It’s Fix the Tax Code Friday! News reports continue to focus on the death of Michael Jackson, his memorial and his funeral. Enormous amounts of public resources have been dedicated to policing the memorial service, keeping Jackson’s family away from the press and investigating Jackson’s “alleged” drug use. Comparisons have been drawn to other public figures – and professional sports teams – who have relied on public dollars to police and protect them after championships and other notable moments in their lives. In some instances, such as the Lakers parade, funding is donated by the celebs in question or by fans. In others, funding has come out of the city’s general fund.
So today’s Fix the Tax Code Friday question is:
Should taxpayers bear the cost of protecting and policing private citizens (including sports teams) who require or merit (depending on your point of view) extra attention? Is there a threshold for who should be allowed extra policing for “free” – such as national champs – or should the super rich pay their own way? Or all private citizens equal when it comes to tax dollars?
First, the good news: the memorial service for Michael Jackson did not cost the City of Los Angeles the $4 million originally reported.
Now, the bad news: the service still cost the City more than $1 million. Initial reports put the cost of additional security and trash pick up for the private event at $1.4 million.
While the City is not unused to shelling out extra money for events, this one came with its own set of issues:
- Crowds had been expected to rival the 1984 Olympics – and that event took years of planning. This event was put together, basically, over a weekend.
- Unlike events such as concerts and ball games, tickets to the Michael Jackson memorial were free. Good for attendees, bad for the City. That means no sales tax on tickets.
- The City was still reeling from Lakers (bah, Humbug!) victory parade last month, although taxpayer financing for that event was kept to a minimum. The Lakers reportedly paid for the entire production cost of the parade (topping $1 million) and donations took care of most of the rest of the associated costs for police, etc.
- Los Angeles is more than half a billion in debt – and the state of California’s coffers are dry, too.
Taking all of this into consideration, the City is looking to AEG (which owns the Staples Center) and the Jackson family/estate to voluntarily fill some of the budget holes. So far, neither party has come forward to help. The City of Los Angeles is reportedly reviewing their legal options with respect to collections.
No matter how the money is collected, City Attorney Carmen Trutanich believes that taxpayers should not have to pay for the service. Noting that it was essentially a private event, Trutanich’s spokesman said that the city should not foot the bill “…especially in a cash-strapped city, where people have been furloughed or even lost jobs.”
A website has been set up to take donations to defray the cost of the event. So far the City has collected a mere $17,000.
Image: Official White House photo
