Suicides, Overdoses, and Economic Anxiety: Key Metrics Signal an Undercurrent of Despair on the North Coast
![Homeless man. [Photo by Mark McKenna]](https://kymkemp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/289484138_1698602590476800_2079194546962829385_n.jpg)
Homeless man in Humboldt County. [Photo by Mark McKenna]
Stacker Media, a newsroom that practices data journalism, crunched the numbers and determined the 25 lowest earning counties in California. Its findings hit alarmingly close to home:
- Trinity County, the eastern vertex of the Emerald Triangle, is the lowest-earning county in the state.
- Humboldt County, the northwestern corner of the Emerald Triangle, replete with a college town infused with out-of-area cash, ranks the fifth lowest earning county in California.
- Lake County, a landscape dominated by volcanic hillsides and dead dreams of a would-be resort destination, ranks sixth in the state for the lowest earnings.
- Del Norte County, home to California’s only supermax prison–Pelican Bay-is the seventh lowest earning county in California.
- Just outside of the top ten lowest earning counties in the Golden State is Mendocino County, which stands as the thirteenth lowest earning county in the state
The National Preparedness Center’s Argonne National Laboratory sought to identify how local economies fared in the wake of the COVID-19 disruption. They developed the County Economic Impact Index which “estimates the change in overall county-level activity during the COVID-19 pandemic relative to January 2020.” This data point “provides the ability to monitor trends over time of the economic health of counties in the United States.”
They found the counties that earn the least (Trinity, Humboldt, Del Norte, and Lake) fared better than Mendocino County and its considerably more affluent counties to the south including Sonoma, Marin, and the Bay Area counties in general.
So, counties with lower rates of household income proved more economically resilient to the disruptions of COVID-19.
What about the poverty rate? This commonly cited metric measures the percentage of people that live below the federally designated poverty line. The US Census Bureau tells us 18.5% of Del Notre’s residents are in poverty. Trinity’s stands at 18%. Humboldt and Lake Counties are very similar–standing at 15.8% and 15.9% respectively. The outlier is Mendocino County at 14.3%, the least impoverished county on the North Coast.
Every North Coast county has a higher poverty rate than California’s as a whole which stands at 11.5% just a tad higher than the overall United States poverty rate which stands at 11.4%.
True to the times, when considering the economic strain of a community, gas prices can indicate the struggles of the average joe. In a review of AAA’s map of California’s average gas prices, the most expensive average gas price on the North Coast is currently in Humboldt County–averaging $6.78/gallon followed closely by Del Norte at $6.73/gallon. Trinity County’s average gallon stands at $6.53 about ten cents more than Mendocino’s average at $6.42
Other than counties of California’s rural east, a smattering in the Bay Area, and a few on the Southern California Coast, California’s northern reaches have higher gas prices than the rest of the state. The economic consequence of this price rise is exacerbated by low household incomes and a high poverty rate. The counties with the lowest wages and highest poverty rates in the state are paying the highest prices in the nation at the pump.
What about other metrics? Aren’t there other ways to measure the overall quality of life outside of economics?
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation teamed up with the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute for a nationwide, county-by-county ranking of the health outcomes. Out of 58 counties in California, Trinity stands as the least healthy county in the state followed closely by Lake County, the 56th least healthy. Del Norte sits in the bottom eight as the 51st least healthy county in the Golden State. Mendocino County is next at 44th followed by Humboldt at 39th. So much for the rural, rugged outdoor lifestyle to keep us in shape.
The middle class of the North Coast has been at the whims of multiple boom and bust cycles over the last few generations. The logging industry, once a steady source of working-class jobs, is a ghost of what it once was. The railroads stopped running, ending mass transit of goods. The cannabis industry was once a means of economic mobility. Cannabis farmers spent locally, a means of bringing more taxes to the local coffers. But now, in the wake of legalization, taxation, and a byzantine bureaucracy, many cannabis growers that filled the region’s sales tax coffers are heading to greener pastures.
The region’s economic turmoil might point toward an underlying sense of hopelessness contributing to the negative health outcomes documented by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.
Researchers and policymakers have identified an alarming trend they are calling “deaths of despair” brought about by the hopelessness of economic insecurity and correlated conditions. These behavior-related conditions common to “deaths of despair include obesity, suicide, alcoholism, and overdoses.”
On the North Coast, there are indicators that a toxic brew of economic desperation and resulting feelings of hopelessness are leading to a rise in mortality and what researchers would call “deaths of despair.”
Using data from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, when it comes to obesity, the Central Valley makes up essentially the bottom eight California counties. The first North Coast county to make an appearance is Del Notre sitting at 49th place. Lake County is the 46th most obese in the state, Mendocino is the 36th, Trinity is the 31st, and Humboldt is the 19th most obese county.
Let’s Get Health California surveyed the suicide rate between 2017-2019 in California and shows that Trinity County, along with its lowest earnings and worst health comes, has the most cases of suicide per 100,000 residents. Lake County has the second highest rate. Humboldt County has the 9th highest and Mendocino County has the 10th highest suicide rate in the state.
The California Overdose Surveillance Dashboard indicates Lake County has the third highest rate of overdoses in California immediately followed by Mendocino with the fourth highest. Humboldt County stands as the 11th highest. Trinity County’s data is not on the dashboard and Del Norte’s overdose rate stands as an outlier well in the middle of the California pack.
The data speaks for itself: the citizenry of the North Coast, living in a rugged landscape with limited economic opportunity, seems to be falling into the same behavior-related conditions that lead to “deaths of despair.”
Lindsey Daugherty, the Executive Director of Mendocino County’s chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, told us, in her experience, “financial insecurity leads to higher levels of depression and anxiety, with many experiencing guilt and shame at the idea of not being able to meet basic physical needs.
Daughterty explained that when the essentials of food, shelter, and clothing are not available, “mental wellness is forced onto the back burner at least until survival needs are met. This is also true for those that find themselves in the throes of physical illness due to the cycles of drug use and withdrawal.”
Abandoned needles. [Photo by Mark McKenna]
The Brookings Institution, a Washington D.C. think-tank that has eluded attempts to label its work as liberal or conservative, published a paper in July 2021 entitled Addressing America’s crisis of despair and economic recovery: A call for a coordinated effort.
Their policy paper argued that attempts thus far to address America’s growing despair have been “fragmented” with a focus on treating symptoms of this despair, not the root causes. The paper argues for a federal-level entity to connect local efforts to other communities in need of those same strategies.
While the Center for Disease Control keeps meticulous records for mortality trends, the Brookings Institute is concerned there is “no system that tracks the underlying causes of these deaths.” Compare this practice with New Zealand or the United Kingdom, which are regularly polling their public’s well-being “as part of their national statistics collection.”
The Brookings Institution proposes five key areas of development if a federal interagency task force was to be put into place: “data collection; changing the public narrative; addressing community-wide despair as part of the future of work; private-public sector partnerships; and despair as a national security issue.”
