If you'd like to listen to free economic radio without ads the place to do that is sticker premium five dollars a month and you can get a free month trial by going to stick your premium dot com and use a promo code freak. You also get access to all our bonus. Episodes and you'll be supporting our show to that sticker premium: dot, com, promo code freak thanks. Today we are speaking with the mayor of Philip web loading Senora, letting the bailiff analysed they portion cooler, which is luckily been shortened to LOS Angeles That's right! I'm Eric our city, The mayor of the city of LOS Angeles. Tell me something I dont know about LOS Angeles, everyone in the world is at least a little familiar with delay, or at least an image of Ella, but tell me something that only are true in either or a real long. Timer would now, while sands was founded before Washington DC people think we're a new city.

when the Continental Congress was commissioning a study to see whether marshland next to the Potomac would be a fitting as for our national capital, that's the same year seventeen, eighty one, the delay was founded and it was place. That was at least the progress of the nearby mission in Sand Gabriel said a rowdy, chaotic criminal place. It got washed away by flow, twice and had to be resettled on higher ground and the third time I'm fine from W and Y see studios. This is for economics, radio, the podcast that explores the hidden side of everything. Here's your house, Stephen Dogma

after those too early washouts, LOS Angeles, did catch on to the point that became the second largest city in America, a city that people the world over dream about a city which, in turn manufactures and exports dreams for living, a city that seems to exist beyond the whole, hum gravitational pull of the rest of America. Unless you are it's mare, in which case you are concerned our very down to earth tell me they ve been sixty seconds or less what you actually do in a given day. Assuming there is anything like a given day every day is predictably unpredictable. I wake up in see emails from the night before of shootings or even homicides in the city. I'll take my daughter to school. Try to get some exercise in their before that. I really do a combination of proactively engaging with people and responding to what's going on the city, so I'll do everything in the same

day from drive from one end of town the other under a freeway overpass into people's tents, who are living on the street to talk to them, try to get them off the street to meeting with US ambassador head of state and everything in between said, he was on the OECD City Council for years before becoming mare in twenty thirteen, it just forty two years old, the city's youngest mare in more than a century. He inherited a project budget deficit of some two hundred and forty million dollars he'd also get to deal with a water shortage, rising crime rates and incessant need for more or better way. is to move people around a city that is famous for its traffic. Her said he studied political science, urban planning and international affairs at Columbia in New York, then politics at Oxford and nationalism and ethnicity at the London School of Economics. So it would seem obvious that a political career was always the goal

I didn't think of electoral politics. To be honest, I thought I'd do human rights work in international development work. I spent time in high school in Ethiopia between the famines on a medical relief mission. I had spent time in Burma in the created areas where rebels and pro democracy dissidents fled after the crack down on Aung San Suu Kyi and her party in the late eighties early nineties? So I thought it would be maybe some involved in world change, but not necessarily electoral politics or it was gonna, be music. I am as a committed composer in the guys do right musicals with once he was able the ditch me and get a better composer actually won t wonder Tony s: brain Turkey is at Rain York. You, my dear friend, one a tone. And one a pulitzer. So I was gonna destroy them ride on his boat for a while, but he got smart. You are apparently very good at a lot of things, photography and dancing and sharp shooting in

acting in composing in playing music. You did very well and academia, your road scholar, among other things, so, first of all, were all these extracurricular activities just part of a grand plan to make yourself unelectable politician, No, but I'm sure my parents, breeding was because, if you have an italian last name, your half mexican and have jewish- and you can't get elected on that who can? But now I've just always been fascinated by interesting, different things. On my mom side, the Jew aside, the family, it comes family musicians who were pianists, I've always loved cultural expression. In my dad's tired politician and lawyer and now a photographer, so am I gonna cut that bug from him and just now loved, engaging with ideas and culture, and I think, that's part of up and allay were you little We have a community from every culture on the face of the earth every language in this kind of geographic crossroads of the world

then capital of Latin America, western capital, the United States, eastern Capital, the Pacific rim. So it was an actual outgrowth of where I grew up in the race me Eric our cities, Father, the retired politician and lawyer is Gilgad, said he who serve to terms as LOS Angeles, county district attorney in the ninety minutes. As guilder city was first running for the position. There were widespread and brutal riots in allay in protest over the Rodney King trial. He was the black man had been beaten by or else comes, Georgia in the Rodney King case has delivered its verdict and not one of the four police. for a scene on videotape beating Mister King a year ago, is guilty of using excessive force urban found not guilty. More than fifty people were killed, couple thousand injured. What was it like for you as a student in

