My father often told me that the world was full of willing people, some willing to govern, the rest willing to let them. When Malibu was opened for development in the last century, the usual life expectancy was 47 years, only 14 percent of the small number of local homes had a bathtub, there were no telephone lines to the settlement, and if you were to excursion to Santa Monica, a three-minute call from Santa Monica to New York City cost eleven dollars. There were only 8,000 cars west of the Rocky Mountains and only 144 miles of paved roads, none of which were in Malibu.
The maximum speed limit on PCH was 10 mph either by car or horse. California was only the 21st most populous state in the Union. The average wage in California was 22 cents an hour. The average worker made between $200 and $400 per year. A competent accountant could expect to earn $2,000 per year, a dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year and politicians were a dime a dozen. Some things never change.
And that is all I have to say (sure).
Tom Fakehany