March 24, 2023
Dear Jeff Bezos,
I heard a rumor that you wanted to get rid of your considerable fortune by the time you die –since we can\’t take it with us. How about solving the homeless crisis here in California and then, nationally, with all that disposable income?
Your ex is already forging a reputation as a great humanitarian — supporting all sorts of charities.
Why don\’t you go one better and become the leader in solving this particular social problem? After all, Amazon has disrupted and destroyed many lives since its inception. Even the Covid pandemic seemed to play perfectly into yet another money-making opportunity for Amazon!
And now, homelessness is again the hot topic in California (I\’m sure it has something to do with World Cup Soccer coming to US in the Summer of 2026 followed by the Summer Olympics in 2028 prompting the VA, Mayor Bass and Guvner Newsom attempting to get people off the streets and into affordable housing as I write).
It seems like our local VA has a pretty good model to follow: mini homes on veteran dedicated land. (What took them so long?) \”They\” just have to have someone operating this model who can do it efficiently: like looking at the problem as if it were a war (which we Americans do better than anyone) and bringing all possible resources to bear.
You would have to hire someone who knows the ins-and-outs of managing a nonprofit. I\’ve heard that nonprofits are the way to go to keep the government from taking more of one\’s money than needs to be taken. But I doubt that any financial loss (other than divorce) could put a dent in your pocketbook Mr. Bezos.
I\’m not sure what Guvner Newsom and Mayor Bass have planned in the way of solving the homeless crisis. I think the Guv likes the idea of those mini-homes while Mayor Bass is already bumping heads with local agencies on how best to manage our homeless population. Whatever model(s) is/are adopted — they should be dedicated to creating and maintaining a viable homeless rescue and rehabilitation program.
We require a recovery/treatment program that really works! Not some Soylent Green solution to the problem: Los Angeles County currently cremates an average of 1500 street dwelling John and Jane Does each year because there is not enough room in the county morgue to house them or keep a roof over their head (pun intended).
I think we have to empower the homeless to rejoin the human race — though \”racing\” to become human sounds ironic — as it might have been this human race that pushed many of the homeless into this position in the first place — that, or having to participate in a war somewhere.
I recommend finding a closed prison or school that can house 52 people at a time. I would create a 52-week (one year) program starting with a single individual. If homeless participants complete the program — which includes free room and board — upon graduation (the 52nd week of the program) the participant would receive a $10,000.00 starter check to re-engage with companies or organizations which will receive federal and State remuneration for adopting a \”formerly\” homeless personage. (Hopefully rents will be more affordable when participants begin graduating.)
The prison or school that houses the program would certainly not be a lock down facility — but there will be rules and regulations to earn your 3 meals-a-day and to stay in the program. If you fall out of the program you\’ll have to go to the end of the line and a new candidate will immediately be added to keep the number at 52.
One could easily argue that 52 success stories a year won\’t make a dent in the Los Angeles County street dwellers (who hover around 40,000 individuals) — but, and excuse the gruesome analogy — (because elephants are one of my favorite creatures [after owls]): How do you eat an elephant? Answer: One bite at a time. But I would hope that a successful model might spawn additional franchises.
I know this proposal is not well fleshed out (because I have only recently begun thinking about it) — but we\’ve got to do something before the homeless camps take over roadways and turn US into the Banana Republic we are beginning to resemble.
Maintaining our current trajectory — we\’d see our streets cleared of the homeless for the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics — but then what? C\’mon, Jeff, er Mr. Bezos — here\’s a shot at sainthood — immortalizing you and your money when you are long gone