Getbig Bodybuilding, Figure and Fitness Forums
Getbig Main Boards => Politics and Political Issues Board => Topic started by: Soul Crusher on April 17, 2011, 09:03:03 AM
-
Mark Landsbaum: Your money’s gone with the wind (and solar)
By MARK LANDSBAUM
2011-04-14 15:46:50
http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/-296431--.html
________________________ ________________________ _________________--
Renewable energy is all the rage. California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law last week to encourage more of it. The law "encouraged" in the way government encourages everything: Do it or else.
Rather than produce a mere 20 percent of California's energy from renewable sources such as wind and solar by the year 2020, state utilities now are ordered to generate a third of it that way. President Barack Obama trumpets similar lofty-sounding goals for the nation, although he's not having as much success, considering Congress isn't as rabidly left-leaning green as California's Legislature.
When they use your tax money to underwrite their good intentions and to impose their will by force, isn't it a good thing? Aren't wind and solar energy low on pollutants and "renewable?" The sun always shines, and the wind always blows, don't they? Well, not always. More on that later.
At this critical juncture, as global warming alarmism loses momentum after being exposed as hot air, in the political, not atmospheric, sense, and the green-renewable energy movement it spawned picks up speed, we bring you a not-quite comprehensive, but rather revealing look at what it all means. Call it, renewable energy by the numbers.
15-26 – The range of percentage increase that California consumers will pay for electricity by 2020, thanks to Gov. Brown.
34, 44, 74 – These are the percentage increases consumers will pay for electricity from, respectively, Southern California Edison, PG&E and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, after adding the previous additional costs to meet the old 20-percent renewable mandate.
$500 billion – This, according to the World Economic Forum, is the amount that must be spent per year to prevent the worst effects of global warming, requiring a doubling of annual investments in renewable energy. Considering that temperatures haven't increased by a statistically significant amount since the late 1990s, we shudder to think how much higher this number would be if things really heated up.
$5.2 trillion – The Heritage Foundation's Center for Data Analysis says a federal renewable energy standard, such as Washington proposes, would reduce national income by $5.2 trillion from 2012-35. Californians: Get out your calculators to figure what percentage of that is your lost income so you can calculate how much you'll have left to pay your extra 34 percent, 44 percent or 74 percent in electric bills.
$78 – This paltry amount is the projected price by the year 2016 for a megawatt hour of electricity generated from coal, one of those dreaded fossil fuels. Compare that with these numbers for generating the same amount of power from: onshore windmills, $149; offshore windmills, $191; thermal solar sources, $256; and photo-voltaic solar, $396. Suddenly, $78 looks even more paltry.
40 percent – In states with renewable electricity mandates – do it or else – electricity prices are nearly 40 percent higher than states without, says the Heartland Institute. In addition, the states also haven't – and probably can't – meet their mandated production levels.
3 percent – China, which is making stacks of money manufacturing and selling wind turbines to countries like the U.S., mandates that a puny 3 percent of its own electricity must be generated by renewable sources by 2020, compared with California's new 33 percent requirement. What do they know that Jerry Brown doesn't?
RELATED:
Political cartoons: 60 hilarious cartoons on the budget battle
100 percent – If solar panels were 100 percent efficient, which is impossible, in order to provide all U.S. electricity needs, panels would have to be spread over an expanse of land the size of Connecticut, says Howard C. Hayden in his book, "A Primer on Renewable Energy." Needless to say, this isn't going to happen anytime soon, or for that matter, anytime ever.
Nearly 100 – Government subsidies for solar power are nearly 100 times greater than subsidies for natural gas and petroleum. Subsidies and support per unit of production, according to the Energy Information Administration, were 25 cents for natural gas compared to $24.34 for solar in 2008. How about wind, you say? That's $23.37 per unit. Without massive subsidies from your taxes, wind and solar power generation simply wouldn't happen.
3.7 – Great Britain has gone down this renewable road already. How did that work out? For every green job "created in the renewable-energy sector (mainly solar and wind), another 3.7 jobs are being lost in the real economy, says the independent study by Verso Economics," James Delingpole wrote in the UK Telegraph.
21 percent – Even if they require subsidies (and they do), and destroy rather than create jobs (and they do), aren't renewable energy sources at least reliable? No, they aren't. "Britain's wind farms produce far less electricity than their supporters claim and cannot be relied upon to keep the lights on," the UK Mail Online reports from a study by the John Muir Trust. Over a two-year period, windmills operated at only 21 percent of full capacity, generating only "enough power for fewer than 7,000 households to boil their kettles," the paper reported.
2 percent – In light of the previous number, it's probably a good thing the U.S. got only 2 percent of its electricity in 2009 from wind. But it's probably not a good thing that the government wants to increase that level to 20 percent. As the Brits discovered, the wind doesn't always blow.
Twice – Concerning wind-generated energy, we can learn from Great Britain. "It costs nearly twice as much to generate electricity from an offshore wind farm as it does from a conventional power station," the UK Mail Online reports, citing a government-funded think tank study. Worse yet, "Instead of costs falling as predicted, in the past five years the cost of buying and installing turbines and towers at sea has gone up 51 percent."
24/7 – "The days of permanently available electricity may be coming to an end," conceded Steve Holliday, chief executive of Great Britain's power network, the National Grid. Pointing to an era of increased wind turbine reliance, he said people will have to "change their behavior." That sounds eerily like President Obama, who told an audience that rising gasoline prices may mean they may have to trade in their cars. It's more about change, it seems, than 24/7.
5 times – Bird lovers should lament that their winged friends are five times more likely to die when near wind turbines, according to a specialist with the California Energy Commission. The spinning blades shred birds by the thousands.
1/3 – Most renewable energy discussion concerns replacing what already is produced by plentiful, much less expensive and available fossil fuel sources. There's not much discussion of these less-efficient, much more costly and more difficult to corral renewable energy sources in a future world that demands much more energy. The Energy Information Administration estimates the U.S. will need about one-third more energy in 2020 than it uses today. Not only will renewables be more costly and less reliable, they will need to produce much more.
3.5 percent – At least we can move our cars off the addiction to imported oil, can't we? "If we devoted all corn grown in the United States to sustainable ethanol production, we could displace only about 3.5 percent of current gasoline consumption," James Eaves and Stephen Eaves wrote in Regulation magazine a few years ago. Meanwhile, nations with starving populations must be aghast as the U.S. effectively pours three or four of every 10 bushels of corn into our gas tanks.
103, zero and 7 – For those who prefer to buy American, consider that the Obama administration has not approved 103 pending oil drilling permits, not approved a single new exploratory drilling plan in the Gulf of Mexico since "lifting" the president's deepwater drilling moratorium in October 2010 and placed a seven-year ban on drilling in the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts and Eastern Gulf.
1 percent – That is the amount of the U.S. oil demand used to generate electricity, and it generates only about 1 percent of the electricity we use. Consequently, reducing reliance on imported oil would have next-to-no effect on keeping the lights on. But wouldn't reducing imported oil lower gasoline prices? "Oil is a fungible commodity with a global price," James Woolsey and Anne Korin wrote in the Wall Street Journal. In 2008, oil prices skyrocketed in the United Kingdom – even though it produces virtually all its own oil. When non-OPEC nations drill more, OPEC drills less, and prices are maintained.
6 cents – That's the third-quarter earnings on every dollar for the alleged greedy and exploitive oil and natural gas industries. The beverage and tobacco industries averaged 20 cents per dollar; computer and peripheral equipment makers, 15.6 cents.
What does all this portend? Maybe Shell Oil knows. In 2008 Shell pulled out of the consortium building the world's biggest offshore wind farm, and the UK Guardian reported this month that "Shell has pulled out of renewables."
It was the contrived emergency of impending global warming doom that gave the renewable energy movement its impetus. Where does it go now? A European Union plan to cut carbon dioxide emissions 60 percent requires, among other sacrifices, banning automobiles in cities.
Ready for a renewable-energy green future? Pull out your wallet, put away your car keys, and prepare to grope in the dark.
mlandsbaum@ocregister.com
or 714-796-5025
________________________ ____________________
Have fun paying more for less morons.
-
Employees Now Asking Companies to Leave California
Foxs & Hounds Daily -- Keeping Tabs on California Business and Politics ^ | April 14th, 2011 | Joseph Vranich
If I hadn't heard it from clients I wouldn't have believed it - Californians are asking their companies to leave the state.
Some time ago a decision-maker told me he had evaluated the benefits of moving his department out of Los Angeles. He said: "When I discovered how substantial the savings would be, I quipped in front of my staff, ‘We should move to Texas.' I was surprised by what happened next - people approached me one by one, came in my office, closed the door, and asked that we move to Texas. Once I saw the employee reactions, I'd like for the relocation to occur."
Businesses relocate generally for cost factors (taxes, the burdens of excessive regulations, high rents) but people move for life-style reasons. Here is a sampling of employee motivations:
"I lived in Texas before and I'd like to go back - fewer traffic jams and I can afford to buy a house there."
"When the owner told me about the move to Nevada I jumped at the chance to go. The company can grow better there and I'll have more opportunity to stay in this field and move up."
"One reason the owner liked Colorado was because of the better schools. I thought, well, we're going to have kids and we don't want them in the Los Angeles school system."
"My company is fabulous. I will move wherever it decides to go. If it's someplace that's cold, I'll get used to it!"
What is the "staying power" for Californians in new places? I don't know. But a manager and his wife who grew up in Huntington Beach moved to Pennsylvania and love it so much that she said, "We'll never go back."
I've heard "I'll never go back" from a number of people.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxandhoundsdaily.com ...
-
Come live in CA for awhile and see why people think this way.
$400,000 buys you a modest cookie-cutter house in most suburban parts of this state. 45K/yr makes you 'middle class'... EVERYTHING is taxed here, and most places have a 10%+ sales tax.
Additionally, the place is overrun with mexicans and human trash. Wiki a few random CA cities and check out the demographics and crime rates here.
But democrats here think blowing as much money as possible is the answer to all their prayers...
-
Democrats = typically those who are part of the parasite class.
-
People that continuously vote to keep Barbara Boxer and Nancy Pelosi in office are certifiably insane. They get what they deserve.
-
The only people voting for Boxer are the ones living in the Bay Area and the incorrigible libs around the state.
-
there is at least one person on this board who believes that pelosi is sane and not far left...
-
Immigration Activist Warns of 'Civil War'
CIS ^ | April 21, 2011 | Jerry Kammer
Juan Jose Gutierrez, the president of an immigration activist group called Vamos Unidos, predicts that hundreds of thousands of people will march in Los Angeles on May Day, demanding legalization for illegal immigrants. In an appearance Sunday on the Univision program "Al Punto", Gutierrez said that legalization is the only way out of the current policy stalemate. Expressing alarm that federal authorities have deported more than 800,000 illegal immigrants during the Obama administration, he warned that unless Congress passes immigration reform, mounting frustrations with enforcement of immigration laws could lead to violence. Here is an excerpt from his comments:
What is the country going to do? When are they going to start arresting – not 800,000 – all of us? When are they going to declare war on us? When will there be a civil war in this country? Is that what the country wants? Is that what the president wants? Is that what the leaders in Congress want? That there be conflicts like we had in the sixties, where the violence explodes? Because our people – it has to be said clearly – can't take any more.
In an apparent reference to total number of illegal immigrants arrested and removed from the country, through deportations carried out by ICE and "voluntary returns" carried out by the Border Patrol, Gutierrez then said:
We're talking about more than a million people that they have been deporting every year for more than 25 years. This doesn't happen anyplace in the world. We need to be grateful that it hasn't happened to more people here, taking into account what has happened in France with the immigrants, in Spain and in other countries where there has been real violence. And here there is still time to (solve the problem) civically.
