Exemplar of the American Way: Los Angeles

11 June 2026, by Eric Zuesse. (All of my recent articles can be seen here.)

“America’s Richest Ruin: The Fall of Los Angeles | ENDEVR Documentary”

8 February 2026

is a superb documentary about the reality of Los Angeles, America’s second-largest city after NYC, and it’s shown as being a place where there is enormous spatio-income segregation, and the super-rich are optimistic and the very poor are desperate, and rarely do the two get any real opportunity to intermix.

I asked Google AI about this (from a social-policy standpoint), and got the answer:

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“all-inclusive public social spending as a percentage of all-inclusive tax rolls in L.A. County”:

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In Los Angeles County, all-inclusive public social spending is 107.4% of the all-inclusive tax roll revenue. [1, 2]

Taking an all-inclusive macroeconomic look — factoring in all layers of local taxation (property, sales, and specialized taxes) compared to every dollar poured into the public safety net — reveals that LA County spends more on social infrastructure than it collects in direct local taxes. This gap is bridged entirely by trillions of dollars in real estate equity and major funding injections from state and federal matching grants. [1]

1. Defining “All-Inclusive Tax Rolls”

An all-inclusive tax roll measures the gross recurring revenues generated by the local tax base across all jurisdictions in the county.

• The Master Property Tax Roll: The overall local assessment roll sits at $2.2 trillion. Under California Proposition 13, this baseline generates $27 billion in annual property tax revenue. [1]

• Specialized & Sales Tax Rolls: Los Angeles County voters have aggressively approved dedicated localized sales tax rolls to fund specific public goods. This includes Measure H (homelessness relief), Measure ER (health services), and transit-focused social sales taxes (Measures R and M), totaling roughly $2.0 billion in extra local tax rolls. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

• Total All-Inclusive Local Tax Revenues: Across LA County, the total local tax roll pool generates $29 billion annually.

2. Defining “All-Inclusive Social Spending”

An all-inclusive social spending figure tracks every public health, welfare, housing, and social benefit dollar administered by the regional government.

• LA County Human Services Budget: Out of the county’s $48.8 billion overall budget, a massive chunk is legally restricted for human services.

• Core Social Welfare: The Department of Public Social Services (DPSS) and Child/Family Services combine for roughly $14.5 billion.

• Public Healthcare Safety Net: Running the nation’s largest municipal hospital and clinic infrastructure via the Department of Health Services and Mental Health eats up roughly $12.5 billion.

• Housing & Multi-Jurisdictional Social Initiatives: Factoring in the City of LA’s homelessness spending (~$1.3 billion) and local housing authorities yields an additional $4.1 billion.

• Total All-Inclusive Social Spending: Across all agencies, total social safety net spending reaches $31.15 billion. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

3. Calculating the Macro-Percentage

Comparing the two reveals how the social budget over-indexes on local revenues:

\(\frac{\text{All-Inclusive\ Public\ Social\ Spending\ (\$31.15\ Billion)}}{\text{All-Inclusive\ Local\ Tax\ Roll\ Revenue\ (\$29.00\ Billion)}}=\mathbf{107.41\%}\)

4. Direct Mathematical Comparisons

Depending on how you compare the numbers, the percentage shows different parts of the financial landscape:

Metric Comparison Baseline [1]

Total Value Reference

All-Inclusive Social Spending Percentage

All-Inclusive Real Estate Value

$2.20 Trillion Net Roll

1.41% of the region’s entire underlying real estate market value is spent on social services annually.

All-Inclusive Local Tax Collections

$29.00 Billion

107.4% — The social budget exceeds 100% of all locally collected property and sales taxes combined.

Gross Regional Economy (GDP)

~$1.05 Trillion

2.96% of LA County’s total economic output is directed straight into localized public social safety nets.

How 107% Spending Is Made Possible

LA County does not run a budget deficit to cover this. Instead, it serves as the administrative arm of the state and federal government. Because the county has a large population of lower-income residents, it pulls in massive intergovernmental revenues—mostly federal Medicaid (Medi-Cal) matches and state health allocations. For every dollar generated by the local tax roll, outside state and federal funding adds more money to support the county’s social services. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

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“all-inclusive public social spending as a percentage of all-inclusive tax rolls in U.S.A.”:

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When calculated on a macroeconomic scale across the entire United States, all-inclusive public social spending accounts for approximately 80% to 85% of all-inclusive tax roll revenues collected across all layers of government.

Evaluating the U.S. financial landscape using “all-inclusive” terms requires consolidating every dollar of federal, state, and local taxes (the tax rolls) and comparing it directly against every public dollar allocated to healthcare, retirement, income security, and social safety nets.

1. The All-Inclusive Tax Roll (Total Tax Revenue)

The all-inclusive American tax roll combines federal income, corporate, and payroll taxes with state and local sales, property, and excise taxes.

• According to the OECD’s global economic data, total revenue from all levels of U.S. government equals roughly 25.2% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). [1]

• With the current U.S. GDP tracking around $29.5 trillion, the all-inclusive annual U.S. tax roll generates approximately $7.43 trillion in total public revenue.

2. All-Inclusive Public Social Spending

Public social spending tracks government outlays where the primary beneficiary is an individual needing health, aging, or economic support.

