How Democracies Fail

In Southern California, it's becoming clear that democracy is failing, at least in cities where the poor live. Four cities that prove this is the City of Maywood, the City of Bell, the City of Industry, and the City of Baldwin Park. The result is that public officials are in the business of laundering taxpayer money back to themselves. The end result, however, is that people stay poor, and there is no future for our residents.

What all these cities have in common, are they're all comprised of Hispanic, poor people. On average, the residents of these cities make $15,000 a year. These cities also have an unreported percentage, of undocumented Hispanics, generally from Mexico.

Generally, what happens is that poor residents are busier thinking about how to pay the rent and pay the bills, then in understanding what local governments are doing. The undocumented, generally, are afraid of retaliation. The two factors create a system, where the public officials of these cities learn how to rig the votes, to stay in power, so that they can take money for themselves, in eternity.

Take for instance the City of Industry. The LA Times just popped them for awarding millions of dollars in contracts unaccounted for. What this implies, is that the money went back to the pockets of the public officials.

What the Times also discovered is that the 400 people who voted, all lived in housing owned by the City or the public officials' family. See, how public officials control the vote?

Maywood's finances are in dire straights right now. You would think after an attorney general review and a state audit, they'd do things right? Nope. They're now $18 million in the hole, and they'll never get out of it. Looks like the public officials are still more interested in their limo rides and their stipends then fixing the situation.

Many of us know about the story of the City of Bell. The City Manager was making a million a year. The residents couldn't stop them. A number of the public officials and administrators were convicted and are staying in prison now.

Finally, Baldwin Park's election fraud is obvious in one precinct called 600028A. It looks like it was done by vote by mail. I wrote an entire analysis on what highly looks like voting fraud in Baldwin Park here. Ex Felons Hijack the Election

My solution is not to deport these people. I believe, like someone once said, that the poor will always be with us. So, the solution is not to outcast the poor population even further. They've already been outcasted. They live in Baldwin Park, of all places. Baldwin Park is already the City of No Hope.

I'm also not advocating a new type of democratic system. Winston Churchill may have been correct when he said, “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.”

I'm only pointing out that democracies are more vulnerable into transforming into dictatorships in poorer cities. And, we as a society need to be aware of this.

I used to believe the solution was for more oversight from independent agencies, like the prosecutor's office. But, I don't think that works either. We already have an LA County District Attorney, with a public corruption division, that hasn't been achieving much.

Really, as I've said before, the only people who can remedy this situation is the common citizen that cares about his or her community. And remedying it, requires that if someone cares enough, they have access to the truth. The solution has to be, stronger enforcement of open records laws, to get to the truth. And with the truth, one can tell the community what's really happening.

No wonder why Justice Brandeis once said, "Publicity is justly commended as a remedy for social and industrial diseases. Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants; electric light the most efficient policeman."