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ONE MAN'S OPINION - Once a Game show--now the Future of Los Angeles...
First the Positive--Kevin Durant had a great quote (and wasn't that an amazing basketball game--with Stephen Curry in another basketball planet)---"A lot of BS happens in our country but a lot of great things happen too." Los Angeles seems to have forgotten the latter part of that quote--and our city is truly upside down.
First a few statistics---nearly 1/3 of the nation's homeless are in California--with 75,000 at latest count in Los Angeles--staggering--takes your breath away....Our Governor wants the encampments cleaned up asap--and has vowed to take spending away from cities and counties for not cleaning out the encampments. But our local politicians are against these affirmative actions—why? I get compassion--but when does compassion stop and practicality and common sense take over? As other cities and states become much more forceful in restoring their streets to no one living on them--where do you think those people are going to go----and by the end of the year--and this is not hysterical--almost 100,000 will be here--I'm all for inside safe--but you cannot put 100 pounds of oranges in a 10 pound bag. The only industry that has grown exponentially in the last 10 years in LA is the homeless--and to make matters worse, after spending more than $25B (that's right Billion) on the homeless problem, Lindsey Horvath our Queen of the Homeless has the unmitigated gall to ask us all approve the raise of 1/4 of a cent on the sales tax (to be voted on in November) to provide further funds to the homeless industry. Enough is enough---for those of you who think I'm picking on Lindsey; the truth is I like her--but this is a harebrained solution to the problem we have--and we should all make sure this referendum loses. It’s bad enough the City passed ULA---another harebrained solution thought up by Peter Drier, a self-avowed socialist--and professor at Accidental--ooops--Occidental University--and passed because certain city council members (and that would be you--Nithya Ramen) intentionally misled the public and the real estate industry was asleep and did not pay attention.
The Democratic Socialists of America----and they have the right to believe as they choose---but so do I--and they have been anchors on our city---in the race to the basement. People are at the border looking to come to America because their governments are failing them--that's now happening here. I looked at the DSA's Mission Statement---"Build a world where everyone can lead a life free from indignity, injustice and capitalist exploitation"--Lofty goals--but its led to policies like defund the police and capitalist exploitation has encouraged companies not to relocate here--in their view, jobs somehow lead to exploitation---so the way the Companies fight back, is they leave and new ones don't relocate here--the truth hurts.
Also, I'm confused in how advocating for a life of dignity can lead to strong policies to oppose getting people off the streets--no one has the right to live on the street. Also, in my 80 years on earth, all socialism--aside from lofty words--has in practicality only led to is mediocrity, lack of initiative and drabness. In our great Olympic athletes, their families and their support systems--I saw the best of America--ambitious, motivated, diverse and most of all proud to be Americans---they came from all walks of life, all ethnicities, different economic stratas--but what tied them all together was the desire to compete and strive to win. Makes me proud to be an American--these are the qualities we will need to fix our city--and that's only if we have the willfulness and determination to do it.
Before I leave, of course I need to discuss the latest in Metro's Continuing Follies. In my email, a few days ago, I received a notice that Metro was doing more field work on the Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project---my first thought--what field?? and can I put Metro's present leadership there and forget about them--so much for wishful thinking--so they continue to squander money on a project that will never happen. Metro announced last week that--in 2019 they announced that they would have 28 new projects completed by 2028--28 for 28 was the name of the initiative----but as usual, another set of misleading statements by their executives caused them to release the following information--as of today 3 projects have been completed--and they expect another 7 to be completed by 2028---only missing their goal by 65%. I go back to my consistent question--how much longer is the political Board going to leave the inept executives of Metro in place--and why would you trust anything they say--they have zero credibility. The Olympics will be here in 4 years--and the Mayor has announced no cars will be permitted at the venues. I hope all those attending have legs---because they are going to need them. Asking this group of incompetent executives to execute this plan is like putting an alcoholic in charge of managing a bar or an addict in charge of a drug dispensary. When are you all going to wake up?--these executives cannot do their jobs----when does the fear of significant embarrassment motivate you to do what's needed. I was here in 1984 and Peter Ueberroth did a remarkable job but controlled every aspect of LA hosting the games---a truly great executive and leader. He would not have tolerated this ineptitude for one minute.
One last observation--the more I thought about the fact that Stephanie Wiggins (Metro's CEO) needed a trust coach (which on its face is proof she is totally incapable for the job she has)---one can only wonder if she has the following executives at the Agency that she is reluctant to reveal: Executive Vice President of Obfuscation; Vice President of Misleading the Public while doing Public Outreach; Vice-President of media training --how to Stonewall the Public and my favorite--Vice-President of Distributing Incorrect Publicity Releases. I'm sure there are others--as I learn about them, I will keep you all informed.
(Fredric D. Rosen is a retired Businessman who has served on multiple corporate (both public and private) and charitable boards. He was Ticketmaster's CEO for 16 years and was responsible for making it the leading ticket company in the world.)
