Los Angeles Daily News
State of decline
Southland suffers from lack of leadership
Sunday, February 06, 2005 - Hard though it may be to remember, there was a time when people flocked to Southern California because it was the ideal place to raise a family. Housing was cheap, good jobs were plentiful, the air was clean, schools were excellent and the freeway system was the envy of the nation.
But today's Southland looks nothing like its not-so-distant pass.
Housing is outrageously expensive, and well-paying jobs are scarce. The air is dirty, and many of the schools are among the nation's worst. Our jammed freeways are a national embarrassment.
(snip)
Housing is so expensive because for three decades there has been no coherent plan for dealing with growth. An anti-business climate has driven good jobs out of the region. Public-employee unions have taken over government at all levels, including the schools. And local officials have failed to expand transportation options effectively as the population has grown, which explains our traffic jams as well as our bad air.
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