-
Come live in CA for awhile and see why people think this way.
$400,000 buys you a modest cookie-cutter house in most suburban parts of this state. 45K/yr makes you 'middle class'... EVERYTHING is taxed here, and most places have a 10%+ sales tax.
Additionally, the place is overrun with mexicans and human trash. Wiki a few random CA cities and check out the demographics and crime rates here.
But democrats here think blowing as much money as possible is the answer to all their prayers...
45K salaries and 400K homes. How the hell is the market supporting that? Maybe I need to be a real estate agent out there, haha
-
City Workers Make Porn Film While On the Job - (Los ANgeles)
NBC - Los Angeles ^ | April 29, 2011 | NBC Los Angeles
City officials failed to discipline two traffic officers who appeared in a pornographic film while on the job, NBC4 LA has found.
The Los Angeles Department of Transportation has opened an investigation into the behavior of two uniformed, on-duty officers who appear in the sexually explicit movie. The investigation was prompted by the NBC4 LA expose, which will air in full Friday at 11 p.m.
"It's absolutely disgusting," said Amir Sedadi, general manager of LADOT, after viewing a copy of the movie shown to him by NBC4 LA. "Immediately, we will conduct a full investigation. This is not acceptable to me.”
The video, which is available on a popular adult subscription website, tracks the interactions of a porn actress as she approaches men in a range of work environments.
Various men in the film appear to grope her and perform a range of sex acts with her. In one scene, the actress jumps into the arms of an LA traffic officer, who spanks her and then fondles her bare breasts.
A second traffic officer takes a few spankings from the woman, then allows her to get into his official city car, where she performs lewd acts on herself.
A full report with video will air on NBC4 LA at 11 p.m.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbclosangeles.com ...
-
Free Republic
Browse · Search Pings · Mail News/Activism
Topics · Post Article
Skip to comments.
California - Democratic Leader: Shoot Republicans...?
cbs47 ^ | 4-29-11 | cakid1
Posted on April 29, 2011 10:49:56 PM EDT by cakid1
Its hard to believe but John Burton - the State Democratic Party Chairman said Governor Jerry Brown should "try shooting" a Republican to convince them to vote for taxes.
In an interview with Bay Area News Group, Burton said Brown "can try shooting somebody and tell the next guy, You don't want that to happen to you, you better step up and vote. ... What's Jerry going to do unless he took out a gun?"
He reportedly made the comment on the eve of the state party's convention kickoff.
-
The Razor’s Edge
April 10, 2011 - 12:25 pm - by Victor Davis Hanson
Share | California in the Balance.
We calibrate California’s decline by its myriad of paradoxes. The nation’s highest bundle of gas, sales, and income taxes cannot close the nation’s largest annual deficit at $25 billion. Test scores are at the country’s near bottom; teachers’ salaries at the very top. Scores of the affluent are leaving each week; scores of the indigent are arriving. The nation’s most richly endowed state is also the most regulated; the most liberal of our residents are also the most ready to practice apartheid in their Bel Air or Palo Alto enclaves.
We now see highway patrolmen and city police, in the manner of South American law enforcement, out in force. Everywhere they are monitoring, watching, ticketing — no warnings, no margins of error — desperate to earn traffic fines that might feed the state that feeds them. I could go on. But you get the picture that we are living on the fumes of a rich state that our forefathers brilliantly exploited, and now there is not much energy left in the fading exhaust to keep us going.
I see California in terms now of the razor’s edge with disaster not far in either direction. A postmodern affluent lifestyle hangs in the balance here without a margin of error. Let me give some examples.
I drive a lot on the 99 Freeway both northward and southward. (What follows would apply to the 101 as well, or, in fact, to most state “freeways.”) In vast stretches of the 99 it is unchanged from the two lanes when I first began driving in 1969, but now with worse pavement, larger potholes, and treacherous shoulders. Yet the state then had about 20, not 37 million people, and around 12 million licensed drivers, not well over 25 million (and who knows how many unlicensed drivers?). Nonetheless, our ancestors were brilliant sorts, and left us a well-engineered and planned grid that can still handle all sorts of the minor challenges. So on a day of perfect weather, with good drivers, at low traffic hours between 9 and 2, and without ongoing road maintenance or construction, I can make the 190 miles to either Sacramento or Los Angeles in three hours — just as I used to in far older, less reliable cars of thirty years past.
But that is rare these days. You see, there are too many proverbial ifs now. Tamper with just one variable — leave too early or return too late; have some rain or fog; have one of the two lanes shut down for anything from tree trimming to pothole filling; experience one idiot whose lawn-mower or paint sprayer fell out of his open flatbed truck — and the fragile system shuts completely down, creating paralysis for thousands of backed-up drivers. For our generation’s grid to work as it should, we would need three lanes, in good condition, perhaps four — and a pool of drivers who were all trained, licensed, registered, and insured. But you see, we had other priorities and values the last twenty years and so we took for granted the freeways we inherited. So we indulged and as the proverbially obese clogged our arteries.
Consider also regulation. In a vast state of 20 million in 1970 few cared that there were new building code rules and mounting new labor statutes. All sorts of innovative bureaucracies came on line. I remember the mosquito abatement jeeps spraying pools suddenly everywhere to stop mosquito-born disease; the country dog people were out in force checking for licenses and shots on your farm to eradicate even the rumor of rabies. Now fast forward to 37 million residents, with a vast new government superstructure. and we have become both the most and the least regulated. The poor broke highway patrolman sits on the corner, straining his neck to find a cell-phone user who is a sure thing for a $200 hit. Yet he would hardly wish to drive two miles away along a rural pond where a dishwasher is tossed in open daylight — the former involves money and the law-abiding, the latter nothing but all sorts of unimaginable costs and trouble. So the message for the Californian is to toss the refrigerator out in the pond, but don’t dare use that cell phone while waiting for the green light. I rode my bike (idiocy, of course, being defined by doing the same thing as led to catastrophe a month ago) by a cluster of trailers and shacks the other day and quickly surmised that it would take about 10 bureaucratic divisions — EPA, building permit regulators, law enforcement, child protective services, health department, animal control, hazardous waste — to deal with the pathologies apparent to the passing naked eye, and so understood that we must grant the new homesteaders de facto freedom by virtue of their lawlessness, and as compensation try to make more unfree the lawful, whose transgressions are rare as they are lucrative.
Water is the same. Give California two wet, snow-filled years, as we have had between 2010-2011, and we look like Ireland. This year the gleeful environmentalists will watch the Kings and San Joaquin Rivers run unimpeded from the Sierra, in all their 19th-century glory. The 1920s-era reservoirs are full; the 1960s canals brimming with water. Those who damn Henry Huntington’s wondrous 1912 Big Creek Hydroelectric Project as ecologically hurtful will be out in force sailing all summer on his beautiful manmade eponymous 1912 lake. Even the cut-off West Side farmers may get a sort of irrigation reprieve: there is too much rather than too little water this year, as even the park benches at the lower rivers’ edges are now underwater.
But again there is no margin of error as we will soon learn again when the dry times come as they always do. We haven’t built a big new dam or a new major canal in decades as the population and its appetites soared, and the postmodern cynicism about “building things” became entrenched. So the huge snowpack this year will melt and with it millions of acre feet will flow to the ocean rather than be stored for next year. California can export $15 billion in food, and support 37 million — but only every third year on average when the snow and rain reach 125% of their yearly averages. We forget that when there is water here, there is usually money in California — more crops, more tax revenue; less pumping, less costs; more recreation, more tourist dollars. And when there is not, there is not so much.
Illegal immigration enjoys the same precariousness. I remember the days when we had somewhere between 200,000 and 400,000 illegal immigrants. They were surrounded by Mexican-Americans, Asians, whites, and blacks (and by a confident culture), and so by needs learned English and assimilated, intermarried, and integrated. It was rare to find an abandoned car in your vineyard that had swerved the night before and taken out 20 vines. I heard Spanish spoken, but rarely heard indigenous languages from Oaxaca or encountered those illiterate in both Spanish and English, who asked for translation help at a government office despite bilingual documentation.
But up that number of illegal immigrants (and with them commensurate disrespect for the federal immigration laws) to 4, 5, or perhaps even 6 million illegals, and then factor in a beleaguered second generation, whose parents were not legal, did not speak English, and did not have high-school diplomas, and we reach the proverbial tipping point. What would that look like superficially in an average week? A bag of trash stuffed with Spanish-language bills and ads tossed beside your mailbox; going to the store and hearing one English speaker among ten non-English speakers, while waiting, waiting, waiting in line as the poor checker struggles with all sorts of multiple and expired plastic food stamp cards; seeing dozens of the unemployed milling around Wal-Mart or Home Depot dour and looking for cash work; or preferring to wait for a Monday doctor visit rather than dare go to an emergency room (the last time I tried I was considered a veritable freak for speaking English, having health insurance, and a more serious condition of a broken arm). Give California 200,000 illegals, and it assimilates them; give it over 4 million and a new ideology, and it begins to become overwhelmed.
Let us end with development. We did not object to growing to 37 million, but most certainly to accommodating them. So let us limit nasty oil pumping off shore. Let us curb awful timber cutting. Why not save the noble smelt and idle superfluous acreage? There is surely no more need for more neanderthal hydroelectric projects of the old blast-away sort. New nuclear plants would be even worse. Tasteful open spaces are great along the coastal corridor, so let us stop most new ugly housing construction there and all that it brings. Who is to say you should still live in California when someone in Oaxaca, someone far needier, cannot? I could go on, but right here, I fear, is a recipe for an energy hungry, food hungry, wood hungry, power hungry, overtaxed and undereducated state, where one cannot find an affordable house on the coast, and not sell a cheap one in the interior.
I leave on a note of optimism. All this is self-correcting. Jerry Brown cannot hike the income and sales tax much or hire legions of new SEIU employees or up dramatically the salaries of state workers or lower the standards at the UC or CSU university systems or open wide the border or cut off more water, because we know where it all leads — to pushing us either onto or over the razor’s edge.
-
Free Republic
Browse · Search Pings · Mail News/Activism
Topics · Post Article
Skip to comments.
LA Times: California Democrats rally around unions
Los Angeles Times ^ | May 1, 2011 | By Seema Mehta
Posted on May 1, 2011 8:01:19 AM EDT by Oldeconomybuyer
Framing the union battles taking place across the nation as a fundamental attack on working Americans, Democratic leaders on Saturday accused Republicans of scapegoating public employees for political gain.
"They are intent on dismantling the very economic ladder that lifted our middle class and made California the richest and greatest state in the greatest nation in the world," Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris told thousands of delegates and supporters gathered at the Democrats' annual convention in Sacramento.
Unions were also the focus of a protest at the convention, but not by Democrats. Dozens of Republican college students marched through the gathering Saturday and chanted, "No new taxes, reform pensions now!"
Waving signs that read "Put it on my tab. I'll send it to my kids" and "Lower taxes=More jobs," the protesters confronted delegates gathered at the convention center in Sacramento.
Democrats responded by booing and chanting, "Tax the rich!"
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
-
Free Republic
Browse · Search Pings · Mail News/Activism
Topics · Post Article
Skip to comments.
Slouching Towards Insolvency (The California Way)
Townhall.com ^ | May 1, 2011 | Austin Hill
Posted on May 1, 2011 8:18:28 AM EDT by Kaslin
The U.S. Federal Government is on a collision course of debt and deficits.
And California may be the best example yet of “the feds on steroids.”