But, for us here on the North Coast, Washington D.C. is a long way away. Recently, Governor Gavin Newsom announced he is distributing over $10 million dollars to support attempts to end homelessness and drug addiction. Locally, Mendocino County is making strides with its use of Measure B funds and availing more mental health services to its residents.
But, as the Brookings Institute asked, what is the underlying cause? Economics.
Martin Luther King, Jr. published a book of sermons entitled A Knock at Midnight. In it, he described the tragic, existential results of a person denied their right to earn a fair wage and see a brighter future: ” [If] a man doesn’t have a job or an income, he has neither life nor liberty nor the possibility for the pursuit of happiness. He merely exists.”
Editor’s Note
Lindsey Daugherty, the Executive Director of Mendocino County’s branch of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), recommended that anyone weighed down by financial anxiety or despair, consider reaching out to either the NAMI Hotline or the National Suicide Prevention Hotline.
- NAMI Hotline
- The NAMI Helpline is a free, nationwide peer-support service providing information, resource referrals, and support to people living with mental health conditions, their family members and caregivers, mental health providers, and the public.
- 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or [email protected] Monday through Friday 7 am – 3 pm PT.
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
- The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline connects you with a crisis center in the Lifeline network closest to your location. Your call or text will be answered by a trained crisis worker who will listen empathetically and without judgment. The crisis worker will ensure that you feel safe and help identify options and information about mental health services in your area.
- 988 (call or text) or 800-273-TALK (8255) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
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With the limited available housing in Trinity and Southern Humboldt as well as both counties’ reluctance to foster and support the available industries I can not say these metrics surprise me. Trinity county commissioners have effectively ended the county’s Commercial Cannabis permitting process and I reckon the remaining industry is timber. With diesel costing as much as it does the margins on that (after permitting) are razor thin. Timber is a hard industry, I don’t see many people over the hill doing that to supplement income. There is a small inflow of tourist capital for fishing and outdoor activities. Perhaps some campaigns could be developed to expand that industry for Trinity. It is sad, for that is some beautiful country. I believe some places on this Earth are not meant for high density human habitation, perhaps this is the case in Trinity.
I have to agree, poverty associated with living remotely, is not the fault of the County Line…
People certainly shouldn’t live where there’s insufficient water, excessive wildfire, poor housing choices and little economic diversity and opportunity.
On the other hand, look where they built L.A…. In a desert by the Coast.
California was raped, pillaged, sucked dry, built from scraps and whatever trees were growing. People came west to escape society, certain religious views, fallout from slavery, and the extremely poor conditions in horrible ugly primitive eastern cities…
Opportunity was everywhere, but so was exploitation, and Asians built railroads, dug tunnels, mined gold and silver for their new bosses, and the wealthy showed up to start banks, sell real estate and flip houses…
Obviously, if you choose to live in a remote area, who your family was will be a deciding factor…
Trinity County is pretty, Northern Humboldt is wonderful, Mendocino was clear cut and the nicest locations are owned by the wealthiest people, but Mendo is unfit for human habitation…
Lake County is the “Ozark” of California, and this year, the roads are empty, the boating is 25% of what it was 3 years ago, but real estate is still cheap compared to Santa Rosa or Ukiah, and rents are increasing…
In the town of Clear Lake, senior citizens live in 50-70 year old trailers, in long parks down by the backwater, and mostly, the housing is on dirt roads, and prefabricated.
For the largest group of poor, will soon prove to be Seniors, whose pittance Social Security has been swallowed whole by Part B, Supplemental Plans, and Part D scams, all hatched by evil corporations to take away whatever the elderly have or own…
It sucks to get old, but, what really sucks is the growing group of those younger folks unwilling to support themselves, and their continuous whining about their living conditions…
160 years ago, you worked, or you starved.
If you can’t survive where you live, it’s time to move, and it may be too late…
Was it those senior citizens who allowed this country’s manufacturing to be exported? They are somewhat aware of the country they inherited , and the one they’ve left.:
This is a little lesson in what can make or break a society.
Are you talking about the Seniors who finished school, and worked their whole lives and have been abandoned to basically starve?
If American products were equivalently evolved and of sufficient quality as to compete, would the jobs have been exported?
Anyone who calls a help line, or “customer service” will be eventually connected to a call center in Mumbai or in the Philippines… Is that a Senior citizen’s fault?
If Americans won’t work, or are too ignorant to help themselves, is this the fault of the rank and file who built the country you now enjoy?
Like they say, if you can read this, you had a schoolteacher, if you have a road to drive, a highway worker has been there…
In Humboldt, Mendo, and Trinity, a man can get a job, if he wants to work, and I have worked in all 3 counties.
When the Ambulance brings in the suicide, dead, does a foreign worker call it, there in the ER?
Consider how silly your remark is, and maybe if you are struggling, it’s because of your own choices, not some woman making clothing in Myanmar for a dollar a day and a bowl of rice and a sleeping mat in the corner…
A lot of us resisted it and fought against out sourcing critical industries to other countries (especially China!) but the elites of both parties were all in on betraying the USA workers. It took us a while to realize how corrupt our country’s leadership is.
Well it’s about profit and costs, not about politics…
The wealthy buy the influence they want, but in the end it’s all “buy for a nickel and sell for whatever the market will bear”…
So much of what is produced in the US has little actual monetary value to anyone not a venture capitalist or an investor…
Our monetary system is based on conjecture, and most money is just numbers on a screen, in a dark room full of harried salesmen and telephones.
Americans manufacture nothing besides salespeople, and the salespeople sell everything from shoes to cars to job placement and custom packaging.
The dynamics of our economy are evolving while the workforce stagnates, and folks like you just want to argue about politics, conservatives versus liberals, republican vs democrat etc…
It’s meaningless in a world where everyone wants scarce goods, beautiful partners, nice things or just a meal and a place to sleep!
Work on yourself, while the planet shuffles to the next song, and I hope you can get through your life, much less the next changes you will face…
Spot on. America was sold out to Communist China, by our biased and corrupt establishment politicians, on both sides of the aisle. America desperately needs term limits.
If people are angry already at how much stuff they buy is made in China, just wait until they find out how badly our politicians have sold out to the Communist Party. Unfortunately, those who sold out will likely be long dead by then, and the rest of us will be left holding the bag. Let’s just hope that this is a situation that isn’t irreversible, otherwise we’ll be in for a world of hurt.
Here’s my question about term limits, and I 1000 percent agree that we should have them. How do we get these bastards from both sides of the aisle, to vote for so etching that diminishes their “cat bird seat”?
It was the business communitiy and their executive decision to move manufacturing off shore, not “senior citizens” who worked in those industries. It was to reduce labor costs and maximize profits. The 1% is doing fine. Put the blame where it belongs
Well if we don’t have a real say in this representative democracy, why does the government keep expecting us to pay for this abuse.