work with your family from allay your father heading toward the d, a position there. What was it like to watch that happening back home and I'm curious if or how it affected you our future, whose very otherworldly you know I had just left the city. The day before and flung back to Also. I missed it by one day and night your door. My remember sitting there are literally single Did he Berne and just feeling powerless and feeling hopeless? and wondering whether the great diversity they loved of our city would be Then it will ultimately be the cause of its destruction, because you remember the writing, then, is like nobody will ever get long in the race really Hence I so fraught with peril, in LOS Angeles. What's miraculous to me is almost thirty years later, twenty five years later, you see this is our great strength. I travelled other cities and have my fellow mayors, like their sole saying. How do we get to be more like allay with a sort of

pluralism that you have, because we need that here for going to survive and be competitive. So I think from a very dark moment, we really figured out a way to get back to the light and to see what has always been a strength of the city of that on me. It's kind of cultural diversity that defines delay before the king verdict and the riots there was, of course, the king beat and the acquittal then of the police officers. How did that affect your view of police work generally and specifically and allay while a couple things have informed that over time I have tremendous respect for people who have decided to wear badge and put their lives on the line for us, with their widows of held their children are those who are killed I'd have duty and I think we have to always recognise that and thank our police officers. I also the son of a The prosecutor, who stood up the first one of the first divisions, if not the first division in the United States in a district attorney's office to go after

look officials, including police officers, who are accused of wrong doing including police brutality and at that That was a very different LOS Angeles police Department and it was much more. Inward looking and he would go- and brief. You know at roll calls police officers and tell them look if you somebody and its potentially criminal act, we're gonna roll out and we're gonna potentially prosecute you an please officers would say things: If you'd come home and over the dinner table say a cop told me in one of those rules as if you were lying on the street. bleeding and dying I'd step over you and keep walking. So you know, I grew up with an understanding that justice wasn't that just about the suspects, who don't wear bad, is bad. Occasionally you have people who exhibit criminal behaviour in the police department cut ahead thirty years, and I was mayor of the city when the first things I did before Ferguson before Staten Island before these places was to become the first big city to begin testing and a roll out the deployment of body cameras and

about that Rodney King moment, when we all saw that I was really one of the first moments videotape caught what we knew happened all too often in too many places. From a very small minority of police officers who attended the badger everybody. But now we Police officers who actually have not only ok, I'll, whereby the camera, but I've talked ones you say, Love having this, it makes me safer and it makes us more accountable to the public that builds trust and I'm really pay. that you know that, many years after I d king, that's where LOS Angeles is that now, if I understand correctly in your efforts to build what you're calling relationship based policing and pushing for, as you said, pudding cameras on em. Police officer on the street, there's one didn't recently? You know what else has not been immune to controversial police shootings in one of them. Please shot and killed twenty nine year old, homeless man in Brendan Glenn. As I understand it, the delay police

Commission declared the shooting unjustified, but you ve resisted, calls to release video of the shooting captured by surveillance, cameras and, and I gather police body cameras. Why is that? I think that foot it should be released, but I guess of son of a product, We should allow that to be with prosecutors to build their case first. In this case, it's actually private video footage. So it's not even something it was from a body camera. I think it was from a nearby business, but you want to have as effective prosecution, and I agree with what the The commission has said- and the chief has said- this is a very disturbing shooting at one that will go to trial, and I think that we should preserve that judicial system and then really sit at the appropriate time were also listening to people on building, together with civil rights advocates Please union general public, but I think it is most important to send a message that if somebody does

the law, even if the wearing a badge that we get a conviction. The other case that marked curse, eddies fathers career as The attorney was the Oj Simpson murder trial. Again, as in the Roddy King case, there was an acquittal, but this time it was the defendant who was black and he wasn't a cop Simpson. Former football star was accused of killing his Ex wife, Nicole Brown Simpson and a friend RON Goldman Guilder. Studies office oversaw the trial and for the past twenty one years refrained from speaking publicly about it when asked to participate in the recent ESPN documentary here is called OJ made in America. Rossetti declined at first, but then he was persuaded It was my son who said dad it's time for you to speak No one knows the facts that you know the verdict was one: he disagreed with very strong

