Of all the people I ever thought to ask that rhetorical question about, Katrina Foley wasn’t even on the long list. Since her election to the Orange County Board of Supervisors (OC BOS) in 2021, Ms. Foley has shown great prudence and character during her tenure as board member and Vice Chair. But her creation and sponsorship of the latest ordinance to deal with homelessness in Orange County leaves me breathless and stupefied.

Very basically, as reported by LAist, the measure approved by OC BOS earlier this month would allow for unhoused persons camping along flood control channels, in county parks or other county-owned land to be arrested or fined.

This supersedes a 2019 legal agreement with the county to screen unhoused people for mental health and other needs, and to offer shelter and services before arresting or ticketing them for violating anti-camping and loitering laws.

It also follows on the Supreme Court’s decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson to allow the arrest or fining of unhoused people on public property, even if no housing or shelter space is available.

While acknowledging that cities like Santa Ana might see their jails filled to overflowing as a result of this new ordinance, as well as lamenting the lack of supportive housing and the Trump administration withdrawing its support for same, Ms. Foley says that “We are just making sure that when we have situations where people are taking over public spaces and it’s a danger to them and to others … that we are able to enforce anti-camping [rules].”

The need to take preemptive steps to keep homeless persons from putting themselves in danger is laudable. But the proposed punishments are far too severe.

Jailing won’t end the problem, and assessing fines on people already in economic distress is like pouring a salt shaker on an open wound.

Ms. Foley has tried to mitigate her stance by saying that social workers will still accompany peace officers when confronting unhoused citizens on public property, but the Grants Pass decision means there is no gatekeeper to ensure that will be the case.

Of all the members of OC BOS, Katrina Foley is absolutely the last person I would have expected to suggest, let alone author and endorse, such punitive legislation, There is no good time to be unhoused, but with the drying-up of federal funds for supportive housing and the ongoing food stamp crisis, this is the equivalent of treating dandruff by decapitation. Ms. Foley can talk until she is blue in the mouth about creating a uniform set of rules when it comes to addressing homelessness, but it won’t help those caught up in the sweep.

The most famous line in “A Streetcar Named Desire,” uttered by Blanche duBois near the play’s end, is “I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.” This is true in all parts of modern life–we depend on electricians, doctors, plumbers, and other professional workers not personally known to us to maintain our daily existence.
And it is especially so for the unhoused. My fear is that this new ordinance will only reinforce the belief in many people’s minds that government and law enforcement cannot be trusted, at a time when Americans’ trust in these institutions is at an all-time nadir.

To those who ask, “Then what should be done?” the answers are obvious: Build and create more affordable supportive housing, introduce Universal Basic Income, especially for those whose jobs have been superannuated by AI, and expand mental health treatment access.

Of course, these things will take time and money. But taking away unhoused people’s freedom, or garnishing their already scant financial resources, will cost them– and us–even more dearly in the end.
And now, a (very) few words on the passing of Dick Cheney.

Considering that he first came to public notice as a staff member in the Nixon administration, who then became Gerald Ford’s Chief of Staff, it is not surprising that his political trajectory arced toward arch-conservatism. He and fellow Nixon/Ford aide Donald Rumsfeld made up George W. Bush’s “Dream Team” that started wars for invented reasons and paved the way for the Tea Party and MAGA, by showing you could spit in the faces of the American people and walk away scott-free while enriching yourself with military contracts (viz Halliburton).

Love and hate have their own rewards. As a promulgator of war, hatred and division, Dick Cheney has gone to his. I do not mourn his death, nor do I applaud it, any more than I did the death of Charlie Kirk, whose profits derived from the same sources. As Shakespeare has Marc Antony remind us, “The evil that men do is oft interred with their bones.” So let it be with Cheney.

(In closing…as the holiday season approaches, I would like to remind my constant and loyal readers that you can support my work on Patreon. Please go to patreon.com/theeopinionator to make a contribution to the work. Thank you.)

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