As state governments continue to feel the recession’s impact and are staring-down daunting fiscal challenges, the wisdom of the American people has been prevailing in some of the most unlikely places. In states as diverse as Wisconsin, Idaho, New Jersey, and Ohio, Governors and legislatures have stood-up to the ever-expanding demands of government employee unions, reigned-in employee compensation growth, and have cut state spending. Even in liberal Massachusetts the Democrat-led House of Representatives voted last week to limit the powers of their state government employees’ unions.
But the wisdom hasn’t yet made it all the way out to the Left Coast. With a budget deficit of somewhere between $10 and $15 billion – a deficit that is expected to swell to about $25 billion by the middle of 2012- California politicians have continued their self-serving spending sprees of the past many years, while at the same time legislating itself further and further away from any semblance of being “business friendly.”
Like it or not, California is both a global economic epicenter, and a spectacular place in the world. It is home to the highest mountain in the contiguous forty-eight states (Mount Whitney), the lowest valley (Death Valley), Facebook, “Surf City, U.S.A.”(Huntington Beach), Apple Computers, The World Champion San Francisco Giants, eBay, Legoland, Cisco Systems, “Hollywood,” three U.S. Presidents (Richard Nixon by birth, and Herbert Hoover and Ronald Reagan by “adoption”), and Mitsubishi Motors of North America.
This is to say that California can be and should be a place of robust economic opportunity across multiple sectors. But politicians have a stranglehold on the state, and consequently, businesses and capital are leaving, while productivity is slumping.
After Governor Jerry Brown took office in January, he noted that California had a history of “kickin’ the can down the road” with its budget woes, and that Californians had been treated with “evasions,” “accounting gimmicks,” and “smoke and mirror” tricks on state finances. At his first State of the State address, he announced that his plan to solve California’s dreadful fiscal problems would involve both cuts in government spending, and – if California voters approved – tax increases.
This seemed very reasonable. Very practical. Very “bi-partisan,” if you will. And indeed Governor Brown has brought about some cuts in government spending, in part by eliminating taxpayer funded mobile telephone and vehicle privileges for government workers (most of us in the private sector don’t get “free” mobile telephones and cars from our employer, but this had apparently become standard operating procedure for many California government employees).
But the pathway to a tax increase has not been so smooth. Allowing California voters the opportunity to vote themselves a tax increase requires the state Assembly and Senate to legislate a special election, and Brown has insisted that the passage of special election legislation must have at least some Republican legislative votes.
Thus far, however, Republican legislators have refused to cooperate. Government employee unions are now becoming even more fierce with their demands that Brown and the legislature just simply “legislate tax increases” without a public vote, but Governor Brown has remained consistent with his pledge that “the people” must decide on tax increases, and that Republican legislators must provide political “buy-in.”
So what do California leaders do when the deficit is exploding and tax hikes are at a stand-still? In Governor Brown’s case, he has committed to spending millions of more non-existent tax dollars on unionized government employees. For example, earlier in April Brown approved a new contract for the California Prison Guard’s union, which will allow guards to accrue unlimited numbers of un-used paid vacation days each year. When a guard retires, the un-used vacation time can now be “cashed-in” at the guard’s highest salary rate- a sweet pay-off from Governor Brown to a labor union that spent nearly $2 million on his campaign last year.
The precise cost to the taxpayer for this political quid-pro-quo is impossible to know right now. But state government estimates suggest that Brown just saddled Californians with an additional $600 million in pension liabilities.
As for California legislators, they’ve been working on bills that would ban the sale of caffeinated beer, raises taxes on “sugary soda drinks,” require all public school children to be taught “Gay History,” and mandate the establishment of an official California “Parks Make Life Better” month. There have even been efforts at a bill that would require the use of a “fitted sheet, instead of a flat sheet, as the bottom sheet on all beds within a California lodging establishment…”
-
$200,000 Lifeguards to Receive Millions in Retirement
www.Townhall.com ^ | May 8, 2011 | David Spady
________________________ ________________________ ________________________ _
Public outrage over lavish government employee compensation and pensions is becoming more heated as new revelations about excesses seem to crop up every week. The latest: Newport Beach, California, where some lifeguards have compensation packages that exceed $200,000 and where these "civil servants" can retire with lucrative government pensions at age 50.
Newport Beach has two groups of lifeguards. Seasonal tower lifeguards cover Newport’s seven miles of beach during the busy summer months. Part-time seasonal guards make $16 to $22 per hour with no benefits. They are the young people who man the towers and do the lion’s share of the rescues. Another group of highly compensated full-time staff work year-round and seldom, if ever, climb into a tower. According to the City Manager, the typical Daily Deployment Model in the winter for these lifeguards is 10 hours per day for four days each week, mainly spent driving trucks around, painting towers, ordering uniforms and doing basic office work—none are actually manning lifeguard towers.
Like many communities across California, the city of Newport Beach is facing the harsh realities of budgeting with less revenue after housing values and the stock market plummeted. Now the city’s full-time lifeguard force has finally come under scrutiny. Next week the city council will decide if cuts are needed to the full-time lifeguard force where last year the top earner received $211,000 in pay and benefits, including a $400 sun protection allowance. In 2010 all but one of the city’s full-time lifeguard staff had annual compensation packages worth over $120,000.
Not bad pay for a lifeguard - but what makes these jobs most attractive is the generous retirements. These lifeguards can retire at age 50 with full medical benefits for life. One recently retired lifeguard, age 51, receives a government retirement of over $108,000 per year—for the rest of his life. He will make well over $3 million in retirement if he lives to age 80. According to the City Manager, a new full-time guard costs less to hire than what is spent on this one retiree. The city now spends more taxpayer dollars on retired lifeguards than it does on those who are working.
Reports of excessive pay and generous pensions have fueled a debate across the nation over union influence on government spending. Government unions were able to take full advantage of the good old days when surpluses were plentiful and the economic future was bright. They effectively demanded politicians agree to contracts for higher union wages and benefits. Creating a situation that was simply not sustainable over the long-term.
In 1999, California legislators, including many Republicans, felt very generous with the public's tax dollars and created "three at fifty" for public safety workers. SB 400 allowed these government employees to retire as early as age 50, well over a decade before their counter-parts in the private sector, and calculate their annual retirement pay at three percent per year or 90% of their final year's pay. With the ability to spike final year's pay based on over-time, vacation and sick leave time, uniform allowances, etc., many former government employees now earn more retired than when they worked. There was a domino effect of this incredibly generous law resulting in local communities jumping on board to stay "competitive" by offering local public safety personnel, including lifeguards, the same great deal. Thousands of state and local employees are locked into generous pension contracts which the courts have decided cannot be broken despite the lack of budgets to pay for them.
The situation in Newport Beach offers a window into how cash-strapped cities are being forced to deal with the problem. Rather than change the current compensation and pension structure to reflect leaner budgets, as would happen in a private sector company, union mandated contracts simply force cities to cut staff and services, usually from the bottom up. It is the inflexibility of laws governing public unions that led to the situation in Wisconsin where Governor Walker sought to change the collective bargaining rights of government employees over benefits in order to bring some sanity into the budget process.
The real problem for government and taxpayers is the pension liability—the amount pension funds are unable to cover due to declining investment funds, which by law, puts taxpayers on the hook to make up the difference. According to a Stanford University study, California taxpayers are facing a pension liability that could exceed $500 billion, a figure the non-partisan Little Hoover Commission says will "crush" government.
As bad as Newport Beach's situation is, it pales in comparison to some other cities in California. The city of Fresno currently spends 53 cents of every payroll dollar on pensions. The state average is 31 percent and is expected to rise significantly in the next few years. Ultimately, as the system is currently structured, everyone but a few priviledged retirees will lose. Government will try to raise revenues by increasing taxes on Californians who are already the highest taxed citizens in the country, essential services will have to be cut, even essential government employees will have to be laid off, and the public will become increasingly enraged as they learn that 50 year-olds, who are fully capable of working, are living off golden parachute retirements at the expense of the taxpayer and the community services they thought they were supporting.
The City Manager in Newport Beach is proposing to cut over 25 percent of the full-time lifeguard staff, believing the winter work can be done with fewer employees. If that is the case, simple efficiency and fiduciary responsibility with tax dollars should be enough to compel the city council to vote in favor of this change. The Newport Beach City Council will consider the Manager's proposal at its Tuesday, May 10th, meeting. The budget is ultimately adopted in June. Unfortunately, the underlying problem of overly generous compensation, early retirement incentives and taxpayer obligations to cover lifetime health benefits and "limousine” pensions is not being addressed. Without immediate reforms future staff cuts are inevitable and will be much more painful for this city than just laying off a few lifeguards.
Until local and state governments everywhere stand up to the public employee union bosses and bring some sanity back into the system, these problems will only persist and will likely get worse. Government must realize that taxpayers are no loner willing to throw it a life preserver to escape drowning in a pension tsunami.
-
'Social justice' in contracts costs S.F. millions
San Francisco Chronicle ^ | May 8, 2011 | John Coté
________________________ ________________________ ________________________
San Francisco's much-heralded "social justice" requirements for city contracts are costing local taxpayers millions of dollars a year in overcharges, according to workers in departments ranging from the Municipal Transportation Agency to the Department of Emergency Management.
In one case, a Muni worker said the city paid $3,000 for a vehicle battery tray. Such parts can be found online for $12 to $300, depending on the type of vehicle. City officials said they couldn't verify that purchase, saying the trays are usually bought in bulk with the battery.
Other city purchasing policies, if followed, would mean paying about $240 for getting a copy of a key that actually cost a worker $1.35 to get done at a hardware store on his break, the employee said. Another city worker called the use of catalog pricing for supplies "Pentagon-style purchasing."
Markups from approved vendors range from 10 to 150 percent, employees said, with one calling the city's requirement that contractors provide health care benefits for domestic partners "the expensive white elephant standing in the middle of the room (that) no one wants to mention."
Some vendors are suspected of being little more than middlemen who comply with San Francisco's very specific requirements for contractors - like disclosing historic ties to slavery and providing domestic partner benefits, a provision known as 12B because of its chapter in the Administrative Code - then turn around and buy the products from companies that don't meet the restrictions, city officials acknowledge.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
________________________ ________________________ _______-
And people wonder why this country is racing off a cliff?
Social justice means getting these lazy pieces of ghetto trash who sleep till 1 pm and put their fat smelly asses to work on a farm, chain gang, or factory building license plates or something every day until they shape up and ready to be productive.
-
Why California is broke..? Lifeguard earns $211,000 per year..
CBS47 ^ | 5-11-11 | cakid1
Posted on May 11, 2011 9:58:13 PM EDT by cakid1
And you wonder why California has a budget problem. Over a dozen lifeguards in Newport Beach earn over $120,000 a year.
A top lifeguard earns $211,000.
"They retire at age 50 and receive a generous pension. In fact, one retired lifeguard, age 51, gets $108,000 per year."
-
California cities are paying price for overspending
Sacramento Bee ^ | 5/31/11 | Dan Walters
________________________ ________________________ __________
The B-word – bankruptcy – is being bandied about in Stockton these days as the city faces a $37 million budget deficit with no light at the end of the fiscal tunnel.
Mayor Ann Johnston uttered it this month, telling local civic leaders, "We will do everything, absolutely everything, in our power to avoid bankruptcy."
Vallejo filed for bankruptcy a few years ago under circumstances that are remarkably similar to those now facing Stockton. Both cities experienced rapid population growth as developers threw up subdivisions during the late and unlamented easy mortgage money bubble and house-hungry Bay Area commuters staged a feeding frenzy.
Both cities had seen their industrial employment bases erode and seized on the housing boom as an economic renaissance. Development fees, property taxes and sales taxes from new shopping centers poured into city treasuries. Officials responded with lavish contracts for city employees, especially police and firefighters, when unions applied pressure.
