Los Angeles is burning again, and it is not the Olympic flame

US president Donald Trump deployed the National Guard at the weekend and he has since called in the Marines , too.

The Paris games required 45,000 police officers, 10,000 soldiers and 22,000 private security staff.

LA28 claims it has secured enough sponsorship and television deals to meet its needs.

But staging an Olympics in a city plainly in decline seems a fool’s errand.

Since 2010 , LA ’s foreign-born population has been falling, while that of Texas or Florida has grown substantially.

Neither the business community nor the political elite seems capable of reversing the trend.

In 1984 , LA County boasted a strong and highly motivated business elite, with 12 Fortune 500 firms.

Today the Fortune 500 count stands at just seven only one of them within city limits.

The last LA Olympics turned a profit, but if this one does not, the city may be forced to shoulder expenses it can scarcely afford.

This year alone , Bass ’s administration announced a budget deficit of over $1 billion driven largely by surging public-sector wages.