Example Image
Civitas Outlook
Topic
Politics
Published on
Dec 14, 2023
Contributors
Joel Kotkin

The LA Fires Are the Horrifying Consequence of Democratic Misrule

Contributors
Joel Kotkin
Joel Kotkin
Senior Research Fellow
Joel Kotkin
Summary
Blue states’ embrace of progressive fads over good governance was bound to end in disaster.
Summary
Blue states’ embrace of progressive fads over good governance was bound to end in disaster.

Los Angeles authorities’ poor preparation for and lamentable response to the wildfires now devastating the city capture a broader problem – namely, the failure of governance across America’s Democrat-controlled regions. This pattern of incompetence has accelerated the shift of American economic and political power to regions outside the long dominant north-east and West Coast.

The reason for this shift lies in the clear failure of Democrats, writ large in the inferno now consuming large swathes of LA. In states like California, Democratic politicians no longer prioritise such things as public safety and key infrastructure, including roads, ports and, most importantly at the moment, water systems. Indeed, today’s ‘progressives’ generally shy away from things like building dams or maintaining water pressure in the name of protecting the environment. They are far more focussed on climate change and ‘social justice’.

Of course, California progressives will justify this by blaming the fires on climate change, even though a leading fire expert at the US Geological Survey suggests this claim is unsupported. Fires have been a regular feature of life in southern California for at least 20million years. Moreover, given the recent extremely dry weather conditions, LA should have been prepared for a conflagration. It was not. A councilperson representing the Palisades has noted the ‘chronic underinvestment in our critical infrastructure’.

Continue reading the entire article at Spiked

00
1x
10:13
More articles

Trump’s Tariff Gambit: How to Win a Trade War with Mexico and Canada

Politics
Feb 14, 2025

Trump's Constitutional Triad: Speech, Conscience, and Family

Constitutionalism
Feb 14, 2025
View all

Join the newsletter

Receive new publications, news, and updates from the Civitas Institute.

Sign up
More on

Politics

Long Distance Migration as a Two-Step Sorting Process: The Resettlement of Californians in Texas

Here we press the question of whether the well-documented stream of migrants relocating from California to Texas has been sufficient to alter the political complexion of the destination state.

James Gimpel, Daron Shaw
Politics
Feb 6, 2025
Who's That Knocking? A Study of the Strategic Choices Facing Large-Scale Grassroots Canvassing Efforts

Although there is a consensus that personalized forms of campaign outreach are more likely to be effective at either mobilizing or even persuading voters, there remains uncertainty about how campaigns should implement get-out-the-vote (GOTV) programs, especially at a truly expansive scale.

Grant Ferguson, James Gimpel, Mark Owens, Daron Shaw
Politics
Dec 13, 2024
National Poll from Civitas Institute: Trump Victory Driven by Voters Who Reject Status Quo

The poll asked 1,200 Americans an array of questions about how things are going in America.

Daron Shaw
Politics
Dec 11, 2024
Understanding the Effect of Abortion Attitudes on Elections After Dobbs: Evidence from Cross-Sectional and Panel Surveys in Texas

In this article, we analyze surveys that tracked voter attitudes on abortion policy before and after the Dobbs decision.

Grant Ferguson, James Gimpel, Mark Owens, and Daron R. Shaw
Politics
Nov 26, 2024
No items found.
Trump’s Tariff Gambit: How to Win a Trade War with Mexico and Canada

Trump's tariffs are part of a calculated strategy aimed at achieving specific policy goals.

Charity-Joy Acchiardo, Dirk Mateer
Politics
Feb 14, 2025
‘America First’ Can’t Be ‘America Alone'

Trump's 'new golden age' will require the U.S. to build bridges, even as they seek to raise tolls.

Joel Kotkin
Politics
Feb 4, 2025
A Big TikTok Consideration Trump Needs to Prioritize on Day One

President Trump faces a host of legal issues related to the 2024 Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act

John Yoo
Politics
Jan 20, 2025
Why Europe and America Need Each Other

European elites have let their snobbery towards Trump blind them to their own interests.

Joel Kotkin
Politics
Jan 3, 2025

John Yoo: Musk’s Audits Are Part of Alexander Hamilton’s ‘Energetic Executive’

Politics
Feb 10, 2025
1:05

Lord Andrew Roberts on Winston Churchill and the US-UK Special Relationship, Then and Now

Politics
Sep 26, 2024
1:05

Justin Dyer on Civic Education: Live at AEI's Future of the American University Conference

Politics
May 14, 2024
1:05

Richard Epstein Reacts to Pam Bondi’s Confirmation Hearing

Politics
Jan 1, 2024
1:05

John Yoo: Jack Smith Shows No Regret or Second Guessing

Politics
Jan 1, 2024
1:05
No items found.
No items found.
Symposium: What Does the Middle East Mean to US?

Elliott Abrams, Jonathan Schanzer, and John Yoo evaluate the changing contours of the Middle East and American strategy.

Richard M. Reinsch II
Politics
Feb 13, 2025
The Competing Tensions in America's Middle East Policy

The success of President Trump's Middle East policy will depend on whether he can reconcile his competing impulses with the facts on the ground.

John Yoo
Politics
Feb 13, 2025
Disruptions and Challenges in the Middle East

Donald Trump’s return to the White House will change the Middle East.

Jonathan Schanzer
Politics
Feb 13, 2025
The Changing Calculus of Power in the Middle East

If America presses forward, the ground Iran and its proxies have lost can be gone forever and can be the basis for deeper, longer-term changes in the region.

Elliott Abrams
Politics
Feb 13, 2025
No items found.