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Taxifornia Has No Money
Los Angeles is $75 million in the red and the state is using the same colored crayon at $14 billion. And where's the Mayor? He's spending a lot of time with Hillary Clinton.
Naysayers may suspect Mayor Villaraigosa is bored with LA already and is ready to climb the political ladder ASAP, but columnist Rick Orlov at the Daily News says it more has to do with a future run at Governor and better federal relations:
There has been no indication that the mayor is looking for a job in a Clinton administration if she wins. It seems rather that he is looking to leverage the city position -- and Los Angeles' pursuit of federal funds -- with any Democrat who takes over the White House and Los Angeles' pursuit of federal funds. Federal funding is especially important this year because all levels of government are facing financial problems. [Daily News]
As for Los Angeles, that negative $75 million on the books could grow if Proposition S, the phone tax, on the February 5th ballot doesn't pass. Currently, $270 million is raised from the phone tax. Voters will determine the future of that one, which could ultimately determine the future of jobs, more local parks and other city services.
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