A City's Crisis...

The economic crisis continues to hit cities. Los Angeles, the second largest city in the U.S, is in the mist of a "credit rating downgrade." Yesterday, Thursday-February 18, the LA City Council ordered the main person(s) of agencies to throw out aproximately 3,000 city jobs!!! (all by the 1st of July). About 1, 000 jobs are already being eliminated, despite the 3,000 jobs they are still planning to eliminate.

This termination of jobs is mostly due to the city's trouble to slam a $212-million deficit.

I personally think that this tactic, of elimanting thousands of jobs of working citizens, is one that needs to be analyzed and fully-thought about. Most of us understand that the economy is not that so great. Many of it which has to do with the unequal distribution of wealth among society, but that is a whole different issue; one in which i will not get into. The City Council seems they know what they are doing, especially for their respective city districts. The main purpose of eliminating these jobs is to be able to close the deficit. Sure, elimination of jobs main not be the main way, but it's a way in which we--as a City--can still benefit from.

If we proposed the City Council to think of an alternative, one of their possibilities will probably be elimination of programs; if that is so, people from every City District will be affected. Enrichment programs for youth may be one of those programs; the effect of those cuts may lead youth into the streets. Or Health programs may be one of the services to be eliminated; the effect of those cuts may lead to many people not having the equal oppurtunity to be healthy.
We, the citizens, tend to judge and critique our politicians withouth having the time to educate ourselves about their decison-making; and how it can sometimes only come down to one solution. Sure, it is not the right and main solution, but one that the City will benefit from.

Of course, there is the argument that elimantion of jobs affects working class citizens; loss of their jobs means trouble to sustain themselves, and even their families. I agree that is truly a problem as well. We cannot have our people continue to struggle; another alternative may also be city workers accepting a cut in their paychecks. Yes, many still struggle even with the paycheck they are getting now, but if they analyzed what they rather have, it will be more logical to accept a pay-cut, rather than completely lose your job.