Over the past several months, the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S. has caused significant economic hardships for millions of Americans. As states shut down to try and slow the spread of the virus, businesses all across the U.S. were forced to close, and many will not be able to open again because of the revenues they lost. Unsurprisingly, this has been most apparent in coastal states, where the current crisis has exposed and amplified the failed approaches and broken policies peddled by some of the nation’s most liberal mayors.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has been one of the primary examples of this. To address the crisis, he decided to take on a mountain of debt for the city, a short-sighted approach that will do long-term damage far outweighing any short-term benefits. The plan, which would see New York City borrow upwards of $7 billion and which has been criticized by even The New York Times, would add to Mayor de Blasio’s already long history of recklessly burdening the city with debt.

For years, Mayor de Blasio added to the city’s pile of debt, and now those troubles are coming home to roost as the city’s economy is in serious danger in the near-term, and is sure to be digging itself out of his “solution” to the coronavirus pandemic for years, if not decades, to come.

The situation isn’t any better on the west coast either, where Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s approach to the COVID-19 epidemic has only worsened many of the most pressing issues facing the city.

Homelessness, for example, has long been a major problem facing Los Angeles. Mayor Garcetti has promised to address the issue, but he has come up short time and again in finding a true solution. The city pledged to house 15,000 of its homeless residents during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it has continuously failed to meet that goal.

In fact, the problem has only gotten worse as homelessness in Los Angeles continues to rise, with data showing the number of homeless individuals in the city recently rose for the third time in four years, bringing its total homeless population to more than 66,000. As the situation has continued to worsen, Mayor Garcetti has spent billions in his failed attempts to solve it.

The COVID-19 pandemic has added a new layer to Mayor Garcetti’s failures on homelessness. As long as he continues to fail to live up to his promises, many will be left without a safe place to get off the streets and avoid contracting or spreading the virus themselves. This is a major public health crisis, and Mayor Garcetti has failed the people of his city.

Needless to say, Angelenos are not happy with the job done by Mayor Garcetti. Over the past few months, calls have arisen for him to resign. In fact, there is even a growing effort to recall the mayor before his term ends. It is hard to blame the city for being upset with Mayor Garcetti, given that he continues to demonstrate an inability to fulfill his cornerstone promises to the people of Los Angeles. A recall may very well be the exact solution that is needed to change the leadership and ultimately the course of Los Angeles for the better.

Mayors like de Blasio and Garcetti have made concerted efforts to deflect blame for the virus to leaders in Washington, D.C., but the simple truth is that they are the ones who have failed. For years, they have put their cities in dangerous positions, and now their cities are paying a massive toll thanks to their shortcomings. Moving forward, they should serve as cautionary tales for the rest of the U.S., illustrating what danger can arise when handing mayoral responsibilities to far-left candidates ill-prepared to lead.

Katlyn Batts is a contributor at RedState.com.