Arnon Grunberg

Sea

Mountains

On the flames – The Economist:

‘The flames are still roaring, the fire crews are still battling and the people of Los Angeles have barely begun to grieve. As of January 16th, the wildfires that struck the city had killed at least 25 people and destroyed more than 12,000 buildings. Whole neighbourhoods look as if they have been firebombed. JPMorgan Chase, a bank, estimates that the bill for the damage will exceed $50bn, making these fires the costliest in American history . Even before the flames are put out, many Angelenos are wondering: could some of the pain have been averted? Alas, the answer is yes.
Living in Los Angeles has always involved risk. Cradled uneasily between the mountains and the sea, America’s second-largest city is susceptible to fires, floods and earthquakes.’

(…)

‘But Californians voted in 1988 to give an elected insurance commissioner the power to stop insurance firms from raising prices. Insurers were forced to use historical data on wildfires, and could not adjust premiums to the added risks from a changing climate. Not only has a crucial incentive to make homes safer been lacking, but some insurers have been pulling out of the state because writing policies is unrewarding. A reform to allow them to use model-based estimates of risk came into effect only on January 2nd.
California’s predilection for referendums also restricts the state’s freedom to budget. A ballot initiative, passed in 1978, makes it hard to raise property taxes. Deprived of revenue from taxes, cities are more dependent on fees for services such as firefighting.’

(…)

‘LA will be rebuilt: Mr Newsom talks of a new “Marshall plan” for the city. People will always want to live in such a beautiful, vibrant place.’

Read the article here.

Such a beautiful, and vibrant place.

Absolutely, I vividly remember a short but exciting visit to the Thomas Mann House in June.

Whole neighborhoods look like well maybe not Gaza or Dresden in 1945, but still.

Some of the pain could have been averted. As so often.
We think we get better at averting pain, but maybe we are wrong.

Well, postponing pain is averting pain.
Postponement is the best solution.

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