Recently, I wrote about how scoundrels stealing my catalytic converter inspired half-baked fantasies of vigilantism. I wanted that to be the end of the story, but as the poet-entrepreneur Mick Jagger famously sang, you can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometime you’ll find, you get what you need
* It would also be a good bullet item 1 for a politician to run on. I am going to have to check but I think at least one Police song or two could swing the lyric without a problem (in lieu of don't stand so close to me) UtSC, you know how bad the world's got?
Michael -- Another great post. While you tout your humor chops, this story has a lot more than that. Today I'm just gonna follow your prompts:
1. Will is a fine alias. It sounds like Will won the lottery in life. Loving family, time to dream and explore lots of stuff.
2. We are down from a peak of 5 cars down to 2. Miles per year are down about 60% from the pre-pandemic days.
3. Worked for a start-up years ago that sold out to 3M. The biz was supply chain management. Don't think we really knew what that really meant. Don't think we have learned much in the 20 years since.
4. Property crime sucks. Half of us want to never regulate biz in any way. The first WTC bombing and the OKC domestic terrorism incidents benefited from tracking the VIN of the vehicle involved in the wreckage. Seems that etching and tracing numbers on cat converters and making it a felony to remove the VIN like we do on guns would make the job a lot easier. They could still be reused but law enforcement would be able to track them.
5. You will attend or host a Labor Day pool party before your Prius gets a catalytic converter.
One child returning from overseas. Wanted me to find a car for him. The budget was slim. Found a reliable car that had been hail damaged. One away at college, one living at home and then car each for my wife and I. Combined mileage certainly approached 700,000 miles. One I eventually gifted to my brother's family. It passed its NYS inspection so it is deemed road-worthy. Three in the garage and two on driveway. On any given day it was a handful of keys to swap them into proper position so the person who needed to leave could. The overseas rescue car is still rolling and will likely be a vehicle in a few more University parking lots before it is all said and done. Four of those vehicles were rolling past 200K. I'm guessing if the catalytic converters got lifted, there wasn't much catalyst left inside the container.
PEAK CAR was not a good era but luckily short-lived. We had a drawer full of keys and fobs. It was like valet at a restaurant without a set of hooks. I think I have a couple of PEAK CAR photos when a big snow arrived. Parked strategically, if you pulled the cars out you might be able to only clean half the driveway. This might need to be a post someday. Our circumstances have changed drastically. A lot easier to find your keys.
I bet if a cop found a guy out in the street, cutting away a catalytic converter, he’d stop it (at least the cops in my town). But I’m thinking it doesn’t make much sense to form a catalytic converter task force to go out and look for it. Sad to say, some crimes are just going to fall under the radar. But dang, a straight pipe--it sounds kind of fun, doesn’t it? Like you’ve been running with a curved pipe all along, and now you’ve got a straight pipe, the car should be faster or more powerful or something. Now I want a straight pipe.
Sadly, the car isn’t any faster or more powerful. It’s a Prius, so speed and power just aren’t in the cards. But it does contribute to smog, so there’s that. But I agree, straight pipe sounds cool.
As for the cops, I hope a police officer would stop a crime in progress (although we’ve certainly seen instances where police fail to do that).
But here’s some local context that I didn’t include in the story. I’m not suggesting the LAPD increase patrols on the off chance that they catch a random thief. I’m suggesting that the police target the buyers of stolen catalytic converters. This particular crime is rising fast in Los Angeles (a recent news story put the number at 60 per week, but that’s likely low because it’s based on insurance claims). This kind of theft costs an insured owner like me about $500, and someone who doesn’t file a claim about $3,000. (There’s also lost work time and the cost of a rental car, but it’s tougher to calculate that). There’s also the cost to insurance companies and all motorists because claims drive up premiums. And there are the environmental costs.
My beef with the police, and I’ve taken it up with them and my city councilman, is that the LAPD is on record as saying they won’t investigate this kind of crime at all. Instead, the LAPD points the finger at the DA with a soft on crime claim.
