Traffic crunch takes a toll

SCAG whose data you quote also made it very clear in its presentations to the full Council that ALL the net population increase is from immigration from Mexico and Central America (illegal, almost all of it) and their huge birth rates. There is a NET EXODUS of the middle class and "anglo", Asian and other. So what we're really talking about here is taxing ourselves and having to build all this infrastructure for this Hispanic population, which already is about half.

Reality Check...you hit the nail on the head!
LA has turned into a landfill for the unwashed masses of Mexico and Central America. We are getting NOTHING for our ever increasing taxes...and the illegals and their anchor brats have taken over the city. Half of the city employees are illegal...and ICE should begin their raids at City Hall!
It's going to cost $290M to convert the Lexus Lanes but they are projected to bring in $790K/year in revenue! That money, of course, will be spent on the Mexicans!
We have to exterminate Villar, Nunez, Reyes, Alarcon, Huizar, and Cardenas ASAP...they are radical agents of Mexico and should never be allowed to hold public office!
Where is the outrage from American citizens??? Why aren't we marching in the streets???? No one is paying attention and we are seconds away from disaster!
WAKE UP, LOS ANGELENOS!!!!!!!!

Correction to above post: The Lexus Lanes projected to generate $790M/year...not $790K/year!

RV, it makes me uncomfortable when someone says they agree with me but then uses terms like "exterminate," that undercuts a valid and obvious point about what these figures mean.(Which we'll never hear from the NEW Daily News under Carolina Garcia.)

We do need a balance in the city of some Republicans who are fiscally responsible and don't pander to the Hispanic vote; Antonovich on the Board of Supervisors, who points out the billion or so annual net loss not counting the schools, is a lone voice. Zine and Smith on the Council are allegedly conservative, but if they go against the ones you name and the arch-lefties like Rosendahl and Hahn, they're branded racist reactionaries.

On the state level there are more Republicans, but the problem is, they stiff us even of our fair share of Transportation funding, relative to what we pay in, and even stole the $1.2 BILLION in "surplus gas taxes" just last summer to balance THEIR mismanaged budget.(Which those like Nunez and Gil Cedillo, who is a national spokesman for employing illegals along with Reyes etc., certainly contribute to.) So it's hard to get people to vote for a party which punishes us unduly instead of offering INCENTIVES or positives for being aligned with them.

We need to go the way of Colorado and Arizona, though, to actually enforce ICE laws and stop giving illegals welfare, MediCal and benefits designed for citizens, as they have, which has worked there to get rid of many of their illegals, and their economy hasn't suffered as these pro- illegal panderers tell us.(If some businesses, like the garment industry, that relies on illegals do suffer short-term, so what, that's their problem and the overall society will benefit from all the collateral savings.)

We'd need to have more fiscally responsible but not punitively anti-LA (which is dumb for Calif., too) pols elected -- but it's harder and harder, with the huge Hispanic vote. HOWEVER we should keep in mind that many Hispanics of the "old school" don't like what's happened, either, their own quality of life has suffered radically, and they dislike the radical MeCHa, unassimilationist, pro-Mexican govenment direction of Reyes, Huizar, Reyes and Cardenas, Cedillo, etc. Many want more moderate and less corrupt, Reconquista Hispanic leaders, too.

More money for NOTHING! Pay billions for billions of "studies"

Somebody got rich off of all those tax dollars that were suppose to build Monorails down the middle of our Freeways.

I will NEVER vote for one more penny for these losers.

Our infrastructure is falling apart because of the estimated 1 MILLION illegal aliens living here while paying NO LOCAL TXs...and sending BILLONS to Mexico.
LA is FAST resemling that CESSPOOL SLUM Mexico City.
It really is sickening to see how we have been just thrown away by Federal and State gov. Almost every Hispanic Politician in California is an illegal alien backer.
Change LA with your VOTE!

"But critics argue that the public is wary of increases in taxes and fees at a time when the economy is teetering on recession and gasoline prices continue to skyrocket."

That's only part of it. The public has generously approved many tax increases and new taxes only to learn that they were lied to and that the taxes were unnecesssary. The public has learned that most of their taxes are wasted on government employees. The public has learned that the public employees and politicians continue to lie to them while they take fat compensation increases. The public has learned that their government refuses to reform to be more responsible with their tax dollars. The public has learned that their government refuses to cut costs even during economic downturns and instead contines to raise taxes. The public is not "wary," the public is DISGUSTED.

our only hope is for ICE to come into LA and start raiding on an hourly basis. If tony villar is sending a letter telling them NOT to, then the Citizens of America need to write to him telling him KEEP IT UP. The city council is a bunch of whimps, and will never take the stand that the illegals are killing this city. all white people are moving out, and that's exactly what they want.

Recall Villar wrote:

Correction to above post: The Lexus Lanes projected to generate $790M/year...not $790K/year!

What's the difference? All of it will be going to the illegals and their millions of anchor brats. And when the politicians need more money, they'll take it away from us on an ever-increasing scale in order to fund the biggest welfare scam in the history of the u.s. They'll keep on doing it until we throw all of them out of office and elect leaders who will take a no-nonsense approach to the problem. Until then, open your wallets and pay up.

Why not expand the freeway and add more regular lanes to accomodate the traffic? Changing the existing carpool lanes into toll lanes is definitely not the answer. What if a motorist decides not to pay the toll fee because he's short on cash? Then he's going to the regular lanes, adding more congestion. The mayor and the governor know this, but they don't care. They just want to rack up more tax money out of us to fund the subway system, to buy more buses that only the illegal aliens can ride in it. Really, who wants to ride in a bus that ferries mostly the smelly, stinking illegal aliens who haven't taken a shower in a month? When I go to Orange County on the I-5 from L.A. County, once I reach Anaheim, the freeway expanded into 5-6 lanes, thereby, reducing the traffic dramatically. But when I go back to L.A. County from Orange County, it's the direct opposite. The I-5 narrows down to 3 lanes.

Follow the money trail, follow the money trail, follow the money trail. I would not want to ride the maglev or the subway in the event of a major quake. We have millions of illeals sending money to Mexico, spend according to Antonovich over 1 billion (boy what we could do with 1 billion) a year, give 2.1 billion in aid to developing countries (what part of charity begins at home do our politicians not understand?) Southern CA was not built to withstand this many folks. I probably will NOT in this third world state. Consumer confidence is so low, any additional taxes in the face of rising grocery prices, gas etc. would kill business. Let's not forget all the money for the war in Iraq and the fighting in Afghanistan and we still don't have bad boy Osama... Gee no surprise there.

Maybe if we send a few people back home where they belong we wouldn't have this problem.

They are mulling over 'proposals' for so called 'revenue'? You mean ways to tax us more to cover costs of things we already pay for however, you as a council and mayoral group allocate and spend 'our' money horribly. You should all be fired.
But first.... stop robbing from one fund to go to another. Let the monies go for what they were intended to 'only'.
Eliminate all of the newer spending in the past year. If we dont have it, we dont have it so suck it up.
Cut every bit of fat you can, that we 'know' you can, like city car allowances, the millions wasted in overtime, funding 'so called gang intervention programs', don't allow toll roads, build more freeway space 'period' and.... while starting with just these few.... all of your salaries and perks should be reduced by 35%. Once things get back on track and you've 'earned' what your being paid for... then your pay will increase accordingly. I mean, it's not right to pay for something thats substandard right? So until you 'so called officials''earn' your wage we pay... then you get a demotion.
Now whats ill logical about any of that? Right, none. So...... get to it and show us what you've got. We're rootin for ya!
(now move your arse and get crackin!)
Simply Sickened....