Tuesday April 6, 2010

From Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis, Los Angeles is broke. I mentioned in class that this is an excellent time to be studying equity as there is so little of it! This is serious folks. 

Los Angeles is in deep trouble. The situation has gotten so grim that the city controller says L.A. to Run Out of Cash in a Month.

Los Angeles will run out of cash on May 5, city Controller Wendy Greuel said today in a release in which she requested a $90 million transfer of reserve funds to pay bills.

“The question I have been asked most often during the budget crisis is, ‘When will the city run out of money?” Greuel said in the e-mailed release. “Unfortunately, we finally have the answer.”

Greuel, 48, said in the release that the city might not be able to make payroll. She asked Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the City Council to release $90 million from reserve funds to meet what she described as “an urgent cash need.” The controller’s financial reporting division estimated that the city would need $90 million to ensure solvency through the fiscal year that ends June 30, according to Golombek.

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9 responses to “LA Break Down and Let me Out!”

  1. aaron avalos Avatar

    I can tell you one reason LA is broke is because they just gave Kobe Bryant a 3-year deal worth $90 million dollars, and the 3rd year is optional. However,its hard to imagine how a city Like LA, can go broke. I wonder before the crisis hit, were they debit already and for how long? How bad could LA’s budget be, or was bad dicision making to blame.

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  2. Dennis Elam Avatar
    Dennis Elam

    Hmm, I don’t think the City of LA owns the basketball team but Aaron has made an excellent socionmic point. The mood is giddy and giddy brings astronomic prices for stadiums, like the Cowboy $1B+ as well as salaries for players. Already some teams are having trouble selling tickets.

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  3. Vanessa Ramirez Avatar
    Vanessa Ramirez

    What I would like to know is, what is gonna happen May 6th? If the city is broke then what happens to all the people and jobs in it? And who, if anyone, is gonna have to help them? Does the whole city just stop running?

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  4. Dennis Elam Avatar
    Dennis Elam

    That is what makes reading the blog entertaining, I don’t know and neither does the mayor of LA but I am sure the Mayor thinks the President will bail him out.

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  5. Christy Moyer Avatar

    I wonder if any of this comes from having to “rent” space from taxpayers by using solar panels on their rooftops to try and reduce costs…

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  6. Dennis Elam Avatar
    Dennis Elam

    California has indeed been fiddling while the State burns, preoccupation with trendy stylish fads has displaced serious concern with basic finance.

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  7. Franchesca Avatar
    Franchesca

    This is very scary becuase this can happen to any city. What i wonder is if the pull from the reserves how are they going to pay back the account. Also i wonder what is going to happen to all the people who live there and what will happen to the city.

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  8. Vanessa Villarreal Avatar
    Vanessa Villarreal

    Recently in another Accounting course I am taking, my Professor mentioned speaking to members in her group from California. They had told her the economy in Los Angeles is so bad they were paid in IOU’s. Now that is scary they couldn’t even afford to pay teachers salaries.

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  9. Dennis Elam Avatar
    Dennis Elam

    Yes CA is literally broke, oddly CA municipal bond funds have not collapsed in price. Once the mood of the country turns sour again, I expect all these things will be front page news.

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