But I find that unconvincing for two reasons. First, it’s the city attorney who has jurisdiction here, so the DA’s policy is irrelevant. Second, the LAPD union is funding a recall against the DA, and LAPD officers routinely go on the record to blame prosecutors for failing to stop crimes they refuse to investigate. Meanwhile, the LAPD’s budget is nearly $2 billion a year - up 12 percent from last year. They have nearly 10,000 officers and a fleet of 16 helicopters.
That’s the local context. The people of Los Angeles are paying a lot of money for police protection, but instead of protection we’re getting excuses and a recall. Probably more than you wanted to know from a humor newsletter, so apologies if that’s too much info!
Our current DA, George Gascon, was previously the SF DA. Before that he was a police officer with the LAPD where oversaw the department’s post Rampart reforms. The first recall petition was filed the day after Gascon took office. That one failed. There’s a 90-day waiting period to start another recall. The second recall was filed on the 91st day. We’re currently waiting to see if recall 2 has enough signatures. But if it fails, I’m sure they’ll do recall 3. Fun fact: California has ridiculously low thresholds for recalls.
Before we moved to Chicago in 2018, my wife and I lived in San Francisco for five years. The standard, Wonder Bread corruption of the Windy City is a welcome respite from the California ballot initiative circus. Though I absolutely love California. Just disappointed in myself for not having Facebook or Google stock options so we could afford a house.
You definitely should’ve gotten those FB or Google stock options. We bought our house in 2018. We spent about 6 years trying to save a down payment and watching prices rise faster than we could save. But then my wife went to work for a tech company and between her higher salary and options we were finally able to buy a home here. I don’t know a single person our age who has managed to buy a home in LA without help from their parents or a job in big tech.
True. We considered moving from SF to LA, but by 2018 we missed our window because property values were catching up to SF. And we had more connections to Chicago and the Midwest. Also, we now have fresh water. #Chinatown
Michael -- so many years ago for me but I remember recalls and voter initiatives were just AMAZING in CA. I remember getting a voter guide in the mail and there were two different initiatives about gill netting of fish. There was a lot of required work and research to vote the ballot.
Jul 24, 2022·edited Jul 24, 2022Liked by Michael Estrin
This post has a justifiably somber feel. This entire story arc is a bummer. The financial death spiral you spoke about is very real and can be even more insidious. In Chicago, where I live, parking tickets serve as a regressive tax on "paycheck-to-paycheck" citizens. If you can't or simply don't remember to pay, the penalties compound, leading to ridiculous fees. It doesn't take long before the impounded car/suspended driver's license/can't work/lost job/destitute cycle commences.
To the prompts: 1. Will is perfect. Also would've accepted Larry. 2. We went to one car in fall 2019 (lucky) and now we're a big biking family. Aside from road trips to see in-laws, we drive less than 2K miles per year. 3. As a neoliberalist, MBA cuck, unfortunately, a lot. 4. No comment. 5. Sadly, no.
The tickets, especially parking tickets, are a regressive tax here too. Our parking enforcement signs are notoriously difficult to parse. I’ll try and take a photo of our parking signs for a Wednesday posts -- they’re brutal but good for a laugh. Also, gotta say I really appreciate your answers to the prompts.
So anyway, our client has stolen 21 catalytic converters (so far-- he’s out on bond, so stay tuned) but he just sells them to salvage yards, so no Mr. Big. He makes good money from them. Who knew?
Thanks for sharing this, Bev! I guess your client is proof that the cops *can* do something about this crime after all. Please keep us posted on the case!
We used to have two cars, then we were a one car family during the pandemic. Then it looked like Christina would go back to the office so we bought another car. She goes in a few days a week, so it’s pretty manageable to coordinate, since I work from home. Honestly, I think her work is going to be hybrid for the foreseeable future, so we’re using this time without one of our cars to see if we can go back to being a one car household. I guess that’s the bright side of all of this
“Unfuck the Supply Chain” would be a good band name.
Maybe that band already exists. If they do, I’m sure they’re based on Brooklyn.
