Comments
MY THOTS - A famous Winston Churchill quote "Never let a good crisis go to waste". That quote is the opportunity for Lost Angeles. Our city is a disaster in the making--with no clear path to redemption in sight. The Arrowsmith song "Dream On" is the soundtrack that won't happen with the governmental agencies we are living under--soundtrack more likely is Barry McGuire's song "Eve of Destruction". This could create an opportunity if a leader would stand up and the County, the City Council and the Mayor work together and allow the centralization of power in a new agency the way New York City did in 1975 when it was facing bankruptcy (more on this later). What is the real name of our City--Lost Angeles or Loser Angeles-----we are an embarrassment--we have sustained growth in only two areas --homelessness and activists (these are people who can't get jobs but whose main talents involve disrupting meetings, disrupting traffic and screaming). Every other area of the city is a loss---population, business, new construction, tax revenue and more important quality of life. The inmates are running the asylum--and our theme song used to be I Love LA---now its Exodus. What other city in America would be proud of the fact that it has bicycle lanes on every street--while its streets are in dire need of repairs--after all we are the pothole capital of the world--not to mention, I would assume the emergency rooms in all hospitals have seen an increase in visits as a result of these actions---always short term solutions for long term problems---which is why the infrastructure in the city is antiquated and a disaster--billions for homeless--dollars for infrastructure--and now its coming home to roost----time to pay the piper--this is a wake up call--and the time is now--otherwise it will continue to get worse.
This week the Mayor (who recently discovered she was the Mayor---she learned this on a trip to Ghana) fired the the LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley---this is the playbook of those who don't take responsibility for their lack of action and find a scapegoat-----in actuality, the Mayor is the one who needs to be FIRED. To quote that great cartoon character Snaggle Puss-- "Exit Stage Left".
To be clear--no one in city government is innocent--our local government is totally dysfunctional--because the sad fact is that no one is in charge. What have socialists done to improve any society (google pictures in the 1950's,60's and 70's of life and housing in eastern Europe)--a total disaster for their citizens---and let be clear, I view the socialists in this city as anchors to our future---and anytime "Nothing" Ramen and her allies--who I view as a barnacles on our city-- want to debate, I would be happy to do that. (Not to mention she intentionally misrepresented the impact of ULA to her constituency---the union who represents the building trades should make sure that its members know the disaster she caused and make sure she's never elected again). We have the County Supervisors, the City Council and the Mayor--and on occasion, the Governor tunes in--who is the focal point? Let’s take the reservoir in the Palisades that was emptied before the fires---who made that decision and whoever it was, are they still employed? Before you take an action like that---you learn the following information--once emptied, how long will it take to repair? what do we need to do to repair it?--what needs to be ordered in advance so that we have the appropriate materials on hand before we empty it--and once emptied how fast can it be repaired and refilled?--and it needs to be refilled in 30 days--60 at the latest--and the Mayor needs to know. A first year business school student would know those questions to ask--they are basic...and it’s my understanding that it will be another 18 months before the reservoir can be refilled---what? If I lived in the Palisades, I would get my former neighbors together and find the appropriate law firm (LA still has lots of those---just pass any billboard) and sue the individual who made this decision personally for gross negligence---my goal would be to make their personal life as miserable as their actions have caused the residents of the Palisades--or as we often said--"no good deed goes unpunished" Maybe it would be a wake up call to the other so called agency heads in the LA--either do your job with a sense of urgency and competency or get replaced and leave. Considering what a disaster we have just lived thru, how would this city deal with a major earthquake? The truth is the County and City are totally unprepared for any major disaster.
History is prologue--New York City by the early 1970's had accumulated massive debt due to overspending in social programs, public services and infrastructure while relying heavily of short term borrowing. In 1975, the city was on the brink of bankruptcy, unable to pay its bills. (sounding familiar). Kenneth Mejia--LA City Controller---wrote a letter to City Council in the last two weeks warning of the dire financial straits the City found itself in---and while it was comprehensive, it did leave out the negative financial impact ULA had on revenues ---among relevant items--City liability claims rose from budget of $87M to actual $301M--an increase of $214M. Based on events in the city of late, I would not be surprised to see that figure rise to $500M in the coming year and by 2028, close to $1B. While no one has mentioned it--how is the city going to make up for all the real estate and commercial tax revenue it will not collect from the Palisades and Eaton fires--not to mention all the businesses that are not coming back. Last year Wedbush left downtown for Pasadena--and the march goes on. Back to New York. The key figures who solved it did so by working together---the Governor, the Mayor, an Investment banker who was instrumental in negotiating the financial deals--various city officials and the President (who was a Republican at the time.).They created two separate agencies --the Municipal Assistance Corp(MAC) to manage debt and sell bonds to investors and Emergency Financial Control Board (EFCB)--to oversee city finances and enforce strict budget cuts. Reduced the city workforce, cut social services and implemented fiscal discipline. The blueprint for our city's health and growth lies in front of us---only question is do we have the will and courage of our present political leadership to accomplish it? (All of this can be found on Google or on AI). Time will tell----although, while it would be great if we did this--actually acting like adults in the room-- I would not bet on it happening. Never mind LA Strong---more appropriate--LA Dysfunctional & Proud!!
(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.)
