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Help Save the City's Budget by Shopping Locally, Urges Villaraigosa
Once you buy your new locally-purchased outfit on Fashion's Night Out, you can go pose for photos at Walt Disney Concert Hall Photo by >vivre sa vie< via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr
Once you buy your new locally-purchased outfit on Fashion's Night Out, you can go pose for photos at Walt Disney Concert Hall Photo by >vivre sa vie< via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr
There's nothing new about this concept, but Los Angeles and its $250 million budget shortfall could use the boost. Today Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced two new programs that he and others hope will spur local economic activity. That is to say, when you buy a taxed item in the city--say a $10 book--a portion of it--$1--comes back to fund services.
“From 30/10 to hiring more police officers to making Los Angeles more business friendly, jobs creation is truly at the crux of everything we do in the City,” Villaraigosa said.
The two programs are Fashion's Night Out, a global initiative pushed by Vogue magazine to boost sales in the fashion industry, and Shop L.A., which Villaraigosa called "brilliantly simple."
"It’s really about slightly changing your habits,” he said. “This small change will have large implications for our City’s revenue.”
Revenue from sales tax is the 5th largest source for the city's general fund, bringing in an estimated $292 million this fiscal year.
Fashion's Night Out will take place on September 10th between 6 and 10 p.m. with over 300 retailers across the city opening their doors for in-house fashion shows, giveaways and sales, according to the Mayor's office, which says the fashion industry generates $5.7 billion dollars in direct sales for the City a year.
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