As part of the David Horowitz Freedom Center’s ‘Corrupt California’ series, I wrote about the corruption of the homeless crisis.

Homeless housing was being approved at a cost of $479,000 an apartment and total development cost for Measure HHH hit $869 million.

By 2020, the average cost of apartments for the homeless was at $531,000 and by 2022, a city audit found that one project was running to $837,000 for each unit. An audit blamed “a lot of consultants”. After 4 years of this, only 228 apartments for the homeless had been built.

Los Angeles then launched a pilot program to build 8×8 aluminum sheds for the homeless for only $130,000 each and then tent encampments for the homeless for only $2,600 per tent each month. The homeless services complex had managed to take something the homeless were already doing for themselves and charge as much for it as a decent apartment rental.

The solution to this was Mayor Karen Bass declaring a permanent homeless ‘state of emergency’ and suspending competitive bidding.

Because clearly competitive bidding was the problem here.

Upon taking office in December 2022, Mayor Karen Bass declared a local emergency to address the dual housing and homelessness crisis. The City Council votes to extend or terminate the declaration every 90 days.

While a declaration of local emergency is in place, the mayor has the ability to suspend what is known as competitive bidding as well as expedite the procurement of contracts for construction, service providers and other work related to the emergency.

Where did all the homeless spending go under Mayor Bass? Funny you should ask.

An audit of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), which gets money from the city, county and the federal government, found that it couldn’t account for $2.5 billion in spending. It also illegally refused to release information about $800,000 in payouts over abuses at the agency.

Time for another renewal of the permanent homeless emergency which is really a permanent corruption emergency.