May 13, 2025 • 24 mins
(May 13,2025)
DHS investigates L.A. County for giving federal benefits to immigrants. Newson, again, urges cities to ban homeless camps. Faced with a $30 minimum wage, hotel investors look outside L.A.
DHS investigates L.A. County for giving federal benefits to immigrants. Newson, again, urges cities to ban homeless camps. Faced with a $30 minimum wage, hotel investors look outside L.A.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listen sings KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
The bill handles show on demand on the iheartradioff I
AM six forty handle Here in the morning, Crew Amy
is back. It's a taco Tuesday, May thirteenth. The President
is in Saudi Arabia today and he's going to be
visiting other MIDYSN countries. Doesn't look like Israel at least
(00:24):
it hasn't been announced yet. And it's all about investment,
putting in Saudi Katari Amaradi money into the United States
as an investment. So he's going over there on a
business trip because he says he is the business president,
and he is. There's no question about that. So let's
(00:47):
move in a double In another direction, the Department of
Homeland Security has lost and has launched an investigation into
California's Cash Assistant program for immigrants and what this does.
Provide monthly cash benefits to a number of aged, blind,
disabled non citizen that are ineligible for Social Security benefits
(01:11):
because of their immigrant status or non immigration status. And
normally for those of us that are citizens or here legally,
we're entitled the Social Security benefits. If you happen to
be blind, if you happen to be old, if you
happen to be disabled, put those three of you together,
all three together, and you really comply.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
And this is a subpoena.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
That the government DHS requesting all the records from La
County Department of Public Social Services to determine if ineligible
immigrants have received SSI money Social Security money during the
past four years. Homeland Security Secretary Christin Noam said, radical
(01:55):
left politicians.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Boy, that's the language.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
You're here. A lot in California prioritize illegal aliens over
our own citizens.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
And so the point of.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
All this is to make sure that illegal immigrants do
not get federal money under the Social Security Administration. Well,
here's the problem. The benefits that do go to these
folks do not come from the Feds. This is state money.
(02:26):
And do the FEDS have jurisdiction. No, this is state
money that says we're going to pay you regardless of
immigration status. Because the Social Security folks aren't paying you
where you would normally be entitled to this money, aged, blind,
(02:48):
disabled under SSI, you're not going to receive it because
under federal law you can't receive it because of your
immigration status.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
So we're going to supplement.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
The state of California is going to do it, and
therein lies the fight. For some reason, the Feds, the
Trump administration is insisting that somehow this is federal money,
even though it can be proven it's not. And so
the state's saying, you can't do this, so let's go
(03:22):
to second tier. Can the state be forced to stop
these payments? Well, in reality, tons of federal government of
federal money goes to the states, I mean.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
The FED funds.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
So many programs. So here is what the government can do,
and this is exactly what happened with Harvard. Can we
force you to give up your DEEI programs? Well, this
is a private institution, so of course the government doesn't.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Have the to issue an order.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
For example, no judge is going to say to Harvard
you must give up your DEI programs. And this is
a private institution. But here's what the FEDS do is
they say those nine billion dollars in federal money that
we do give to Harvard for various research grants, pel grants,
(04:23):
other forms of financial support, those stop unless you give
up those DEI programs and you stop your anti Semitic policies.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
And add and on, and so this is.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
A fight that can the federal government withhold money to
the states based on the states are doing something that
the states have the power to do and the Feds
are wrong in saying this is federal money.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
Well, there's another one for the courts.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
You know, for the next four years, you're gonna see
more cases going into the courts. I mean, by the hundreds,
lawsuits will be filed, all right. The governor of the
state of California has come out and released a model
ordinance for local governments and it's urging California cities and
(05:20):
counties to ban homeless encampments. This is one of the
issues in which this wild leftist out of controlled governor
in fact is pretty conservative on the homeless side. And
he timed the announcement with a release of three point
three billion dollars in prop one funding for housing and
(05:43):
treatment options for the mentally ill and homeless populations. We
seem to be really in favor of spending ungodly amounts
of money to help the homeless and those who need
mental health. The homeless, the mental health people are a
big part of the homeless population. And not that I
(06:07):
don't know how many people are against helping homeless people,
but the amount of money that has gone in to
these projects over the years is astronomical. Newsom said, is
time to take back the streets. It's time to take
back the sidewalks. It's time to take these encampments and
provide alternatives, which I don't know what you know, how
(06:30):
much more money can you spend? And the state is
giving you, the sister, the county and cities more resources
than ever and it's time to just end the excuses.