but he also sought as a moment in time, and I think we ve just got to come to accept that we- turn the page on awareness about domestic violence that he saw this as the outgrowth that who is a random murder from nowhere, but the outgrowth of domestic them situation in that household and that nickel was a victim that perhaps hadn't spoken up in the face of demand violence and he was the first elected IE eight to his vociferously, speak out about that really make that the cause of his time in office which are very proud of a mean, even though the verdict didn't come in the way he wanted and that many people believe that should have, I think, there's a lot of. Men who came to him and said I finally have the courage to speak up and to speak out and I think lives were saved, but in I was most of the time over the seas. When that happened, I came back a couple times and it was a media circus. Unlike anything I had ever seen before, I got to hear gotta behind the scenes in and out what was going on for my dad, but I know that he really

leave strongly. This was a moment to raise awareness, while also trying to get there the guilty verdict that unfortunate didn't come. How did he explain the verdict thick men that was contrary to his expectation in his belief. Why did he think that verdict happened Have you ever had a a set reason? I think he's a experiencing prosecutor? No, the jury's are groups of human beings and you can ever a percent in fact what they will do. Obviously, race played into it. Some technical mistakes that made along the way I talked to. Recently in you know. I think one of the lawyers of Oj Simpson said something like he was taking medicine for his arthritis and was told that, if you'd stop taking it year, joints in your fingers will swell- that happened before putting on the glove. There's all sorts of you know what, if Monday morning quarter backing, but I think he thought it was mixture of what was going on with racial politics and sending a message from history as well as some things that made it difficult case to prove, but in the end I think it was something that people feel

very strongly about on both sides and my dad believed he was guilty and still does today. Let's talk about crime, for a moment, crime and lay still way way lower than historic highs, but it has been rising to what you attribute the rise. and what are you doing about it? Will you right in the eighteen sixty the murder rate was a hundred times higher than New York, and if we have the same reiterate today, we'd have as many people killed in a week as we do in a year. We have crime levels that are about the equivalent of the nineteen fifties mid. Nineteen fifty set still of very safe city relative to the past. But, as I was saying, That means nothing if there affairs gunshots in your neighborhood last night or you are the victim of a crime and we ve seen some double digit oh double digit, increases and violent crime for two years. I tribute to a couple different, Things one is, I think, in California, we ve done a lot of well intentioned criminal ass. This reforms, many of which I support that have taken people. Out of prison and put them back,

and our communities taking the savings to put into jobs, rehabilitation etc. But we change those laws before the programmes were in place. So is a little bit the cart before the horse. We should have had that you need to catch them and I am sure that a part of our homelessness rise as well is linked to this people get outta jail. That first week is so important They don't have a job skills if they just been in a jail that did nothing to rehabilitate them where they go back to the streets or they go back to crime, and we ve seen a spike particular property crime around other related crime, which means in people break in two cars to feed, probably the addictions they have on the streets when they come out of the criminal justice system. So I think that one of the big drivers I the other one to is that we are seeing a chain in how the main driver of crime and in a way is still gangs it. We ve cut gang crime by more than half in the last decade, but the gangs are kind of a new generation. Coming up in its no longer

graffiti on a wall. That's been crossed out with somebody else's paint or Singapore, I don't social media in a way that we're having to build up a law enforcement response due to be able to monitor that and quickly go after things, for they spike and we're think some some promise with that. This year we ve stood up in South LAS ancestor. Community safety operations centre its open about eighteen hours a day and has social media people were following social media. It's looking at, who are the few people carry the guns and are the shooters and try to get them as New York City has been doing and year quite effectively and we're seeing that crime a rise in those areas begin to level. Often then come down the last few months. I saw that recently held a gun buy back, which we, we wrote a little bit about that infrequent comics years, go the at the evidence from gun, buyback suggested their great for show, but that's that no one who would ever use a gun in a crime is actually gonna turn and buy back infecting the Instagram picture that you posted Mr Mer, I see a bunch of

old wooden barreled rifles at people turned amateur. You know not not the street crime guns. So I'm curious. What's the scope of your gun plan and please it's not entirely based on buyback, no definitely not in, and I think that by backs there's a lot of academic work on it, some quite dated now, but it's not just about ones. It will be used and crimes. There's one woman who brought it guns in from her father who had dementia and was threatening to use guns against the people and himself, and you know what it's Besides you accidents. I am convinced for sure that there's some than we have taken off the streets. It would have been used in some depth of some sort, and even if it's one, that's worth it. So it's not just the show it also the edges should around that we ve done other things now: some pretty fascination laws that there's a mandate to keep your guns locked when you have them at home. We have banned the buzz seven of large magazines, arch capacity, magazines for ammunition. We ve looked at public house,

