Basic HTML Version
22
(ContÍ1med from page
18)
favor the rural counties. Los Angeles
County has one third of the state popu–
lation, but has an equal vote in thc
state Senate with a county of less than
L,OOO
people.
All agree that toda.y's cities are often
wretched places to live, and that sorne
form of a more agracian population
organization may well be preferable to
our modero "cityscapes."
But cibes
cottld
be made livable jf a
change in national purpose, attitude,
and character were coupled with a
change in society's
stmct11re.
This article
is focusing on the necessary change in
governmental structure, although we are
quick to admit this is only part of thc
many-faccted city problem.
Today's Mayors Powerless
How would you like to be a mayor in
one of toda,y's complex metropolises?
How would you handle a day in the life
of New York City Mayor John Lindsay
-
militant unionized civil servants
banging on your door for more pay; thc
city council
oc
state legislature blocking
your programs; complaints from com–
muters who don't even pay the city any
taxes; businesses and citizens fleeing
Maohattan like rats leaving a sinking
ship; and the daily pressure of trying to
please all factions and all voters. (See
short accompanying articlc, "New York
City - Bankruptcy in Babylon.")
New York City is not the only
example. It's just the most distorted due
to its hugeness. But just about every
mayor of a U. S. metropolitan city is
working with at least one hand tied
behind his back. Mayor Sam Yorty of
Los Angeles has no power over vast Los
Angeles County, which is three times as
populous as the city and speods nearly
live times as much tax money. Mayor
Carl Stokes of Cleveland is quitting at
the end of this terrn duc to the weak–
ness imposed upon him by a strong but
provincial city council.
Mayor Kenncth Gibson of Newark is
accused by whites of being under black
militant control, while blacks accuse
him of being too moderate toward
whites. Mayors in Ncw Orleans, Balti–
more, and Atlanta have bcmoaned the
fact that they serve metropolises of over
a million people based on the taxes of
1"be
PLAIN TRUTH
the 300,000 poorest citizens who have
the misfortune to live in the central city.
The Role of Money
The powerlessness of mayors often
centers around
money.
In New York
City, for instance, about forty percent of
all funds are specified grants-in-aid
from the Federal and State goverrunents
with "strings attached" for welfare,
highways, education, and the like, while
30 percent are property taxes, aod 30
percent are miscellaneous cl1arges.
The basic dilemma facing city offi–
cials is that they must combat problems
which are
1101
of their making with tax
money which
trmst be
of their making.
For instance, a city has no control over
its popu lation growth and racial
mix,
but it must pay for the problems engen–
dered by
more
people. More specifically
the city has no control over
who
receives welfare, but the city, the
county, and thc state must
pay
about
half the cost of welfare.
Inflation is a major factor of
increased expenses, yet inflation is
ulti–
mately caused by federal fiscal and
monetary
policy.
Tbe explosion of ser–
vices and wage demands requires more
hiring and higher salaries, two trends
which are national in scope, but which
must be paid by cities. Highways are
federal projects which must be paid in
part by localities. And the list goes on
- expenditures which are not of local
making, yet must be paid locally.
Money or resources, of course, do not
solve all problems. It is people, after
all, that make up cities. Plenty of money
and bad people do not equal good
cities. They egual bad cities with a lot
of wealth.
On the other hand, a change in
goverrunent is also important. Wealth
and bad government do not equal good
cities. They equal bad cities having a cor–
rupt government and oodles of money.
But money, wealth and resources no
accomplish much good in the hands of
the right people working together.
Without resources, physical deteriora–
tion sets in. Physical deterioration affects
mental, emotional and spiritual health.
Wealth and resources may not solve the
basic problems of cities. But without
them any visions of solutions are made
even dimmer.