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In a new report, the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy or LAANE, found that taxpayer subsidies to the tourism industry in Long Beach have not yielded a fair return on the public’s investment. The city has for nearly 30 years invested over $750 million in taxpayer subsidies in hopes of creating revenue and bring new jobs to its residents. However, the report, “A Tale of Two Cities: How Long Beach’s Investment in Downtown Tourism Has contributed to Poverty Next Door” finds that wages in downtown hotels are so low that many workers have become dependent on public assistance to survive, proving that the tourism industry has failed to invest in its workforce and assist in revitalizing its diverse local communities. For essentially the same job, hotel and motel workers in Long Beach make less than their counterparts in the region surrounding LAX, Downtown LA, Santa Monica and even Anaheim. The LAANE report makes recommendations for both the city of Long Beach and its industrial leadership that include, among other things, safeguards for hotel workers during difficult economic times, affordable health care, and workers’ rights to organize.

GUEST: Jasleen Kohli, lead author of the report, policy and research analyst for LAANE

Read the report online at www.goodjobslongbeach.org.