and gone after people to be able to kick them out of housing if they have a legal guns and we ve been trying to stand up, going after those legal guns that on our streets working very closely with eighty F to make sure that we can trace back guns and go to the bad apple gun dealers and there's really a few gun dealers around the country that you can trace a lot of the guns back to that are used in crimes, and we also have something else, a quite effective from of economics or human behavior perspective, written letters to people who buy guns inside the city, saying that buying this kind for somebody else. That's illegal. since we have a waiting period here when we use those letters we ve seen as high as forty percent of people not come back to pick up the guns that they already paid for straw by. Which are the ways that criminals another piece we're getting louder guns. We ve been able to keep those other hands

We are setting has been called a pot whole politician for his embrace of all kinds of, and sexy projects like repaving streets, decreasing garbage concerning water and energy lowering response time for emergency services, all of which had to be accomplished. Remember with a large budget deficit. Let's go back to the beginning of your merrill teaches just a few years ago. What did you decide to do about that deficit? And what goes did you set generally for your administration? Why set a very straightforward goal of getting back to the basics, which is, I think, would be? This will governments about people give you the responsibility, even the authority, to go after the big things, the visionary things the mayor reaching for incredible opportunities if they trust that you're running a city and if you don't run a city. Well, conversely, you can't do the big things so, first and foremost as bouncing that budget, which we ve done three years in a row, our bond rating has gone up, putting a reserve fund of record high squirrel that away

make sure the next time recession we're in a better place and then just investing in the infrastructure we stopped trimming trees. We weren't fixing sidewalks, we weren't paving streets, the of all, and we have records of all of those now in just two and a half years. At the same time, we're doing huge infrastructure things, and I think my three, were to rebuild our economy and prepare us for the next twenty five years of prosperity build our infrastructure out in it, and she worked crumbling and be ready for the next fifty years of our physical needs here and then third was to build trust back into city government and so with the economy, and we ve seen unemployment cut in half. I focused on key industries like technology. Ellie now has more tech, jobs and any county in America where the trade capital, America record tourism, looking at all sorts of a green as well. Our we ve become kind of the world capital of that on infrastructure. were building more than any other city in the. U s his wealth, fifteen billion dollars at our airport to five ray.

Lines under construction, two of which we just opened up in the last two months. So the infrastructure pieces really important. As we see the nation, how to do that from Washington? We're doing that ourselves and then last piece of just trust in government. I want people to be excited about government. That starts by getting call returned and not being on hold for forty minutes. Getting a stop sign up that you need the speed bumps that slow the traffic down on your street Your kids play then in people give you the permission to do things as we ve done like raise them, wage, go after you know, affordable housing and try to crack the back of homelessness. in our city, where were the homeless capital of America, so you know where those three aims have allowed us to really now tackle what I think are the two biggest problems we face homelessness and traffic, both of which were unfortunately well known for in terms of traffic. If there's one american city that would seem immune to european style, make over of its transportation, emphasising rail and foot traffic rather car traffic. It would seem at least to me

to be delayed because of its size and its historical. it's on the automobile, but I gather you definitely different. Don't share that view. I know you're pushing for lots of workable areas and lots of train travel. Can you talk about you know obviously allay will never be a small compact european city, but What is your ultimate vision for that? Well, I don't want to bring a european city. Ernie's co city to the West Coast were proud of kind of the maize whether a topography in and the geography that we have and it's a little bit of back to the future, because even across these long distances we had the best public transportation system. Arguably of a city of our size and the country until nineteen fifty's The autonomous vehicles are the next big thing. These things called cars and freeways with an Ex big, the hint. So we got rid of a credible red car system, which was a street car system that travel the distances were now rebuilding Eliza, very much of a post, modern city, a traditional city has one centre its bounded and its vertical

we will always be relative to other cities, much more horizontal, where unbound and we have many centres and me that's exciting. It's me kind of the way London grew up a collection of villages and I think you need to build up transit options that get people from one village the next and make the village a little bit more self contained as I understand it, and please correct me if I'm wrong, the mayor of Delay is somewhat constrained by the fact that you share administrative responsibilities with L a county. And you don't have that much control over, say education, which is largely overseen by the state he touches from about the power. your office or leverage with every wanna use relative to the mayor of another big city like New York, city or Chicago, or it is strong mayor system. Here it's very

