THE BEST IS YET TO COME
of smog. The smog, which scientists tied to automobile use, made irritated eyes, irritated respiratory tracts, chest pains, cough, nausea, and headaches regular occurrences and led to long-term lung damage. In 1947, things became so bad that the city started the Air Quality Management District (“AQMD”) and began monitoring smog levels. The AQMD passed rules limiting emissions from cars, factories, and farms (back then, tires were often burned to keep crops warm). The guidelines were enormously successful in reducing smog levels. A 2016 study found smog reduction was critical to improving the health of children in Southern California. It wasn’t all that long ago in Los Angeles that the calendar was riddled with three- stage smog alerts where students in the valley were required to stay home. No longer! Just look at the chart of air pollution in the L.A. Basin. Air quality has improved so much
Smog and Crime On January 20, 1981, when my personal hero Ronald Reagan took office, the 30-day Treasury bill yield was 21.5%. Today, it’s virtually zero. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the rate of inflation was well in the double digits. Today, it’s less than 2%. What’s not to love ? Arthur Okun, a Yale professor of economics, coined the “Misery Index,” which is the sum of inflation and unemployment at any given time. Just look at how this index has evolved over the years (below). It’s got to make you a little proud given where we were just prior to the pandemic. We haven’t had it this good since the mid-1950s... A running joke used to be a charcoal-gray postcard entitled, “L.A. on a Clear Day.” In 1943, Los Angeles documented its first cases
10% 12% 14% 16% 18% 20% 22%
The 'Misery Index' (1950 to 2019)
4% 6% 8%
Source: BLS
1953
1959
1965
1971
1977
1983
1989
1995
2001
2007
2013
2019
70
November 2020
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