Stockton also sensed an opportunity to resuscitate its somewhat dilapidated downtown and borrowed to build a new baseball park, a new sports arena and a new marina, none of which came close to breaking even.
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
-
Official: California A Failed State
Walter Russell Mead
http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/wrm/2011/05/27/scotus-makes-it-official-california-a-failed-state
The controversial US Supreme Court decision (pdf) that could ultimately force California to release tens of thousands of prison inmates is more than a shockingly broad exercise of judicial power. It is also an official declaration by the highest constitutional authority in the land that California meets the strict test of state failure: it can no longer enforce the law within its frontiers.
Let there be no mistake: when you produce so many criminals that you can’t afford to lock them up, you are a failed state. Virtually every important civil institution in society has to fail to get you to this point. Your homes and houses of worship are failing to build law abiding citizens, much less responsible and informed voters. Your schools aren’t educating enough of your kids to make an honest living. Your taxes and policies are so bad that you are driving thousands of businesses away. Your management systems must be fouled and confused to the max for you to create something so dysfunctional, so wildly beyond your means, that the Supreme Court of the United States (wisely or foolishly is another question) starts to micromanage your jails.
California used to be the glory of this country, the dream by the sea, the magic state. Now it produces so many criminals it can’t pay to keep them locked up.
This is partly a blue social model thing. California’s public unions are sucking the state dry — like a parasite killing its host. Too many Californians buy the ideology of entitlement best described by that great Louisiana prophet of the blue social model Huey Long: “If you aren’t getting something for nothing, you’re not getting your fair share.”
The federal government’s generation of serial failures in migration policy is also to blame. More exposed to illegal migration than any other state, California has been overwhelmed by both legal and illegal immigrants. Immigrants are a net plus for the United States, but neither the federal nor the state governments have been willing to provide the appropriate policy framework to manage this flow — and to cope with the consequences.
Some of the fault is judicial. California’s prison blues partly reflect micromanagement by a host of addled judges who among them have imposed a conflicting and overlapping set of requirements that increase costs to the point where overall conditions decline. One judge imposes a health mandate; another throws in some food and nutrition requirements; somebody else issues an order for exercise, education, visitation rights or what have you. In the end the system becomes unmanageable and unsustainable and in yet another fatheaded intervention the Supreme Court supports a lower court order for mass prisoner release. Judicial intervention in the prison system needs to be safe, legal and rare: at the moment it seems to be none of the above.
It’s partly about corporate flight. Destructive and shortsighted tax policies have literally driven big corporations out of the state. For the last five years, Southern California has been losing roughly one Fortune 500 corporate headquarters a year, while the state as a whole has lost four such companies in the last twelve months in an accelerating flight to greener pastures in less-dysfunctional states like Texas, Colorado and Virginia.
Meanwhile, California has the one of the worst business climates in the country: in three widely-cited rankings, California came 49th or 50th. High taxes, rigid regulations, bribery, unresponsive bureaucrats: California has it all.
It has one of the most expensive and least effective governments in the country. California has the country’s 6th highest total tax burden and yet also the largest budget deficit ($25.4bn projected for FY2012 — that’s about $687 per capita). North Dakota, by contrast, balances its budget every year, educates its kids better, is creating new jobs and taxes its residents at less than half California’s level.
California’s school expenditures bear no relationship to results. In 2008, although California spent more on public schools than any other state in the country and more per pupil than many, its students ranked 49th (out of 51, including DC) in reading achievement, 48th in math. States like South Dakota spent much less per pupil and got much better results.
The former paradise of the automobile can’t even get car policy right; it has the country’s second highest gas prices and some of the worst traffic in the United States.
Californians weren’t always this incompetent. In fact, California invented the modern American dream. The brilliant banker A.P. Giannini pioneered the mass marketed thirty year mortgage. Under his leadership the Bank of America perfected the growth engine that drove this whole country for sixty years. The bank lent money through the municipal bond market to build the infrastructure for new subdivisions. It lent money to real estate developers to build housing developments and lent money to consumers for mortgages and to buy cars. The tax revenues from the higher land values in the subdivisions payed for the bonds and the schools. The jobs provided by a favorable combination of a good business climate and government support (highway infrastructure, defense spending and industrial investment originally related to World War Two and continuing through the Cold War) put money in consumers’ pockets to pay for it all. Hollywood (also originally banked by Giannini) sprinkled it with magic dust, and the world gazed in awe.
Amadeo Piotro Giannini (Wikimedia)
I’ll never forget my own first trip to Golden California. After I graduated from Pundit High, my parents gave me the use of our beat up old Volkswagon Beetle and a gas credit card for a month. Following a series of misadventures that I hope will NOT see the light of day after all these years, we crossed the California state line and like generations of easterners before us we were awed and stunned by the beauty and wealth of the natural environment and the progressive utopia rising on every side. Gas was 18 cents a gallon; artichokes cost a nickel. The freeways sparkled in the sun; the roses that grew in the median strips were lush and well kept. The LA Times was one of the world’s great papers; the California university system was the wonder of the world.
San Francisco’s glorious Golden Gate Bridge, which Giannini also helped finance.
That glory has gone. Californians pay more to and get less from their state government than anybody else in the civilized world. The progressive meltdown of every important and valuable institution in the state is paralleled by the collapse of California’s place in our national cultural life. San Francisco once looked to be the literary capital of the Pacific; today it is a more provincial, less interesting city than it was fifty years ago. Lost Angeles is a parody of itself, a city to escape rather than a goal to be reached.
California politics and analysis is mostly a blame game these days. When you go to failing states outside the US, you are often treated to long and impassioned arguments among intellectuals about where it all went wrong. Arabs, Argentines, Russians, Nigerians, Pakistanis, Mexicans and, lately, the Japanese sit up into the wee hours about when precisely the key bad decisions were taken — when the point of no return was passed.
That is what discussions about California increasingly sound like. My guess is that we’ll have more of these going forward. Increasingly, I lean to the idea that California as we know it has been decisively and finally lost. Embers are still burning in the ashes (Hollywood, Silicon Valley), but the flame of the west gutters low.
To rekindle what used to be the most glorious star in Columbia’s crown, we are going to have to get away from what has become the California state obsession in recent years: reform. California reform commissions and committees are as common as parking lots these days; the results of past reforms in the form of propositions and constitutional amendments are part of the problem. Most new reforms will meet the same fate: the California state government long ago jumped the shark.
The only hope I can see is to break it up. California’s core problem is that it has outgrown the constitutional model we have for it. California is too populous, too diverse, too complicated to flourish as a single state. Unless we carve this beast into something like five more compact and manageable states, Californians will never have decent representative government at an affordable price.
If California had been on the East Coast, or if it had entered the Union at any time other than the crisis years before the Civil War when slave states jealously worked to minimize the number of free states, the idea of making it one state would have looked absurd from the start. As it is, the constituent parts of California have almost nothing in common. Northern California is more like Washington and Oregon than like anything farther south. The neighborhood of San Francisco Bay has its own history, character and interests that set it off from the rest of the state. Greater Los Angeles, the Central Valley and the Far South centered on San Diego also have what it takes to be successful and happily governed states on their own.
California, Reimagined (Image Source: Wikimedia)
Meanwhile, the state is so huge and has so many major media markets that elections for statewide office are prohibitively expensive. Special interests including public sector unions and corporations play a greater role in California, and grassroots politics matters less, than in most of the rest of the country. The vast differences in interest and outlook between its various regions makes for stalemate and sterile, lowest common denominator compromises in state politics.
At the time of the first US census in 1790, the total population of all 13 states and the western territories was 3.9 million (pdf). Los Angeles county has more than twice that many people now. The state with the largest population in the US in 1790 was Virginia with almost 394,000 inhabitants. Seven cities in California are bigger than that now.
Representative government in California is not failing because Californians are stupider than other people. It is not failing because we somehow can’t find the right mix of redistricting, constitutional amendments and other chicken-wire-and-spit fixes to kludge a working government together.
Representative government is failing in California because we keep using the wrong template. You can’t run a big city through a series of New England town meetings; you can’t run the 8th biggest economy in the world with an institutional mix designed for much smaller, more homogenous units in a much simpler time. California is a region, not a state, and until we adopt the political institutions that match this reality, the state will continue to fail — our very own Sudan by the sea.
California isn’t the only state with this problem, by the way. New York, Florida, Texas and Illinois are obvious candidates for break up; figuring out how to decentralize and localize state government is an important part of making America work in the 21st century.
There are problems with breaking up states. There are common assets like university and road systems. There’s the question of state debt: should citizens of California’s rural regions be indefinitely saddled with debts due to large infrastructure projects in other parts of the state? There are resource issues (in California, think water above all). There are some non-trivial constitutional issues about how to get it done (joint resolution by Congress following petition? constitutional amendment? something in between?).
There are some cost issues as well: would five state governments be five times as expensive as one, for example? I tend to think not; the less populous states will need less government and less regulation and be free to shed layers of management and governance they never needed in the first place. The new states (like all states) should switch to unicameral legislatures — state senates have served no serious purpose since the Warren Court bizarrely ruled that the traditional overrepresentation of rural areas in many state senates was unconstitutional (each county had the same number of senators regardless of population, like the US Senate and the states).
America can’t afford for California to keep failing, and despite the best efforts of a lot of smart people, there’s no way that the Golden State can function in its current form.
There’s no way around it, friends: we need more stars in our flag.
________________________ _________
According to Mal, Ozmo, Straw, and all the others in the land of make believe, this obviously can't be true.
-
Amazon Tax Bill Passes State Assembly
Tuesday, May 31, 2011 | Updated 5:32 PM PDTView Comments (174)
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/politics/Amazon-Tax-Bill-Passes-State-122907299.html
A bill passed by the Assembly Monday could help California collect more than $1 billion in taxes from online retailers such as Amazon.com
advertisement Multimedia Supermodels: Then and Now
The state of California could collect more than $1 billion a year by taxing Amazon and other online retailers if a bill approved by the Assembly becomes law.
Assemblyman Charles Calderon, a Democrat from Whittier, says his legislation doesn't impose a new sales tax, but extends one that California should already have been enforcing.
AB155 passed, 47-16, with the support of one GOP lawmaker Tuesday. It now heads to the Senate.
Other Republicans rejected the bill because they said it would invite lawsuits, drive business out of California, and get the state entangled in the messy task of regulating the Internet.
The measure extends the sales tax to online companies that have a presence in the state, including those that work with sister companies with offices in California.
________________________ ______________________
Why dont you idiots who live there start with ending te 200k a year lifeguards?
-
Source: Associated Press
________________________ _________________
California lawmakers voted Wednesday to open the door to state-funded financial aid for immigrant college students who entered the United States illegally.
The state Assembly approved AB 131, part of the California Dream Act, on a 46-25 party line vote. It now goes to the Senate.
Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, a Los Angeles Democrat, has introduced similar legislation each year since 2005 only to see it vetoed by Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, made a campaign pledge last year to sign it.
... Critics argued that AB 131 would encourage more illegal immigration and cut the education funding available for citizens.
Read more: http://www.mercurynews.com/politics-government/ci_18183...
-
California - Ready to pay higher Vehicle Fees? Good you're in luck....
cbs47 ^ | 6-1-11 | cakid1
________________________ ________________________ __________________
Good.. you're in luck..
Cause..
The State Senate just passed a bill that will 'allow' your vehicle fees to go up in this 'time of crisis..' Mark Leno a Democrat from San Francisco is the author of the bill that passed in the Senate. It will give counties the ability to raise your vehicle fees - provided they meet certain benchmarks.
