The Los Angeles 2020 Commission recently released a report concluding that Los Angeles is a declining city that now lags behind other major cities in its ability to provide for its citizens.
The report, titled “A Time for Truth,” outlines how Los Angeles is a city that struggles to provide its citizens with the services that its taxpayers pay for and expect. It also criticizes how the city’s leadership handled the local economy, noting that Los Angeles’ key economic sectors are in a continual decline and new sectors are not adequately being explored.
According to the commission, Los Angeles has missed out on opportunities to capitalize on the growth of the technical engineering sector, one of the leading industries of the 21st century. The closure of the Boeing plant in Long Beach is cited as an example of Los Angeles being left behind when it comes to high tech industry that is booming in many other cities.
The commission was called for in early 2013 by L.A. City Council President Herb Wesson and endorsed by then-Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa soon after. It was headed by former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Mickey Kantor and worked for most of 2013 to arrive at the rather grim nature of the report.
The report goes beyond just economic issues by claiming that the L.A. public school system’s low graduation rates are “failing our children and betraying the hopes of their hardworking parents.”
This 2020 Commission report is the first of two reports, and the second report will address possible solutions and contain the commission’s recommendations to solve the problems outlined in the initial report.
Compiled by Joseph Vescera, Bruin contributor