Much Support for Lawyers and NGOs; Not so Much for Fire Victims
By Justin Shores
Much Support for Lawyers and NGOs; Not so Much for Fire Victims
As California burns, literally and figuratively, our state leaders continue to squander public trust and dollars on misguided priorities. Homeless tents and trash line our streets, infrastructure crumbles under decades of neglect, and wildfire recovery drags on endlessly, leaving scorched communities in limbo for years. Yet, instead of channeling resources to these homegrown crises, city councils and county boards creatively divert funds to protect undocumented immigrants from federal enforcement.
How much will actually go to victims?
Progressive activists are calling for a COVID-like response when it comes to funding, with some even calling for the defunding of local law enforcement.
Sound familiar?
This isn’t just misplaced compassion; it’s a deliberate ploy to prop up lawyers and supporters in Progressive NGOs, sustain artificial crises, and sideline accountability. With federal COVID relief exhausted and “aid” streams like USAID being pulled, these groups are now raiding local general funds, transforming taxpayer money into a piggy bank for political allies.
Wildfire Aid Mismanagement
This “fundraising” event mirrors the immigrant funding fiasco and used the public’s empathy, driven by narratives pushed by Progressives, to line their pockets. The star-studded FireAid concert for the Palisades in late January raised over $100 million, promising direct relief for victims. But as reality TV star and fire victim Spencer Pratt has relentlessly exposed on social media, much of this money vanished into nonprofit black holes, with little reaching those who lost everything. Pratt, whose family home was destroyed, labeled it a “hundred-million-dollar fire aid scam” in viral videos, demanding detailed accounting.
Reports indicate funds flowed to unrelated groups, including a grant to CalVolunteers, linked to Governor Gavin Newsom’s wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom as honorary chair, now suspiciously scrubbed from FireAid’s website. Victims like Pratt report bureaucratic hell, with empty reservoirs that could have prevented the blaze and stalled rebuilding permits under Los Angeles’ radical Progressive Mayor Karen Bass’s watch. Republican calls for audits and investigations into Newsom’s involvement grow louder, yet the governor deflects as always, blaming “misinformation,” while victims must sue to get attention.
Closer To Home…
Goleta’s Progressive Democrat-led City Council reallocated $100,000 from childcare programs, funded by local sales taxes, to nonprofits offering legal aid and mental health for families hit by ICE raids. Everyone on the current Goleta council is funded by taxes or an NGO through their careers, making it a dangerous echo chamber. They took money for dozens of working parents and kids, rerouted it to thwart federal law, providing salaries to local Progressive lawyers and activists. Carpinteria gave $10,000, while Santa Ana and Montebello matched Goleta at $100,000 each, Anaheim is one of the highest so far at $250,000.
Democrats on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors budgeted over $8 million for immigration services, Los Angeles County is crafting a cash fund for raid-affected families; Sacramento County tapped $50,000 from hotel taxes, and Santa Barbara County handed $105,000 to the Immigrant Legal Defense Center. This statewide patchwork explodes as NGOs hunt new cash flows, money that could rebuild fire-ravaged homes or crumbling infrastructure.
Let’s call it what it is: A bailout for bloated Progressive organizations addicted to public funding. The cycle is vicious: Democrats’ sanctuary laws and lax borders inflate immigration and homelessness issues, then Democrat-run NGOs “fix” the problems with unwarranted handouts.
Meanwhile more Californians suffer. That Goleta cash was intended to subsidize childcare, not NGO salaries. Wildfire victims? They’re left demanding audits while immigrant aid flows unchecked.
Worse, these funds risk aiding and abetting criminals. Federal statutes criminalize harboring undocumented individuals, particularly those with records (8 U.S.C. § 1324). Yet public dollars bankroll legal delays for potential felons. Employers exploiting undocumented labor face few audits or fines: just taxpayers cleaning up.
California deserves better. Here’s what we must do:
Prioritize citizens,
Demand transparency of public funds,
End the slush fund charade.
Bravo, Justin. California is a great place to be homeless, an illegal, a heroin addict or a lawyer. Not great if you're trying to run a business (at this point no matter what size business), or buy your first home … or get insurance. Actually, the insurance companies would say it's a lousy state to be an insurance provider. How people can continue to vote for this has been a real mystery to me. Just this week the owners of a small Santa Barbara food business sent out a mass email to their customers about how we all have to give money to stop ICE. I wrote them back. Here's what I said:
“I have been a loyal customer for six years since you began. I think the world of what you are doing with your small food business and your products are exceptional. But I am utterly dismayed at your mass email, which I find deeply offensive. You are supporting another summer like the George Floyd summer - a summer of cancel culture. Let's look at what that BLM summer achieved that was positive. Nothing. The money that was raised went into the pockets of scammers, not to people who needed it.
We do NOT need more divisiveness in our country. This is all about the Democratic Party dividing people so they can prevail. I say this as a lifetime Democrat who left the party because it now disgusts me. I'm not a Republican. I'm an Independent.
You are ordering me - a customer - to behave politically the way you want. How dare you. Leave politics the hell out of our relationship which was, prior to your email, a very healthy business relationship. Because I buy from you to support sustainable regenerative local food. That is what you do best. Stick to it. Leave this other political crap where it belongs. In the trash.”
Have not heard back from them.
Congratulations Justin, on your revealing article. Too bad other local “news outlets” refuse to report these undeniable facts. Newsfakers? No, Roberts et al. are too busy blowing smoke and providing cover for the lefty establishment instead of doing their job, which is reporting the facts.
I find it reprehensible that my elected officials in Goleta chooses to give our hard earned tax dollars to NGO’s whose mission is to thwart Federal law enforcement.
As for the Ponzi scheme being played in LA County by Karen Bass, all I can say is Bernie Madoff would be proud! The homeowners in Pacific Palisades are being victimized for a second time, this time by their elected officials! There is already talk of adding low income, high density housing to PP. Further, Adam Carolla has reported in depth about this disaster. It would seem many houses were on septic tanks and it is Carolla’s belief that the California Coastal Commission will have much to say about the rebuilding of PP, making many rebuilds cost prohibitive. Enter the County of Los Angeles to “acquire” these properties for high density, low income housing.
When will our elected officials represent the rest of us, who play by the rules and pay the taxes?
This ongoing corruption and resistance by our elected officials pushes our State that much closer to societal and financial collapse.
https://youtu.be/JR9F78v_x2E?si=3Flp7dEUhZiyzXfk