Opinion: Poll: Should the city help pay for the Lakers’ parade?

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Hip hip hooray! The Lakers won the NBA Championship, and Kobe Bryant got his fourth ring -- this time sans Shaquille O’Neal (aka The Big Twitterer). The question remains, though, whether the city of Los Angeles should help pay for the Lakers’ fourth parade of the decade. Private donors (including the Lakers) are picking up most of the tab, but the City Council is still considering a motion to bar any city dollars from being spent on the event. As the city continues to layoff workers, cut school hours and scramble for Federal aid, is a publicly subsidized celebration the right move? Advocates for the parade may cite the opportunity for LA to show its diverse residents uniting in a celebration that will be seen on televisions worldwide. But critics may argue, ‘Do we really want to do that after the horrid display that followed Sunday’s victory?’ Although the excitement and enthusiasm the parade injects into local residents is not easily quantifiable, spending heavily on an extracurricular activity while the city struggles is no slam dunk. What do you think: Should the city help pay for a parade? Should it at least have been toned down to a simple rally at the Coliseum? How important is it to celebrate all of LA’s accomplishments?

--Kevin Patra