Homelessness is a huge political issue in California. The governor
ran on homelessness his last election. Karen Bass ran on
homeless as the number one issue, and we've got a
(06:53):
huge homeless issue. We have a high cost of living,
lack of affordable housing, shortage of health and drug treatment centers,
and this lack of progress big time is the governor
is blaming the cities and the counties for not doing more,
even with the insane amount of money they've received. So
(07:14):
he has released a model ordinance, which he says is
a starting point and asking locals to prohibit persistent camping
in one location and encampments on blocks.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
On streets that block sidewalks, which is already a law.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
But the political atmospheres when the cops rouse these people,
you have the homeless advocates going to court and how
dare you rouse these people? They have the right to
be homeless, which is true. They have the right to
camp out on the city sidewalks, which probably not true, parks,
probably not, but they do it anyway. And the argument
(07:54):
is where are you going to put these people? Because
the number of homeless is well, to give you idea,
La County sixty thousand people homeless. That's a lot of
tents to go up. RII is thrilled with this. They
couldn't be happier. Both they're used and new section. And
(08:16):
so right now, the city of La bars homeless encampments
within five hundred feet of schools and daycare centers. Citations
possible for violations which are never given.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Illegal for the.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Unhoused in the city of Los Angeles to refuse to
clear space for wheelchairs or to put up tents within
five feet of a doorway. Ask any person that owns
a business that has a tent six feet away from
the front door.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
And say, hey, that's a good idea. I really like that.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
So he coupled this announcement with the release of three
point three billion dollars that we voted to pay into
the program in twenty twenty four, and that's to expand
health and housing and treatment options for our mentally ill
and homeless folks. And the funding is not connected to
(09:12):
citi's banning encampments. And the governor pointed out that the
funding this three point three billion is in addition to
the twenty seven billion dollars the state has already given
local governments to address homelessness. That doesn't count county money,
it doesn't count city money, and it doesn't count NGO
(09:33):
money non governmental organizations charities.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
Last year, Newso issued in executive order requiring state.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Agencies to remove homeless encampments on state property, county property,
city property. Is another issue, and I've as I've said
many many times, the issue of homelessness is virtually impossible
to deal with for a few reasons. One, Southern California
(10:05):
is a great place to be homeless versus let's say
upstate New York. I don't know how many people are
out on the street in Buffalo in the middle of winter.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
That gets a little problematic.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
Well, here we are where the land of sunshine, and
so the services are particularly good in southern California, and
you can't afford housing. I mean, there are people that
actually lived in reasonable decent apartments, for example, lost their jobs.
They're on the street, They're living in their cars, and
(10:41):
some of them are on the sidewalk camping.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
And then there's a whole issue is these people.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
Would go into shelters because there are beds available, but the.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Shelters don't let you bring in pets.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
And how many homeless do you see there with pets
on leashes or just hanging loose there on the sidewalk,
tons and tons. And for those of you that have
dogs and have not eaten them yet, it's your really
really tied up with your dogs.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
I wouldn't let go of my dogs. I love my dogs.
So this is a problem that is just.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
You can't deal with this without insane amounts of money.
And we've already spent insane amounts of money. Do we
spend more? Do we front burner more? I mean, the
only way to deal with this is to spend a
lot more money. And government is certainly limited in the
amount of money it takes in la is at a
billion dollar deficit this year. How much more do you
(11:47):
pour into homelessness? And your heart goes out to homeless people?
I mean it does, you know. As much as I
want to be a complete dick, I feel terrible and
I see someone on the street, you know, living there.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
It's no fun. Now I'm glad that I don't.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
And I have gone down the sidewalk where I've been asked,
do you have change?
