Following a stark and dark, mood-setting economic update on the State of Culver City this morning by Mayor Scott Malsin, U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) stepped to the microphone in Council Chambers and told an assembly of city workers and journalists that she is fighting for fresh federal funding for communities newly winded by the deepening recession.
Without tailoring her message to her precise location during a half-hour stopover on what used to be called a whistle-stop tour, she said, generically, “I want to let local governments know that I am on your side.”
She said that “on your side” meant restocking coffers, Culver City’s, for example, with newly liberated money from Washington and Sacramento especially because her party is back in power with its pace-changing outreach philosophy. She described various remedies and forms of remediation, but the answer in each case was to revive and fatten funding. “We will get the economy back on track,” Ms. Boxer said.
Four of the five City Council members flanked the senator as she spoke from the well of Chambers, promising to share a bulging briefcase of data that cast the gathering recession in portraits rimmed in grim-flavored crepe.
The most encouraging news in eight years is at hand, though, Ms. Boxer said. In 34 days, a Democrat will be back in charge of the White House. With Barack Obama’s pending ascension, she is confident that the spigot for generous Washington funding will be turned back on, and once again a sea of dollars will flow outward as it did during the prosperous Clinton Years.
Mr. Malsin’s introductory-style thumbnail characterization of Culver City provided an appropriate dovetailing backdrop for the senator’s pledge that meaningful fiscal help is on the way.
The ‘Yes, but’ Interlude
“Culver City is a well-run city with a strong economic base, but the economic downturn we are experiencing now is hitting us hard,” the mayor began.
“A large portion of the revenues that support our services comes from auto sales, retail sales, business taxes, hotel taxes. We are taking a hit on each one. The credit crunch is having a major impact on business investment in our community. We will be feeling the impact for some time. Meanwhile, we are experiencing increases in healthcare costs, pension costs, and reductions in funding from county, state and federal governments that are attempting to keep their own houses in order.
“It is getting difficult to fund the services our city needs, and the budget cuts we are being forced to contemplate hit people where they live. They will impact our ability to provide safety services, street services, parks, public transportation and so much more. We have done our best to prepare ourselves for an economic downturn. But the depth of what we are experiencing now is difficult to manage.
“We will do whatever it takes, whatever we can. But we need county, state and federal officials to recognize the role that local government plays, day in and day out, in the life of this nation.”
Boxer’s Version of a Cure
Speaking from beneath a heavy caking of ebony mascara, the diminutive Sen. Boxer said a page one headline in this morning’s Los Angeles Times — “State May Stop Public Works Projects Cold” — “sends shivers down my spine. That means projects already underway, could be stopped. And that means people who are feeding their families can no longer count on them.”
The foundation of Ms. Boxer’s presentation was drawn from a new self-produced research document, “one of a kind,” that she called graphic and comprehensive, “The Realities of Recession in California,” available at her website, boxer.senate.gov. “We have gone through every county and 10 of the largest cities to give you a synopsis of what is happening,” Ms. Boxer said. “For me, as someone who is trained in economics, the most important thing is to face the facts of where we are. Once we have the facts laid before us, we can take whatever steps we have to take to solve the problem.”
In case anyone doubted the startling soberness of the recession, Ms. Boxer buttressed the foundation of her Help Is on the Way message with complementary data. “On Dec. 1,” she said, “the National Bureau of Economic Research said a recession began in December of ’07. In the last year, 1.9 million jobs have been lost, 500,000 last month alone. We saw the biggest uptick in 26 years in people filing for unemployment. The stock market — Americans lost more than $2 trillion over 15 months as the stock market decline devastated retirement and savings accounts
“When people feel squeezed, they spend less. Seventy percent of our economic activity is related to consumer spending. It is a vicious circle,” Ms. Boxer said. “The house you own also declined in value. So you feel even more squeezed.
“Compared to last year, U.S. foreclosure filings are up 71 percent in the third quarter. Manufacturing activity fell to a 26-year low.
“Unemployment in California is at 8.2 percent, a 14-year high. Nationally, it is 6.7 percent. One point five million Californians are out of work. In our state, 189,000 homes were lost to foreclosure in the first three quarters of ‘08. Think about how many families that is.
Losing Value
“In cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego, housing prices have declined over 25 percent. There is a huge number in Riverside, over 30 percent.”
Ms. Boxer’s final depressing number was that the state budget deficit could reach $28 billion. But this is not the right time to worry about balancing the budget, the senator said. Funding to aid big and small communities will cure the recession blues, and that is the unquestionable priority, she is convinced.
