Capitalism is the Reason that Los Angeles Fire is Burning
The corporate media and politicians from both parties are telling us what is to blame for the disaster in Los Angeles Fires. Some have correctly identified climate change as a key issue, others are right when they point out that LA and CA can no longer provide basic services, and everyone knows that there was not enough water. What no one is talking about is what created these problems and tied them together to produce this disaster – capitalism.
Climate Change and the Fossil Fuel Industry.
Do we really need more horrible lessons on how Big Oil has fueled Climate Catastrophe after Climate Disaster? Their own scientists predicted an exponential increase in the frequency and intensity of events like the Los Angeles Fires, gigantic hurricanes in the Southeast and unprecedented tornadoes like those that struck Kentucky last Spring. These events are more than tragedies; they are deliberate corporate crimes committed in the act of producing more and more profit!
Housing for Profit.
California Building Industry Association ($60 billion in revenue in 2024) spends millions a year to get rid of fire protections. The group claims that there is just no profit in building actual affordable homes and makes tons of profits building mansions in very high-fire-risk zones.
Not enough Money for the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Like most American cities, Los Angeles does not have enough money to fund basic human services. This includes the fire department, which was cut by $17.2 million. Why is there no money? Since 1986, California’s largest tax loophole allows corporations to avoid paying more than $4.3 billion in state corporate tax revenue each year and specifically gives oil and gas companies up to $146 million in annual tax breaks. Welfare for the rich!
What about Water?
Building massive for-profit housing developments, that most people cannot afford, wastes a tremendous amount of water. Corporate agriculture uses 80% of the state’s managed water, and about 15% of this goes to massive almond farms. Almond farms use more water than all the homes in the state combined! Most almonds are shipped overseas as a luxury item for private profit. So, the next time a fire hydrant runs dry, remember that the almond profits are still pouring in. Prepare for predictable Los Angeles Fires? No – priorities are priorities!
Is there Another Way?
All of these social depredations are excused and justified by just one thing – private property. Climate disaster and government lack of preparation is obviously caused by a legal system that guarantees that all the tools, technologies and Nature, what that we need as people, are privately owned. We abolished the property of Kings, we abolished private property in slaves, the third time is the charm!
“We need freedom from police terror, mass incarceration, and gender oppression. We fight for a government that takes care of people first. Ultimately this requires public ownership of the means to create wealth – the land, infrastructure, and technology – and distribution according to need. The fight for basic needs propels every other social struggle, because none of society’s social, moral, or ecological problems can be solved as long as the private property system exists.”1
1 https://lrna.org/program-m/
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