I begin this post by asking you to google and read the article on the web site of the Foundation for Economic Education called “Not Yours to Give.” It tells the story of Davy Crockett’s speech in Congress against aid for fire victims in the 1830s. Some have said it’s a made up story and not applicable in today’s world, but it was written in the 1880s, so it definitely was not influenced by today’s events. I read it when I joined the Legislature, and it helped me look at government spending in a new way. Based on the view, I came up with one of my rules of politics, that is, there is always a good excuse for bigger government.
But let’s get back to the point of this post, what should happen with federal aid to California for the fire disaster in Los Angeles? Who should pay for the damage? I will note that Governor Newsom has proposed that California allocate $2.5 billion to pay for the damage done by the fire, but that is not enough. Who should pay for the rest?
President Trump has proposed that the aid from the Federal Government be tied to new land management policies that minimize the damage that fires can cause in California. We have always had fires in California, they occur on a regular basis. When I sat on the planning commission in Moreno Valley, we had a rule that private landowners had to disc their property to cut down on fuel for a fire and developers had to put fire proof roofs on their houses to cut down on the risk of fire damage. Simple policies, but they reduced fire risks and damage.
Something has happened in California over the last 40 years though. Taking a disc to dead vegetation is an very simple way of cutting down the risk of fire, but California State Government stopped this very simple and inexpensive process on state-owned parks and lands. We used to remove dead trees from the forests, to reduce the risk of tree-killing diseases and fires in the Sierra forests. We don’t do any of those things any more.
So why should the American taxpayer pay for these bad policies? Why shouldn’t the government leaders responsible for these bad land management policies not be accountable for their decisions to increase fire risk and damage? We would never let private landowners do what the State does with State-owned land in California. If the state pays for the damage caused by its policies, it is a way of holding the decision makers responsible for their decisions. There will be less money for free stuff for illegal aliens, and safer environments for California citizens.
Bail outs for fire damage is not the same as aid for disasters from hurricanes, tornadoes or earthquakes. Much of the damage in the Los Angeles fires was avoidable. Much of the damage from other disasters can’t be avoided. Had the state or the City of Los Angeles simply gone in to disc the vegetation in fire prone areas to keep the fire away from homes, and it would have reduced the damage to citizens by billions. So asking those decision makers to change their policies to lower future risk is very reasonable. That is all Trump is trying to do.
I know this puts Republicans in the State Legislature in a bad spot. We all have sympathy for the victims of the fires, but without a change in the state and local policies, we will have more victims and more damage. Bail out the bureaucrats in state government behind the policies that caused the damage in this latest round of fires, and there are not incentives to protect California citizens, because the American taxpayer, and not the decision makers in California, end up paying for the damage. The way I would start if I was in the Legislature would be to put in a bill that pays for all of the damage from the California budget. That is how you hold Governor Newsom and the leftist in the Legislature directly responsible for the damage. If other line items in the budget have to be cut to pay for it, so be it. I know it won’t pass, but it points out the real problem in California, and may attaches some political accountability to the failed policies enacted by those office holders.
The money used to pay for this damage is “Not Yours to Give.” Start with that principle, and the right decision becomes easy. Hold the decision makers politically accountable for any money they get, and push to change the policies to avoid future damage and minimize risk to California citizens.