Here's some background:
Back in 2003 - then Governor Schwarzenegger lowered the vehicle fee rates from 2 % to 0.65 %. You saved money - but the state and counties lost revenue.
In 2009 that rate 'temporarily' (for two years) jumped to 1.15%. That hike is suppose to expire at the end of the month. The higher vehicle fee is one of three tax hikes pushed through in May 2009. (Our state sales tax went up 1% and personal income tax rates increased - all of them are set to expire this year)
________________________ ______
And the demo marxist morons wonder why businesses are fleeing that mess? ::) ::) ::)
-
Internet Giants Mull Calif. Pullout to Avoid Taxes
Newsmax ^ | June 1, 2011 | Martin Gould
Internet companies such as Amazon and Overstock are threatening to pull out of California rather than collect state sales tax on tens of millions of dollars worth of business, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The move comes after the Golden State’s Assembly passed a law expanding the tax to Internet sales for companies that have a physical presence or sister companies with offices there.
The move passed the Democrat-controlled lower house on Tuesday on a 47-16 vote. It now goes to the Senate.
[Snip]
One Republican voted with the majority. The rest rejected the move saying it would drive business out of California and invite lawsuits. GOP Assemblyman Shannon Grove called the move “just another tax grab.”
[Snip]
The state sales tax rate is currently 8.25 percent with local taxes adding as much as a further 2.5 percent.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...
-
Mark Landsbaum: Your money’s gone with the wind (and solar)
By MARK LANDSBAUM
2011-04-14 15:46:50
http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/-296431--.html
Have fun paying more for less morons.
Why are you posting about California
Do you live here ?
Do you live here? In fact, have you ever even been here? No.
Guiliani and bloomberg have both been good mayors.
Anyone who lived here under David Dinkins remembers the horror show he was.
-
Why are you posting about California
Do you live here ?
Because Cali is by far the largest state in the nation and impacts the rest of us. NY,IL, is already a failed liberal left wing morass of welarism and debt, but if cali goes down due to the WTF policies you support the rest of us suffer.
-
Because Cali is by far the largest state in the nation and impacts the rest of us. NY,IL, is already a failed liberal left wing morass of welarism and debt, but if cali goes down due to the WTF policies you support the rest of us suffer.
fine with me but why do you give other people shit for making comments about places they don't live?
btw - I'm sure you're aware the CA actually sends more tax $'s to the Federal Government than it get's back
A conservative think tank was good enough to compile the data but hasn't bothered to update it since 2005 - probably because they realized that the states that received more federal funds than they paid in taxes just happened to be predominantly red states.
Funny how that worked out
http://www.taxfoundation.org/files/fedspend_per_taxesbystate-20071009.swf
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/welfare-queen-states/2011/05/17/AFzTK45G_story.html
-
It's a shame that the most beautiful state in the country is overrun by (liberal) idiots.
-
Yeah - thats why employers are fleeing california in droves. ::) ::)
-
Skyrocketing Employee Costs Drive Another California City To The Edge Of Bankruptcy
Business Insider ^ | 06/04/2011 | Grace Wyler
Posted on June 5, 2011 9:21:11 AM EDT by SeekAndFind
Just as Vallejo, Calif., starts to pull itself out of municipal bankruptcy, Stockton, its Central Valley neighbor, hurtles towards financial collapse.
Calling Stockton's fiscal problems "chronic and severe," city officials have declared a state of fiscal emergency for the second time in two years, The city is facing a $37 million budget gap this year, a 60% increase from last year's $23 million shortfall, according to Bond Buyer.
City officials project the budget deficit will grow to $48 million by 2014 if nothing is done to reign in ballooning employee costs. Public safety personnel costs alone eat up 80% of the Stockton's general fund.
Like Vallejo, Stockton's fiscal woes are largely the result of skyrocketing employee costs and a major drop in revenue due to the collapse of the housing market. Both cities experienced major growth during the housing bubble, only to be locked into lavish labor contracts when the bubble burst.
Vallejo has yet to emerge from bankruptcy since the city filed for Chapter 9 protection in 2008.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
-
Why are you posting about California
Do you live here ?
Why are you lecturing others on economic policy when you supported, and continue to support, the people that have put your state tens of billions of dollars in the hole?
-
The libs blame prop 13 and the idea that people are not taxed enough as the reason for the mess, not 200k a year lifeguards.
-
Why are you lecturing others on economic policy when you supported, and continue to support, the people that have put your state tens of billions of dollars in the hole?
you really couldn't figure it out ?
Do you live here? In fact, have you ever even been here? No.
Guiliani and bloomberg have both been good mayors.
Anyone who lived here under David Dinkins remembers the horror show he was.
-
straw when the nyc mosque thing blew up you had an opinion on it...now ppl shouldnt have opinion on things outside their state?
-
straw when the nyc mosque thing blew up you had an opinion on it...now ppl shouldnt have opinion on things outside their state?
I couldn't give less of shit who comments on anything
my point (can't fucking believe you're too stupid to understand it) is that 333 criticizes others for commenting on NY when they don't live there
-
I couldn't give less of shit who comments on anything
my point (can't fucking believe you're too stupid to understand it) is that 333 criticizes others for commenting on NY when they don't live there
LMFAO you criticizing anybody for being stupid is irony at its best...
you do know what irony means dont you? I mean it seems like a given but seeing as you didnt know what hypocrisey is I feel I have to ask ;)
-
LMFAO you criticizing anybody for being stupid is irony at its best...
you do know what irony means dont you? I mean it seems like a given but seeing as you didnt know what hypocrisey is I feel I have to ask ;)
333 can defend himself
why don't you find something else to whine about
-
California DREAM Act clears state Assembly
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin ^ | 06/06/2011 | Beige Luciano-Adams
________________________ _______________--
Five years after its first introduction, the California DREAM Act - designed to remove higher education barriers for undocumented students - is finally inching closer to the governor's desk.
In a 46-25 vote last week, the state Assembly passed the more crucial - and controversial - half of Assembly Bill 131, which would make undocumented students who meet in-state tuition requirements eligible for public financial aid.
Authored by Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, A.B. 131 is part of a legislative package.
Last month, the Assembly approved the companion bill, A.B. 130, which would make undocumented students eligible for private aid.
Gov. Jerry Brown has already indicated he would sign the bills if they reach his desk.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailybulletin.com ...
-
WOW. If they keep this up, Californians are going to wish for an earthquake to send them into the ocean.
-
Joel Kotkin
New GeographerMy ProfileMy Headline GrabsMy RSS Feed
California’s Green Jihad
Jun. 7 2011 - 4:12 pm | 24,128 views | 0 recommendations | 28 comments
By JOEL KOTKIN
Ideas matter, particularly when colored by religious fanaticism, wreaking havoc even in the most favored of places. Take, for instance, Iran, a country blessed with a rich heritage and enormous physical and human resources, but which, thanks to its theocratic regime, is largely an economic basket case and rogue state.
Then there’s California, rich in everything from oil and food to international trade and technology, but still skimming along the bottom of the national economy. The state’s unemployment rate is now worse than Michigan’s and ahead only of neighboring Nevada. Among the nation’s 20 largest metropolitan regions, four of the six with the highest unemployment numbers are located in the Golden State: Riverside, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco. In a recent Forbes survey, California was home to six of the ten regions where the economy is poised to get worse.
One would think, given these gory details, California officials would be focused on reversing the state’s performance. But here, as in Iran, officialdom focuses more on theology than on actuality. Of course, California’s religion rests not on conventional divinity but on a secular environmental faith that nevertheless exhibits the intrusive and unbending character of radical religion.
As with its Iranian counterpart, California’s green theology often leads to illogical economic and political decisions. California has decided, for example, to impose a rigid regime of state-directed planning related to global warming, making a difficult approval process for new development even more onerous. It has doubled-down on climate change as other surrounding western states — such as Nevada, Utah and Arizona — have opted out of regional greenhouse gas agreements.
The notion that a state economy — particularly one that has lost over 1.15 million jobs in the past decade — can impose draconian regulations beyond those of their more affluent neighbors, or the country, would seem almost absurd.
Californians are learning what ideological extremism can do to an economy. In the Islamic Republic, crazy theology leads to misallocating resources to support repression at home and terrorism abroad In California green zealots compel companies to shift their operations to states that are still interested in growing their economy — like Texas. The green regime is one reason why CEO Magazine has ranked California the worst business climate in the nation.
Some of these green policies often offer dubious benefits for the environment. For one thing, forcing California businesses to move to less energy-efficient states, or to developing countries like China, could have a negative impact overall since shifting production to Texas or China might lead to higher greenhouse gas production given California’s generally milder climate. A depressed economy also threatens many worthy environmental programs, delaying necessary purchases of open space and forcing the closure of parks. These programs enhance life for the middle and working classes without damaging the overall econmy.
But people involved in the tangible, directly carbon-consuming parts of the economy — manufacturing, warehousing, energy and, most important, agriculture — are those who bear the brunt of the green jihad [ ] . Farming has long been a field dominated by California, yet environmentalist pressures for cutbacks in agricultural water supplies have turned a quarter million acres of prime Central Valley farmland fallow, creating mass unemployment in many communities.
“California cannot have it both ways, a desire for economic growth yet still overregulating in the areas of labor, water, environment,” notes Dennis Donahue, a Democrat and mayor of Salinas, a large agricultural community south of San Jose. Himself a grower, Donahue sees agricultural in California being undermined by ever-tightening regulations, which have led some to expand their operations to other sections of the country, Mexico and even further afield.
Other key blue collar industries are also threatened, from international trade to manufacturing. Since before the recession California manufacturing has been on a decline. Los Angeles, still the nation’s largest industrial area, has lost a remarkable one-fifth of its manufacturing employment since 2005.
California’s ultra-aggressive greenhouse gas laws will further the industrial exodus out of the state and further impoverish Californians. Grandiose plans to increase the percentage of renewable energy in the state from the current unworkable 20% to 33% by 2020 will boost the state’s electricity costs, already among the highest in the nation, and could push the average Californian’s bill up a additional 20%.
Ironically California, still the nation’s third largest oil producer, should be riding the rise in commodity prices, but the state’s green politicians seem determined to drive this sector out of the state.. In Richmond, east of San Francisco, onerous regulations pushed by a new Green-led city administration may drive a huge Chevron refinery, a major employer for blue collar workers, out of the city entirely. Roughly a thousand jobs are at stake, according to Chevron’s CEO, who also questioned whether the company would continue to make other investments inside the state.
Being essentially a religion, the green regime answers its critics with a well-developed mythology about how these policies can be implemented without economic distress. One common delusion in Sacramento holds that the state’s vaunted “creative” economy — evidenced by the current bubble over surrounding social media firms — will make up for any green-generated job losses.
In reality the creative economy simply cannot make up for losses in more tangible industries. Over the past decade, as the world digitized, the San Jose area experienced one of the stiffest drops in employment of any of the 50 largest regions of the country; its 18% decline was second only to Detroit. Much of the decline was in manufacturing and services, but tech employment has generally suffered. Over the past decade California’s number of workers in science, technology, engineering and math-related fields actually shrank. In contrast, the country’s ranks of such workers expanded 2.3% and prime competitors such as Texas , Washington and Virginia enjoyed double-digit growth.
So who really benefits from the green jihad? To date, the primary winners have been crony capitalists, like President Obama’s newly proposed commerce secretary, John Bryson, who built a fantastically lucrative career (he was once named Forbes’ “worst valued chief executive”) while running the regulated utility Edison International. A lawyer by training, Bryson helped found the green powerhouse National Resources Defense Council. He’s been keen to promote strict renewable energy standards that also happen to benefit solar power and electric car companies in which he holds large financial stakes.