Because of the weak, timid, docile, subservient, emasculated and censored pose as no one’s saviors
It may be too late. That’s the despair these folks are talking about. I have been here since 1952 barring a few years travelling and working out of state. I have watched our mostly bust economy and the resistance that people have to change, the no change on my watch philosophy. The issue is that change never stops, it either gets better or it get worse. These are some of the bleakest times that I have lived through and as inflation eats what little income I have, I wonder what to do next, I guess re-plant that garden I used to have, kill an occasional deer when they wander through the yard, rebuild the chicken coop and get a small car or motorcycle. Luckily, I managed to at least get a place and I can still pay my taxes and insurance. And I guess I am one of the lucky ones.
If you still pay taxes, you aren’t lucky, you have a parasite.
As a 37 year old, hard working, college educated, previously homeless, single mother surviving below the poverty line, I feel I need to speak up about the “younger folks”.
Please. Dont compare the youth of today to the youth of 160 years ago or even just 50 years ago. Different times, different measures and a WAY different world. 160 years ago… the world moved slower. 160 years ago the “playing fields” were more even.
This article reflects my family. We lost our home last summer because my landlord decided he MIGHT want to sell his house…well, he didn’t sell, or even ever put it on the market. My son and I spent 7 months sleeping in our car and couch surfing various unsafe or illegal spots because I couldnt secure housing before we had to move out. My son “showered” before school in a sink, in the dark so not to give us away, and with no hot water. It’s all we had. I can not count how many nights and days I cried because I was being haunted with thoughts of suicide for being unable to fix our struggles, for not seeing an end in sight… for my sons cries every morning because the water was so cold on his head as I washed his hair. As much as I tried, begged and screamed, I couldnt make it better.
However. I pulled us out of homelessness in February with some thinking outside the box and pure luck.
I was diagnosed with cancer the same month I was given our notice to move and forced to leave the same month I had a radically modified and invasive surgery for said diagnosis. Now, we are at risk of losing our new place because the rent is 80% of my income- even after I asked my landlord for lower rent (and he said yes!). Its the only place we could find in 7 months that was excepting of our dog (after so much trauma I couldn’t bring myself to rehome her. She was the source of our happiness on many cold, dark nights. Shes our hero). This past school year, I was barely able to get my son to school every day because the home we were able to find happens to be pretty far from town. Now, we go without food for a few days in order to save gas for one big trip to town instead of just for food. These gas prices truly scare me for what’s to come next and it really salts my apples to read here that we pay more than most in CA! What!? These hits just keep coming. And I’m feeling more and more like what does it matter… I’ll never pull us out of poverty at this rate.
I work and volunteer in my community. I have a mental health diagnosis as well as serious on going health issues. But I’m trying like heck every day to make it… and I’m treated as though I’m just the lazy youthful generation, that I brought it on myself, that im part of the problem because I struggle and ask for help from programs who also tend to greet you with judgment. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that I became suicidal. The support I found for this within the system is a joke, at best, as well.
This stereotyping from the older generations needs to stop. We need our elders understanding, guidance and support now more than ever- NOT criticism, judgment, and generalization of an entire generation. I mean… if any generation was/is lazy and didn’t want to work it was definitely those from the 60s, hands down. Come on now. Ain’t nobody got time for this. (No offense, I mean this with respect and maybe a little humor)
PS. I’d move out of this expensive area so maybe my son and I could have a real chance at getting above the povery line… but it’s too expensive to move as well! My son would have to say goodbye to all he’s known. He’s a teen who jist survived pandemic school and sees news of school shootings everywhere. How do you think he’d do with an uprooting right now? And you know.. in some cultures the seniors work all the way until death. They don’t expect a retirement and become stagnant at 65. They stay contributing members of their communities. Un.Til.Death. come on now. Ain’t NOBODY got time for this, yall.
I completely agree with your excellent comment!
Unfortunately much of what you say is true. Trinity’s future looks bleak and there isn’t much anyone can do about it. The BOS has destroyed the cannabis program and the low wholesale prices will crush those that do get permits. With the flipping of the BOS, a Calaveras type scenario lurks making it even worse.
Tourists is the best bet, but without water and lots of fires, even those will not help enough. I believe Trinity was one of the only places in the US to see a decline in property values in the past year. Wish us luck.
“The Brookings Institution, a Washington D.C. think-tank that has eluded attempts to label its work as liberal or conservative”
The Brookings Institution is definitely liberal.
Brookings has become solidly neo-liberal–pro-war, pro-austerity, pro-deregulation, all the new ‘liberal’ norms that go against what liberals used to at least claim to stand for. Now they stand mainly for corporate profits, and in that sense at least Brookings is still liberal.
Your mental gymnastics are true enough anyhow. WHOOSH!
“An academic analysis of Congressional records from 1993 to 2002 found that Brookings was referenced by conservative politicians almost as frequently as liberal politicians, earning a score of 53 on a 1–100 scale with 100 representing the most liberal score.” https://libguides.georgetowncollege.edu/c.php?g=616741&p=4324851
Believe me, conservatives don’t look to Brookings for guidance. Strobe Talbot was their prez for many years, he was the ultimate Dem insider. He was followed as prez by John Allen, another Dem favorite. I have seen many references to Brookings by conservatives but they are always criticisms.
Brookings is non partisan like New York Times is non partisan (not at all).
Conservative voter (as opposed to corrupt gop politicians) philosophy is to shrink size and power of fed government, conform to constitution as originally written, move power from fed govt to state govt, restrain judicial activism, reduce taxes and government regulation, sunset laws.
Not exactly-“Overall, we rate Brooking Institution Left-Center biased based on donations to primarily Democratic candidates and policy advocacy that slightly favors the left. ” Frankly, putting money where your mouth is should make it clear Brookings in a Democrat bastion. “According to Open Secrets,Brookings has donated 96% or $824,259 to Democratic candidates and causes since 1990.”
it is not surprising that a liberal place like Georgetown University would consider anyone right of Bernie Sanders to be evincing a “conservative” tendencies.
Not to mention “referenced” is a pretty loose standard for judging anything. It’s very ephemeral, contextual and topical. If you counted up the references to “Hitler” as a condemnation on this site, you might think that liberals embraced Hitler while conservatives rejected him. Heck, during the period cited, there were simply more conservatives in Congress than liberals and the economy (remember Bill Clinton’s campaign manager’s FLWs “It the economy, stupid?”) was at center stage. Everyone during the period was referencing the economic gurus at Brookings.
https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/brookings-institute/
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/03/10/the-polarization-in-todays-congress-has-roots-that-go-back-decades/
If you are happy with Media Bias Fact Check, they state, “We also rate them Very High for factual reporting due to strong sourcing and a clean fact check record.”
The first few sites I looked at agreed with Matt that the Brookings Institute was middle of the road. Some noting they had many conservative staff as well as liberal staff. But, even if we disagree whether they are middle of the road or slightly favoring the left–the main point is that they are a trustworthy site.