August, the federal government. I write the budget by Congress. Our city council can change that. I veto power. They can override that I appoint all of the thirty seven managers and chiefs who oversee things that some other cities don't have, for instance, which the large municipal utility. Our department of Water in power in the country on York, doesn't match a cargo doesn't on that? We have our own airport, that's not done by port authority and the port of delay, which is the biggest port in America, together with long beach responsible for forty three percent of the goods that come in are under my control. But it's true that a lot of the house, than human services and education, This is our separate governments and allay it, is people who had always a liberal place. I always point out that I was kind of built the libertarian place. How could you explain that a county of LOS Angeles, which ten million people in a natural area of seventeen million just a net county, We have eighty eight cities, so I'm just one mayor of eighty eight. Now it's the biggest city by far the best, one of the ways of exercise power to transcend that is every quarter. I bring to

the other eighty seven mayors with me- and we talk about things that ignore our borders, crime or traffic or air quality, doesn't stop. Between Beverly Hills, in LOS Angeles or between Santa LOS Angeles, you have to solve those things together, but the other way that I think you can influence. You know that give us answers. Has all the hospitals has all the generally. If money has the child welfare policy. So if you go after something like homelessness, really, the mental Health need and the human services needs are something from the county, and people for two long? I've had a rivalry out here. The city hated the county to count The city mayors, don't get along with supervisors, vice versa and I've just been a lot of time. those relationships to a place where I think that, even though those former boundaries are up, we can make a huge influence on education. For instance, we just announced that will be the biggest city in America to enact America's promised to make community college free, and this educating class of this next year of our law, Santos, unified school district will get community called free if they graduate not something that I,

together with them. So your item summit can but, as always constrained is your imagination and your relationships. Take you coming up on economics, radio. What kind of incentives does mere girl said? He, I believe in you know getting the core of my political philosophy. which is money and guilt. We also ask ourselves to confer or deny some rumours. We ve heard their allies and if you are looking for more interviews like this one check out the freak anomalies, radio archive on free economics, dot com or just the sensible thing and subscribe to the spot cast on Itunes wherever you get your broadcasts. That way, you always get the next episode in your sleep.

we're talking today, with LOS Angeles Mare, Eric or Seti Ella may have a lot of natural attributes, but water is not one of them Elaine has to buy a lot of its water and with a long and severe drought in California that water's gotten more expensive. So what have you been doing about that? A lot of stuff, thumbing water built the city? Anybody who seem Chinatown knows the history, the first things I did was actually after a hundred year war make peace with the folks, is a water. We are stealing in Chinatown up an annual county to be able to them retain more the water and have us retain more the water, because we are wasting a lot of it to try to keep dust from blowing on an old lake bed and up and up and in your county. Second, when we heard about the drought,

I pointed out that annually knows have been amazing. We consume the same amount of water. Today's we did thirty years ago, with a million more people, so went from three to four million people and collectively we, zoom, actually little bit less water than we did then, and so I said we are, we. This in the past were able to do this. We waste so much water. How many do we have, which is fifty percent of our water use as our landscaping and how much, people on those lines. I said Evelyn and your using it great, keep it and pay for the water to water it. But if you're not let us pay you to switch that the beautiful flowering green plants that use a lot less water and we're but to do that with over fifty million square feet of law, just the last couple years we were our water, in the face of this drought or water usage by nineteen percent, without having to find anybody without having to crack down on the water police, but by inspiring people through? like education and rebates, giving them free system, and changing other toilets, all sorts of things and the quality of life is still great. So I look

this is a great opportunity for us to reduce our water bills, are water dependency and long term, but for the plan for us to move from only fifteen percent of our water actually comes from our city and to make that number fifty percent by twenty thirty five, and we can do that? the combination of recycling, reusing, training, the water? It already falls into the basin here in LOS Angeles, Canada's perverse thing, all that we engineer all the water that falls outside of our city to come through series of expensive and complex aqueducts to their city for our use, but anything it actually falls when it rains here in the city gets quickly washed out to the ocean, and that's last I checked the only place it doesn't it anymore. So I'm curious of all the different incentives that you used to encourage water conservation. What worked best cause a lot of the work that we do with frequent looking at the incentives that we think will work well that people will respond to, but were often surprised by what actually works. I'm curious, if you could generally

