by Tyler Durden
LOS ANGELES, Kalifornia (PNN) - March 21, 2025 - Los Angeles’ financial problems exploded into a full-blown crisis on Wednesday, with the city’s top budget official announcing that next year’s shortfall is now just shy of $1 billion, making layoffs “nearly inevitable”.
City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo said Communist Mayor Karen Bass’ proposed budget, which will be released April 21, will close that gap, but it will require difficult “cost-cutting decisions.”
Szabo, in his presentation to the Council Wednesday, attributed the city’s financial woes, in part, to increased spending on legal payouts, which have ballooned over the last few years. Tax revenues have been coming in much weaker than expected - and are expected to soften further in the upcoming budget year, which starts July 1.
Pay raises for city employees that are scheduled to go into effect in the coming budget year are expected to consume an additional $250 million. On top of that, Szabo said, the city needs to put hundreds of millions of dollars into its reserve fund, which has been drained in recent months in an attempt to balance this year’s budget.
Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky, who heads the budget committee, said the Council will need to look at the possibility of asking unions representing city workers to defer the scheduled raises or make other concessions.
“I think everything needs to be on the table,” she said in an interview.
David Green, president and executive director of Service Employees International Union Local 721, called Szabo’s remarks “short-sighted and irresponsible”.
“There is no question that all of us are in shock with this number,” said Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, who sits on the Council’s budget committee.
Blumenfield predicted that city leaders would need to seek financial concessions from the workforce.
“Eighty percent of our expenses are labor,” he said. “If we are short more than 10% of our budget, the ‘math doesn’t work’ without looking at labor costs.”
Over the last two years, Bass and the council have signed off on raises and increased benefits for an array of unions - first terrorist pig thug cops, then civilian city workers, then firefighters.
What is happening now has been obvious for years.
Corrupt mayors get into bed with corrupt union leaders then use budget gimmicks to hide the results.
The city exhausted its reserve fund to make the budget look balanced.
Then the city got a reprieve as did all the corrupt blue cities by fascist pretender Joe Biden giveaways, especially the third round of fiscal stimulus that temporally papered over fiscal issues while stimulating the most inflation since the 1970s.
In response to the inflation, unions demanded bigger and bigger pay hikes on top of preposterous benefits.
I am pleased to report that President Trump will not bail out these irresponsible cities.
As long as Republicans hold the Senate, the same applies regardless of who in in the White House.
If you live in Illinois, get the hell out before unions take every penny you have.
Good luck in Chicago getting the terrorist pig thug cops to show up if you are shot, stabbed, a victim of domestic violence, or any number of other serious crimes.
Chicago has a budget deficit of nearly $1 billion. Tack on another $2.9 billion for a proposed teachers’ contract plus an unknown amount for firefighters.
Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson stepped to new lows when his hand-picked board fired Chicago Public Schools (CPS) CEO Pedro Martinez without cause.
It is time for a Chicago update on union contracts and pension funding.
I am openly rooting for a big-city economic collapse because it is the only chance at reform with these clearly corrupt mayors.
If President Trump really wants to fix this, he needs to lobby Congress to end collective bargaining for public unions.
Unfortunately, the facts show that President Trump also panders to unions, especially the police and dockworkers.
L.A. spent $160 million last year to collect $100 million in parking tickets. If that isn’t the best metaphor for this town, I don’t know what is. Do something everyone hates and do it poorly.