PLANNING WATCH / PLAN-IT LOS ANGELES

Those who have toiled at City Hall or had extensive dealings with it, should realize the following: First, the ideology guiding the governance of the City of Los Angeles is neo-liberalism, not New Deal liberalism, as some people imagine because most City officials are Democrats. This is exactly same neo-liberal approach which now prevails at the Federal and State levels. It also is shared by this country's two ruling political parties. As far as I can tell, everyone who holds office in Los Angeles or has even an outside chance of getting elected, holds the same outlook. (To the extent that liberalism ever existed at the local level, it was in the 1930s when the City of LA built public housing.) Neo-liberalism means, in theory and practice, tilting government to promote the private sector. This translates to increased use of regressive taxes (user fees, sales taxes, property taxes) to redistribute wealth and income upwards. It also means reduced regulation of goods and servic...

It is amazing how little the large developers have to pay to City of Los Angeles elected officials in order get enormous tax breaks and benefits. You would think they could at least model themselves after U.S. friendly third world dictators, like Indonesia's Sukarno, and ask for the standard kick back rate of 10 percent. According to the Los Angeles Times, Anschutz Entertainment kicked in $19,000 to the Mayor's election campaign for a second term after they received $270,000,000 is tax breaks for the LA Live entertainment complex. Not too away, at the north end of the downtown, a $10,000 contribution to the Mayor from the Related Companies was not a bad investment for a $120,000,000 City subsidy to Eli Broad's pet Grand Avenue project. There is a unstated moral to this story, however. The next time someone complains that Los Angeles is in financial straights because of employee salaries, you might call their attention to the details below. These subsidies, by the way, f...

During a deep budget crisis, business as usual includes subsidies for large, privately financed real estate projects. These practices, just a step up from corruption, not employee salaries and benefits, are one of the true causes for the layoffs and cutbacks at all levels of government . http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-anschutz14-2008jun14,0,4914075.story From the Los Angeles Times Affordable-housing funds earmarked for group with ties to billionaire Anschutz's tony Staples-area project State officials pass over nearly 100 requests for needy neighborhoods to recommend $30 million for improving the area around the L.A. Live entertainment complex. By Patrick McGreevy, Los Angeles Times, June 14, 2008 SACRAMENTO — State officials Friday earmarked $30 million in voter-approved housing bonds for a group with ties to Staples Center owner Philip Anschutz, for sprucing up the street next to his multibillion-dollar entertainment projects in...