This past week, Q-line asked: “If you had your way, where do you think the City Council should spend your money?”
Here are your responses: ■ “If I had my way, I think the City Council should spend my money on schools. Then, I think they should spend it on musical instruments for the schools. Then, I think they should spend it on art supplies for schools. Then, they should spend their money on costumes for plays in the schools. Then, they should take some money and spend it on public schools — not private schools, not magnet schools, not the Waldorf school, not Crossroads school. Public schools — the ones Schwarzenegger has his finger on.” ■ “They should lower all the salaries of the City Hall employees. They are making way too much money. Spend whatever they can getting rid of the homeless. All the homeless, no shelters, no nothing. I used to care. Just get rid of them.” ■ “No. 1, get rid of the homeless, vagrants, mental cases and drug addicts that have taken over the city. No. 2, clean up after them. The sidewalks and parks are filthy and wreak of human waste, just like all the alleys downtown. Then they could try reversing some of the things they have done to create the nightmare traffic we have. There are a few other things, but let’s start with that.” ■ “I would love to see them look at the budget for people removing graffiti from the city and see if they are paying them enough. They are doing a great job and I am sure they are getting less than they deserve.” ■ “Instead of having extra curricular programs that teach about the interior of the White House, they should have parenting classes, self-defense for all the girls and personal safety programs for all. Our kids should be learning to be more aware. Learning about the inside of the White House is a total waste of time. Why aren’t they spending more on real education and paying money to have fake snow every Christmas?” ■ “I would spend a lot more money on the public schools. The reason I moved here in the first place was for the schools. I have a daughter and I wanted her to be educated. Anywhere else you get half the quality of schools, and half the quality of life. You have children that aren’t being educated. They don’t enjoy going to school. I would not continue to spend the money on homeless programs. I think this money is being wasted. People who remain homeless year after year are not being helped, clearly.” ■ “The city would be best served by getting rid of these homeless people everywhere. I think they could also be more business friendly. That way we get more tourists. If they don’t have to be confronted by filthy homeless people trying to rip them off or panhandle, we could bring more money in. It is a very difficult city to do business in or even live in for that matter.” ■ “Take every red cent they spend on harassing businesses, complaining about hedges and creating traffic and use it to run the bums out of town. Then they should clean up the streets from all their filth and God-awful stench.” ■ “Let’s get the homeless people off the street. There is so much money here we should be able to afford getting them medical care, psychiatric care, job programs. Get them bathed. I mean, really, 2,000 people homeless just in Santa Monica? Ridiculous. I also feel like we should hire more teachers so we don’t have to have bake sales to buy books.” ■ “The downtown traffic is horrible. Just build a huge parking lot and have open air trolleys through the city. You can’t move when you are in a car. That’s my idea.” ■ “Buy all the homeless bus tickets to the East Coast. Do you realize these people have a Web site? They are becoming an organized group. An organized group of beggars and losers that don’t want to work, or are too crazy to keep a job or would rather drink and get high than work. Guess what? I would much rather drink all day than work. I don’t want to have to crap in the street though. I like my house. I like my TV. I even like my job now and then. I cannot believe the sympathy this idiotic City Council has for a population that doesn’t vote and destroys the city. And get rid of all the stupid islands in the road. ”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 15, 2004. Read the original PDF.