Accuracy or inaccuracy of course was not what you alleged. Non aligned what what you alleged. What I said is anyone who is 96% donating to Democrat candidates or causes is in fact owned by Democrats. This was not even within shouting distance of representing differing ideas or being neutral. Or worrying about what they missed. Like saying because they counted up who used their information over 20 years ago that it meant anything useful.
They could be 100% accurate but not representative, thorough or even useful. All they have to do is avoid -when- examining what they don’t want to see. Or exclusively examine what they want to have happen. For example, they might say that individuals have trouble accessing medical care if it’s too expensive (duh) so supply information about the benefits of universal health care supplied by the government but never mention that having enough money to buy health care won’t do any good if there aren’t people or facilities available to supply all the government promises to everyone. Or examine human nature when supplied at other people’s expense or address what happens when a centralized government eliminates competion. Or fraud or politics or location or any of the myriad of other things government canlt address now that lead to unsustainability.
This is my complaint with media in general. It’s devolved into two groups shouting to get their agendas when both ways are destructive and compromise is much more likely to give better results. People want their way and are unwilling to examine or admit weaknesses in their own assumptions.
And my problem is with some commenters is that they take a site or two that says something like “based on donations to primarily Democratic candidates and policy advocacy that slightly favors the left,” to argue that even though a number of sites say middle of the road or even conservative, the site therefore cannot be considered middle of the road.
Given any chance to argue that we’re wrong, they gleefully jump on it even though it makes no material difference in the overall point of the paragraph that they are not disagreeing with.
I’d say some folks want to nit pick but I suspect then I’d be accused of arguing that some folks are pro lice.
So the aphorism of “putting your money where your mouth is” means nothing? It wasn’t anywhere near ” slightly”- it was 96%. And adopting that word “slightly” is just echoing that questionable opinion. Looking into the bona fides of a resource is as important as accurately reporting what it says.
And as for “gleefully”, well that’s not at all subjective… I simply have learned from the “covid is all a lie” posters to look at who produces what they repeat as fact just because otherwise you get into a spit fest of personal remarks. I had no agenda when I started. I was just checking as the citing of a twenty year old study made questionable sense . As I would hope everyone might do. It was what routine for me. Sorry it offends. Hmm… Maybe I should change my name to “some folks.”
These sort of things always come down to the same thing. That unless a media group has a principle like the famous witness oath in court trials – to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth- EVEN IF IT TELLS AGAINST THEIR OWN AGENDA- they are unreliable witnesses. Cherry picking topics to cover or selecting only certain words in a statement against the sense of the whole or only interviewing those from one side of an issue or using biased sources or not mentioning inconvenient facts, etc all are just as antithetical to trust as any conspiracy site. It has lead to where the country is right now- irreconcilably divided with zero common ground to be found and no mutual respect. Nothing can be considered reliable when the only choice is two opposing wrongs. All that results from that reliance is being wrong for sure. Just in different ways.
It’s always great to find a source that is so honest and respectable – so principled- that their opinion will at least cause a re examination of my own opinion when it differs. Oh, well. As MLK said “I have a dream.”
This is the paragraph that we rely on from the Brookings Institute:
“Their policy paper argued that attempts thus far to address America’s growing despair have been “fragmented” with a focus on treating symptoms of this despair, not the root causes. The paper argues for a federal-level entity to connect local efforts to other communities in need of those same strategies.”
Multiple sources call the Brookings Institute middle of the road or even conservative. No reliable source calls them a site that is dishonest or highly problematic. You can disagree that they are middle of the road. But… you haven’t disagreed with the point that Matt reference from them.
That seems like the place to argue to me.
I agree. Arguing about the petty things will have us missing the whole point every time. These cherry picked arguments lead to the stagnation of any progress.
We’re suffering as a nation and the lack of compassion or understanding for the suffering amongst our own is alarming. What has become of us? What have we let corporations do to us, yall?
I would have to try to miss a point that badly. People are suffering in the richest state in the richest country in the world. Dumbass partisanship is part of the problem. I would prefer to address the homeless problem than see ppl living in squalor on the streets and argue about the level of liberalness or conservativeness of the Brookings Institute.
Well we are not the richest. What we are is a tax shelter for both foreign and domestic countries. Looks good on paper. But a whole lot of that money is own elsewhere and is just on the books here for tax purposes. We are really, really good at manipulating the tax code. Frankly at thus point, more foreign or international companies by far than domestic ones. And no one is much invested in others getting rich. But you do know the USA routinely comes in with the second highest median wage after Luxembourg? What that buys is just not what people expect it to buy.
Well…Thank God we got “legalization” to make us “free” and “safe”!! Feels great- doesn’t it?!
Legalization or some form of increased regulation was coming to the triangle whether we wanted it or not. This was beyond our control as the millions of voters and thousands of bureaucrats to the south would determine cannabis’ future. It was a good run and we should be thankful for the opportunities we had.
Agreed! We didn’t vote for legalization, but it was coming. Government & Big Pharma have once again ensured only they win . But My husband and I will always fondly remember the many great years we had , the lifelong friends made with many of our yearly trim crews , and the harvest parties…. those were awesome! We never quit our “day jobs “ so we’ve not had the recent hardships that a lot of our farmer friends are. I pray for them and for Humboldt .
Most things that are bad for many are still good for some. Don’t put rosey filters on it. https://www.thesouthend.wayne.edu/perspectives/article_1ee323e4-0c72-11e9-80d8-63bd62297a85.html
Yep , Rosy !!!!!
Yes, I agree.
Overdoses have nothing to do with sadness at the moment. Overdoses have everything to do with the feds cutting fentanyl into heroin and then Distributing it to the streets to cull the population like they did with drugs in the 60s and 70s and 80s
Can you support your claims?
Close the border, stop the human race to the bottom
You probably don’t believe COINTELPRO was a thing either.
gary webb would tell you all about the iran/contra tie-in with the crack cocaine explosion in the 80’s, if he hadn’t committed suicide by multiple rounds to the head
wrong, lets argue about democrats vs republicans some more.
With forest fire smoke blanketing Trinity all summer, even its tourism industry is vulnerable.
Yes, plus limited water supplies and poor cellular coverage makes it real rugged for the city slickers.
And running for your life from wildfires with ur kids n animals , not on anyones,”what I did for summer!” wish list.
lol
Isn’t California 65 percent democrats? Or is it higher, there’s your problem, democrats can’t even ride a bike ,let alone run a government.
Maybe northern Idaho is your land of ilk and dummies.
So why do you Democrat’s always suggest native born conservatives leave California if they do not like the policies? I have a better retort for you, How about you leave my county and go back to that SoCal wasteland. . The SoCal part humans moving up here have done more harm to this county than anything else. So, pack up, load it in your Prius. and skeedaddle back southward and never come back. Thanks for doing your part in making my county a better place to live by leaving. We appreciate it and will be starting a new business repatriating all southern Californians in Humboldt back home where they belong.
Biden rides a bike the same way he manages the economy.