Other putative winners would be large international companies, like Siemens, that hope to build California’s proposed high-speed rail line, the one big state construction project favored by the green-crony capitalist alliance. Fortunately , the states dismal fiscal situation and rising cost estimates for the project, from $42 to as high as $67 billion, as well as cuts in federal subsidies, are undermining support for this project even among some liberal Democrats. Even in a theocracy, reality does, at times, intrude.
Finally, there are the lawyers — lots of them. A hyper-regulatory state requires legal services just like a theocracy needs mobs of mullahs and bare knuckled religious enforcers. No surprise the number of lawyers in California increased by almost a quarter last decade, notes Sara Randazzo of the Daily Journal. That’s two and a half times the rate of population growth.
The legal boom has been most exuberant along the affluent coast. Over the past decade, the epicenter of the green jihad, San Francisco, the number of practicing attorneys increased by 17%, five times the rate of the city’s population increase. In the Silicon Valley, Santa Clara and San Mateo counties boosted their number of lawyers at a similar rate. In contrast, lawyer growth rate in interior counties has generally been far slower, often a small fraction of their overall population growth.
If California is to work again for those outside the yammering classes, some sort of realignment with economic reality needs to take place. Unlike Iran, California does not need a regime change, just a shift in mindset that would jibe with the realities of global competition and the needs of the middle class. But at least with California we won’t have to worry too much about national security: Given the greens anti-nuke proclivities, it’s unlucky the state will be developing a bomb in the near future.
http://blogs.forbes.com/joelkotkin/2011/06/07/californias-green-jihad
-
Study: Calif. 48th in economic freedom
June 9th, 2011
Jan Norman, small-business columnist
http://jan.ocregister.com/2011/06/09/study-calif-48th-in-economic-freedom/60197
California ranks 48th among the states on economic freedom, according to Freedom in the 50 States, a biennial study by Mercatus Center at George Mason University.
The Arlington, Va., center studies how markets work and tends to favor lower taxes and government regulation but also same-sex civil unions and marijuana decriminalization. Its study rates each state on 21 different issues with separate rankings for fiscal policy, regulatory policy, economic freedom and personal freedom. (Click on the map below for a larger view.)
Source: Mercatus Center, George mason University
This study says it attempts to measure “the extent to which state and local public policies conform to this ideal regime of maximum, equal individual freedom.”
Such policies matter, the study says, because “Americans are voting with their feet and moving to states with more economic and personal freedom and that economic freedom correlates with income growth.”
California doesn’t do well by any of the study’s measures: 48th on economic freedom and overall ranking, 47th on fiscal policy and regulatory policy and 41st on personal freedom (pluses for marijuana and same-sex partnership laws; minuses for nation’s most restrictive gun laws).
“Contrary to popular perception, California not only taxes and regulates its economy more than most other states, it also aggressively interferes in the personal lives of its citizens,” the study says. “California simply needs to cut government spending.”
On economic freedom, Alaska is worse than California and New York is worst of all. In fact, New York is dead last on the overall ranking and fiscal policy too.
The economically freest states, according to this study:
1.South Dakota (second in overall ranking)
2.New Hampshire (first overall)
3.North Dakota
4.Idaho
5.Virginia
California didn’t rate highly in the past, but its economic and personal freedom declined the most in the past two years, tied with Wyoming because of state financial woes, while Oregon has gained the most freedom because of changes in its court system and tax cuts.
The center says it aims the report not merely at state legislators who set state policies, but businesses considering where to expand or make new investments and individuals planning were to move or retire.
Click here to read the entire study.
-
Bill to give counties income taxing power OK'd
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
Counties, school districts and community colleges would have broad authority to seek taxes on income and products like cigarettes and alcohol under a bill approved by the California Senate this afternoon.
The bill gives local entities power over taxes that currently only the state Legislature can impose. The Senate passed the bill after Republicans, and a handful of Democrats, refused to support a measure sought by Gov. Jerry Brown to place taxes on a special election ballot. That measure needed a two-thirds majority vote from the Senate.
The special election measure would have asked voters this fall to extend and increase taxes through June 2016. But if voters rejected the measure, the taxes still would have been imposed for the remainder of 2011-2012 fiscal year, that ends in June 2012.
Republicans charged that such a move would have been a clear violation of Brown's promise to put tax increases before a vote of the people.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/0...
________________________ ________________________ ______
200k a year lifeguards are perfectly fine though. ::) ::)
-
California: The Sanctuary State. New Legislation Erases Line Between Legal and Illegal Immigrants
American Thinker ^ | 06/12/2011 | Elise Cooper
________________________ ________________________ _____
Americans are familiar with sanctuary cities and counties but now California appears to be heading toward becoming the first sanctuary state. While Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Arizona have passed legislation taking a tougher stand on illegal immigration, California is heading in the opposite direction with bills such as AB 540, AB 1081, AB 130, and AB 131. American Thinker interviewed several of those who are knowledgeable about the situation in California.
California AB 1081, recently passed by the Democratic majority Assembly, would require the Department of Justice to renegotiate its 2009 agreement: to participate in the Federal Secure Communities Act (SCA), which is an information sharing partnership between Federal, State, and local agencies. An ICE spokesperson described the Act as a mandatory requirement for law enforcement to submit the fingerprints of anyone arrested to "the FBI to be checked against the Department of Justice's biometric system...and are automatically sent to DHS's biometric system to check against its immigration and law enforcement records." Those that support the bill want to modify the Secure Communities Act to stop the information sharing with ICE. However, an ICE official insisted that their local field office, "and not the state or any local law enforcement agency, determines what immigration enforcement action, if any, is appropriate...The local field office in that jurisdiction will or will not take enforcement action based on the fingerprint results... State and local jurisdictions cannot opt out of the program."
Then Attorney General Jerry Brown supported this program, SCA, when he wrote to the San Francisco Sheriff last year, "You requested that the California Department of Justice block ICE from running checks on the fingerprints collected in San Francisco. The Secure Communities program is up and running...because I think this program serves both public safety and the interest of justice, I am declining your request." Now that he is Governor I hope that he will veto this bill, since it gives local law enforcement the option of not participating in the fingerprint-sharing program; essentially removing California counties from the mandatory Federal program.
Sheriffs Lee Baca, Los Angeles County, and Adam Christianson, Stanislaus County, also oppose AB 1081. They agree with Brown that jurisdictions should not opt out, since the Secure Communities Act is an effective tool for law enforcement that helps keep the communities safe. Christianson resents this legislation "because it interferes with my authority as the Sheriff to be able to protect and defend the community. The supporters of this bill are spreading misinformation, primarily to the Latino Community. They are the ones protecting the criminals." The supporters also claim that victims who are illegal and come forward will be deported. However, the ICE official pointed out that only those arrested get finger printed so this is just a scare tactic. The supporters of 1081 are ignoring the real issue, public safety.
The statistics seem to be on the side of those who want to maintain this program, SCA. The ICE official cited as of April that "71 % of the aliens removed or returned through Secure Communities nationwide had criminal convictions. The remaining 29% were non criminal immigration violators, including individuals who had been previously removed, immigration fugitives, aliens who entered the US without inspection, visa violators, and visa overstays. In California, the program has resulted in the identification and repatriation of more than 41,000 deportable aliens, more than 70 % of whom had criminal convictions." Steve Whitmore, the spokesman for Sherriff Baca, noted that approximately 16,000 illegal aliens are incarcerated in county jails, costing the county $100 million per year; yet, the county is only reimbursed by the Federal Government $15 million per year. A hidden benefit of Secure Communities, according to Whitmore, is that the county's cost is lowered when an illegal is transferred by ICE to a Federal holding facility.
This appears to be another instance of States rights versus Federal Rights. While Arizona is fulfilling its obligations to the citizens, going as far as denying State revenue money to jurisdictions that try to opt out, California is going in a divergent direction. Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne sees 1070, the immigration bill, as an extension of the Secure Communities Act. California Assemblyman Tom Donnelly (R) tried to get a bill similar to 1070, AB 26, to the floor for a vote, but was thwarted by the Democratic majority. By passing 1081 and not voting on AB 26, Congressman Brian Bilbray (R-CA), chairman of the Immigration Reform Caucus, feels that Sacramento is sending the wrong message and he cannot understand "How you can be opposed to checking fingerprints of people that are jailed, making sure these people are not in this country illegally? How can anyone be opposed to that? Justice, law and fairness no longer matter."
Other California bills that show how the legislators are crossing the line are AB 540, AB 130, and AB 131. The latter two allow for undocumented students to apply for both fee waivers at the community college level and also institutional aid from larger colleges and universities. This follows the passage of AB 540 that allows illegal immigrants to attend public colleges and pay in state tuition fees. There are a number of out of state US residents who tried suing the California University system, until the Supreme Court dismissed it. One student, Onson Luong, a resident of Nevada whose parents immigrated to the US legally from China feels that that "this is completely unfair for someone here illegally to get benefits through a loophole, having attended high school in California for three years. Why are they allowed to pay in state tuition when citizens are not?" Donnelly feels that a vast majority of Californians would not approve of these measures if they knew about them, especially since the college system is taxpayer subsidized. As a result of these bills out of state students are recruited to pay for the extra debt incurred which means there are even fewer spots for California legal residents. Furthermore, according to Donnelly these students who graduate will never be able to work or pay taxes "because they are illegal. The entire investment which is how they sell it is a poor use of resources."
Congressman Bilbray wants Congress to limit funding to those states which "actively violate our immigration policy. The Federal Government is no longer going to be sending money to anybody who is financing illegal immigration. Sacramento better wake up, that the days of depending on Washington to finance their political agenda is coming to an end."
Hopefully he is correct because the line between legal and illegal is being erased in California. An Arizonan legislator John Kavanagh (R) sarcastically commented that "We very much like California. We appreciate welcoming states like California because that deflects from us. We should put an ad in our newspapers showing how California has bestowed all sorts of benefits to illegal immigrants." Matt Ramsey (R), a Georgia Legislator, is co-authoring a bill that prohibits any illegal from attending any Georgia college, was also sarcastic, noting that "I am not optimistic that our friends on the LEFT COAST will reverse course anytime soon and get some common sense." Unfortunately, both these legislators speak the truth since Sacramento legislators, in passing these bills, have shown that they represent the unlawful immigrants, not the lawful residents of California.
-
Published: June 16, 2011
Updated: June 17, 2011 6:20 a.m.
60 more firms move jobs, work out of California
By JAN NORMAN
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/jobs-304774-http-vranich.html
The pace of companies moving partly or completely out of California has accelerated in 2011, according to Irvine business relocation expert Joe Vranich.
Through June 16, 129 California companies have moved jobs, work and/or headquarters out of state, says Vranich who has been tracking what he calls "disinvestment events" for three years. That is 60 more since his last round-up April 15.
On average, 5.4 businesses are moving jobs, work and/or headquarters out of California each week, compared to 3.9 such moves per week in 2010, says Irvine business relocation expert Joe Vranich
More from Business
•Firm recruiting 300 – in Utah
•Really? Bathroom mirror doubles as monitor
•$1.8 million villa slashed to $999,000So far this year, the departures average 5.4 a week, compared to 3.9 a week in 2010 and one a week in 2009, Vranich says.
Separately, Register reporter Mary Ann Milbourn reports that out-of-state recruiters are starting to come after California workers too.
"Our losses are occurring at an accelerated rate," Vranich says. "Also, no one knows the real level of activity because some companies are not required to file layoff notices with the state because of their small size.
"A conservative estimate is that only one out of five company departures becomes public knowledge," he adds, "so that means California may suffer more than 1,000 disinvestment events this year."