for anybody out there is trying to come up with an incentive plan. Maybe has nothing to do with water, but whether finance was stronger than moral is stronger than social and so on. Will you now getting the core of my political philosophy, which is money and guilt? These two things work, give people money to change their behaviour and that helps them bridge. The kind of Gary New Frontier of doing something like. Oh my gosh house, without alone and guilt, Steve Career, they actor, and I did these great spots Hollywood out here on the radio we invented a character called the drop, who shows up on red, carpets and shows up at events in the community, and we said, save the drop and maybe it's that I'm half, gothic, half jewish but killed, seems to work really well and money seems get the job done. Economists, like the point but that we in this country in most countries have never done a very good job of pricing. Water, a city like allay, is probably paying way too much. If there were a kind of fair

equitable market for water, while out of agricultural areas, are heavily subs. Has therefore underpinned you agree with that assessment, or do you just kind of except your lot and move on what I don't like kind of pitting the people, the farmers against urban dwellers together, has both a very important. We have to eat things and- and we need to have- that is a part of our economy and we need cities to be able to exist. Well. The technology extra could solve the certain non issue, We need much more job, irrigation and our central Valley look at what has really done. who had Australia's done their wider pioneers when it comes to agriculture and similarly in urban areas which water we have gets completely treated to an almost drinkable standards. but more salient, but it's not contaminated anyway. Angus washed out every day about the equipment of sixty percent of our daily water use well places like orange county. A county to our south have been purifying that for a long time, but years ago here, when somebody called it toilet to tap suddenly people said yes, we can

we'll do that, even though nature does it every single day, what was once in your toilet will one day be falling from a cloud from the sky, so we rebranding it from toilet to tap from showers to flowers, putting people notice is a natural part of we're doing and we're looking at how to recycle much more water and then you dont have to pit farmers against. You know, city folk. We actually have plenty water is a resource which is renewable, which we have the state and I'm not worried that, even a drought. If this is the new normal that we cannot sustain both. It strikes me that you are embracing digital technology to be used in almost any quadrant of your job of great anything from commuting to sanitation and so on. Can you talk about generally. Why you're so enthusiastic about that and then give some specific examples where another forty five minutes do you think you're the one with the busy schedule? Well, I'm certainly attack enthusiasts, but

even though that is exciting to me. I want to be clear as a mayor I dont believe intact for attacks sake. It has to a means to an end. But I'll give you a couple examples when I came in sight of LOS Angeles, on ranked in terms of our openness to share our data. We have friends, is the most robust collection traffic centres in the world, which is the legacy of the nineteen eighty four Olympics, but we want storing the data, year to year. We actually destroying it. We weren't using it. We didn't have to some look at something like police shootings that was robust enough on the ethnicity of four sure you know involved in those shootings on the mental health aspects of that etc. And so you know across my thirty seven departments. we are. Gonna have an open data directive and in just two years we Come ranked number one in the country, the number one city for open data- and I love it. You know people said o p Gonna use this data against you and, I said, that's the point

But when I lay times did its article that pointed out, for instance, what the response times were for our fire department that helped us get them better. They were able to uncover, for instance, that trash when people called A cow today want the city to collect in south last answer was giving sometimes three times lower than one from a different part of the city, and it allowed us to say we're gonna own, that we're gonna fix it, And to implement a whole new way of using technology, we are the first in the country to drive we block of every street take pictures and to give him a great on how clean air, so we I have you no essentially ABC and we can have any more see streets and two years because we, stated in the right way, so whatever can and the quality of life to make government more accountable to make. You know, you're commute and your life in the city, a little bit healthier and better that's were. I can appoint technology to you, success

we pushed to raise the minimum wage and allay to fifteen dollars by the year twenty twenty, a move that was followed by California, statewide alot of economies, As I am sure, you know argue that raising the minimum wage may have the perverse effect of making entry level jobs scarcer, destroying those jobs or driving employers use more automation rather than human employees. Are you worried about that? While some economists do more economists don't and we, I think, I'll economist would, if we did it too high at all about where you put the at the level of raising the wage and for us we worked very hard to look real world examples. There's always disguise falling. If you re, the minimum wage, and we looked at cities in California, some which were wealthy and somewhat were a relatively poor and looked at job growth. Their neighbouring cities, where they hadn't raise the minimum wage, and we saw more growth in the places that it actually raised the minimum wage. We work with the Berkeley economists and others too