Speaker 1 (12:13):
Mister?
Speaker 2 (12:13):
Do you have any spare change? And I go into
my pocket, reach into my pocket and jingle the change
and say, yes, I do have change, and then keep
on walking. But that's more entertainment than anything else.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Okay, we're done with that. Okay, let me tell you
what's going on with minimum wage and this.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
I have really mixed feelings about this, and one of
them is the philosophy that if someone is working full time,
and I really believe this, there should not be a problem,
or you still should be able to at least feed
yourself and have some kind of housing. And that is
(12:54):
not the case. Minimum wage just says and cut it.
If you go go to the Hilton Universal City, twenty
four stories up there on the hill next to Universal Studios,
they have four hundred and ninety five rooms. So they
have signed a deal with the LA twenty eight organizing
(13:14):
Committee reserving hundreds of rooms for Olympic fans.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
It's block booking.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
And the city council just approved a plan to let
the Hilton add another second building, eighteen story tower, just
in time.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
For the Olympics.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
This is two hundred and fifty million dollars and now
the folks that own this are saying, you know what,
maybe not. The La City Council is set to vote
on a requirement that hotels with sixty or more rooms
pay their workers at least thirty dollars an hour by
twenty twenty eight, and along with a new eight dollars
(13:52):
and thirty five cents per hour healthcare payment.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
And if the city Council approves without.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
Significant changes, according to the owners, we're going to be
pulling out of the room block for the Olympics. We're
done and we're going to kill the expansion. Just can't
afford it anymore. And last year, the city Council voted
twelve to three to draft the package of minimum wage hikes,
which would apply not to hotels but also private companies.
(14:21):
At LA International, the airport, airlines, concessions, and the minimum
wage would be the most in the country by a
long shot. And backers of the minimum wage say that
LA's tourism workers are struggling just to pay for rent
and for food and should benefit financially for the Olympics
(14:46):
just as much as private corporations do. And private corporations
and the city and the county do.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
Really well with the Olympics.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
Don't know about government, but certainly hotels and restaurants and
tour companies do pretty well during the Olympics. And so
the backers of a higher wages say, hey, listen, you
guys do better.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
Why shouldn't our workers.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
Do better when the Olympics are here? And when these
major hoteliers and corporate owners of major venues say, you
know what, those wages are simply going to scuttle development
(15:36):
of new hotels.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
That's a croc.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
The backers of the minimum wage proposals say, that is
a croc. It's not going to stop them from building
new or expanding hotels. And this is their accusation, and
it's true, and that is every single time the minimum
wage has gone up, you, the owners of hotels and
(16:02):
restaurants have said we're done. Business is going to collapse,
We're not going to be in business anymore. And in reality,
this is prior to COVID, business was going up pretty dramatically.
You know, minimum wage went up. Businesses didn't fail. Business
(16:22):
is still expanded.
Speaker 3 (16:24):
Neil, there are fast food places closing throughout California.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
I agree, but not prior, not prior to COVID.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
No, no, no, I'm talking since the minimum wage went up.
You know what would be better is if they had
profit sharing that is tied in automatically to the growth
of a business.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
Rather here and I don't disagree, but you're a union leader, okay,
And this is where you and I disagree because the
union backers are arguing that's not true. Because the reason
in that places close up is not that minimum wage
is they're just simply not making enough money. They make money,
but just not enough money. They don't hit what businesses require.
(17:14):
And so when you talk about the profit sharing, which
makes a lot of sense, well, profits go up and
they go down.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
That's the way business works.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
If your profit sharing, do you simply say, okay, you
get a piece of the profits when they go up,
But when the company does badly. Let's see one year
it loses money, which happens to business all the time.
Do the wages go down? Of course not because you
have a baseline. It doesn't matter what that's like. Colpers
(17:51):
the retirement system that teachers pay into, for example, and
county employees or state employees pay into.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
It's a one way street.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
When the economy increases and the investments do really well,
CalPERS increases your portfolio, your four to oh one k,
the investments that they have increase in value.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
When it goes down, the state just picks up the difference.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
That's all.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
It's a one way street. It's all up. Nothing is down.