The Orange County companies on the list:
• Allegro Industries, Garden Grove, spending $1.65 million on 50,000-square-foot facility in South Carolina to manufacture safety equipment
• Altron Inc., laid off 74 people and no longer lists an office in Laguna Niguel; the information technology company is headquartered in South Carolina
• CGI Federal Inc., laid off 170 people and no longer lists an office in Laguna Niguel; the Canadian company provides information technology services
• Kairak, closing its Fullerton plant and moving refrigeration manufacturing to Texas
• LeMaitre Vascular Inc., closing its Laguna Hills manufacturing plant and moving the work to Burlington, Mass.
• Sharp Solar, which makes solar cells, is relocating its regional office from Huntington Beach to Camas, Wash.
• Star Trac, maker of fitness equipment, closing facilities in Irvine and Murrieta and consolidating in Vancouver, Wash.
Also, in reporting that Wells Fargo is furloughing 134 people in Concord, Vranich refers to a Register report in March that Wells Fargo was cutting 145 mortgage jobs in Irvine.
Vranich's list does not include expansions for strategic business reasons, such as being closer to customers, but does count new jobs or facilities in other states or nations that could have been placed in California.
He says he gets his information from public documents, the state's WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) notices when a company lays off 50 or more workers, and reports from affected workers.
Some of the departures are substantial. Petco, the pet supplies retailer, is moving from San Diego and expanding its headquarters to San Antonio, Texas. The company will add 400 jobs in Texas and spend $5 million on the larger headquarters.
And Medtronic Diabetes is laying off 464 people in Northridge and transferring 300 customer service jobs to Texas.
"California is such fertile ground that representatives for economic development agencies are visiting companies to dissect our high taxes, extreme regulatory environment and other expenses to show annual savings of between 20% and 40% after an out-of-state move," Vranich says.
Click here to read the details of the departing business.
Contact the writer: 714-796-7927 or jnorman@ocregister.com
________________________ ________________________ ____---
Hope & Change in Liberal Cartoon Land
-
CA is on course to become a jobless state full of immigrants and illegals. Maybe we can auction it off to our creditors and pay down our national debt.
-
They lost 30k jobs last month alone. Businesses are fleeing in droves.
-
California's Plan to Electrocute the Automobile Industry
Real Clear Markets ^ | 06/20/2011 | Bill Frezza
________________________ ________________________ _________
Just when you think the People's State of California couldn't possibly inflict more damage on its own economy, out comes a regulatory proposal so astonishing you have to wonder whether the destruction of an entire industry is its actual intent.
So-called zero emissions vehicles, which could more accurately be labeled coal burning cars given the source of most of our nation's electricity, are part of a troika of green fetishes that have captured the fevered imaginations of central planners. Not content with the incentives provided by a $7,500 federal tax rebate attached to cars like Government Motors' Chevy Volt, California is proposing a rule that would fine auto makers $5,000 per vehicle if at least 5.5% of the new cars they sell in the state are not electric. The new rule, which would start siphoning money from the economy in 2018, would hike the green sales quota to 14% by 2025.
Nevermind that the charging infrastructure to support that many electric cars doesn't exist and can only be conjured up with massive taxpayer subsidies. Nevermind that California's own Clean Vehicle Rebate Project designed to transfer an additional five thousand taxpayer dollars into the pockets of electric car buyers goes broke in July. Nevermind that the only way switching to an electric fleet could reduce carbon emissions would be by ripping out every fossil fuel power plant in the state while covering the countryside with taxpayer subsidized windmills and solar plants - presumably the next stage of some master plan.
Nevermind that the resulting leap in electricity rates would both impoverish consumers and drive away even more businesses, further collapsing state tax revenues.
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearmarkets.com ...
________________________ ________________________ ____---
LMFAO
Is everyone in that state doing coke?
-
Companies Leaving California in Record Numbers
CARPE DIEM ^ | June 17, 2011 | Mark J. Perry
________________________ ________________________ ______
California currently ranks #49 among U.S. states for "business tax climate" (Tax Foundation) and #48 for for "economic freedom" (Mercatus).
It shouldn't be any surprise then that companies are leaving the "Golden State" in record numbers this year (see chart above) for "golder pastures" and more business-friendly climates in other states.
(Excerpt) Read more at mjperry.blogspot.com ...
-
Public Unions Take On Boss to Win Big PensionsBy CHARLES DUHIGG
www.nyt.com
COSTA MESA, Calif. — City council elections in this Southern California city are usually sedate. Hot-button issues include whether libraries should stay open at night. Campaign budgets often don’t top $10,000.
Then Jim Righeimer, a conservative activist and real estate developer, jumped into the race last year.
The city was on the road to insolvency, he warned, because public employee unions had pressured politicians into handing over generous salaries and pensions. The police chief received $298,000 a year in total compensation, Mr. Righeimer noted. The deputy fire chief had retired with a pension of more than $182,000 a year.
City workers weren’t fans of Mr. Righeimer, who had been critical of public unions for years. Local police and firefighter groups started mailing leaflets and towing a billboard around town attacking him, implying he had skipped out on numerous debts. Public employees spent more than $100,000 opposing him, and six unions from neighboring regions spent another $33,000 endorsing his opponents.
“They try to drag you through the mud so bad that everyone else says, ‘I don’t ever want these guys as enemies, I’ll just leave them alone,’ ” said Mr. Righeimer, who still managed to win a council seat.
Costa Mesa, population 110,000, is California in miniature. For years, public employee unions across the state have often used their influence — sometimes behind the scenes but occasionally with public, hardball campaigns — to push for improved worker pay and benefits. They have exercised power beyond their numbers by donating money to lawmakers, burnishing candidates’ credentials with endorsements and supplying volunteers during elections.
Public employee unions are hardly the only group involved in bare-knuckles politics. Businesses lobby fiercely and executives make hefty campaign donations.
But public workers have a unique relationship with elected officials, because government employees are effectively negotiating with bosses whom they can campaign to vote out of office if they don’t get what they want. Private unions, in contrast, don’t usually have the power to fire their members’ employers.
Even in recent years, as economic troubles have worsened, benefits for some government workers have grown. In 2008, for instance, lifeguards in Laguna Beach started receiving increased retirement benefits as the state’s economy began to slow. The next year, the town’s chief lifeguard retired at age 57, with a $113,000-a-year pension after 36 years on the job.
Lawmakers in both political parties have often acceded to unions’ requests to avoid political confrontations or to curry favor. They have pushed difficult choices into the future.
But now, with the expenses of past promises coming due, the cost of deferred decision-making is mounting. California alone needs to begin devoting an additional $28 billion a year to state and local public pensions to remedy an existing shortfall, according to one nonpartisan study — and nationwide, estimates of such deficits reach into the trillions over the next few decades.
“We had no idea what we were doing,” said Tony Oliveira, who as a supervisor in Kings County, in central California, voted to increase employees’ benefits, and now is on the board of the state’s enormous pension fund. “This was probably the worst public policy decision in the state’s history. But everyone kept saying there was plenty of money. And no one wants to be responsible if all the cops quit to get paid more in the next town.”
Public employee unions, in their defense, say politicians have unfairly made them into simplistic bogeymen, responsible for problems that have myriad causes. Not all government workers receive generous pensions, they note. A public worker enrolled in the state’s largest pension fund who retired in 2008 with more than 30 years of service received a pension of $66,828 a year, on average, and a retiree with 20 to 25 years of service received around $34,872. Public workers who retire with fewer years on the job receive even less.
Moreover, unions note that they have improved millions of lives and are standing up for workers, who are mostly middle class, at a time when many families are losing ground financially.
“We fight for our pensions and paychecks the same way C.E.O.’s fight for theirs,” said Scott Diederich, a lifeguard and president of the Laguna Beach Municipal Employees’ Association.
Union leaders argue that pension shortfalls account for a proportionally tiny portion of governments’ financial problems and, by all accounts, there are plenty of parties to blame for the growth in payrolls and obligations. Pension officials add that workers are making sacrifices: in the last year, more than 100 California cities and agencies have lowered retirement benefits for new hires or increased the amount employees must contribute for pensions.
But no matter what steps are taken, the cost of public pensions will most likely preoccupy many states for years. In California, New Jersey and Illinois, lawmakers may eventually need to increase taxes more than 17 percent or cut government services to pay public retirees’ benefits, according to a nonpartisan study. In some states, no matter how much the economy rebounds, pension funds may not be able to meet their obligations without significant government support.
And as legislatures in many states consider their options, battles with public workers are becoming rancorous. In Texas, Michigan, Idaho, Arizona and elsewhere, public employee unions have pushed for recall elections of lawmakers or of new laws that reduce workers’ benefits. In Wisconsin, skirmishes have temporarily shut down the state Senate, and more than a quarter of senators — both union critics and supporters — are potentially facing recall.
In California, where the Teachers Association, the prison guards’ union, the A.F.L.-C.I.O. and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, or Afscme, are particularly influential, confrontations are especially intense, though some union officials concede something needs to change.
“Are we supposed to turn down a raise, or not fight as hard as possible for our members?” asked Nick Berardino, general manager of the Orange County Employees Association. “But, yes, we understand that reform is necessary and we want to be good partners.”
But critics — who note that Mr. Berardino’s organization has helped finance political attacks in Costa Mesa — worry that such partnerships are not capable of an equal give-and-take.
“In my six years in Sacramento, the only time I ever received a phone call in the middle of a vote was when the head of a state labor federation chewed me out because I hadn’t voted yet,” said Joe Nation, a Democrat who served in the California Assembly from 2000 to 2006. “You learned pretty quickly that you don’t want to upset these guys.”
The Unspoken Cost
Ron Seeling warned them that serious problems could be looming.
It was 1999, and the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, or Calpers, the large government agency that manages retirement benefits for more than 1.6 million public workers, retirees and their families, was lobbying the legislature to increase employees’ benefits. Calpers’s plan would lower the retirement age for some workers to 50 years, even as it raised pensions to as much as 90 percent of their salaries.
Lobbyists were arguing that the plan — which would ultimately create the largest pension increase in the state’s history — wouldn’t cost “a dime of additional taxpayer money.”
But Mr. Seeling, the agency’s chief actuary, knew that wasn’t necessarily right. Sitting at his desk, poring over spreadsheets, he saw the truth. Calpers, at the time, was awash in cash and many cities believed that pensions were essentially self-funding if the stock market remained high. But if the market stumbled, he realized, Calpers’s plan could cost taxpayers billions of dollars.
Mr. Seeling cautioned the Calpers board of the risks, but his worries were brushed aside. Calpers’s job is to invest pension funds to get the best returns and administer benefits to retirees. But it has also been an advocate for public workers. Many board members, when Calpers was pushing its plan in 1999, were closely aligned with the people who benefited from increased pensions. Six of Calpers’s 13 board members were elected by government retirees or workers, as required by state law. Another was a union official. Two others were politicians who had sought union endorsements and campaign contributions.
“Labor controlled too much of the board,” Mr. Seeling, now retired himself, said in an interview. “It’s been harmful to the state.”
When Calpers’s plan to expand pensions came up in the state Legislature, lawmakers from both parties voted for it. On the Senate floor, it passed after 45 seconds of debate with no dissenting votes. Some legislators from that period, in interviews, said they believed that public workers deserved to share in the economic growth.
Other lawmakers were told if they didn’t vote for the plan, public employee groups would attack them in ads and give their opponents tens of thousands of dollars in contributions, and they could lose endorsements from police, firefighters or other influential groups, according to legislators and lobbyists.
Such threats, politicians knew, were real. Over the next five years, public sector unions would spend more than $77 million on California state elections and ballot initiatives alone.
