Los Angeles: Michael Bloomberg and Tom Steyer

los angeles: Ahead of the sixth Democratic primary debate in Los Angeles on Thursday, the billionaires at the bottom of the polls, Michael Bloomberg and Tom Steyer, poured 13.5m and 1.6m respectively into TV ads in the state, according to Advertising Analytics, which monitors political ads, according to The Guardian. The ad buys renewed criticism of both the vast amounts spent in the presidential race and independently wealthy candidates' relying on their own fortunes to fund key aspects of their campaigns. If that money were spent on homeless people suffering from the state's severe and worsening housing crisis, advocates say, it could help thousands in need find a roof over their heads. The Guardian asked housing researchers and experts what difference 15m could make in one of California's most pressing crises homelessness. Blocked sidewalks how boulders became a flashpoint in San Francisco's homeless crisis Read more The experts agreed it would be less than drop in the bucket given the scale of the public health emergency, but said it could still provide life-changing help for a sizable number of families in the most dire situations. Thursday's debate brought a national audience to a county with extreme income inequality, home to some of the world's wealthiest people as well as an estimated 59,000 homeless residents many on the streets for the first time due to evictions and unaffordable rents. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.