To be fair he wasn’t in motion when his non-injury fall happened. That tumble was a bogus “breaking news” non-event. While I’m no fan of Biden -who appears to be suffering some kind of dementia- getting your foot stuck in a toe clip trying to dismount is not a rare event. Maybe you hop on a bike and let us know how toe clips go for you, if you even own a bike, or understand toe clips.
Maybe he shouldn’t be using toe clips anymore. Maybe he should start riding something with 3 wheels, maybe a recumbent.
Maybe you should read the whole story not just the headline. So he had a tiny tumble dismounting. Transitions can be hard. But bored people love to make something out of nothing . I swear, the media is fkn mental and they 100% cater to gullible people with low IQs who live their lives reading only the headlines . Which is why many live shallow lives built on lies.
Maybe you haven’t been listening to his marble mouth speeches. His false accounts that are recanted immediately by his handlers. How about the Easter bunny experience. How about the troubles he had getting onto air force one. How about calling Kamala president. Shall I keep enlightening you. Mr Biden is senile. I don’t think anyone with a grandfather such as myself revels in the constant sorrow that is our president. Just ask yourself who is this codger benefitting?
I so agree with this. You’re right, some of the population do only read the titles. It’s a type of mental laziness that’s baffling to me. You can find articles on the internet with click bait titles that literally have nothing to do with what’s in the article itself. Dangle the media carrot and the money horse will follow, I guess.
But back to business…How many repbulicans are going to vote for a Fuel Tax Holiday?
My aunt had something like this…
They are pretty good deals. You can get them with either 3 or 7 speeds and they will hold a lot of weight and cargo. No shame in going 3 wheeled in your 70s.
Yeah but nowadays they cost $5000 instead of $250
I think the one you sit in would best suit him. The one with two big wheels in the back and two small wheels in the front
My old ass did the tour of the unknown coast a few times, with toe clips. Never seen someone fall because they couldn’t get foot out of clip, i guess thats why its news worthy lol, crack me up. Man down!
Oh ruhreally a few times you handled the toughest century complete with “The Wall? ” Or did you do the 20 mile fun ride. Crack me up !
I said TUC, your as bad as “democracy now” at stretching the facts. And the so called Wall isn’t the toughest part, try maybe a little fog rain on top of endless hill with about a 30 mph breeze so when you stand up to pedal all you do is peel out, now that cracks me up. Finish that baby and the pavement feels like your sleeping on a cloud .
I call bullshit. I’ve fallen because of stuck cleats and everyone I know who rides with clips has done it at least once.
If I’m still riding at almost 80, I’m calling that a fucking win even if I take an occasional tumble.
Ride more, write less.
Sorry Tim for you and your rider friends, i rode for years with others. We used toe clip and twist locks, none of us fell a upon stopping. Hopefully your gang of riders use helmets like ole Joe to prevent injuries. Its a simple procedure, break one foot free upon stopping. Hope your enjoy riding , i know i did for many years until cell phones came on the scene. Now is just dumb to ride.
Probably no one on that tour was 79 years old and a “sunday rider”. [edit]
Correct, any level headed 79 or lets just call it 80 year old wouldn’t hop on a bike. Pump with pride Bidenaires, just cracks me up that he is the best you could find to be prez, total failure. Sure hurt the democratic party, most Americans don’t look to far past the price of goods, your party just took a big big hit, make 2024 even more interesting, hopefully another non career politician.
So your argument is that he can’t even balance on a stationary bike?
Must be a real show when he puts one in forward motion.
Jerome Powell, Fed Chair, is a Trump appointee.
I was impressed that he can ride a bike at all, no way trump could.
Or maybe the orange buffoon was too smart to try and ride a bike at 80 years old. Just plain dumb no matter the angle lol, about as dumb as a person lying about their education, crack me up.
I’ve got a friend who is pushing 80 who had been doing long bicycle rides to raise money for Habitat for Humanity for the last 20+ years. He and Jimmy Carter are icons to emulate as I age.
As you said, all your friends have fallen when coming to a stop. Maybe a good idea to stay away from a 2 wheeler.
Somebody mentioned a recumbent for Biden.
Maybe.
But Trump had a pretty big fall too.
Out of his incumbent.
2 years on, Trump is still whining about that fall!
Biden? He was walking his fall off in moments.
Biden probably doesn’t even remember falling. He is truly living in the moment.
Still stuck on Trump, crack me up. Get up to sped bud, Biden is the new dummy in the white house .
Biden is the new dummy in the white house ..
Please call half the Republican party and help them understand that.
They are cracked up, and don’t seem to “sped”.
?
3/4s of all politicians backed Trump at one time or another, in fear they would get called out on their corrupt ways and lose an election. We should never ever again elect a NON-career politician, now that cracks me up. Smile all you Bidenaires, you’ve been had
It seems the only one in fear of their corrupt ways getting called out, while simultaneously losing an election is Trump.
But, sure, crack yourself up.
Pay attention, you are supporting the other crime cartel.
PS, they work together to encourage transfer of wealth.
zerohedge.com/geopolitical/its-not-turndownits-takedown-austin-fitts
Zero hedge? ?? oh that’s rich stuff.
Here’s a just-as-good-for-news-as-zerohedge website for ya:
https://www.clowns.com/
How come when i search that it takes me to the white house. Crack me up
☺❤?
The blue counties have more money. California provides welfare to poor red states.
That being said the dems are not much better than republicans on economics. I will never forget who repealed glass-steagall and had to be pushed for year by constituents to reinstate it, or who was paid exorbitant speaking fees by wall street.
Take the blinders off, head to downtown Frisco, this state is a mess. Mismanaged in every aspect
Take your own advice and tour around the most conservative states like Alabama and Mississippi, I have. The southern conservative states are worse in almost every measurable way, if they didn’t outlaw homlessness and send their homless to California, we wouldn’t have so many. I don’t support democrats but you are foolish for thinking Republicans are any better.
The most conservative states top every list of worst places to live, based on the same kind of metrics. The worst county in California is much better than the best county Mississippi. Republicans and Democrats are the same thing, unfortunately most people like to pick team and think they picked right.
https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/worst-states-to-live-in
It’s not what you make, it’s what you don’t spend.
Which makes you a prisoner of lowered expectations.
The future generation will own nothing
We look at Zillow.com every day. The choice seems to be either stay here and try not to look too hard at the community, or leave for a 500 SF apartment somewhere in an expensive city. At least it would be near better medical care and away from this mess, but I do enjoy mowing the lawn — and anyway, I was born here, so…
Haha, I like mowing the yard, too! It is great exercise. The weather here near coast is so nice and cool in the summer.
You think the city is all clean with no mess? If you’re trying to get away from homelessness you’d better go more rural.
…or live in a high-rise.
Stack and Packs to the rescue
Move to Detroit. Beautiful homes underv$100k
Every merchant I talk to in Eureka/Arcata tells me the same thing, extreme difficulty hiring anyone……
are they paying a living wage?
