I've seen attacks on LA paying for the Jackson memorial

[malaise]

service security, etc. How much money is MJs death bringing to LA from last week to now?

[hlthe2b]

1. Bringing money to LA....

not necessarily in a way that will allow the city government to benefit or recoup expenses. That said, they wouldn't think twice about holding such a service for Reagan or some other high profile CA politician....

[wndycty]

3. Taxable dollars are taxable dollars. . .

. . .the public safety accounts might not get the money directly, however at the end of the day I trust the MJ vigils, memorials, observances and other MJ related events is probably going to be a net gain for LA.

[DrDan]

4. I see a difference between a memorial service for a public servant - whether conservative or not

and a rich singer/dancer.

[hlthe2b]

16. I'm not arguing whether or not the memorial is appropriate

I'm absolutely not going to enter into that argument...

But LA is the city of Hollywood, after all. They have budgeted for this kind of event, albeit they are concerned about using it up this early in the year when fires, earthquakes and other unforeseen events might be an issue later on. That, said, I think the estate ought to ante up in a MAJOR way.

[DrDan]

21. I agree completely - but I think it ought to be paid 100% by the family

this is a private affair

[Confusious]

2. I'm against spending public money for all private events

Celebrity deaths, Politician Deaths, and I got a real bug up my butt about stadiums.

But, as for question, considering the REAL unemployment numbers are like 20%, and the rest are to too scared to spend, I would have to say, not much. The ones there are probably celebrity obsessed Southern Californians who can drive there.

[Kajsa]

15. Not necessarily.

Fans have come to LA from all over the world.

Many flew to LA in hopes of getting a coveted ticket
to his memorial service today.

Out of the 1 1/2 million who registered on the website
to get tickets, only 1,200 ( I believe) actually got them.

Downtown LA is going to be packed today.

[Kajsa]

23. Correction,

8,750 pairs of tickets were issued.

I was WAY off!

[earthside]

5. It's a Reflection

Everyone should read James Howard Kunstler's essay from last Monday "The Man in the Mirror" and Bob Herbert's "Behind the Facade".

LA spending money it doesn't have for the 'celebration' of an entertainment freak's death is, well, a reflection on the decadence of American society ... so, who is surprised?

[Johonny]

6. Then you pay for it

[kentuck]

7. Anybody making a profit?

I see a lot of money grubbers. This takes away from Michael's contribution, in my opinion.

[otohara]

20. The City of Los Angeles

local Hotels, restaurants, shops ....

I personally think the Jackson family should kick in and there's a way to donate on the web. I'm thinking of kicking in some money. He meant a lot to a lot of people around the world.

RIP Michael Jackson

[kjackson227]

8. I heard on CNN that LA has a special budget set aside for events like this...

so I guess it's already paid for???

[SoCalDem]

11. Hah!.. they are in the MINUS column, and are laying people off.

The "special fund" is probably empty.

[SoCalDem]

9. Not enough.. and any money paid BY them, does not go to the city

it goes to the businesses (IF they are even open).

The city will end up "billing" AEG, and if they do not pay, they will just file a lien against the estate, and AEG, and no money from the estate can be divvied up until "creditors" claims have been processed..

They will get repaid, just not in time to help with the deficit.

I hope this is a lesson to state/county/city administrations. These large "events" should not be "billed to the taxpayers". When the Lakers "need" a parade or a celebration, their OWNERS should also foot the bill from city-provided services.

these "events" are just another transfer of funds TO and FOR rich folks, paid for by taxpayer funds. (I know that some of the money does come from those same rich folks, but if they want MORE than what's provided for us all, then they need to pay extra for their parties.)

[malaise]

12. Thoughtful response

Thanks

[Johonny]

13. I agree

[AngryOldDem]

22. Exactly,.

The family could have left it at the private ceremony at Forest Lawn. The city should not have to solicit contributions to pay for its expected role in something that other entities have decided to do. If the family/promoter see this as necessary, then they reimburse the city for the expense.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

10. There is no effective way to tell in the short term how much it will cost LA

An unexpected uptick in sales and hotels could be a metric, but most of the money goes to the state and any estimate would be mostly guess work. My concern is if there is after event violence. Parts of LA have never fully recovered from the Rodney King riots.

[notesdev]

14. If it's bringing in that much money

then let it be paid for with that money.

But I highly doubt this is going to be a profitable endeavor for L.A. - the cost of police security alone will likely eat up any extra revenues produced, and then some.

[Vinca]

17. The Jackson estate should foot the bill for what it's going to cost the city.

It boggles the mind they're suggesting fans send donations to pay for this thing. The net value of his estate at this point is still in the hundreds of millions of dollars and MJ will most likely make more money in death than he did in life.

[csziggy]

19. AEG, the group that had arranged for the MJ tour, is the entity running this memorial

Originally they were going to charge $25 per person to go to the event, but the family caught flack for a fee so they dropped it. AEG should have said that fee was to go to the city, and still charged it, but that would not have come close to paying for the security needed.

But it should be AEG that gets the bill for this since they are the ones promoting it and they are the ones who will profit most directly from all this hoopla.

[incapsulated]

18. About as much as the Republican Convention brought to NYC

I would wager.