Speaker 3 (18:25):
When I make more money, the union takes more of it.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
Well that's a different issue.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
Now when you make more money, the government picks up
a lot more money from you. But that's a different
issue at a different time. All right.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
I want to come back and continue on.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
With this because there is a real moral issue, an
ethical issue involved in this. One of them being and
right back to what I've always said, we should not
have a society where if you work full time, you
can't feed yourself or you can't have housing.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
That's a tough one and.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
Businesses are saying, hang on a minute, we've got to
make money.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
Both of which are true.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
City Council is going to propose or meeting tomorrow that
during or prior to the Olympics at hotels and restaurants
thirty dollars an hour minimum wage actually thirty dollars and
twenty five cents, and developers and owners of restaurants are going,
we just can't afford it anymore.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
We're done, We're done. And then you have a.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
Hotel developers saying we're not going to develop like we
have asked for and gotten permits for, that's all, and
the unions are saying, that's.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
A croc that you still are going to develop.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
Amy came in and said during the course of the
break that she just got back from France and they
didn't have to worry about minimum wage at the counters
because there was no one at the counter.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
So, Amy, what did you experience there?
Speaker 4 (19:57):
So it was it was actually we did not go
into a McDonald they had them in France. It was
when we were in Canterbury, England, and we were Jones
and for a diet coke with ice, because in a
cup that you just kind of can't get And we
went in and there are no cash registers at the counter.
It's all kiosks. There were a few people putting the
actual orders together. But even the soda machine is fully automated.
(20:21):
They you order it, the cup drops down, goes on
a conveyor belt, drops the ice in fills up without
people at all. So that's I think a concern of
those higher rates. You can get the higher wage, but
that's going to lead to more automation.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
You know.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
And that's a point where the union folks, and in
many cases there are ludd ites and are saying, we
don't want technology. I mean, that's what has happened many times.
What we need is people still working there, and plenty
of people working there. That happened during the course of
automation in auto plants, and it's certainly happened during the
(21:01):
fight between the railroad workers union and the railroads and
the rail road yeah, the owners of the rail roads. Okay,
so now we're talking about the minimum wage going up
thirty bucks an hour, and this is the ongoing fight.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
Is it going to be true? You know?
Speaker 2 (21:24):
For example, in Long Beach, residents voted to raise the
hotel minimum wage last year, revenue per available room went
up sixteen percent, and that's what the unions are arguing,
And in reality, the people that own the hotels are saying,
you know what, it's a lot more in the We
(21:46):
really don't want to even talk about wages because don't
talk about your living expenses and how difficult it is.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
It's the cost of housing, it's inflation.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
It's the cost of living in southern California that's the problem,
not the wayes.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
And the union says, so that's a croc.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
You say you're not going to build, and at the
same time you build. So when are the developers right?
And the union says, okay, we were wrong, when in
fact they don't build. You've got a couple of permits
going up, particularly in Universal, for example, eighteen stories going
up in a building next to the Hilton, the big hotel,
(22:28):
and they've been given the okay, and the developer says,
you know what, we're done.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
We're not going to pay this.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
We're simply not going to build this addition to the hotel,
and the union says that's.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
Bs okay, So they don't build. Now does the union
say it's a real struggle? It is a real struggle.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
And why only hotel workers when and fast food workers?
How about the people that are on the manufacturing line.
How come they don't get those wages?
Speaker 1 (23:00):
But the union doesn't create any jobs. That's not a
job creator.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
No, it's not companies that are building hotels, restaurants and
fast food places.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
But the argument is here is the argument.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
You want to call it a socialist argument, and it
is you couldn't increase your business without us. You are
making money on our backs. And the answer is, well, yeah,
that's the way it works with owners of business and employees. Yeah,
you know, welcome to a capitalist, a capitalistic system. And
(23:37):
then you have other countries around the world where the
unions are so strong. For example, in Germany, you have
a major corporation. Do you know that a union member
has to sit on the board of directors in Germany
for example.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
It's a different world, all.