The timber and fishing economies of Humboldt were gutted by environmentalists who turned a blind eye to the environmental destruction of the pot growers. Then the county enabled transients and drug addicts with handouts (paid for by people who work for a living and are taxed to transfer their money to the unwilling and unable). Drive around Eureka, Arcata, Garberville, etc. The place looks like a post-apocolyptic war zone. Streets are crawling with filthy bums and lunatics. Drive through the outlying areas of the county and you’ll see the trash and destruction created by the “farmers”. Humboldt county has exactly the type of government and economy it deserves.
Not how I remember it. I remember timber companies hiding their clearcuts and manufacturing plants outsourcing mill jobs to Mexico. The first was a plywood plant – when was that, 1980? But it’s not about the cause anymore, it’s about what the hell do I do now? Retire here and live low? I might like to try fishing, but the fish are gone. Road trips? Glad we didn’t opt for an RV! Maybe I will blog. BTW, no one “deserves” bad government and a shitty economy.
And the mills that remain? How much is now automated. Does anyone “pull” green chain anymore?
I’ve mentioned it before, but as a kid in the 60s, some “old” man said that once the pulp mills come in the logging industry has 30 years. That has stuck with me for over 50 years.
Also, Humboldt lost 5% of it’s population in the 1960s***. The Eureka and county I knew then was a slightly decrepit place. Really decrepit in some places.
I still love it, loved it then, but it wasn’t some lost paradise.
***After more than doubling in the 20 years before 1960.
edited to add: Remember what happened to PALCO in ’85?
Elections matter and have consequences. When people vote for politicians and a political party that pushes them around and destroys their economy, then, yes, they get what they deserve.
Most people don’t vote.
The state legalized it. Nothing at the county level was ever gonna save the green rush. And blaming one political party for all the problems just highlights your extreme partisanship and lack of critical thinking.
Yes, the end of legacy farmers and green rush were beyond our control. It’s not that we wanted things to be this way, it’s simply impossible to control.
As for partisan blaming, ya this is more tribalism. There is only very small differences overall between the parties and the biggest difference is really peoples’ incomes. If you think outside of the two party paradigm you can see that the wealthy use both parties to their advantage.
I personally don’t care whose in the white house. Yes, some are better than others but my singular vote will never make the difference. I might as well goto the casino or play the lotto as I’ll have better odds there. Ride the waves as they come in or sit outside the break waiting for the next good set. Don’t think you can actually influence the waves as they come in and you’ll find way more happiness and success.
Does no one use the word capitalism anymore to describe an economy that says make as much as you can, anyway that you can and blame the poor for your woes?
“Does no one use the word capitalism anymore to describe an economy that says make as much as you can, anyway that you can and blame the poor for your woes?”
A lot of people don’t like market economies.
It’s got a lot of problems, only the alternative has more
?
The redwood park expansion and earlier land acquisitions push resulted in an almost instantaneous exodus of people and a matching drop in income for those remaining. Whether that would have been a somewhat more gradual decline due to greedy companies like Maxam… Likely. Milling was changed to shipping logs. But the population decline in employed people was sudden, severe and devastating to business in 1972-1974 and again in 1978-1980. And directly due to government taking. The void was filled with by those not paying taxes.
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CAHUMB0POP
https://www.gao.gov/products/ced-77-122
When representative democracy creates more problems than it solves, of course it needs PROPAGANDA to survive.
Spot on Maximus . Glad I got out when I did . Sold my place for a small fortune and moved away.
Yet here you are.
Some people love this place and believe they can help others by expressing their experiences.
Is the grass greener where you are now? where’d you go, what you doing there?
I’d love to know also.. we are looking to get outta here. Anyone else have an honest accounting of life on the other side of Humboldt?
Moved to Texas dfw area,, Theres a few downsides,, the heat,, the traffic other than that, but I Got a great job, great neighbors who have real jobs and don’t grow dope or scam welfare, lots for the kids to do. They don’t pander to welfare bums or junkies, most everybody has a real job.. Couldn’t be happier.
Thanks Chris. Good to know. Relatives in Iowa and Montana, visited Texas and Wyoming. It’s even safe to walk around in the evening in some of the towns. Imagine.. my problem is leaving the grandkids. It’d break my heart. But I know nothing will ever change here. 40 years, same shit different day. Glad ur happy.
That is some impressively delusional revisionist history. Enviromentalist are the only reason we have any old growth or fish left at all.
Then why is there no one living on that shining city on the hill that the environmentalists saved? Could it be that was a case of environmentalist’s blinders where logging was targeted while pot grows were not? There were no tree sitters at illegal grows that I ever heard of. Maximum did not revise history as much as report what exists now.
https://eelriver.org/2017/06/12/illegal-marijuana-grow-sites-a-stain-on-public-lands/#:~:text=But%20off%20the%20beaten%20path%2C%20away%20from%20the,deaths%20and%20serious%20threats%20to%20local%20water%20supplies.
Oh yeah, hella handouts. That’s why they look like filthy bums and lunatics. FYI, it’s gonna take more money to fix it, not less.
Timber was gutted by over extraction from greedy capitalists.
Over fishing combined by river degradation from poor logging practices has crushed our salmon runs.
Yeah? Where is the improvement? Since of course the logging has been curtailed for more than forty years? Could it be that something else is happening?
You hit the nail on the head
These folks should try to live off of investment income—ideally, something with dividends. The taxation is about half than what is taken out of working people’s paychecks and this current economic dip is the perfect time to invest!
Hmm… How to get the money to invest? Somehow using illegal drugs until their ship magically comes in hasn’t worked yet. People need to know the difference between being incidently unfortunate and self destructive.
Banks, that’s where the money is.
And just how many organizations, full of employees themselves who are busy not being a member of the economically miserable class they tallied up by being employed, did it take to come up with the observation that a lack of steady work at a reasonable wage leads to- drum roll- a lack of income? Each mounted on their chosen agenda to tilt at their chosen villain social cause with their own Sancho Panza trailing along to document the ride? And, like Don Quixote, adventuring by taking mostly real issue and delusionally seeing them as something other than the simple issue is?
California is after all much in the middle of the rankings of per capita poverty by State. Do we just complain more than the average even though our poverty seems largely self imposed? Because average per capita household income in California ranks fifth in the nation. Californians are in the luxurious position of pretty much screwing themselves up volutarily.
https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/per-capita-income-by-state#:~:text=Per%20Capita%20Income%20by%20State%202022%20%20,%20%20%2442%2C122%20%2046%20more%20rows%20
https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/poverty-rate-by-state
Victim-blaming like “Californians are in the luxurious position of pretty much screwing themselves up voluntarily” belies the fact that it’s all about the rich getting richer at everyone else’s expense. It might help if enough people actually voted.
Although California’s corporate and wealth taxes have been a windfall for CA, as we now have close to a 100 billion surplus to our economy.
What’ll happen to California’s tax revenue during Biden’s Recession?
