The fires vs. the conspiracy theories
Thought for the day
Here we go again. As soon as it was clear the L.A. fires were nothing like anyone ever could have imagined, dark-space conspiracy theories began circulating as fast as the fires were spreading.
Have you heard the one about Jewish lasers starting the Pacific Palisades disaster or Gavin Newsom personally destroying fire hydrants? As absurd as these two ideas are, here's the one that got my attention: The fires were deliberately set by developers who have long wanted to buy entire neighborhoods on the cheap and rebuild them for huge profits.
When I asked two friends who have built apartment complexes, office buildings and large warehouses if this is true, they both laughed. They then followed up their initial reactions with the following: First, if it could be proven these developers actually were responsible for starting the fires, they'd be imprisoned; and second, no credible party will lend them the hundreds of millions of dollars (maybe billions) needed to carry out their schemes. Oh, how I wish both predictions were true.
Call me an idealist, but wouldn't it be nice if the conspiracy theorists who spew out crazy ideas actually use their platforms for good? Like the old saying goes, "There oughta be a law."
-DF
Yes, there ought to be. Maybe several, and the first one should go like this:
" 1. NO property in the affected areas will be sold without being approved by an independent panel, consisting of 5 members appointed by the Governor of California.
2. No individual or group can purchase more than 1 property without the approval of said panel.
3. Any purchaser of more than 10 properties must wait for 2 years after remediation is complete before any construction can take place.
4. A purchaser of 5 or more properties is responsible for all remediation on the properties. The degree of remediation will be determined by the county environmental agency and must meet or exceed federal EPA requirements."
Such laws will not necessarily prevent developers, REITs or foreign investors from profiteering on this tragedy (commissioners and lawmakers can be bought), but it might hold property values down enough so that the residents might be able to rebuild, should they choose to. It would enable small firms to acquire a few properties to build on while reducing the bidding wars of large scale developers that tend to price out average buyers.