Los Angeles just opened a state-of-the-art luxury hotel for the city’s homeless and, unlike voting, will require a photo ID to participate.
On Wednesday, city officials opened the brand new 19-story residential high-rise with 278 units that cost as much to build as a five-star resort. To lease an apartment in the downtown luxury tower, however, homeless residents must provide their “photo identification, and social security card.” Repeat Los Angeles voters, however, don’t need any photo ID to turn in their ballots.
California is one of 12 states, plus the District of Columbia, with no voter ID law on the books. Residents must only present their identification for their first-time voting.
According to the California Globe, a conservative statewide paper, “The project cost about $165 million dollars and the studio apartments are essentially the equivalent of what one would find at a decent ‘extended stay’ hotel — large room kitchenette, bed, tables, chairs, bathroom, TV, etc.”
“At $594,000 a unit, that works out be a bit over $1,000 per-square-foot to build,” the Globe reported.
Residents will enjoy access to all of the premium amenities guests can expect at high-end hotels, including a gym, café, soundproof music studio, art room, business center, and a library.
L.A.’s far-left Mayor Karen Bass acknowledged the controversy around the homeless perks in a press conference at Wednesday’s ceremony to inaugurate the project.
“The amenities that are here I know are going to be talked about in a way that is not so positive,” she said. “A gym, music, art, recreation are all the things that are needed to heal that are all a part of mental health.”
The Los Angeles homeless problem has become a national embarrassment for California’s largest city, with open-air drug use and tent encampments saturating the city of nearly 3.9 million.
In December, Bass, a former Democrat congresswoman from the area, pledged to “build a new Los Angeles.” But according to the Associated Press, “Homeless numbers in Los Angeles could surge again, even as thousands move to temporary shelter.”
“Billions of dollars have been spent on homelessness in the region, and an array of new programs are in place,” the AP reported. “But the mayor says it’s possible that the number of homeless people will continue to increase, in part because of evictions and the end of COVID-19 aid for low-income households. While Bass has made gains, the city’s homelessness challenge can seem insoluble.”
The homeless crisis on the West Coast has only become worse over the last year. According to Fox News, “Despite more taxpayer dollars at work, the homeless population continues to rise in the Golden State.”
“It’s up 6%, compared to last year, and has the highest number of homeless people living outdoors in the country,” Fox News reported. “About 181,000 people were considered homeless in the state’s 2023 count, and most are suffering from drug addiction or mental illnesses.”
High living costs and an ever-growing homeless crisis have led residents to report a lower quality of life in the University of California Los Angeles’ index survey. In interviews with nearly 1,700 residents, “results for 2024 tied the lowest score in the survey’s nine-year history with a rating of 53” according to KTLA, a local California news outlet.
“It was just the second time the result has been below the scale’s midpoint of 55, matching a 53 in 2022. Last year, the survey produced a 55 rating,” KTLA reported.
