How long does it take you to save up $12,000? Far longer than it takes City Hall to squander it.
Your boondoggle du jour is this: Villaraigosa and the City Council handed over $12,000 of your tax money to some outfit called "Poor Dog Group" to "conduct one program of theatre arts in the Netherlands." Hey, I'd like a free frikkin' trip to the Netherlands myself. Tulips and dikes -- what's not to like? Contract No. C-118811:
You're also chipping in $5,000 to send Linda O'Brien-Rothe to Guatemala. Suzanne Lacy is getting $10,000 for a free trip to England. Wave good-bye to $15,000 to send "The Culture Catalyst" to the Republic of Guinea.
Your boondoggle du jour is this: Villaraigosa and the City Council handed over $12,000 of your tax money to some outfit called "Poor Dog Group" to "conduct one program of theatre arts in the Netherlands." Hey, I'd like a free frikkin' trip to the Netherlands myself. Tulips and dikes -- what's not to like? Contract No. C-118811:
The fun doesn't stop there.
You're also chipping in $5,000 to send Linda O'Brien-Rothe to Guatemala. Suzanne Lacy is getting $10,000 for a free trip to England. Wave good-bye to $15,000 to send "The Culture Catalyst" to the Republic of Guinea.
Want a free trip to Spain? Maybe you can join Electroland, LLC, because they're getting $7,000 of your money to set up a multimedia installation there.
Did I mention $137,890 of your tax money is going to Alesia A. Jones to help her buy a house at 2340 E. Santa Ana Blvd. North Los Angeles, CA 90059?
Oh, and, by the way, you're chipping in $57,831 to help a woman called Gwen D. Morgan-Smith buy a house at 1635 W Middleton Place Los Angeles, CA 90062. Don't count on a thank-you note.
You'll love the terms of the deal these women get. How about an interest rate of zero? Would you believe that? How about this: the monthly payments are zero. They don't have to repay one penny of your money unless and until they sell their new homes. See for yourself:
Do you see, now, why you must not believe, even for a second, that there is a "budget crisis" at City Hall? We don't have a local government. We have a continuous crime scene, and taxpayers are the victims. Alas, they are too oblivious to know they're being ripped off.
The scams don't stop. They don't even slow down.
One wonders if this will be on Janice Hahn's Web page as an accomplishment that will help to qualify her to become a member of Congress.
ReplyDeleteWe should probably ask at her next rally.
In Zine's district, to remove the heavy items from streets like couches and lumber, the Sanitation District has only one heavy lifter truck AND IT'S BROKEN DOWN BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE $$$ FOR PARTS ACCORDING TO HIS STAFF!
ReplyDeleteYet, you PROVE they have the $$$ for this repair, but gave it to the Netherlands and some friggin person for a home purchase?
In last tues election, a grand total of 18 people came out to vote with a list of thousands of voters on the list!!! The polling place had a staff of 5 people---from 7am to 8pm for 18 people to show up!!!???
What will it take for the fools to learn? What?
Yet another reason why our City services are suffering under the sheer weight of incompetence, negligence and mismanagement. Where's our priorities?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteApparently, at least 88% of L.A.'s registered voters have too many other things to do to worry about whether the people running America's second-biggest city are running it into the ground. Makes you wonder how bad things would have to get before they'd wake up.
ReplyDeleteMaybe when they "retuen" from the Netherlands they can do a theatre arts presentation on how to run a spell checker for the city clerk who wrote the contract.
ReplyDeleteDid you ever think that these funds were allocated from the NEA and have to be spent on Cultural Exchange??? I bet if you follow this particular chunk of change you will see it is funded (which is very rare in LA and more frequent in all other major cultural capitols of the world) by the federal program -National Endowment for the Arts- Good one Walter
ReplyDeleteAnd did YOU ever think where the NEA gets the money it pisses away on free vacations for "artists?" Here's a hint: there's no such thing as the Arts Fairy.
ReplyDeletePlus, who do you think foots the bill for all the City employees to "administer" these vital programs? Here's a hint: there's no Bureaucracy Fairy, either.
Taxpayers are being screwed to pay for these obscene boondoggles. The federal government is broke. State and local, too. But by all means, keep "explaining" how these programs really cost "nothing," because it's "federal" money.
The answer Walter is that Federal money comes from my left pocket, not my right.
ReplyDeleteI can assure you that you have barely scratched the surface. Cost effectiveness is not a priority. Continuing to expand and build each department's empire IS. Does the term "Manifest Destiny" ring a bell?
ReplyDeleteGood article Walter.
Check out the City Clerk page.
ReplyDeleteDid you see that typing Mexico into the search brings up C-117798 for $10,000 to be spent in Guadalajara, Mexico and that typing Guadalajara brings up 8 contracts in 2010 where one of them is C-116017 for $450,600 and another is C-115868 for $46,200?