Longtime politician Karen Bass derailed by ‘bureaucratic barriers’

Who would have thought government was full of “bureaucratic barriers?”

Not longtime politician Karen Bass.

Asked this week why she’d failed to meet her own goal of ending the scourge of homelessness in her first term, she replied:

“I didn’t anticipate some of the bureaucratic barriers that I would experience, but I am prepared to take those on now.” 

Well. 

Bass, a former state assemblywoman and member of Congress, had served in elected government for 18 years prior to taking the mayor’s seat.

Yet she didn’t anticipate bureaucracy in a sprawling metropolis like LA? 

That’s odd.

But even if she flubbed or exaggerated her expectations, isn’t it the job of elected officials to navigate –– and, one might dare hope, reduce –– the hurdles of bureaucracy?

Per the city-led annual count required by the US government, 43,695 people remain homeless in LA as of the 2025 count (the most recent available) –– including 26,972 living on the streets.

That’s well north of zero, the goal Bass shared when when she took office in 2023.

The problem, of course, is not bureaucracy but city policy, set by the mayor and 15-member City Council. 

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That policy –– an epic fail –– centers on revolving-door programs such as rolling out laundry trucks for the homeless, “supervising” areas where people sleep in cars, and stashing some in hotel rooms at a cost of $226 per room per night.

Last year, LA taxpayers spent more than $400 million on homelessness. 

But just 10% of that went toward getting people off the streets for good, The California Post has reported.

Instead: Bass & Co. offer a doom loop that entrenches homelessness while enriching nonprofits, hotels, developers, and other stakeholders in the homeless industrial complex.

To make meaningful change, the city will need to course-correct and address the primary causes of homelessness: addiction and mental illness.

Blaming bureaucracy –– while ignoring hard reality –– offers a case study in how to look weak.

Bass did assure voters that she’s now prepared to confront the twin scourges of homelessness and bureaucracy. 

Should they believe her this time, or are her expectations amiss again?