* It would also be a good bullet item 1 for a politician to run on. I am going to have to check but I think at least one Police song or two could swing the lyric without a problem (in lieu of don't stand so close to me) UtSC, you know how bad the world's got?
Also this post was such a delightful and insightful slice of how the werld werks :)
Michael -- Another great post. While you tout your humor chops, this story has a lot more than that. Today I'm just gonna follow your prompts:
1. Will is a fine alias. It sounds like Will won the lottery in life. Loving family, time to dream and explore lots of stuff.
2. We are down from a peak of 5 cars down to 2. Miles per year are down about 60% from the pre-pandemic days.
3. Worked for a start-up years ago that sold out to 3M. The biz was supply chain management. Don't think we really knew what that really meant. Don't think we have learned much in the 20 years since.
4. Property crime sucks. Half of us want to never regulate biz in any way. The first WTC bombing and the OKC domestic terrorism incidents benefited from tracking the VIN of the vehicle involved in the wreckage. Seems that etching and tracing numbers on cat converters and making it a felony to remove the VIN like we do on guns would make the job a lot easier. They could still be reused but law enforcement would be able to track them.
5. You will attend or host a Labor Day pool party before your Prius gets a catalytic converter.
Thanks Mark! I fear you might be right about attending / hosting a Labor Day party before getting my car repaired.
Five cars! Please tell all about PEAK CAR
One child returning from overseas. Wanted me to find a car for him. The budget was slim. Found a reliable car that had been hail damaged. One away at college, one living at home and then car each for my wife and I. Combined mileage certainly approached 700,000 miles. One I eventually gifted to my brother's family. It passed its NYS inspection so it is deemed road-worthy. Three in the garage and two on driveway. On any given day it was a handful of keys to swap them into proper position so the person who needed to leave could. The overseas rescue car is still rolling and will likely be a vehicle in a few more University parking lots before it is all said and done. Four of those vehicles were rolling past 200K. I'm guessing if the catalytic converters got lifted, there wasn't much catalyst left inside the container.
PEAK CAR was not a good era but luckily short-lived. We had a drawer full of keys and fobs. It was like valet at a restaurant without a set of hooks. I think I have a couple of PEAK CAR photos when a big snow arrived. Parked strategically, if you pulled the cars out you might be able to only clean half the driveway. This might need to be a post someday. Our circumstances have changed drastically. A lot easier to find your keys.
I bet if a cop found a guy out in the street, cutting away a catalytic converter, he’d stop it (at least the cops in my town). But I’m thinking it doesn’t make much sense to form a catalytic converter task force to go out and look for it. Sad to say, some crimes are just going to fall under the radar. But dang, a straight pipe--it sounds kind of fun, doesn’t it? Like you’ve been running with a curved pipe all along, and now you’ve got a straight pipe, the car should be faster or more powerful or something. Now I want a straight pipe.
Sadly, the car isn’t any faster or more powerful. It’s a Prius, so speed and power just aren’t in the cards. But it does contribute to smog, so there’s that. But I agree, straight pipe sounds cool.
As for the cops, I hope a police officer would stop a crime in progress (although we’ve certainly seen instances where police fail to do that).
But here’s some local context that I didn’t include in the story. I’m not suggesting the LAPD increase patrols on the off chance that they catch a random thief. I’m suggesting that the police target the buyers of stolen catalytic converters. This particular crime is rising fast in Los Angeles (a recent news story put the number at 60 per week, but that’s likely low because it’s based on insurance claims). This kind of theft costs an insured owner like me about $500, and someone who doesn’t file a claim about $3,000. (There’s also lost work time and the cost of a rental car, but it’s tougher to calculate that). There’s also the cost to insurance companies and all motorists because claims drive up premiums. And there are the environmental costs.
My beef with the police, and I’ve taken it up with them and my city councilman, is that the LAPD is on record as saying they won’t investigate this kind of crime at all. Instead, the LAPD points the finger at the DA with a soft on crime claim.
