{"id":150,"date":"2025-06-17T09:35:22","date_gmt":"2025-06-17T13:35:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/?p=150"},"modified":"2025-06-17T09:35:22","modified_gmt":"2025-06-17T13:35:22","slug":"whos-to-blame-for-the-la-wildfires-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2025\/06\/17\/whos-to-blame-for-the-la-wildfires-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/","title":{"rendered":"Who\u2019s to Blame for the LA Wildfires? \u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally written on 1\/14\/2025<\/em><\/p>\n

Americans and the world have watched the wildfires ravaging Los Angeles with horror. At the time of this writing, <\/span>the death toll is at 24, over 12,000 structures have burned to the ground, and property loss is estimated at well over $100 billion<\/span><\/a>. The grim numbers are expected to rise. It is natural for people to ask who is at fault. Fingers are pointing in many directions. Were there cuts to the LA Fire Department budget?<\/span> Did the alleged cuts contribute to the catastrophe<\/span><\/a>?<\/span> Should <\/span>the state and federal governments have had more proscribed burns to reduce the fire risk? Should homeowners have had to cut back on their landscaping to minimize the effect of fires<\/span><\/a>?<\/span> Should cities have upgraded their water infrastructure to handle larger fires? Should electric companies have upgraded their distribution networks to reduce fire risk?<\/span> Were the fires made worse by bad water policies<\/span><\/a>? The list goes on; even hindsight isn\u2019t 20\/20.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Any organization, public or private, for-profit or eleemosynary that provides goods or services should, all other things the same, do so in a way that uses fewer resources rather than more. If all other things equal, it should provide better rather than inferior services. However, deciding whether any particular cost-saving measure or quality enhancement is desirable is rarely straightforward. Contracting with a lower-price supplier for a crucial component may reduce product quality to the organization’s detriment. Changing the nature of the product or service may degrade its quality. Moreover, one may not know with any degree of certainty what the full implications of a decision are until after the fact, sometimes well after the fact. Every organization can be seen as an ongoing experiment in transforming physical and human resources into goods and services for the benefit of other people.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For-profit firms have an advantage in this endeavor: a clear bottom line. The income statement, balance sheet, and stock price give feedback on whether a decision on cost or quality has been beneficial. In 1985, Coca-Cola quickly discovered that discontinuing the Old Coke and replacing it with a new formula was not accepted by the public. T<\/span>he company\u2019s annual earnings and stock price declined, although several other factors were likely in play<\/span><\/a>. The original formula was brought back. Unfortunately, municipal, state, and federal governments must too often rely on disasters to uncover poor decisions or strategies. Balance sheets are often more effective than ballot boxes.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Originally written on 1\/14\/2025 Americans and the world have watched the wildfires ravaging Los Angeles with horror. At the time of this writing, the death toll is at 24, over 12,000 structures have burned to the ground, and property loss is estimated at well over $100 billion. The grim numbers are expected to rise. It […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[1469,1466,359,1464,1467,1468,1465,879,1463,1470,594,1350,861],"class_list":["post-150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-government","tag-coca-cola","tag-cost-benefit-analysis","tag-decision-making","tag-disaster-response","tag-feedback-mechanisms","tag-for-profit-vs-public-sector","tag-government-accountability","tag-infrastructure","tag-los-angeles","tag-municipal-services","tag-public-policy","tag-risk-management","tag-wildfires"],"yoast_head":"\nWho\u2019s to Blame for the LA Wildfires? \u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz - Econ Briefs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2025\/06\/17\/whos-to-blame-for-the-la-wildfires-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Who\u2019s to Blame for the LA Wildfires? \u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz - Econ Briefs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Originally written on 1\/14\/2025 Americans and the world have watched the wildfires ravaging Los Angeles with horror. 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