Go to home page

HOLLYWOOD'S streets may be paved with gold (stars), but all that glitter and glitz isn't helping Los Angeles city fathers with a down-to-earth problem: how to pay for security and other services for tomorrow's memorial service for Michael Jackson.

As many as a million people may show up outside the Staples Center to pay tribute to the entertainer, and the city, operating under a $500 million deficit, is wrestling with how to pay for the police and other emergency services required.

LA's sad story is all part of the bigger picture of California's descent into insolvency. The state last Thursday began issuing IOUs in place of tax refunds and other money owed citizens and small businesses. Over 28,000 notes were issued, to the tune of $53.3 million, to avoid a $3 billion state deficit in July. Of course, these notes are just postponing the inevitable: By October, the state's cash shortfall will exceed $16 billion if something radical isn't done.

The Republican governor wants to solve the Golden State's financial woes by deeply cutting services and borrowing; the Democratic legislature prefers raising taxes and making less deep cuts in spending. They're locked in a cage match over just which techniques to use.

Time waits for no man, however, and Michael Jackson's death has created yet another challenge for those overseeing the already depleted coffers of the state's largest city. Believe it or not, LA is looking for private donors to help fund security for Tuesday's memorial. What's next? A bake sale? Putting California on eBay?