California government usually does well out of recessions. People moving and selling houses resulting in capital taxes. People dumping stocks result in capital gains taxes. The Federal government forks out grants, of which California gets a large share due to population.
Unfortunately those not not steady income. Businesses and ordinary people paying taxes from wages and profits don’t get those benefits.
I am a lot more concerned about how we will fair in the coming civil war.
Stop identifying as a victim and you won’t have to worry about it. The conversation changes from useless finger pointing to self realization.
Not me. I identify as a winner. Not like Trump.
It is all about the rich getting richer at everyone else’s expense. Many do not vote because they can see plainly enough that both parties are damn near the same on economic issues.
Yes, pretty much the same. You get what you deserve and if you offer real value you will be rewarded, IF, you are diligent and resourceful. I’m gonna adjust and continue no matter whose in the White House.
Reform the tax code period. Not just capital gains but all money just being moved around but not creating income for all. Both domestic and foreign.
California is in the top 10 states for per capita income, but that is not a very important metric when we have no laws ensuring economic equity.
And who is in charge of making those laws? And who looks to government to pay poor people directly but not ensure a good wage long term? Frankly the fact that there is so much income creating a high cost of living yet never using that income to create good wage paying jobs is the result of choices not to do so by the electorate.
There economic equity comes from convincing you to shop at box stores and eat out of cardboard boxes.
“Economic equity”, as in those that don’t work enjoy the same lifestyle as those that do?
“Windmills and welfare checks “ ain’t working out .
Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime.
Give people a hand up, not a handout.
I agree, that is why we need to adjust minimum wage to $22.50 immedatly to compensate for decades of inflation.
Minimum wage needs to be 70.00 bucks a hour , right now! Crack me up. Nobody wants to work, and the honest hard working people are already beyond 22.50 a hour. Crack me up, i want 70 bucks a hour now lol.
You raise the minimum wage like that and you’ll see even more inflation and the same people who got raises will you no where faster. Not sure if you have ever owned a business but if employees cost more then the price of goods/services must go up too. Brutal cycle and the only way out is with education, hard work and discipline.
posting cliches on a comment board, wow, what a revolutionary idea. More of that Lou and we should get all our problems fixed in no time.
Feed people on bullshit and they all drown eventually. But there used to be fish and now you can’t keep ’em even if you can catch ’em.
Legalization cause a lot of this it’s only gonna get worse California sucks ass
Legalization was coming one way or another and this was never gonna end well. We had a great run here and hopefully people saved and educated themselves along the way.
Lake County is the poorest County in the State. According to a statement from Bill Diener of the Konocti School District back in 2019, there were 700 homeless school children in Lake County, with a large percentage located in the City of Clearlake.
Lake County is known as one of the ‘Last Outlaw Counties’. Governmental corruption was bountiful in decades past, which is why Clearlake, and Lake Country is what it is today.
Former Clearlake Police Chief Bob Chalk rented properties, over a dozen, to Ex Convicts that manufactured methamphetamine. There is good and bad wherever any of us go, but it seems that Clearlake has a high rate of deadbeats ‘per capita’, than any other place I have seen. Clearlake has been in such disarray for so long (decades), that most folks are ‘Complacent’, they just ‘go with it’. No goals, no aspirations, no drive is the attitude of a high percentage of ‘Capita’.
25% of all the properties in Clearlake are in tax default, some going back to 1981 (Clearlake Incorporated itself November 14th 1980). The majority of the parcels are 50′ x 100′, not hardly rural. When the City Incorporated back in 1980, they promised the Citizens paved roads, it never happened, that was 41 years ago.
There is garbage everywhere, unpleasant people (there are also some good people), thousands of tons of hazardous vegetation scattered in and around Clearlake, and giant clouds of dirt when the Dukes of Hazard wannabes drive by.
Clearlake is so screwed up, it wont be fixed in the next 25 years. Some folks say it’ll never be fixed, but I believe it will change for the better, just not in my lifetime.
My observation, you want positive change, educate today’s children about the dangers of drugs. I guarantee you will see positive change in the ‘Big Picture’.
I almost forgot to mention, Clearlake, most of it, is Economically Obsolete.
I would take Mendocino or Humboldt Counties over Lake County any day of the week. Some folks do not know how lucky they are.
Worst part of Lake County: The employers here will not hire people who already live here…
OH, and there’s a long history of renters moving in and not paying the rent!
Now the battle is Air B&B’ers vs everyone else!
Go ahead and try to retire to Lake County. No Doctors, crappy hospitals, 80% welfare/Medi-Cal, then there’s Lake Pharmacy, which is “not taking any new patients”…
The new place to go, is Middletown, which will soon look like Calistoga + Laurel Canyon…
Middletown: The new Garberville, without the crooked church- hospital that’s sinking into the ground…
Over the last 4 years, all the MFT’s and Counselors for Lake County Office of Education were either forced to retire, or harassed until they quit.
So if they don’t get any applicants, it’s because they have a reputation as a poor quality employer…
OH but Tony: They built a Starbucks!
Watch Clear Lake turn into a giant truck stop, about the time the highway 29 project is complete… And Kelseyville is the next St Helena…
Hummm, I thought trinity was the poorest. If lake is worse I am very very sorry to hear that.
Data is never boring. Blah blah is.
AIDs org chief: Food crisis will cause ‘millions of extra deaths’ globally
Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Peter Sands, warned of the devastating effects a food crisis exacerbated by the war in Ukraine could have on the world.
In an interview with AFP, Sands talked about the increased risks of diseases when individuals are malnourished, a side effect that could lead to millions of deaths.
“I think we’ve probably already begun our next health crisis. It’s not a new pathogen but it means people who are poorly nourished will be more vulnerable to the existing diseases,” Sands told the outlet while at a G20 health minister meeting.
“I think the combined impact of infectious diseases and the food shortages and the energy crisis… we can be talking about millions of extra deaths because of this,” he added.
https://thehill.com/policy/international/3534520-aid-organizations-chief-food-crisis-will-cause-millions-of-extra-deaths-globally/
Why don’t they truck the grain westward towards Europe?
More Biden dumbsh*t ideas…. will cigarettes be the next cartel import?
Just one month after publishing a rule to ban menthol cigarettes, President Biden intends to force tobacco companies to reduce cigarette nicotine content. Lower nicotine content in cigarettes can quickly be expected to increase cigarette consumption.
Why? Nicotine is a highly addictive, but relatively harmless substance, much like caffeine. Nicotine itself does not cause cancer, heart disease, or lung disease. More than 7,000 other chemicals in cigarettes and cigarette smoke cause those illnesses. It is ridiculous to seek a limit on nicotine, the least dangerous of these ingredients.
