LACMA gives $400,000 more to Measure R campaign

The most recent list of donors to the Measure R campaign was released late yesterday afternoon and topping the list was a $400,000 contribution from the Los Angeles Museum County of Art. Measure R proposes to raise the sales tax in Los Angeles County by a half-cent to pay for more mass transit and road projects.

LACMA also gave $500,000 earlier this month. It's not at all surprising: the museum sits at the corner of Wilshire and Fairfax and if the subway is extended west, as Measure R proposes to do, LACMA would be right next to a stop.

Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan also kicked in $100,000 to the campaign.

Overall, the campaign has now raised more than $3 million, enough money to run television ads during prime time during the past few weeks. Opponents haven't raised any money and are mostly trying to fight the measure through the media.

Unions also continued to donate to the Measure R campaign at a heavy clip. That's also not a shock: the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor has endorsed Measure R because it would help workers get to their jobs and also create a lot of construction jobs.

Here's some highlights from the latest list of donors:

Laborers International Union of North America, $200,000.

Carpenters-Contractors Cooperation Committee, $125,000.

Paul Haaga, $100,000. He's the vice chairman of the Capital Research and Management Company, an investment firm, and lives in the Southland.

AECOM, $100,000. The firm provides transportation engineering services. They also recently donated to Prop 1A, the high-speed rail bond.

Anschutz Entertainment Group, $100,000. Philip Anschutz's company owns Staples Center, the Nokia Theater and L.A. Live -- which is near both the subway, Blue Line and future phase one of the Expo Line.

Edith Wasserman, $100,000. She's the wife of Lew Wasserman, the late head of Universal Pictures.

Parsons Brinckerhoff Americas Inc., $50,000. Parson is an engineering firm that does work in the field of transportation.

(correction: an earlier version of this post misspelled Parsons Brinckerhoff)

International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, $50,000.

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 47, $25,000.

Southern California District Council of Laborers, $25,000.

AT&T California Employee Political Action Committee, $25,000.

Beny Alagem, $5,000. He owns the Hilton in Beverly Hills, which is trying to rebuild and expand -- which would be permitted if Beverly Hills residents vote for Measure H on Tuesday.

-- Steve Hymon

Comments

[forgotten citizen]

M

I saw TV ads about measurre M. It was like BRU. BRU claimes that this racist measure and low income people have to apy more. TV ads for Measure claims this is going to be like major freeway construction in 50's and 60's and help us to get out of dependent on oil and reduce congestion. What big lies
At the time of measure C was on ballot, there were ads on the buses to tell bus riders to vote yes on this ballot if we want better public transit. I am not sure about the other buses. I did not see it in 484 (the one i saw the ads 20 years ago), 485, and gold line
I agree those 3 million could be kicked in and improve public transit expecially the 1.3 million dolllars that came from LACMA was too late for the campaign anyway

@FY

I vote yes on A and C. I knew the improvement was going to be slow. I was hoping it would spur more public ttransit development in the future. I did not know the progress was slow. Now we had third one, M, which did not do much more in next 30 years (doh!). I am not in good position to argue whether we should levy more tax on gasoline.. I do agree, a non car driver like me, still has to oay to finance the public transit (after all, a decent good public transit benefit us more) . like you say, the sales tax does not generate enough revenu. That could be one reason that three is not much is going in next 30 years if Measure R passes. Levying tax will certainly be a good idea to discourage people from driving and get more revenues for better projects (the one in mesure R does not address 90% of problem). However, many car drivers would not like. When the gasoline price was high (it is still high compare with 90's), there was talking that US gasoline price is not as high as Europe. Many people reaction was in Europe, people have alternatives of driving. If gasoline pprice is high, people would take good public transit. In LA, what could people do? I don't even recommend people to take public transit. We got the better way to finance public transit. I don't mind govt borrower the money to finance public transit. I know we have to pay in the future, but sales tax does nnot generate that much revenue. If we have transit as good as DC (or even better NY), we can levy gasoline tax. At that time, it makes easier for car drivers to swallow. After all, they do have options. Then we can use part of that money to pay back the borrowring money. i am not an economist, but this i just another fantasy i am talking about

[FY]

At what point is the sales tax PERCENT too much? Where is all the construction funding from Propositions A & C (still at 1%) now that many lines have been successfully completed? Will it be another dozen or so years when we're asked for yet another 1/2 cent increase to fund another overdue subway line? Because LA continues to grow, we need to keep increasing the sales tax RATE?

