An Olympic Sized Problem
It is not just our rebuild which is being affected by funding from Washington
What is LA without drama right?
What are the Olympics without last minute preparations and nail biting?
To be expected in LA for 2028. However, there is a twist.
Stop me if you’ve heard this story before.
We are short money. I know, let me keep going.
We “assumed” (and you know how to spell it) the federals would step in to help out. When the federals did not step up with the inflated grant, we complained, saying Armageddon would happen. The federals said “sorry, we won’t give you the money the way you asked.”We then reduce the “ask” by about 10-20%, saying “we are giving up so much.” We then hear there are “terms” attached to the “ask” which are unpalatable. The ask itself was also too high but let’s get to that when we know people are serious. “Poor me,” we then say, “it is Anywhere But California or ABC. Not our fault, everyone hates us.”
The Administration then says, “no, we just want a reasonable ‘ask.’” We respond, “it is reasonable, we did all the work, see?”
The pas de deux continues while leverage is waited for.
Eventually the stasis will shift right? In the meantime, the situation “plays out.” Will Congress shift and give us our money as we asked? Everyone else got it before so it surely will happen.
Will the dollars come to LA? Will the Administration risk the “impression we are a mess for the Olympics?” Trump certainly will want to look good for the whole world right? He has to do it our way, or so the bet is. Bluff Trump? TACO or…?
Well, guess what, we are doing it now with transit for the Games.
We asked for 3,000 buses- new buses to make our Games “no car.”
We were told “no shot.”
To get that many buses, we need to get going ASAP. We need to procure the equipment. We need to hire temporary drivers. We are 2 years out. It all has to happen right now or else. Or else what seems to be the Administration’s position?
Here is the crazy thing- Metro has a total of 2,000 buses for its entire current fleet. That’s right, they are asking for the federal government to replace the entire fleet, or almost the entire one. You wonder why our grant was turned down?
To get the “new buses,” they want to hold the Games “hostage.” The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Games (LA 28) and Metro is that these will be a “no car games,” and that without the additional new buses, Metro will use its existing capabilities to meet the needs of LA 28, creating a potential traffic embarrassment (or so Metro is positioning it as).
$2 billion folks. That money washes a lot of issues. A new fleet of buses. What about the old ones? Dunno- sold off?
From my understanding, the Games in 1984 added about 500 buses to the fleet, and Metro did not have light rail, subways, or even the direct link to LAX via rail (eventually). In other words, we have more capability than then and we want to triple the ask. I get that Moscow and the Eastern Bloc are not boycotting these games but the need to triple the fleet needed? Come on.
What does all this mean? Well, from the tone you can tell I am not impressed with our electeds. It is a problem of our own making.
This crisis is self inflicted, much like our CDBG-DR issues. We made a ridiculous ask of $40 billion in the disaster relief request, and did not even get taken seriously. We then reduce “the ask” and the trust is gone. Here we did it again.
What I have learned, in my short time looking at these issues is:
The Administration likes to see “skin in the game,” meaning LA 28 and/or the City should be creative in how it finances the buses alongside the Government.
Their position is LA is making the mistake of asking for something out of step with reality. What if the Disaster Investment Fund for instance was used to find some funding to finance the deal for the buses and the federals are alongside as a partner in it?
If the buses are used by Metro after the Olympics, what if Metro buys them on a depreciated basis for those it wants so the federals are not financing an almost entirely new fleet when the deal is done? If after, buses are not needed, they can be sold to pay back investors and/or the federal government.
Just throwing ideas out there to get people thinking. There are other financial areas we can look to if Metro wants a new fleet.
I bet if we came with an “ask” which was reasonable, the federals would take our request seriously. We can negotiate the more problematic things, like DEI compliance, which is considered antithetical to California and our government. Perhaps we find a method to shift the burden outside of a grant. We need a model framework to start a basis of discussion which is more in line with what it will take to get some money freed up instead of playing chicken.
If you think the Media narrative of the federals “left us here” will move the needle, think again. There are solutions, like with the disaster recovery funds, but we are choosing a single path. Maybe we are run by A to B people.
Maybe we have other desires for the money, like burdening the funds for Administration. The world changed last November, and if we want to look good for the rest of the world, we can think differently about these Games (or other things in this State). In fact, these Games were supposed to be easy and different, using resources in place. Ah, how the original intent has shifted.
Unfortunately, we go back to the same old and get the same results.
Shocking? Nope.
One would think the spirit of the Olympics would focus the mind, but alas, not when billions are at stake and political wins can be won. Insanity is what we have in government here- doing the same thing over and over again, thinking there will be a different result. Why I am pushing for a broader shift, but hopefully this little example shows how our system failed again.
Try a little “honey,” instead of “vinegar” as my father used to say, and see what happens. You might be surprised.