by: Paige Anderson
The Rent Is Too Damn High
In the last decade, a rental crisis has stewed and bubbled subtly in Los Angeles. It’s the giant elephant in the room that we all complain about. We’ve asked it to leave, but it does not care to listen. So we compromise because we love it here. Some folks come in pursuit of fame ; the beach or better weather. Maybe it’s diversion or star-sightings. Or asylum. Almost everyone, it seems wants to be in the Golden State. Rents of course continue to creep up. Just before the pandemic, I was having a romantic dinner in a French bistro in the San Fernando Valley with my date and noticed the iconic Joe Pesci playing the piano. The “house piano player” later jokingly told me that “yeah, he likes to play sometimes…I put up with it”. These serendipitous moments happen all the time here. But, we pay the price for a life in La La land. And now, the pandemic. Some say that there should be no rent to pay during a pandemic.
Solution: Cancel Rent
Heck, everything else is cancelled. I’m not having dinner at my favorite French bistro while movie stars play the piano. And I’m not at the beach. With these perks missing, paying sky high rent for life in La La Land lacks it’s luster. But, that’s just me. As the pandemic drags on, renters are feeling the pressure of businesses being closed. The economic crisis brought on by the Coronavirus has many Californians really struggling. So, what to do? Well…might as well protest!
Protesters in downtown Los Angeles have taken to the streets, demanding that local and state officials extend a moratorium on evictions. “Gov. Newsom and all elected officials need to understand that the eviction crisis is going to impact almost five million people,” said Annie Shaw with the Chinatown Community for Equitable Development, one of the advocacy groups that helped organize the protest. “People are not going to be able to pay back the rent that they owe during the pandemic. The majority of us are already struggling before COVID, during COVID, and after COVID we’re not going to be magically making new income to repay the rent. This means that people are going to be facing homelessness. The best way to solve this problem is to cancel rent right now!”
If you want more info about the next protest, click HERE
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