Is Life Plan Humboldt a good use of tax dollars?
Few Humboldt County residents will be surprised to learn:
“82% of U.S. adults, 65 and over, desire to remain in their homes citing maximum independence, sustained social connections and reaffirmation of identity and values,” (even though), “over 50% of U.S. seniors lack the financial resources required to pay basic needs.” (Elderly Security Standard Index for 2016, Gerontology Institute, University of Massachusetts, Boston)
Since 2016, inflation, COVID, worldwide conflicts and climate chaos, have worsened the U.S. economy severely impacting seniors, nevertheless, last Jan. 31, Humboldt County supervisors endorsed $2.5 million of public assistance for “Life Plan Humboldt,” (McKinleyville’s second exclusive $80 million retirement community), with millions more to follow in public subsidies, infrastructure, ancillary services and local capital.
Public resources and subsidies are better-utilized supporting underfunded and understaffed inhome care services for Humboldt’s “82%” of seniors and the disabled instead of LPH housing units that could approach $1 million each upon project completion, many times the cost of Salvation Army housing units that create jobs serving far more Humboldt seniors who retain 2/3 of their Social Security income used to support local businesses, transportation and health care.
Prior to supervisors’ endorsement for public assistance, LPH president, Dr. Ann Lindsay emphasized the need to, “keep (LPH) residents out of local nursing homes,” omitting LPH’s “nonprofit” status providing tax-shelters for its resident’s pensions; or, in the infamous words of NYC hotel magnate Leona Helmsley, “Taxes (and local nursing homes), are for the little people”.
Dr. Lindsay’s fears are wellfounded.
LPH’s leadership is comprised of former top Humboldt County officials, a public health officer, elected representatives, university executives and health care professionals who were silent, negligent, or both, throughout their public service careers, allowing the Brius corporation to monopolize county nursing homes amid headlines reporting Brius’ injurious and corrupt practices continuing to this day.
Once retired, however, LPH leadership found their voice, not for reforms, but to vociferously demand public assistance for a community separate from the community they had governed, administered, managed, enforced and neglected for everyone else.
Ironies are rarely more stunning.
When supervisors requested public comment, no LPH member, supporter or donor came forward, however, one supporter’s editorial explained why, entitled, “Guilty Privilege,” (Humboldt Senior News, September 2022).
To win public support and the presale of housing units, (required for a $75 million bond from Ziegler Inc. specializing in federal Housing and Urban Development funds), LPH publicly promoted “60 affordable housing units” that were quietly downgraded to “30” on Dr. Lindsay’s PowerPoint, without defining “affordable” or “access to services”.
LPH’s initial estimates of residents’ $250,000 entry fee, thousands more in monthly charges, plus additional user fees for services, are prohibitive for most of the taxpayers subsidizing this project, (for example, future employees of LPH).
For over 40 years, Americans have been schooled in the venality of public-subsidized industries, institutions, businesses and “nonprofits” designed to primarily serve the wealthy by aggressively rigging markets with inflated prices and high-interest financing for essential housing, energy, cars, hospitals, pharmaceuticals, “public” university tuition and elite retirement communities, among others, creating economic “bubbles” repeatedly bailed-out by the victims: America’s working-class families, who are still being sold on the “jobs” that will “trickledown”; “jobs” equivalent to employees’ digging themselves further into today’s unprecedented personal debt crisis and a much deeper hole for posterity.
A local example is illustrative. The defunct “nonprofit” Humboldt State University Center Corporation routinely imposed tuition increases and inflated user-fees upon all students for non-essential leisure programs and services few can afford, disproportionally impacting working class and homeless students: weekend ski-junkets to Bend, windsurfing, white water rafting, sailing, rock climbing, national celebrity entertainment, locked gate housing, high-priced grocery and library lattes.
Class-discriminating organizations are unethical, unsustainable and more vulnerable to every economic fluctuation; yet, thanks to California’s infusion of nearly half a billion dollars, the failed “nonprofit” University Center Corporation was taken over by Cal Poly Humboldt, aka: California’s taxpayers and graduate’s $20,000+ of oppressive debt, maintaining a class-centered community simultaneously undermining numerous self-employment opportunities for graduates.
The city of Seattle, Washington, is first in the nation to say “ENOUGH,” by linking classism to racism with a citywide ban on “caste-discrimination.” Similar bans could provide residents in communities across America with opportunities to refocusing public resources and subsidies on serving America’s economically disadvantaged majority upon whom every wealthier economic class, business, regional and national economy’s prosperity rests.
Seattle voters demonstrate what’s possible when we elect courageous candidates honoring their Constitutional oath framed to, “… promote the general welfare” for “we the people”.