Speaker 2 (23:55):
Right, kf I am sixty. You've been listening to the
Bill Handle Show. Catch my Show Monday through Friday six
am to nine am, and anytime on demand on the
iHeartRadio app.
You're listen sings KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
The bill handles show on demand on the iheartradioff I
AM six forty handle Here in the morning, Crew Amy
is back. It's a taco Tuesday, May thirteenth. The President
is in Saudi Arabia today and he's going to be
visiting other MIDYSN countries. Doesn't look like Israel at least
(00:24):
it hasn't been announced yet. And it's all about investment,
putting in Saudi Katari Amaradi money into the United States
as an investment. So he's going over there on a
business trip because he says he is the business president,
and he is. There's no question about that. So let's
(00:47):
move in a double In another direction, the Department of
Homeland Security has lost and has launched an investigation into
California's Cash Assistant program for immigrants and what this does.
Provide monthly cash benefits to a number of aged, blind,
disabled non citizen that are ineligible for Social Security benefits
(01:11):
because of their immigrant status or non immigration status. And
normally for those of us that are citizens or here legally,
we're entitled the Social Security benefits. If you happen to
be blind, if you happen to be old, if you
happen to be disabled, put those three of you together,
all three together, and you really comply.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
And this is a subpoena.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
That the government DHS requesting all the records from La
County Department of Public Social Services to determine if ineligible
immigrants have received SSI money Social Security money during the
past four years. Homeland Security Secretary Christin Noam said, radical
(01:55):
left politicians.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Boy, that's the language.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
You're here. A lot in California prioritize illegal aliens over
our own citizens.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
And so the point of.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
All this is to make sure that illegal immigrants do
not get federal money under the Social Security Administration. Well,
here's the problem. The benefits that do go to these
folks do not come from the Feds. This is state money.
(02:26):
And do the FEDS have jurisdiction. No, this is state
money that says we're going to pay you regardless of
immigration status. Because the Social Security folks aren't paying you
where you would normally be entitled to this money, aged, blind,
(02:48):
disabled under SSI, you're not going to receive it because
under federal law you can't receive it because of your
immigration status.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
So we're going to supplement.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
The state of California is going to do it, and
therein lies the fight. For some reason, the Feds, the
Trump administration is insisting that somehow this is federal money,
even though it can be proven it's not. And so
the state's saying, you can't do this, so let's go
(03:22):
to second tier. Can the state be forced to stop
these payments? Well, in reality, tons of federal government of
federal money goes to the states, I mean.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
The FED funds.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
So many programs. So here is what the government can do,
and this is exactly what happened with Harvard. Can we
force you to give up your DEEI programs? Well, this
is a private institution, so of course the government doesn't.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Have the to issue an order.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
For example, no judge is going to say to Harvard
you must give up your DEI programs. And this is
a private institution. But here's what the FEDS do is
they say those nine billion dollars in federal money that
we do give to Harvard for various research grants, pel grants,
(04:23):
other forms of financial support, those stop unless you give
up those DEI programs and you stop your anti Semitic policies.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
And add and on, and so this is.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
A fight that can the federal government withhold money to
the states based on the states are doing something that
the states have the power to do and the Feds
are wrong in saying this is federal money.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
Well, there's another one for the courts.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
You know, for the next four years, you're gonna see
more cases going into the courts. I mean, by the hundreds,
lawsuits will be filed, all right. The governor of the
state of California has come out and released a model
ordinance for local governments and it's urging California cities and
(05:20):
counties to ban homeless encampments. This is one of the
issues in which this wild leftist out of controlled governor
in fact is pretty conservative on the homeless side. And
he timed the announcement with a release of three point
three billion dollars in prop one funding for housing and
(05:43):
treatment options for the mentally ill and homeless populations. We
seem to be really in favor of spending ungodly amounts
of money to help the homeless and those who need
mental health. The homeless, the mental health people are a
big part of the homeless population. And not that I
(06:07):
don't know how many people are against helping homeless people,
but the amount of money that has gone in to
these projects over the years is astronomical. Newsom said, is
time to take back the streets. It's time to take
back the sidewalks. It's time to take these encampments and
provide alternatives, which I don't know what you know, how
(06:30):
much more money can you spend? And the state is
giving you, the sister, the county and cities more resources
than ever and it's time to just end the excuses.