sure that we are trying pegged at it at the right level, and I think that, while there is some job displacement. There will be net job growth and no question that will be net economic activity. When you give people the lowest and of the economic spectrum money in their pocket, that's not something that get saved get spent and the kind of perverse decisions people have to choose between shoes for the kids at the beginning, the school year in paying off their phone bill, you can see some of those things begin to proceed, and I think that there is no question there are some people in certain industries that are affected, but we see overall much more new job growth because of the street there right now are suffering as people don't have any disposable income in some of our working. Less neighborhoods rise up

Another position that many, if not most, economists will argue- is that hosting a big event like the Olympics is a terrible idea economically, at least that the costs are always way higher than projected in the benefits are much smaller. And yet you are trying to bring the summer lip expect to allay in twenty twenty four. Why do you want the Olympics in? What would I do that many it places have not been able to do a first of all? I agree with those analyses and simplest and others who have looked at it. He says somebody who have become friendly with and so far has been executed, supportive the way that we're going about the LOS Angeles bid for two and a half weeks. extravaganza to build temporary stadiums and then take them down, for instance, doesn't make a lot of sense for your city or for the olympics- and I think the Olympic understand that they want to have a more sustainable model. The reason why LOS Angeles in our last pull eighty eight percent of people support the Olympics here is they know that

been able to do this without public money in the past. In fact, we made a profit nineteen, eighty four and help save the Olympics, and that we have. Such an amazing sports infrastructure that any city that decides because they're gonna. something like a world fair or the Olympics, are the World CUP? That's gonna, build a whole bunch. infrastructure. That seems to be backwards. Should we be building and faster? for the people who are here all the time not just for a few weeks for the sporting event and life, fortunately, is doing that. We're fixing our airport, where the Olympics come or not building the public transportation level. No, the city is in America, whether they come or not, but will we offer than to the Olympics is. This is a great to show that if we have all these sports facilities already built, I think we have all but one built without that being on the Olympic under this is an ideal place to be able to hold those olympics and to make sure people focus on what's important, the sports and bringing people together and a legacy that isn't just about redeveloping one neighbourhood and maybe gentrifying it? We ve got the in everything.

Silicon Valley to Hollywood, to tell the stories of the athletes, and I think that should be attractive to the Olympics, should be sustainable to us financially. It was time now for a few of our frequently asked questions If you had a time machine, when would you travel to forwarder backward, and why would you want to do there? Oh god, I'm such a student of history there, somebody places I'd like to go backwards and see, but I'm definitely gonna hit the forward buttoning just cause. I want to see what out This earth. I want to see whether we are able You know we will definitely see sees rise. I want to know the impact of that's gonna, be I want to see a vision of that. I could come back and say it's real. It's going to happen, there won't be a north pole. California is gonna, be a desert. I think it's probably the most pressing thing, and I I just want to get that question answered. Tell me the last that safe three books, you ve, read, and what you took away from,

I'm in the middle of almost about to finish: whatever happened to the metric system, which is written by my dear friend John Marciano, great book when I was a kid we're all gonna give up in our american style that system and Gerda metric system in it just shows about idealism of clocks of measures the front revolution. The metric system, people like John Quincy Adams and historical figures that have been idealism one another book that I? I've been reading is called workable city. It's a great great book that kind of looks at how you can turn places even like LOS Angeles and not just think about the view from the car, but how we can look at the view from the sidewalks and make sure that we have something. That is more, human centred and I've been re. Reading Jorge Luis bore his a labyrinth, us or labyrinth? He's my favorite author and the moment that we ever think we are the world organised. I just read about when my favorite

nor is it a library of Babel which says that the universe, Essentially this set of interconnected hexagonal rooms of books and every book that could have be written in every combination of words in every language is in this infinite. Library- and I love that isn't idea. I've been told a few things about you and I want to know if their true they're all lies is it? Is it true that you once accepted a bet that you could swallow giant ball of with savvy? Yes, and I ate that's, got that sushi for free that night tat. Is it true, Mr Mer, that you are able to fall asleep, wherefore any amount of time, no matter how short, yes, proud of my sleep capacity, it's been enacted on a New York Subway, gonna trotting horse on us, be something ocean waves and almost every day, that's when I catch up, especially as father of a young daughter Bates, that ten minutes between events, where I fall asleep in a car and