• Federal Mandates: Data from the U.S. Treasury Department indicates that out of annual federal outlays, the largest pieces go strictly toward social infrastructure: Social Security (22%), Medicare (14%), Medicaid and general Health (14%), and Income Security/Veterans (16%). This totals roughly $4.4 trillion annually. [1, 2, 3]

• State and Local Allocations: The Urban Institute reports that state and municipal governments add nearly $860+ billion in localized funding for public welfare, healthcare administration, and social assistance. [1]

• Combined Public Social Spending Pool: Total direct government social spending across all levels in the U.S. sits at approximately $5.25 trillion to $5.40 trillion. [1]

3. The All-Inclusive Mathematical Breakdown

Comparing total nationwide social safety outlays directly against the combined government tax roll establishes a definitive ratio:

\(\frac{\text{All-Inclusive\ Public\ Social\ Spending\ (\$5.30\ Trillion)}}{\text{All-Inclusive\ U.S.\ Tax\ Roll\ Revenues\ (\$7.43\ Trillion)}}=\mathbf{71.3\%}\)

Note on Deficit Spending: Because the federal government borrows heavily to finance its annual operations, the total government budget exceeds actual tax revenues. When evaluating actual expenditures against total spending instead of just tax collections, social programs encompass roughly 60% to 64% of all public cash outlays. [1, 2, 3, 4]

4. Direct Comparative Baselines

Depending on how “all-inclusive” metrics are filtered, the percentage shifts to highlight different realities of the U.S. economy:

Metric Baseline [1, 2, 3, 4]

Economic Value Reference

Social Spending Percentage

All-Inclusive Tax Revenue

$7.43 Trillion (All Levels)

71.3% — Direct public social programs consume nearly three-quarters of all tax collections combined.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

~$29.50 Trillion Economy

18.0% - 20.0% of the total economic output of the nation goes toward public welfare.

Net Social Footprint (Inc. Private)

GDP + Private Benefits

Over 33.0% — If you add private employer healthcare and 401ks (tax-incentivized rolls), the U.S. rises to the highest total social spender on earth.

[So, 71.3% of all U.S. taxes (that don’t get added to the federal debt) go to pay public social programs.]

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“all-inclusive public social spending as a percentage of all-inclusive tax rolls in Denmark”:

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Denmark’s public social expenditure hovers around 29% to 30% of its GDP. Because Denmark maintains an extremely high tax-to-GDP ratio (averaging 45.2% to 45.8%), social spending consumes roughly two-thirds (65-67%) of all-inclusive national tax revenues. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Key Welfare State Statistics

• Gross Public Social Expenditure: ~29.6% of GDP.

• Net Social Expenditure (after tax claw-backs): ~22% of GDP.

• Tax-to-GDP Ratio: 45.8%.

• Proportion: Social spending equates to approximately 65.5% of Denmark’s general government tax revenue roll. [1, 2, 3, 4]

What This Spending Includes

Public social spending in Denmark is highly comprehensive and universally accessible. The vast majority is decentralized and managed by municipalities and regions, covering: [1, 2]

• Universal healthcare and elderly care

• Generous paid parental leave

• Free higher education

• Income support, disability, and unemployment protection [1, 2, 3]

Source Verification

• Spending Levels: Historical and forecast figures are available through the OECD Social Expenditure Database.

• Tax Data: Official fiscal data is published directly by the Eurostat Tax Revenue Statistics. [1]

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So: life-expectancy in Denmark is 82.3 years; in U.S., it’s 79.8 years. In Los Angeles County, it is 80.5 years (though a striking 16-year gap separates the longest- and shortest-living neighborhoods). In New York County (Manhattan) it is 83.7 years. In all of New York City it is 83.2 years (which should be compared to Los Angeles County’s 80.5). In NYC’s Bronx County, which is the poorest of NYC’s 5 counties, life-expectancy is 78 years. Largely because of Bronx, NYC has slightly higher wealth-inequality than does Los Angeles. But despite Bronx, it has far higher life-expectancy than does L.A. However, L.A.’s Beverly Hills has an 87.7-year life-expectancy, one of the world’s highest. L.A.’s Westwood is even higher, at 88.1 years. L.A.’s Antelope Valley is the lowest at 71.8 years. By contrast, no area in NYC has a life-expectancy lower than Brownsville’s 74 years. Furthermore, NYC gives a clear breakdown of its operating budget, and it says: “$16.37 out of every $100 goes to the Human Services budget category, which includes activities like administering food assistance, cash assistance, and rental support, running the City’s shelter system, overseeing child welfare and juvenile justice, and providing meals and seniors centers to aging adults. These agencies also pay their employees to connect residents to federal programs (like SNAP and Medicaid).” That 16.37% contrasts sharply with L.A.’s 107%. Moreover, NYC has America’s lowest suicide-rate, and L.A.’s is 30% higher, which might reflect the extent of desperation. As-of 2019, the World Health Organization ranked 40 nations as having higher life-expectancy than the United States. America’s life-expectancy has remained approximately unchanged since 2019, but almost all other countries have experienced increases. The longer-lived countries than America are America’s colonies (‘allies’), and America spends not SIPRI’s estimate of 40% of global military spending but instead 65% (which benefits America’s billionaires enormously). L.A. is, to a large extent, a microcosm of America’s inequality.

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Investigative historian Eric Zuesse’s latest book, AMERICA’S EMPIRE OF EVIL: Hitler’s Posthumous Victory, and Why the Social Sciences Need to Change, is about how America took over the world after World War II in order to enslave it to U.S.-and-allied billionaires. Their cartels extract the world’s wealth by control of not only their ‘news’ media but the social ‘sciences’ — duping the public.