Homelessness is a huge political issue in California. The governor
ran on homelessness his last election. Karen Bass ran on
homeless as the number one issue, and we've got a
(06:53):
huge homeless issue. We have a high cost of living,
lack of affordable housing, shortage of health and drug treatment centers,
and this lack of progress big time is the governor
is blaming the cities and the counties for not doing more,
even with the insane amount of money they've received. So
(07:14):
he has released a model ordinance, which he says is
a starting point and asking locals to prohibit persistent camping
in one location and encampments on blocks.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
On streets that block sidewalks, which is already a law.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
But the political atmospheres when the cops rouse these people,
you have the homeless advocates going to court and how
dare you rouse these people? They have the right to
be homeless, which is true. They have the right to
camp out on the city sidewalks, which probably not true, parks,
probably not, but they do it anyway. And the argument
(07:54):
is where are you going to put these people? Because
the number of homeless is well, to give you idea,
La County sixty thousand people homeless. That's a lot of
tents to go up. RII is thrilled with this. They
couldn't be happier. Both they're used and new section. And
(08:16):
so right now, the city of La bars homeless encampments
within five hundred feet of schools and daycare centers. Citations
possible for violations which are never given.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Illegal for the.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Unhoused in the city of Los Angeles to refuse to
clear space for wheelchairs or to put up tents within
five feet of a doorway. Ask any person that owns
a business that has a tent six feet away from
the front door.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
And say, hey, that's a good idea. I really like that.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
So he coupled this announcement with the release of three
point three billion dollars that we voted to pay into
the program in twenty twenty four, and that's to expand
health and housing and treatment options for our mentally ill
and homeless folks. And the funding is not connected to
(09:12):
citi's banning encampments. And the governor pointed out that the
funding this three point three billion is in addition to
the twenty seven billion dollars the state has already given
local governments to address homelessness. That doesn't count county money,
it doesn't count city money, and it doesn't count NGO
(09:33):
money non governmental organizations charities.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
Last year, Newso issued in executive order requiring state.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Agencies to remove homeless encampments on state property, county property,
city property. Is another issue, and I've as I've said
many many times, the issue of homelessness is virtually impossible
to deal with for a few reasons. One, Southern California
(10:05):
is a great place to be homeless versus let's say
upstate New York. I don't know how many people are
out on the street in Buffalo in the middle of winter.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
That gets a little problematic.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
Well, here we are where the land of sunshine, and
so the services are particularly good in southern California, and
you can't afford housing. I mean, there are people that
actually lived in reasonable decent apartments, for example, lost their jobs.
They're on the street, They're living in their cars, and
(10:41):
some of them are on the sidewalk camping.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
And then there's a whole issue is these people.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
Would go into shelters because there are beds available, but the.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Shelters don't let you bring in pets.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
And how many homeless do you see there with pets
on leashes or just hanging loose there on the sidewalk,
tons and tons. And for those of you that have
dogs and have not eaten them yet, it's your really
really tied up with your dogs.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
I wouldn't let go of my dogs. I love my dogs.
So this is a problem that is just.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
You can't deal with this without insane amounts of money.
And we've already spent insane amounts of money. Do we
spend more? Do we front burner more? I mean, the
only way to deal with this is to spend a
lot more money. And government is certainly limited in the
amount of money it takes in la is at a
billion dollar deficit this year. How much more do you
(11:47):
pour into homelessness? And your heart goes out to homeless people?
I mean it does, you know. As much as I
want to be a complete dick, I feel terrible and
I see someone on the street, you know, living there.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
It's no fun. Now I'm glad that I don't.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
And I have gone down the sidewalk where I've been asked,
do you have change?
Speaker 1 (12:13):
Mister?