twenty minutes or you give me twenty hours I will fall asleep. Is it true? that, while running the Paris marathon in eighteen? Ninety four you wore turtleneck to conceal the Hickey is you'd received from the woman who lived become your wife. You ve got, could cause sources, I might have worn it before, but I did not run the marathon in turtleneck that would have been unfitting. But, yes, I ran the Paris Marathon, which was incidentally, sponsored by Mcdonald's and after twenty six two miles of running past Mcdonald signs? That's all I wanted was a big MAC, but you left out the Hickey by word that way. Ricky is from your future. Wife involve yeah leave. There was at least one- I don't know if it's plural, but there might have been won, and our final frequently asked questions. What would you consider for the sake of humankind, the best possible future discovery or invention

best possible future discovery or invention isn't typing new, but I think it would be something emotional not to physical, but a sense of love and solidarity and common purpose. Nice answer I've just about used up our lot of time. I very much enjoyed it and appreciate the conversation. Mr I do have one last request. I don't know if you can accommodate this I'll, try my best I understand you have a piano in your office. I do fear in your office. Can you get yourself to the piano? And can you play us some out, your music sure I'd be happy to have been working on a song called Central Avenue after Central Avenue, which was like before, that construe the West Coast. So little jasper, unaware

thanks to air or Seti mayor of this, the of LOS Angeles coming up next week on economics, radio, the internet, We all know how useful it is, but are we squandering its true potential? There's all these really smart engineers and all their thinking about is how do I keep someone on Facebook, for it? and more minutes or hear how the internet has gone from a free, open and disruptive ecosystem too

A team multi billion dollar industry were just a handful of companies, decide who gets to be disruptive and what can be done about that. Educating consumers to care about information environment in the same way that they care about the physical environment in their consumption choices, is going to be an salute Lee Critical, that's next time and for economic radio.

economics radio is produced by W and my c studios end up nor productions. This episode is produced by urban dungeon Christopher Worth. Our staff also includes Jake how it merit Jacob Gregg resolve Ski Alison, Hockenberry, Angeleno Greensburg. You can subscribe. This protest on Itunes or reverie, get your podcast and come visit for economics. Dot com we'll find our entire podcast archive, as well as a complete transcript of every bestowed ever made, along with music credits and lots of experts, thanks for listening,

he then Stephen done again. One more thing, if you like for economics, radio, I think you'll also like the latest episode of people, I mostly admire the podcast hosted by my free economic, spreading co, author, Steve Levin. Here's what it sounds like a guest today, Sue bird. She collects championships she's for W Nba championships, five euro, the basketball championships to end she ate championships for International basketball, federation, world cups and four limpid gold medals. I'd like to talk about the economics of professional basketball, so the average player in the NBA made eight point three million dollars into the nineteen and,

in the W Nba the average with eighty thousand is frustrating just now. I think. Actually, if you look at Twenty twenty. Our minimum is now higher, but we all put in the same amount of work. So is it hard to swallow, knowing that somebody else's work is being rewarded at times by I live in reality. I understand business and economics. Some people look at us as like charity. They go will will help them out like an it in a terrible. What sense, not unlike this business vestment way and we think do look at us as an investment immediately. Its talked about how we don't make money- and it's like fifty years ago in the nba- did either. But people are willing to make that investment get behind it and growing people. I mostly admire you can find

on your favorite Pakistan Hither Stephen dubbing again one more thing. If you liked the episode you just heard, we think you like something else in the friggin hammocks radio network. Look for this interview on the new podcast people. I mostly admire with host Steve. Let my guest today Sue bird. She collects championships she's for W Nba championships, five euro, the best while championships to end she ate championships for

international basketball, federation, world cups in four Olympic Gold medal. I would think that, in order to be the player you are, you would have to be a person who actually gets better under pressure rather than worth. Well. Obviously, there are people who are known for heading big. Shots are known for playing while in big gains that exists for sure, but I think we kind of frame it the wrong way. It's not that you're gonna make nine at it. It's that you might make three at a ten, but somebody else's making zero it's on whose most successful it's like who's, the most successful. The least successful, that is people. mostly admire you can find it on your favorite podcast app subscribe now so that you don't miss single episode