The Degradation of our Public Spaces

Democrats are unwilling to make hard choices governing

My wife and I went to Norms (great diner in L.A.). The one we went to was in a blue collar area (all the good diners are). And we had a great breakfast.

At a nearby table a homeless person came in and order steak & eggs. We thought that was a good thing - spending his money on a decent breakfast. The waitress, who also handled our table treated him the same as any other customer.

And when he was done, he didn’t pay, and on the way out grabbed the cash tip left on another table. So stealing his meal and stealing the tip from a waitress who probably doesn’t make a whole lot.

We started to go after him when my wife saw him steal the tip. The waitress confronted him and made him give her the tip money. She then stood aside and let him leave.

So what just happened here:

1. According to the crime stats - this did not happen. No one reported it.

2. The restaurant owner clearly accepts that anyone who leaves without paying can do so.

3. All of the wait staff are on their own protecting their tips. And they will sometimes lose them.

4. Everyone there, customers & employees, feels yucky having watched this, and knowing there are no consequences for the thief.

This repeats itself a million times a million different ways in a million different places. The end result is significant - a coarsening of the public spaces. We lose faith in our society and our government.

And the people we Democrats elect to run our cities, the mayors, city councils, their appointees, etc., are directly to blame for this. They have become unwilling to hold anyone to account for anything. Every criminal has their advocates and the Democratic Party is unwilling to push back on any interest group.

And the end result? The Democratic Party is not trusted to administer or cities in the interests of the vast majority of people who want the rules to be enforced and the public spaces to be welcoming to those who are polite, considerate, and follow the rules.

And that flows upward. Does the President have anything to do with enforcing city ordnances. Not really. But this does impact voters selection for President. It has an even stronger impact on their vote for Governor (and Governors can have some impact on this). And it has a giant impact on the votes for Mayor and City Council.

Democratic candidates can point to the crime stats and say “look, crime is down.” Voters aren’t looking at the stats. They look at the locked up shelves in stores. They look at the people blatantly walking out without paying. They look at the homeless taking over public parks and other spaces. They look at all that and say - crime is a giant problem and you Democrats don’t even acknowledge it.

Be thankful that the Republican party mostly nominates crazy people. Because when they nominate thoughtful, sane, conservative candidates, they will more often than not win - on a policy of actually addressing crime. And more often than not, the Democratic opponent won’t even understand what the Republican, and the voters, mean when they discuss crime.

Democratic mayors used to be able to make hard decisions. They used to take pride in enforcing the law. What happened?