Speaker 2 (12:13):
Do you have any spare change? And I go into
my pocket, reach into my pocket and jingle the change
and say, yes, I do have change, and then keep
on walking. But that's more entertainment than anything else.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Okay, we're done with that. Okay, let me tell you
what's going on with minimum wage and this.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
I have really mixed feelings about this, and one of
them is the philosophy that if someone is working full time,
and I really believe this, there should not be a problem,
or you still should be able to at least feed
yourself and have some kind of housing. And that is
(12:54):
not the case. Minimum wage just says and cut it.
If you go go to the Hilton Universal City, twenty
four stories up there on the hill next to Universal Studios,
they have four hundred and ninety five rooms. So they
have signed a deal with the LA twenty eight organizing
(13:14):
Committee reserving hundreds of rooms for Olympic fans.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
It's block booking.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
And the city council just approved a plan to let
the Hilton add another second building, eighteen story tower, just
in time.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
For the Olympics.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
This is two hundred and fifty million dollars and now
the folks that own this are saying, you know what,
maybe not. The La City Council is set to vote
on a requirement that hotels with sixty or more rooms
pay their workers at least thirty dollars an hour by
twenty twenty eight, and along with a new eight dollars
(13:52):
and thirty five cents per hour healthcare payment.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
And if the city Council approves without.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
Significant changes, according to the owners, we're going to be
pulling out of the room block for the Olympics. We're
done and we're going to kill the expansion. Just can't
afford it anymore. And last year, the city Council voted
twelve to three to draft the package of minimum wage hikes,
which would apply not to hotels but also private companies.
(14:21):
At LA International, the airport, airlines, concessions, and the minimum
wage would be the most in the country by a
long shot. And backers of the minimum wage say that
LA's tourism workers are struggling just to pay for rent
and for food and should benefit financially for the Olympics
(14:46):
just as much as private corporations do. And private corporations
and the city and the county do.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
Really well with the Olympics.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
Don't know about government, but certainly hotels and restaurants and
tour companies do pretty well during the Olympics. And so
the backers of a higher wages say, hey, listen, you
guys do better.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
Why shouldn't our workers.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
Do better when the Olympics are here? And when these
major hoteliers and corporate owners of major venues say, you
know what, those wages are simply going to scuttle development
(15:36):
of new hotels.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
That's a croc.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
The backers of the minimum wage proposals say, that is
a croc. It's not going to stop them from building
new or expanding hotels. And this is their accusation, and
it's true, and that is every single time the minimum
wage has gone up, you, the owners of hotels and
(16:02):
restaurants have said we're done. Business is going to collapse,
We're not going to be in business anymore. And in reality,
this is prior to COVID, business was going up pretty dramatically.
You know, minimum wage went up. Businesses didn't fail. Business
(16:22):
is still expanded.
Speaker 3 (16:24):
Neil, there are fast food places closing throughout California.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
I agree, but not prior, not prior to COVID.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
No, no, no, I'm talking since the minimum wage went up.
You know what would be better is if they had
profit sharing that is tied in automatically to the growth
of a business.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
Rather here and I don't disagree, but you're a union leader, okay,
And this is where you and I disagree because the
union backers are arguing that's not true. Because the reason
in that places close up is not that minimum wage
is they're just simply not making enough money. They make money,
but just not enough money. They don't hit what businesses require.
(17:14):
And so when you talk about the profit sharing, which
makes a lot of sense, well, profits go up and
they go down.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
That's the way business works.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
If your profit sharing, do you simply say, okay, you
get a piece of the profits when they go up,
But when the company does badly. Let's see one year
it loses money, which happens to business all the time.
Do the wages go down? Of course not because you
have a baseline. It doesn't matter what that's like. Colpers
(17:51):
the retirement system that teachers pay into, for example, and
county employees or state employees pay into.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
It's a one way street.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
When the economy increases and the investments do really well,
CalPERS increases your portfolio, your four to oh one k,
the investments that they have increase in value.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
When it goes down, the state just picks up the difference.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
That's all.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
It's a one way street. It's all up. Nothing is down.
