$466 Million in Redevelopment — And Not One New Job

That's the recent record of the redevelopment agency in the Southern California city of Fontana, according to the city's own filings with the state.

The statistic was unearthed by Jim Miller of The Press-Enterprise for a terrific story that looks at the jobs local redevelopment agencies produced -- and didn't produce. Gov. Brown's proposal to eliminate the agencies -- and instead give local voters the ability to raise taxes for economic development -- is perhaps the most hotly contested front of the current budget battle.

The story raises the question: why is so much money going to redevelopment if it doesn't produce jobs?

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