UCLA public policy studies cite that sales taxes are even more regressive than gas taxes (assessed per gallon, and haven't been raised in over dozen and a half yrs) since the poor spend a far higher percentage of their income. Sales taxes are almost the only taxes the poor actually pay. LA Times op-ed articles while often insightful are a poor reference source.

The funding issue is basic economics. Cheap gas and gas taxes encourage more driving and in turn hurt transit fare revenue. Last summer, we'd proven this correlation.

Making all LA county consumers pay for what primarily benefits LA city commuters is a whole 'nother can of worms. Why shouldn't LA drivers who clog our roads be asked to fund this relief? Getting more cars off the roads primarily benefts drivers after all. We need and deserve better than Measure R.

[M]

This is really one of those times that I regret we spend so much money on advertising instead of just dumping money into the actual project. In a relatively short period of time all of these groups were able to find a collective $3 million for advertising about money for public transportation. Why not put it directly into the transportation? Maybe it's because I don't watch tv, but I have not seen a single commercial, mailer or anything else about this measure outside of blogs and newspapers online and BRU handing out "NO" flyers last friday at Union Station, so I really don't know where that $3 million is going.

[Ken Alpern]

Kym is right--there is no "No on R" campaign because even those supposedly against it aren't really opposing it for the merits of the proposition. It's just old political slights for which they want to play payback. Pretty pathetic, really.

Those that buy more pay more--and wealthy folks pay a lot more here because they buy more. The argument that poor folks pay more of their income here is either difficult or impossible to prove.

We're 30-50 years behind on these projects, and there's a price to be paid for that. Getting Proposition R passed just gets things started locally, and next we need to Sacramento and Washington and tell them to do their fair share.

Same with telling developers and planners to make sure we don't add to the traffic problem with these projects--this is only one part of the fight.

Anyone who thinks that wallowing into a recession is a good thing, vote no. Anyone who thinks that waiting another 20-30 years for these projects (freeways and roads, not just rail) should vote no.

Anyone who believes that the best person to fix their lives is the one staring back from the mirror each morning should vote yes. Proposition R passing would make a statement that L.A. will be a winner in the months and years to come--that "business as usual" and that "good enough" must end in the cities and counties of L.A.

I've fought greedy developers and stupid politicians more than most on the discussion board, and I still don't give myself a "pass" when it comes to taxing myself and my generation for the benefit of our immediate and long-term future.

Do the right thing, folks!

[forgotten citizen]

The bus rider union's statement that low income have so much sales tax. it is true that "sales tax measure shifts the burden away from low-income people and toward those with a greater ability to pay. " is that the reason public transportation has not been improved for non car drivers? That includes Measure R. The bus rider union is trying to play different cards. Rather than explain the whole complicate plan to bus riders, it just uses easy way to tell bus riders that measure R is bad for bus riders. Many car drivers don't like buses. I don't know why. without connecting buses, how could people get to UCLA and work places when they leave rail stations. Good bus connections benefit both choice riders (rail) and bus riders. of course, if choice riders can not reach many places by rail, there are other options, walk, bike, and the most popular one, cars. For the bus riders, we have options. Poor people just hope they can get rich to buy the cars. Senior with poor vision will still drive. People with handicap like me may consider driving illegally. LA encourages people to drive. Will measure R discourage more people to drive? I doubt it

[Kymberleigh Richards]

FY - The reason there are no ads running for "No on Measure R" is there is no campaign. (Note that, for all of the blustering by various politicians, they did not have enough conviction to create a "no" campaign.)

Quiddity - Prop C money was used to construct the Blue, Green and Gold Lines and was leveraged as "local match" to get the federal funds for the Red Line. Unfortunately, there is more that still needs to be done and Prop C isn't enough anymore.

Also, I took exception to the Times article you reference, and should point out that it was actually a representative of the Bus Riders Union who made the statement about sales taxes hurting low-income people. I rebutted that in a letter to the editor which also appeared in the Times a few days later, in which I corrected that misconception:

"The necessities of life that are by far the major part of a low-income person's budget -- groceries, rent and utilities -- are not subject to sales taxes. Items such as big-screen TVs and luxury cars, which are only affordable by those of greater income, are -- and come with a significant sales tax because of their price.