Speaker 3 (18:25):
When I make more money, the union takes more of it.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
Well that's a different issue.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
Now when you make more money, the government picks up
a lot more money from you. But that's a different
issue at a different time. All right.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
I want to come back and continue on.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
With this because there is a real moral issue, an
ethical issue involved in this. One of them being and
right back to what I've always said, we should not
have a society where if you work full time, you
can't feed yourself or you can't have housing.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
That's a tough one and.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
Businesses are saying, hang on a minute, we've got to
make money.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
Both of which are true.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
City Council is going to propose or meeting tomorrow that
during or prior to the Olympics at hotels and restaurants
thirty dollars an hour minimum wage actually thirty dollars and
twenty five cents, and developers and owners of restaurants are going,
we just can't afford it anymore.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
We're done, We're done. And then you have a.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
Hotel developers saying we're not going to develop like we
have asked for and gotten permits for, that's all, and
the unions are saying, that's.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
A croc that you still are going to develop.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
Amy came in and said during the course of the
break that she just got back from France and they
didn't have to worry about minimum wage at the counters
because there was no one at the counter.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
So, Amy, what did you experience there?
Speaker 4 (19:57):
So it was it was actually we did not go
into a McDonald they had them in France. It was
when we were in Canterbury, England, and we were Jones
and for a diet coke with ice, because in a
cup that you just kind of can't get And we
went in and there are no cash registers at the counter.
It's all kiosks. There were a few people putting the
actual orders together. But even the soda machine is fully automated.
(20:21):
They you order it, the cup drops down, goes on
a conveyor belt, drops the ice in fills up without
people at all. So that's I think a concern of
those higher rates. You can get the higher wage, but
that's going to lead to more automation.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
You know.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
And that's a point where the union folks, and in
many cases there are ludd ites and are saying, we
don't want technology. I mean, that's what has happened many times.
What we need is people still working there, and plenty
of people working there. That happened during the course of
automation in auto plants, and it's certainly happened during the
(21:01):
fight between the railroad workers union and the railroads and
the rail road yeah, the owners of the rail roads. Okay,
so now we're talking about the minimum wage going up
thirty bucks an hour, and this is the ongoing fight.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
Is it going to be true? You know?
Speaker 2 (21:24):
For example, in Long Beach, residents voted to raise the
hotel minimum wage last year, revenue per available room went
up sixteen percent, and that's what the unions are arguing,
And in reality, the people that own the hotels are saying,
you know what, it's a lot more in the We
(21:46):
really don't want to even talk about wages because don't
talk about your living expenses and how difficult it is.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
It's the cost of housing, it's inflation.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
It's the cost of living in southern California that's the problem,
not the wayes.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
And the union says, so that's a croc.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
You say you're not going to build, and at the
same time you build. So when are the developers right?
And the union says, okay, we were wrong, when in
fact they don't build. You've got a couple of permits
going up, particularly in Universal, for example, eighteen stories going
up in a building next to the Hilton, the big hotel,
(22:28):
and they've been given the okay, and the developer says,
you know what, we're done.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
We're not going to pay this.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
We're simply not going to build this addition to the hotel,
and the union says that's.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
Bs okay, So they don't build. Now does the union
say it's a real struggle? It is a real struggle.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
And why only hotel workers when and fast food workers?
How about the people that are on the manufacturing line.
How come they don't get those wages?
Speaker 1 (23:00):
But the union doesn't create any jobs. That's not a
job creator.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
No, it's not companies that are building hotels, restaurants and
fast food places.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
But the argument is here is the argument.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
You want to call it a socialist argument, and it
is you couldn't increase your business without us. You are
making money on our backs. And the answer is, well, yeah,
that's the way it works with owners of business and employees. Yeah,
you know, welcome to a capitalist, a capitalistic system. And
(23:37):
then you have other countries around the world where the
unions are so strong. For example, in Germany, you have
a major corporation. Do you know that a union member
has to sit on the board of directors in Germany
for example.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
It's a different world, all.
Speaker 2 (23:55):
Right, kf I am sixty. You've been listening to the
Bill Handle Show. Catch my Show Monday through Friday six
am to nine am, and anytime on demand on the
iHeartRadio app.
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