunday. “I’m proud to have played a small part in this fight.”

Biden added that more than 2.8 million retirees who currently receive limited Social Security benefits will see an average increase of $360 on their monthly payments. More than 2.5 million of those recipients will also receive a lump sum payment of thousands of dollars to cover undistributed benefits from 2024.

While the Congressional Budget Office estimates the act will cost $196 billion, fiscal watchdogs say it will cost closer to $233 billion when debt interest is taken into account.

A report by the National Taxpayers Union Foundation, a fiscal advocacy organization, said the change will also speed up Social Security’s insolvency, which is projected to occur in 2035, by six months.

“The Social Security Fairness Act would impose a heavy burden on taxpayers by adding $233 billion to the national debt, hastening Social Security insolvency, and reducing scheduled benefits for individuals who have been paying into Social Security for their entire careers,” said NTUF Vice President of Research Demian Brady. “Rather than undermining the broader Social Security system, reforms should focus on addressing its long-term fiscal challenges.”

The national debt grew by $2.5 trillion in fiscal year 2024 alone, reaching $36.3 trillion, The Center Square reported.