Part 11/17:
The commentary on California’s urban decay is visceral. Hilton describes Los Angeles’s downtown as filled with garbage, graffiti, and an overwhelming smell of urine—evidence, he claims, of political neglect and systemic failure. He vows to conduct the "smell test" as a measure of governance—if it still stinks, no progress has been made.
Downtown LA’s thriving nightlife has been decimated by regulation and homelessness, with independent businesses shutting down because of union and permit costs. Hilton lays responsibility at the feet of local officials like Karen Bass, criticizing their focus on ideological pursuits such as fighting ICE rather than fixing fundamental urban issues.