洛杉矶市议会11比3通过拨款46万美元研究成立市营公立银行
洛杉矶市议会10月21日以11比3的投票结果，批准拨出46万美元用于研究成立一家市营公立银行的可行性。尽管市政府正面临预计1亿美元的预算缺口，这项由进步派议员推动的计划仍获通过。
据《纽约邮报》10月22日报道，这项动议由获得社会主义团体支持的市议员尤尼西斯·埃尔南德斯（ Eunisses Hernandez）、伊莎贝尔·胡拉多（Ysabel Jurado）和乌戈·索托-马丁内斯（Hugo Soto-Martinez）去年提出，市议员兼市长候选人妮西娅·拉曼（Nithya Raman）也表示支持。支持者认为，公立银行可将资金导向可负担住房、小企业和基础设施建设，让资金留在洛杉矶本地，而不是流向私人利润。
来自西区的市议员特蕾西·朴（Traci Park）在会上激烈反对："我们连自己的财政都管不好。"她质问："有哪个头脑正常的人会把金融业务交给'洛杉矶市银行'？绝对没有。"批评者还质疑成立市政银行机构的财务风险，以及居民和企业是否会信任市政府打理他们的钱。
事实上这项计划已在市政厅酝酿多年：市议会2021年10月曾一致批准研究成立市营银行，2023年又以12比0通过拨款46万美元聘请HR&A顾问公司做可行性研究，但这笔资金后来被收回市财政储备，计划就此搁置。此次投票要求官员确定研究经费来源，可能动用各议员办公室掌握的自由裁量资金。拉曼的选区去年已为这项工作拨出1.5万美元自由裁量资金。
Los Angeles City Council Votes 11-3 to Fund $460,000 Study on Creating a Municipal Public Bank
The Los Angeles City Council voted 11-3 on October 21 to allocate $460,000 to study the feasibility of creating a city-owned public bank. The plan, pushed by progressive council members, passed even as the city faces a projected $100 million budget gap.
According to the New York Post on October 22, the motion was introduced last year by Councilmembers Eunisses Hernandez, Ysabel Jurado and Hugo Soto-Martinez, who have backing from socialist groups, and Councilmember Nithya Raman, a mayoral candidate, also supports it. Supporters argue a public bank could channel money into affordable housing, small businesses and infrastructure, keeping funds in Los Angeles rather than flowing to private profit.
Councilmember Traci Park of the Westside objected fiercely at the meeting: 'We can't even manage our own finances.' She asked: 'What sane person would turn over financial services to the Bank of Los Angeles? Absolutely none.' Critics also questioned the financial risks of a municipal banking institution and whether residents and businesses would trust the city with their money.
The plan has in fact been brewing at City Hall for years: in October 2021 the council unanimously approved studying a municipal bank, and in 2023 it voted 12-0 to allocate $460,000 to hire HR&A Advisors for a feasibility study, but the money was later swept back into the city's reserve fund and the plan stalled. This vote directs officials to identify a funding source for the study, possibly drawing on discretionary funds controlled by council offices. Raman's district allocated $15,000 in discretionary funds to the effort last year.
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：洛杉矶市政厅 / Los Angeles City Hall — Daniel L. Lu, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