"A low-income person who spends $200 a year on soap, paper towels and clothes will pay an extra $1 a year in sales tax under Measure R. Someone who buys a $45,000 car will pay an extra $225 in sales tax just on that purchase."

In reality, a sales tax measure shifts the burden away from low-income people and toward those with a greater ability to pay. No amount of rhetoric changes that.

[Quiddity]

Los Angeles Museum County of Art? What's that?

As far as Measure R is concerned, let's all note that the real reason for the congestion is the 2.4% annual population growth in California over the last 50 years. That's an incredible rate of increase, much of it the result of an inflow of people - largely through immigration (and their descendants).

Immigration (legal and otherwise) should have been, and should be, strictly limited. Instead, we have all these people streaming in and Los Angeles traffic suffers as a result. The solution? Raise the sales tax, which hurts the poor the most.

By the way, does anybody remember Proposition C that was passed in 1990? It was a half-cent increase in the sales tax for purposes of improving transportation and it's still in effect. The pitch, back then, was that it would be used to purchase existing rail right-of-ways and fund public transportation. Anybody who has forgotten about Proposition C shouldn't be allowed to vote.

The LATimes writes: "Sales taxes ... hurt low-income people the most and do nothing to discourage driving. Unfortunately, that seems to be the only politically tenable course" and "polls show that the sales tax is the only funding source that comes close to reaching that level of public acceptance".

That's debatable. A higher vehicle registration fee or gas tax (which the Times prefers) would be economically fairer. The newspaper should educate the electorate on that aspect.

[forgotten citizen]

I thought it is about the discussion is about LACMA gives $400,000 more to Measure R campaign:. Who cares? I agree that Investing in public infrastructure projects may help us out of the recession. Let's invest our money wisely on infrastructure which include public transportation. if we want to create more jobs with tax money, the tax we raise to improve public transportation must be used wisely. in 10 years, Let's make LA public transit as good as DC and suburb in 1990 (don't say we already are. we are so much behind). I really don't care how much tax i have to pay. It has to be done. otherwise, it is wasting tax money. Yes, I mean Measure would not even accomplish that in 30 years

[FY]

Too bad "No on Measure R" has no ads airing. That transportation infrastructure is needed is beyond dispute. The benefits accrue to the broad community. The problem is the unending sales tax increases, making consumers pay instead of commuters. Meanwhile, gas taxes are too low to pay for even existing roads. This creates a hardship for consumers while more drivers are encouraged onto roads with cheaper gas. Raising the sales tax instead of the gas tax will continue to jeopardize the very alternatives Measure R is supposed to provide, as well as existing transit that struggle with low ridership and funding.

[Spokker]

"The New Deal did not get us out of the Depression."

No, it didn't. World War II did. But the New Deal helped a lot of Americans who were out of work to whether the storm of the Great Depression.

[Tony Fernandez]

The New Deal did not get us out of the Depression. A public works project does not turn around an economic downturn. That said, I'm voting for this just because we needed these projects 30 years ago.

[Kymberleigh Richards]

alex-

Think FDR's New Deal. The public works projects generated by Measure R funding will create a lot of employment in the region.

When you consider the fact that this is a very small increase in sales tax (you would have to spend $200 on taxable goods to pay an additional dollar in sales tax), I would agree with Dr. Alpern that creating this much employment would indeed make a dent in the recession locally.

[Spokker]

"Raising the sales tax is going to help us out of the recession? I don't think so."

Investing in public infrastructure projects may help us out of the recession.

[alex]

Raising the sales tax is going to help us out of the recession? I don't think so. Do any economists read this blog? Please help.

[Gregory]

I am happy to see that these corporations, museums, ex-mayors, unions, etc. are looking out for their best interest. Because in this situation, their special interest coincides with mine. In fact, I will even spin this to say: "Like forward-looking citizens of Los Angeles, these donors appreciate the synergy of efficient transportation and the economic growth of our city."

[Ken Alpern]

I only wish the donors had figured this out a few weeks ago, because Proposition R is probably the best way out of our current recession (at least here in the Southland).

Not only would it be politically nice, but if we could have the ready-to-go Foothill Gold Line, I-5 widening project and the Alameda Corridor East project started within the next few months, it would mean that L.A. County would be an international player with respect to jobs and trade.

[David Galvan]

As much as I don't like the fact that the campaign with the most money usually wins, in this case I agree with the donors that Measure R is worth our dedication.