But I find that unconvincing for two reasons. First, it’s the city attorney who has jurisdiction here, so the DA’s policy is irrelevant. Second, the LAPD union is funding a recall against the DA, and LAPD officers routinely go on the record to blame prosecutors for failing to stop crimes they refuse to investigate. Meanwhile, the LAPD’s budget is nearly $2 billion a year - up 12 percent from last year. They have nearly 10,000 officers and a fleet of 16 helicopters.
That’s the local context. The people of Los Angeles are paying a lot of money for police protection, but instead of protection we’re getting excuses and a recall. Probably more than you wanted to know from a humor newsletter, so apologies if that’s too much info!
This "soft on crime" stance sounds not-at-all-surprisingly familiar to the debacle in San Francisco.
Our current DA, George Gascon, was previously the SF DA. Before that he was a police officer with the LAPD where oversaw the department’s post Rampart reforms. The first recall petition was filed the day after Gascon took office. That one failed. There’s a 90-day waiting period to start another recall. The second recall was filed on the 91st day. We’re currently waiting to see if recall 2 has enough signatures. But if it fails, I’m sure they’ll do recall 3. Fun fact: California has ridiculously low thresholds for recalls.
Before we moved to Chicago in 2018, my wife and I lived in San Francisco for five years. The standard, Wonder Bread corruption of the Windy City is a welcome respite from the California ballot initiative circus. Though I absolutely love California. Just disappointed in myself for not having Facebook or Google stock options so we could afford a house.
You definitely should’ve gotten those FB or Google stock options. We bought our house in 2018. We spent about 6 years trying to save a down payment and watching prices rise faster than we could save. But then my wife went to work for a tech company and between her higher salary and options we were finally able to buy a home here. I don’t know a single person our age who has managed to buy a home in LA without help from their parents or a job in big tech.
True. We considered moving from SF to LA, but by 2018 we missed our window because property values were catching up to SF. And we had more connections to Chicago and the Midwest. Also, we now have fresh water. #Chinatown
Michael -- so many years ago for me but I remember recalls and voter initiatives were just AMAZING in CA. I remember getting a voter guide in the mail and there were two different initiatives about gill netting of fish. There was a lot of required work and research to vote the ballot.
The ballot initiatives here are bonkers.
This post has a justifiably somber feel. This entire story arc is a bummer. The financial death spiral you spoke about is very real and can be even more insidious. In Chicago, where I live, parking tickets serve as a regressive tax on "paycheck-to-paycheck" citizens. If you can't or simply don't remember to pay, the penalties compound, leading to ridiculous fees. It doesn't take long before the impounded car/suspended driver's license/can't work/lost job/destitute cycle commences.
To the prompts: 1. Will is perfect. Also would've accepted Larry. 2. We went to one car in fall 2019 (lucky) and now we're a big biking family. Aside from road trips to see in-laws, we drive less than 2K miles per year. 3. As a neoliberalist, MBA cuck, unfortunately, a lot. 4. No comment. 5. Sadly, no.
The tickets, especially parking tickets, are a regressive tax here too. Our parking enforcement signs are notoriously difficult to parse. I’ll try and take a photo of our parking signs for a Wednesday posts -- they’re brutal but good for a laugh. Also, gotta say I really appreciate your answers to the prompts.
So anyway, our client has stolen 21 catalytic converters (so far-- he’s out on bond, so stay tuned) but he just sells them to salvage yards, so no Mr. Big. He makes good money from them. Who knew?
Thanks for sharing this, Bev! I guess your client is proof that the cops *can* do something about this crime after all. Please keep us posted on the case!
We’re a one car family, but it’s easy because we both work from home. We mostly use the car for errands and road trips.
We used to have two cars, then we were a one car family during the pandemic. Then it looked like Christina would go back to the office so we bought another car. She goes in a few days a week, so it’s pretty manageable to coordinate, since I work from home. Honestly, I think her work is going to be hybrid for the foreseeable future, so we’re using this time without one of our cars to see if we can go back to being a one car household. I guess that’s the bright side of all of this