Comments
ONE MAN'S OPINION - This article will be a little different ---because I'm going to leave the Pathetic Morons of Metro out of it--I'm pitching that as a reality series to Station W One IQ. Will keep all of you informed of my progress.
Let’s start what we can all can agree on--we care about our city--and we have all watched it decline over the last 10 years---a painful fact. We have all kinds of factions here from Capitalists, Progressives, Socialists to parties and points of view I have never heard of--with many well-meaning people in our dysfunctional form of government and others not so. This is not to insult any or all of them---it’s not about that. This article is about dropping the uniforms and working together to rebuild and reinvigorate our city.
There are very few industries that have experienced any meaningful growth over the last 10 years in LA ---these few have---the homeless which was supposed to be a short term problem has become an industry--- the few are impacting negatively the daily lives of the many which is one kind of tyranny--I applaud compassion--but when compassion exceeds common sense, we become compassionate fools ---one of the main reasons the city is upside down. Being an activist is now a profession----and has the following traits--first to have the ability to talk loudly or scream; no interest in anyone else's opinion and no interest in compromise; they can't or won't get another job; and often they live in their parents basement. By way of example we now have bicycle lanes without having safe streets and how many of you have come close in the last 6 months to hitting someone on a bicycle (would love to know statistics of emergency rooms in treating bicycle injuries)---as we are the pothole capital of America--is there anyone who would not want to own a tire store---I did the math---because I've had to replace mine 3 times this year---I would guess that our streets cause expenses of $50,000 to $100,000 a day either replacing or plugging tires. The last serious growth industry is being an Influencer--with social media this is a whole new class of business--they work from their home or their bedroom in their parents’ house (have no employees)---- (and it pays better than being employed)---they are not sure what they think--but they realize that once they form an opinion they can tell many others who don't know what to think what to think--remarkable---in my day it was called marketing and/ or commercials. Too many real industries have left and taken their jobs with them--when was the last serious business to come back to LA? (and the Olympics is not an industry--one can only hope the City doesn't lose any money on that venture).
The Beatles recorded a song "Come Together". Isn't it time we figure out a way to make that happen. ULA was passed because a politician misleads her constituency--and it has cost the city jobs, money and development. You cannot expect people to pay this tax when they are losing or could lose money on their investment--this idiotic concept was devised of course by an academic who hasn't been in the real world in years---and of course it wound up raising less than 20% of what was projected. With common sense, there was a much more pragmatic solution----no change in transfer tax if you lose money--tax basis starts on actual out of pocket cost...your basis---and a simple tax beginning at $5M-- 2% of the gain--the complaints would have been few and it would have raised more money--- the real question is how many more paying construction jobs would there be in the city if that had not passed? Old slogan---pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered. We need to be smarter and better.
Los Angeles was built on aspiration, inspiration, creativity, entrepreneurship and hard work. We need to revisit those qualities again--and open Los Angeles for business. Hurdles belong in the Olympics not making it harder for businesses to operate and for neighborhoods to protect themselves. I have it on good authority that when a neighborhood was willing to pay for speed humps to make some of their streets safer, they were told by a city official that because they were more affluent than other neighborhoods it wasn't fair to the less affluent. When informed that safety for a community had nothing to do with social justice--which it clearly doesn't---the city employee had another reason why it was difficult to make it happen. Said the city did not have the resources etc. to make it happen--when informed that the community would just do it on their own, he informed the person the city would come rip it out---can't make it happen--but can take it apart---that's Catch-22 and another reason that the city is upside down. Each community needs to and must be more proactive and push back against the existing bureaucracy---who make it more difficult to get anything done--I'm not sure how it’s become that way--but it clearly is. Not every issue can be seen thru the eyes of social justice--there has to be a balance. Never mind Woke--let’s try Awake. We need to inspire people to come here, work together and find a compromise between all these competing interests--the progressives need to sit down with the capitalists and the socialists and find compromise--meet in the middle----or we will become a third world city--that's the choice. We need aspiration, dedication and willfulness to solve our problems---not resent those who have succeeded--and certainly not listen to those who scream the loudest on the left or the right---but if they learn to talk, they can have a seat at the table also. The exhausted middle--65% to 70% of us---want a lot less noise--we want a government that works and is grounded and effective. We need to work with the police and bring safety back to all parts of our city--we need to replace Gascon--who has made a bad joke of enforcement---even the Mayor's house was robbed--do you all understand the insanity of that?--it’s because of the belief there will be little to no consequence. We need to make our city much more friendly to bring businesses here. With governments and social policies most of us could not tolerate, look how businesses have relocated to Texas and Florida. We need to become the Golden State again--not the golden shower. It’s absolutely necessary to get people off the streets---the Supreme Court has given the City/County the tools to make this happen. Downtown has become a ghost down--a disgusting, graffiti filled embarrassment. It’s no wonder businesses have left--the towers are empty and stores have left as soon as their leases were over. It's not about ticketing these people---but where is it written they have to be in LA---and how many of these people are from California--and with this ruling--other states will have no compunction about sending their homeless here--and they should not find a willing welcome (not politically correct---but politically appropriate). Eric the Useless helped create the vacuum---the only positive thing he did was leave. The county can assemble parcels of property--probably owns them already--30 to 50 acres and create communities of 3D and small homes at a fraction of the cost of what is being paid now. It's enough with woke and politically correct---it’s about doing what's right and appropriate---no one has the right to live on the street---and we now have the tools to find an effective solution to that--the question is do we have the will? ---and will the majority's voice be heard over that of the activists. If this is too much for some of you, I strongly suggest you watch a Richard Pryor concert film---quite possibly the funniest human being who ever lived--we all need to get our sense of humor back--and when we begin to laugh at ourselves, its possible we could really restore the energy and quality of life this City used to have.
There is no better time than now to figure this out----the awful event which occurred on Saturday makes this even more urgent. Our Mayor's career is defined by her legislative experience and skills--which is to get people of different ideas and philosophies in the same room and find a collective solution.... those abilities are clearly needed now. In my opinion, the City has 3 major priorities--but 3 cannot and will not happen without 1 and 2 being implemented. 1. No one can be living on the streets--all the encampments and tents must be removed--and the streets restored to the way they were; 2. Safety and security for all citizens from every community--rebuilding our police force and supporting it--and by voting the current DA out office; and 3. A concerted effort to bring companies and jobs back to our city.
I'm rooting for our Mayor and all our elected officials to work together--put all alleged grievances and politics aside--and make this happen. It’s essential if our City/County is to grow again. I've always been a cynical optimist--always hope for the best and expect the worst. For once, I'm hoping that my optimism will prevail.
(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. Fred is a regular contributor to CityWatchLA.com.)
