{"id":73969,"date":"2019-10-22T19:52:22","date_gmt":"2019-10-22T23:52:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=73969"},"modified":"2019-10-22T19:52:28","modified_gmt":"2019-10-22T23:52:28","slug":"the-daily-gouge-archive-monday-october-21st-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=73969","title":{"rendered":"The Daily Gouge Archive, Monday, October 21st, 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s Monday, October 21st, 2019,…but before we begin, another classic cartoon from the great Stilton Jarlsberg:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In keeping with the season, of course.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now, here’s The Gouge<\/em>!<\/strong><\/p>\n

First up, if you weren’t aware of it, as Leah Barkoukis details at\u00a0Townhall.com<\/em>, America’s neighbor to the south is, for all practical purposes, in a state of anarchy:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Decision to Release El Chapo’s<\/span> Son Is an ‘Absolute Disaster<\/span> For Mexican Government<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>‘<\/span><\/h1>\n

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Meanwhile, while Mexico melts down just across what amounts to an open border, Republicans like Mitt<\/em><\/span><\/a> and Mitch<\/em><\/span> are focused on “momentous” matters in the Middle East.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Keep in mind, both sides of the aisle are wringing their hands raw over the removal of a handful of troops from Syria, while the silence over the security threat posed by events in Mexico is positively deafening<\/em><\/span>!\u00a0 The drug cartels are using\u00a0truly<\/em><\/span> military grade weapons (unlike anything<\/em><\/span> Progressives claim<\/em><\/span>\u00a0the average American possesses) to rule huge swaths of the country, and the Mexican government is powerless to stop them.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here’s the juice: there were over 33,000 murders in Mexico last year.\u00a0 That’s more than twice as many as were committed in the United States, including the victims of drug-related gang violence in America’s cities.\u00a0 Yet Mexico’s population is less than a third of ours.<\/strong><\/p>\n

There’s no question<\/em><\/span>\u00a0some portion of this violence spreads across into the United States.\u00a0 And there’s no question<\/em><\/span>\u00a0extra border security, particularly The Wall, would serve to significantly reduce it, along with the drug trafficking which generates it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

So puh-LEASE<\/em><\/span>, until Congress gives OUR<\/em><\/span> southern border the attention it so desperately deserves<\/em><\/span>, don’t expect us<\/em><\/span> to get overly excited about the U.S. Military not defensing the border between Turkey and Syria.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Next, writing at FOX News<\/em>, Jim Breslo records how…<\/strong><\/p>\n

To help homeless, California turns to dumb idea loved by the left \u2013 And guaranteed to fail<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n

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\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

“…In November 2018, California voters <\/em>defeated<\/em><\/span> a statewide ballot initiative<\/em><\/span> that would have extended rent control statewide<\/em><\/span>. It was soundly rejected<\/em><\/span> by an almost 20-point margin<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> Every<\/em><\/span> county in the state except<\/em><\/span> for San Francisco voted it down<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Even the Democrat\u00a0running\u00a0for governor, Gavin Newsom<\/em><\/span>, indicated his opposition<\/em><\/span> to\u00a0the initiative. But now<\/em><\/span> that he’s in office<\/em><\/span>, the former lieutenant governor and former mayor of San Francisco has changed his position, insisting the state must respond<\/em><\/span> to the homeless problem<\/em><\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Last week we learned of at least one of the actions the governor plans to take. Newsom signed a statewide rent-control law, overturning the will of the people<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> He followed the progressive playbook by using the homeless crisis \u201cto do things that you could not do before.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Progressives assert that the homeless crisis<\/em><\/span>\u00a0is due in large part<\/em><\/span> to a housing shortage<\/em><\/span>,\u00a0and that the best way to address the\u00a0shortage is with rent control<\/em><\/span>. The new law also\u00a0protects tenants from eviction without good reason\u00a0and provides compensation to tenants if they are evicted due to renovation.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe housing crisis is reaching every corner of America,\u00a0where you\u2019re seeing high home prices, high rents, evictions and homelessness that we\u2019re all struggling to grapple with,\u201d said Assemblyman\u00a0David Chiu, a San Francisco Democrat who authored the\u00a0bill.<\/span> \u201cProtecting tenants is a critical and obvious<\/em><\/span> component of any strategy to address this.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

It may be \u201cobvious\u201d to some, but any scratching of the surface of California’s rent law shows\u00a0it to be utterly useless<\/span><\/em>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

First, the law\u00a0ignores the fact<\/em><\/span> that\u00a0the state’s epicenters of\u00a0homelessness<\/em><\/span>, Los Angeles and San Francisco, already have rent control on the books<\/em><\/span> that’s even more stringent than what just passed<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In San Francisco, studies show\u00a0the caps have sharply decreased the supply of rental housing<\/em><\/span>, driving up rents\u00a0citywide by 5 percent<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> That’s\u00a0because\u00a0landlords demolished properties and built\u00a0pricey new ones to avoid the caps<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

If rent control helps reduce<\/span>\u00a0homelessness, why is the problem so prevalent<\/span> in the very cities that already have it<\/span><\/em>? And how is extending<\/em><\/span> it to the rest of the state supposed to address the issue<\/em><\/span>?<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

…What politicians must acknowledge<\/em><\/span> is that the real cause<\/span><\/em> of most homelessness is the prevalence\u00a0of mental illness and substance abuse in the homeless community<\/em><\/span>. According to a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development report, 45 percent of homeless people suffer from mental illness<\/em><\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0A\u00a0University of Pennsylvania report, found that about half\u00a0suffer from alcohol or drug dependence<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In addition, a\u00a0U.S. Conference of Mayors report in\u00a02014 revealed\u00a0that\u00a0only 18 percent of the homeless are employed<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> That means that for most<\/em><\/span>,\u00a0the cost<\/em><\/span> of housing doesn’t really matter<\/em><\/span>.\u00a0They simply\u00a0can’t\u00a0afford it<\/em><\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Rent control has been a proven failure in addressing housing problems.<\/span> It prompts landlords to convert their\u00a0properties into owner-occupied homes, and deters investment in the housing market, aggravating the shortages that caused them in the first place.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Further, when\u00a0landlords\u00a0are\u00a0limited in their\u00a0ability to raise rents\u00a0and cannot freely evict\u00a0tenants<\/em><\/span>, they\u00a0will be extremely careful<\/em><\/span> in who they\u00a0rent\u00a0to<\/em><\/span>. That\u00a0has a significant adverse effect on the ability of low-income people to find rental housing<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> Europe<\/em><\/span>\u00a0has had such limitations for years<\/em><\/span>, and it’s notoriously difficult to qualify for a rental property there<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Europe similarly requires \u201cgood cause\u201d before terminating an employee;\u00a0the thinking being that this will result in fewer layoffs and thus lower unemployment<\/span><\/em>. In fact<\/em><\/span>, it has the opposite effect<\/em><\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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The harder<\/em><\/span> it is to fire<\/em><\/span> someone, the more cautious employers are\u00a0in hiring<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The same concept applies to housing<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span>…”<\/p>\n