What’s Happening to Our Cities?
Have you been following the decline of many of the United States’ largest cities? Every day I see stories about crime, homelessness and clueless politicians.
What’s going on here?
Texas Democrat Rep. Henry Cuellar is carjacked at gunpoint near his home in Washington DC
Portland public safety commissioner warns people NOT to call 911 unless they're at risk of death
In New York a community activist is stabbed to death while waiting at bus stop with his girlfriend in unprovoked attack by unhinged thug
I could fill up the Internet with more links.
San Francisco seems to be the poster child for many of the ills befalling cities and their citizens. Some believe that SF is in a “doom loop” where increased crime and declining numbers of workers and visitors cause stores to close and tax revenues to decline, thereby causing fewer people to come to the city.
And crime is a problem too. Tens of thousands of people are fleeing San Francisco, California, due in large part to the city's problems of increasing crime and homelessness, U.S. Census data and local polling shows. San Francisco County lost 6.7% of its population, or 58,764 residents between April 1, 2020, and July 1, 2021, more than half of the greater Bay Area's decline of 116,385, according to a March report from the U.S. Census.
Even Arnold Schwarzenegger has some strong language decrying the lawlessness in cities.
But San Francisco isn’t the only city that may be dying. Cities like St. Louis, Baltimore, Milwaukee, Chicago, Memphis and others have seen population declines. Reasons vary, but crime is a consistent factor.
What do we do? Well, it seems that a number of cities have cut policing budgets due to the “defund the police” movement that swept the country over the last several years. Some prosecutors do not charge criminals who then get released and if they do get charged no cash bail puts them right back on the street.
If cities are going to turn themselves around an honest evaluation and reappraisal of their taxation, law enforcement, criminal justice and social programs is in order. There is no one area that can trigger a turnaround. But, in many cases, even progress in one area would make a difference.
Do we have leaders who have the courage to take these actions? Given current conditions, do they even care?
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A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the Chevron Deference where unelected bureaucrats at three-letter federal agencies (like the CDC, EPA, etc.) “bend” the intent of the original agency mandate as enacted by Congress. These are expansions of the power and scope of the original intent of the laws that created the agency. Because these agencies are a part of the Executive branch of government, the only way for the legislative branch of the government to rescind a rule change is to pass a law.
I cited a few examples, but a new one just occurred last week.
The press release “Justice Department and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Issue Joint Statement Cautioning that Financial Institutions May Not Use Immigration Status to Illegally Discriminate Against Credit Applicants” was issued October 12, 2023.
Basically, the agencies are expanding the scope of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA). The ECOA protects loan applicants from being discriminated based upon their national origin, race and other characteristics. Now the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is stating that banks must ignore whether an applicant is an illegal alien. The legal status of an applicant was never contemplated in the original ECOA rules, but now these agencies have expanded the scope of the ECOA to include this consideration.
Regardless of your position on current border policies and the numbers of illegal immigrants entering our country, do you honestly believe that this rule change would have been made if it needed to be debated and passed by Congress?
This is a perfect example of the Chevron Deference in action.
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“Half the world is composed of people who have something to say and can’t, and the other half who have nothing to say and keep on saying it.”
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With All the Misery In The World Today, What We Need Are Bunnies Jumping!
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