Time is Money, and We're Running Out of Both

ALPERN AT LARGE-The willingness to demonize those decrying our unsustainable economic and budget/fiscal crises has been both politically expedient for some and infuriating to others, and it certainly was more convenient to tell those raising the unpleasant problems to "shut" up than to fix them, but the preference to ignore our problems is being eclipsed by an increased awareness of the need to fix our city, county and state financial houses as soon as possible. 

Arguably, the same issue exists at a national level, where the understanding of "increased credibility and shared pain" is being lost to the politically-expedient willingness to kick that can down the road--after all, why tell voters the bad news when blaming "someone else" gets a person elected to public office?  When those demanding an end to deficit and debt can't get office, it's clear that too many Americans don't want to confront the truth. 

However, the legal necessities of a balanced state, city and county budget are much harder to ignore--the opportunities for bond and tax initiatives that to continue to paper over our problems just don't exist anymore. 

People want credibility.  They're sick and tired of excuses and income inequality (caused by either the political left, right or anywhere in between), and they're sick of high taxes, an ever-increasing cost of living and not feeling like they're getting ahead. 

Here in our City of the Angels, Mayor Garcetti is indeed focusing on a "back-to-basics" approach, but needs to get past misguided decisions of both his mayoral predecessor and his own bad decisions during his tenure as president of the LA City Council.  He's patient, but credibility is key--he's earned his likability, but results are critical, too. 

It's now politically convenient and even expedient for both political parties--not just Republicans (a.k.a., the "party of no", even when it's "no" to overspending) to address the ever-growing pension liabilities that our state must encounter.  

Both liberals and conservatives can't keep kicking this can down the road--we are at last realizing that math doesn't have a political party or care about elections.  Much of the reason why former "Republican" Schwarzeneggar is despised by Californians of all political parties is that he didn't provide a pathway that allowed shared sacrifice to balance our budget and restore our economy. 

And speaking of our economy... 

Company after company is leaving Southern California--with each departure taking all the jobs and middle-class opportunities, even those affiliated with oil, cars and related industries. 

The company leaders are moving to Texas or to other states that realize that jobs, like the environment, must be cherished and protected.  The latest example is Toyota, and no one is seriously presuming that the few tax-subsidized "green jobs" being bandied out by Californian local and statewide government agencies will fill this void. 

But the jobs from both construction and transit-oriented development (some wise, some unwise examples of land use) for the Expo Line ARE going full-steam ahead, with the Expo Line hopefully opening in late 2015, and not 2016, to the Westside. 

The debates of the past, and the challenges of the future, aren't going away with respect to the Expo Line, but getting it finally built is an achievement that is years overdue. 

Ditto for the Downtown Regional Connector, which is arguably the most important piece of our growing mass transit network in that it finally connects Downtown and its four unconnected light rails together.  With a contract awarded, it's hoped that Downtown with all of its potential jobs will someday be more accessible to more L.A. county residents. 

And, of course, looming behind all of these projects is the ultimate "build it already!" project of connecting Metro Rail to LAX.  With Metro Boardmembers working together in ways we haven't seen over the past several years, it's hoped that the airport/rail links of our region will also FINALLY be connected. 

The 405 freeway widening is on its way to being finished in the next 1-2 months (hang in there, Westsiders and Valley residents!).  It won't help everyone, and might not help enough of us to make us believe it was a worthy project to even start, but there are enough betterments for motorists and the potential for rapid bus service using the carpool lanes to make it possible to start on a high note. 

But patience IS running out--we're not some immature, impatient, unrealistic society that is unwilling to wait, but one that has been overtaxed, lied to and treated with a bait-and-switch approach that would make any normal human being fed up and "mad as hell and not going to take it any more". 

Someone (like the politically-connected) is thriving in this economy, but the benefits aren't being shared by enough of us.  And the promises of the past are frightfully overdue, excuses to the otherwise. 

Time is money, and we're running out of both.

 

(Ken Alpern is a Westside Village Zone Director and Boardmember 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 CD11 Transportation Advisory Committee and chairs the nonprofit Transit Coalition, and can be reached at   [email protected] This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.   He also does regular commentary on the Mark Isler Radio Show on AM 870, 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 12 Issue 35

Pub: Apr 29, 2014