The Ultimate Reason for DIY in LA: The Corruption and Incompetence of Local Government

LA POLITICS-Maybe it's a good thing, and maybe it's a tragic thing, that the American "can-do" spirit is alive and well in LA. Angelenos are figuring out on their own how to educate their children, fix their sidewalks and deal with crime all on their own--but it's despite the City educational, public works, safety/security, and just about every other aspect of City services that Angelenos have paid for...and gotten frightfully little in return: 

1)  Want a first-rate education for your kids, and are getting sick of being told your taxes aren't high enough, and that the Prop. 13 being passed decades ago is the problem despite all the local and state taxes going up multiple times since then to "fix our schools"? 

Do It Yourself (DIY)!  Get an extra job and/or charge your customers more and throw your money at either a private or charter school to make sure your extra money (and there will certainly BE extra money!) paid for your kids actually goes to your kids and their actual education. 

2)  Want to avoid a lawsuit, and are sick of all the safety dangers for you and your family and your neighbors by the sidewalks and potholes on your adjacent sidewalks and streets, despite all the local and other tax hikes over these past few decades ? 

Do It Yourself (DIY)!  Get an extra job and/or charge your customers more and throw your money at either a lawyer and/or a contractor to fix the sidewalk and/or street, and perhaps yank out that ficus tearing up your land and the adjacent City property, and either fight to get the City to do its job, figuring out a way to legally fix it and pay part or all of the job yourself, or just do it all quietly yourself and hope the City doesn't catch on? 

3) Want to make sure your house isn't targeted and/or broken into while you're gone at work or vacation, despite paying more and more for police and other first responders? 

Do It Yourself (DIY)!  Get an extra job and/or charge your customers more and throw your money at a home security system (or two, or three) and pay oodles of extra cash despite the various and sundry tax hikes we've had to ensure that our LAPD, state prison system and other first responders will do what we pay and pray for them to do. 

Wanna know why private schools and charter schools are driving neighborhoods crazy with new construction and congestion?  Because Angelenos love their children, and have given up on a LAUSD with broken facilities and tone-deaf leaders, and will pay big bucks to do what it takes for their kids! 

And the only parents really unhappy about this construction (outside the LAUSD echo chamber of groupthink and parent/student shutout of the decision-making process) are those who can't afford the more expensive schools--and who play the charter school game so that they can afford a cheaper alternative to private school while ensuring that their hard-earned dollars actually go to (gasp!) their kids and their kids' education! 

Ditto for the various and sundry City agencies, who under the tutelage of former Sacramento "leaders" Antonio Villaraigosa and Herb Wesson have shredded the credibility of the LA City Department of Public Works, the LADWP, Department of Street Services, Recreation/Parks, etc. 

Wanna get nice sidewalks, nice streets, cheap/affordable energy, police/security services, a nice and close park for your children to play in? 

DIY!  But you're gonna have to pay dearly for all that.  After all, this City Council includes many of the Sacramento alumni that got the state into its current budget, pension, infrastructure crises.

Because while City Council President Herb Wesson gets a C+ overall from the Los Angeles Times (which itself deserves to be graded, it should be noted), he gets a "D" for transparency and a "C" for vision.   

That means that the City Council is all about a top-down power play, diversionary measures such as banning plastic bags, routinely ignoring and disobeying the City Charter and Bylaws, and sticking it to any politician or constituent who has the temerity to ask questions about issues which might be more important ... 

... issues such as balanced budgets, long-term infrastructure and business development, and obeying economic realities and federal laws in order to avoid the trashing of small businesses and the middle class.   

We're not sure what grade Mayor Garcetti will get, but while there is much to like about the man from a personal perspective, the questions of whether the economy and future and governmental transparency of Los Angeles are getting better under his watch merit some sober answers. 

{module [1177]}

After all, in order to get basic City services, and in order to get the Mayor and City Council to adhere to the City Bylaws and Charter, the citizenry of LA  (which is paying for their salaries, benefits and pensions) actually has to take legal action against the City.  As in the sidewalks.  As in the Hollywood Millennium and other megaprojects that rip all concepts of environmental law and common sense to shreds. 

But not all of us have the wherewithal and willingness and money to sue the City.  So what do the rest of us do? 

Suck it up and DIY, of course.  As best as we possibly can before the pressure and exhaustion of living here and raising a family force us to finally either move or drop dead. 

We're only human, after all.  One can only DIY for so long, you know.

 

(Ken Alpern is a Westside Village Zone Director and Board member of the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC), previously co-chaired its Planning and Outreach Committees, and currently is Co-Chair of its MVCC Transportation/Infrastructure Committee. He is co-chair of the CD11Transportation Advisory Committee and chairs the nonprofit Transit Coalition, and can be reached at  [email protected]   He also does regular commentary on the Mark Isler Radio Show on AM 870, and co-chairs the grassroots Friends of the Green Line at www.fogl.us. The views expressed in this article are solely those of Mr. Alpern.)

-cw

 

 

 

CityWatch

Vol 13 Issue 63

Pub: Aug 4, 2015