Michael Russell, one of the first researchers to identify nicotine as the primary reason smokers became addicted, is often quoted as saying, “people smoke for the nicotine, but they die from the tar.” If President Biden gets his way, people will be forced to smoke more cigarettes to get the nicotine they crave. Someone who typically smokes one pack a day would now need two, or even three, packs of deadly cigarettes to meet their addiction. That’s a lot more tar.
https://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/3532823-counterproductive-federal-nicotine-limits-will-only-increase-harm/
Alot more tar AND taxes
Awaiting approval due to stupid link limit.
Less nicotine equals the need to buy more “packs”…
People buying more “packs” means Biden gets more “tax”…
As prices of gas doubled, now maybe only half as many gallons are sold, and gas is taxed by the gallon…
And Biden promises to “save us” by a short window of no gas tax, like 90 days… But with demand way down, that’s not going to do him, or us, that much good…
Too little, too late…
Par for the Biden course….
And that just means the gas companies will just keep the prices the same, and make even more profit than they already are…
A lose/lose, except for the gas companies…
Even if the price comes down for Americans, the gas companies will export more than they should in order to profit the most, and cut America short.
Stop exports now, that is just exploiting America, to our detriment.
That’s what you get with liberal policies.
President Biden really does not want the public to know about his federal takeover of election administration. Dozens of members of Congress have repeatedly asked for details, to no avail. Good government groups, members of the media, and private citizens have filed requests under the Freedom of Information Act. Not a single one has been responded to. All signs indicate a concerted effort to keep the public in the dark until at least after the November midterm elections. The lack of transparency and responsiveness is so bad that the Department of Justice and some of its agencies have been repeatedly sued for the information.
When President Biden ordered all 600 federal agencies to “expand citizens’ opportunities to register to vote and to obtain information about, and participate in, the electoral process” on March 7, 2021, Republican politicians, Constitutional scholars, and election integrity specialists began to worry exactly what was up his sleeve.
Find out more here…..
https://thefederalist.com/2022/06/23/yes-biden-is-hiding-his-plan-to-rig-the-2022-midterm-elections/
The 3 most effective things we can do to improve our Humboldt community are:
1. Argue about why the place is such a cesspool.
2. Grow more marijuana.
3. Don’t worry and be happy.
trinity county being the poorest county does not account for illegal marijuana sales. That being said where is the guy rainman whom was poisoned and had his animales killed by the police mob. Since it happened the locals started a war with some super craft hightech tribe that is seemingly unstopable. I would wish for the offending parties to make amends, ask for forgivenes, pay the Shekels and move on to a better place spiritually as well as physically. The guy did no one wrong and it has been absolute hell simce it happened.
Just remember for all of the struggle and strife on this earth that we are just a tiny speck in the universe.
Immeasurably small and insignificant.
Have a nice day!
the local mob is getting obliterated i think it is amazing. great job. they will all be gone soon. i knew it would happen. they alao murered 1500 people with disguating oil they owe 500 million dollars.
I lived in Trinity County for 25 years. Stats like this are like a beautiful woman in a bikini, because what is most interesting is hidden from view.
Numbers don’t mean everything. A lot of people with much larger incomes from fancy places envied where I lived and how I spent my time. And didn’t make much.
As far as long life goes , you can have a very full life and die before your time. And you can live a long life and be a useless turd. So how old you are when you die means nothing.
When you try to optimize everything for security, comfort and convenience you really do turn into a turd.
One last thing about Trinity. The weed industry really brought in the worst sort of people. I look forward to the fall of weed in Trinity.
Well then.
That settles it.
It brought lots of bad types, but those that stay are the modern homesteading families. They are raising their kids today and those kids will be the future of trinity since most people moving to trinity center, Lewiston, etc are retired and well past kid bearing age.
NAMI is funded by pharmaceutical companies and is nothing but a lobby organization that tosses out a few zoom meetings. Everything is about money. No one really helps. It’s all about virtue signaling for dollars.
I’m confused. Legalization of marijuana was supposed to turn HumCo into paradise, or was I listening to the wrong liars. Cali is run by limousine liberals and champagne socialists, they talk big, do little, blame conservatives for their own mistakes. So fricking glad I finally left my home state….
You’re not the only one who’s glad.
Look for our Local Code Enforcement Division at Plannkng to be responsible for even more of this. As people lose their income security they will be bombarded with fines and engineering bills or lose their homes.
The lack of universal health care is so important and mentioned here rather derisively “so much for a rural rugged lifestyle”…really? So much for not having decent doctors readily available, eh? Maybe the author can get an appointment to see a primary care doctor when needed and a specialist when it matters. Maybe a trip to UCSF won’t break your budget beyond repair with travel & motel costs. But for the many many poor & elderly folks here the health care system is a mostly inaccessible nightmare. Few of us starve to death, but plenty of us die simply from the abysmal lack of decent medical care.
Universal health care does not result better, more or equal care in rural areas. Probably just the opposite. It just means that the government pays for what they are willing to pay for. Spending some time looking at the articles under health on the Canadian Broadcast Corporation shows that the same issues exist for rural places there- doctor shortage, long wait times, facilities too far away to be accessible, etc. I just wish that chanting the mantra of government health care was not seen as a panacea. Live rural anywhere and it’s the same. What is needed is rural representation in government. And California lost that with term limit laws.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7012120/#__sec18title
The rural wait times are generally short, actually, if we can provide the service.
However, much of the time patients will have to go to Redding, Davis or beyond, for many services that our little rural hospital can’t provide.
No matter what, the costs for medical bills are the biggest driver of American bankruptcy.
Universal health care would solve that, and it is a fair point to raise.
Debt for life isn’t a great solution for health struggles, which EVERYONE will have sooner or later.
Doctors don’t want to live here because of all the things in this article. I happen to have a very good doctor in my family. He recently looked at moving here and said that he couldn’t make nearly the same amount working here as most other places. He also didn’t want to live in a place that by almost every social metric is not doing well. That is why we don’t have good doctors.
Y’all suck. Seriously. What sucks more is that so many people are suffering and so many people don’t care or try to lend a helping hand.
Galatians 6:2
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ
Philippians 4:2
not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others
Proverbs 19:17
Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done.
Liberal policies are bad for rural communities. No logging, no fishing and more preserves because of the save the earth movement, but pot and drugs and crime get the red carpet treatment.
Given the conditions of Humboldt County over the last four decades or so, the evidence demonstrates that more than a few of our fellow county residents much prefer that, “pot and drugs and crime get the red carpet treatment.”
Sad but true
Did you know that mental health patients are frequently farmed out to out of area hospitals, and when they’re tossed out, they are not provided with a ride home? Did you know that Banks prey on the most financially vulnerable? Overdraft fees were originally designed as a courtesy, but now Banks rely on them for their revenue. Limiting the number of fees that can be charged to those on SSDI would be an ethical start. Support the overdraft protection act of 2021.
Thank you for this article Kim. (Time for a donation I think).
Makes the situation more real.
I am one of ‘those seniors’ and am very grateful I was able to plan ahead. I have enough for my needs. I don’t have everything I want all the time. I focus on having enough. Blame is a dead end.
Thank you!