Mr. Seeling issued another warning to the Calpers board at a meeting in 2001. This time, it was considering a proposal that would encourage cities to increase workers’ benefits by allowing officials to change actuarial calculations, so they could raise pensions without incurring higher costs right away. One board member, echoing Mr. Seeling’s concerns, told his colleagues they were “playing with fire,” according to a transcript of that session. But a majority approved the plan anyway.
In 2009, Mr. Seeling told a room of pension experts that the agency’s ever-escalating payouts were becoming “unsustainable.”
“Board members came up to me afterwards and said, ‘We agree with you, but if we say it publicly, it’s political suicide,’ ” Mr. Seeling recalled in an interview.
Mr. Seeling eventually told the agency’s leaders he wanted to retire. He still believed in Calpers’s mission and was still proud of his role in helping millions of state workers retire with dignity. But the job’s stresses were taking a toll.
When the financial crisis hit in 2008, his warnings came true. The value of Calpers’s fund dropped $100 billion from its peak, losing over a third of its worth. The cost of pension promises, however, was still going up. More than 190 California cities and agencies have increased government workers’ benefits since the economic downturn began.
When the California Legislature tried to scale back pension costs, some unions went on the offensive. Last year, the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, the prison guards’ union, spent $250,000 attacking Anna Caballero, a Democrat campaigning for state Senate. The attacks were payback, lobbyists and lawmakers say, for legislation that slightly lowered pension rates for some future government workers. Ms. Caballero lost that race.
The union representing the prison guards spent another $3.6 million supporting eight dozen other candidates, including the present governor, Jerry Brown, and criticizing their opponents.
Earlier this year, a new prison guard contract came up for approval in the Legislature. The Legislative Analyst’s Office estimated it would cost an additional $51 million in its first year, and Republican lawmakers, looking for ways to narrow an estimated $10.8 billion budget gap, said they had the votes to kill the deal.
Then a Republican senator, Anthony Cannella, changed his mind and voted for the prison guards’ contract. It passed.
Mr. Cannella was elected over Ms. Caballero, the target of the attacks by the correction officers’ union.
The union “was actually crucial to my election,” Mr. Cannella said in a video produced by the union.
In a statement, Mr. Canella said that he favored pension reform, and that the contract he had voted for, which was bundled with other agreements, forced state employees to shoulder more of their pension costs and established equal compensation with other state workers. A representative of the prison guard union said it evaluated candidates based on a variety of factors, including their philosophies, integrity and effectiveness.
Calpers says its retirement fund is healthy, having earned back more than $70 billion of the value lost since 2007. But it still has asked the state for $3.6 billion this fiscal year to pay for promises made to retirees. It expects to ask for another $3.5 billion next year.
In a statement, Calpers said that “to paint the picture that the Calpers board and its decisions are driven by labor is misleading and inaccurate. ... The board is well diversified and decisions are not made by the board alone,” but also by its staff. Calpers said legislators were told in 1999, when the agency lobbied to increase worker’s benefits, that there was a cost to the plan.
“The costs of Calpers pensions for the state represents 2.2 percent of total general fund expenditures,” the agency wrote. “To suggest that pension costs are the cause of layoffs, degradation of our schools or the California economy would be irresponsible.”
In statements, Afscme said it had backed Calpers board candidates who were most qualified to protect members’ retirements. Art Pulaski, the executive secretary-treasurer of the California Labor Federation, a coalition of 1,200 affiliated unions, wrote in a statement that the idea “that unions have spent money on elections to control politicians is as offensive as it as inane. In every election, we carefully analyze candidate records and positions and support those most likely to support policies that help working families.”
Mr. Seeling, for his part, is now enjoying retirement with a pension of about $78,000 a year.
“I can live on it,” he said. “I wish I had more. But it’s enough. I don’t think anyone needs that much more for a comfortable life.”
Operation Domino
It was informally known among local union leaders as “Operation Domino,” and for years the goal was straightforward: persuade one city to increase salaries and pensions for workers, and then approach neighboring municipalities and argue that if the increases weren’t matched, the city’s police, firefighters or other employees might quit, in large numbers, and go elsewhere.
By the time the dominos made it to Costa Mesa, neighboring areas had already toppled. “The unions would say, ‘Gee, Irvine, Newport, all of these nearby cities, they offer these higher benefits for police and firefighters and it’s a real tight labor market, and if we don’t receive similar benefits, what if we leave and go work there?’ ” said Allan Roeder, Costa Mesa’s city manager for more than two decades, who retired in March with a pension of $190,000 a year.
Then, starting about a decade ago, word began to spread that the Costa Mesa police had more than a dozen vacancies they couldn’t fill. Graffiti became more common. Police representatives warned that gang activity was rising and, without strong benefits, the department couldn’t attract officers.
When Mr. Roeder went to the grocery store, residents asked him why he wasn’t keeping the streets safe.
“When achieving public safety is threatened, law enforcement gets what they want,” he said.
Today, many Costa Mesa police officers and other safety workers are eligible to retire as young as 50 years of age, receiving up to 90 percent of their salaries each year for life.
In other communities, unions used more subtle methods. Lifeguards in Newport Beach helped win public support for increased pensions by expanding the city’s junior lifeguard program, which started with 50 children and now enrolls 1,200 a year.
“Everyone in this community knows we’re the people making sure their sons and daughters don’t drown,” said Brent Jacobsen, who has been a lifeguard for 24 years. “I talk to a lot of parents because of the junior lifeguards, and I tell them we expect to be treated fairly.”
Last year, the head of the junior lifeguard program retired with a pension of $105,000 a year.
Soon after Newport Beach increased benefits, Mr. Jacobsen’s brother-in-law, a lifeguard in nearby Laguna Beach, persuaded his city to raise pensions.
The costs of such increased benefits, in many places, weren’t felt for years. But starting in 2007, Costa Mesa had to draw on its reserve accounts to pay bills. The city stopped buying fertilizer and seed for some parks and canceled street maintenance projects. Last year, pension costs topped $15 million, up from $6 million a decade ago and more than triple the amount the city spent filling potholes and maintaining playgrounds and on capital projects.
Then Mr. Righeimer declared his candidacy for city council. After winning a bruising race, he proposed outsourcing as many as 18 city services, from firefighting to payroll, to private firms. The move, he said, would cost the city less in salaries and free taxpayers from additional pension liabilities. Pink slips were sent to almost half the city’s 472 employees, though some of those layoffs, which do not take effect until September, might be rescinded if the outsourcing bids do not meet expectations.
On the day the pink slips were handed out, a city worker, 29-year-old Huy Pham, climbed to the roof of City Hall and jumped to his death. A local union organization helped pay for television commercials that implied the mayor and city councilors were responsible.
“People like Jim Righeimer have a visceral dislike for people in unions,” said Mr. Berardino, the Orange County union leader. “And I understand that people are angry because they see their own retirement accounts shrinking, and wonder, why shouldn’t public workers suffer, too?
‘Race to the Bottom’
“But why are we making this a race to the bottom? Why aren’t we making sure every working American gets a decent pension after a lifetime of work?” Mr. Berardino asked.
Mr. Berardino and other labor leaders around the state are discussing with Governor Brown and legislators proposals that could standardize pension benefits, so that cities are not competing with each other, and cap yearly retirement payouts at $127,000 or less.
Many of those details are still under negotiation and the plan might not win approval. Even if it does, it is unclear how much immediate relief such reform could bring. By law, the pension formulas of existing workers are essentially unalterable — any changes affect only future hires. And studies by nonpartisan academics indicate that even if public work forces stop growing and the stock market rebounds, it may not be enough to prevent a pension funding crisis. In some states, including California, a study found that pension fund managers needed to earn a 12 percent return each year for the next three decades to meet obligations. Such prolonged returns are far higher than historical norms. (Calpers, in a statement, said it expected to earn double-digit returns this year, and disagreed with the 12 percent estimate.)
“Governments are going to have to decide if they want to raise taxes or cut services or do a bit of both,” said Robert Novy-Marx, a professor at the Simon Graduate School of Business at the University of Rochester who, with Joshua Rauh of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, has studied the expected costs of future pension obligations. “There’s no other way out of this. State and local governments have become like Detroit car manufacturers, trapped under pension promises that are growing faster than their economies.”
In the meantime, Costa Mesa — like many cities in California and around the nation — continues to debate how pension costs should be borne. At a recent city council meeting, Mr. Righeimer and his colleagues sat in session for more than six hours, until well past midnight, as dozens of workers, citizens, union supporters and other speakers, in three-minute increments, criticized the layoffs and vowed they would remember politicians’ decisions at election time.
In the audience sat three local firemen wearing Costa Mesa Fire Department T-shirts, all of whom declined to give their names.
“I’m not here on anything official,” one said. “We just like the council to know that we’re watching them.”
-
Do you realize only a few places in CA are the uber-liberal areas? If San Francisco and the LD/SD strip fell into the ocean, this would be a red state.
-
After just spending nearly a week in LA, I understand a little better why that state is so screwed up.
Its a hodge podge of wierdos, dopers, hippies, trust fund brats, botoxed women, wannabes, illegals, flower children, lib whites who are mostly pussies, and vagabonds.
Gorgeous landscape though. This was in Pacific Palisades
-
Bump.
-
Free Republic
Browse · Search Pings · Mail News/Activism
Topics · Post Article
Skip to comments.
California,The "Failed State"
Townhall.com ^ | July 3, 2011 | Austin Hill
Posted on July 3, 2011 10:28:29 AM EDT by Kaslin
“Failed state.”
That sounds harsh, doesn’t it? Do a web search with the words “failed state” and names like Somalia, Haiti, and Sudan will appear on your computer screen.
Unfortunately, the 31st state in our union – California – is looking more and more like a “failed state” as well. And this should matter to every American, because like it or not, California is both a global economic epicenter and a spectacular place in the world.
My native homeland of California is home to the highest mountain in the contiguous forty-eight states (Mount Whitney), the lowest valley (Death Valley), Facebook, “Surf City, U.S.A.”(Huntington Beach), Apple Computers, The World Champion San Francisco Giants, the most fertile farm land in the world (San Joaquin Valley), eBay, Legoland, Cisco Systems, “the entertainment capitol of the world” (Hollywood), three U.S. Presidents (Richard Nixon by birth, and Herbert Hoover and Ronald Reagan by “adoption”), and Mitsubishi Motors of North America. It remains a global leader in the agricultural, information technology, and aerospace sectors. If it were its own country, it would comprise the eight largest national economy in the world.
This is to say that California can be and should be a place of robust economic opportunity across multiple sectors. But politicians and government employee labor unions have a stranglehold on the state (sound familiar?). Businesses and capital are now leaving while actual economic output is slumping.
Most academicians and government bureaucrats who keep track of the world’s “failed states” still won’t admit that Greece belongs on their lists, so the idea that California has in any sense “failed” isn’t even considered. But if we take seriously the criteria for determining a “failed state,” then the sad truth about California becomes painfully clear.
One of the most often quoted authorities on failed states is The Fund for Peace, a Washington, DC-based non-profit think tank organization, and among the many indicators of a failed state that “FFP” notes is “uneven economic development among group lines.” This notion of “uneven economic development” often has “life or death” implications in places like Zimbabwe or the Democratic Republic of the Congo, yet the idea is every bit as real in California as it regards the disparity between the government, and the private sector economy.
For the record, the government of California presently entails a budget deficit of somewhere between $10 and $15 billion – a deficit that is expected to swell to about $25 billion by the middle of 2012. With this as his backdrop, Governor Jerry Brown took office in January noting at the time that California had a history of “kickin’ the can down the road” with its budget woes, and that his plan to solve California’s dreadful fiscal problems would involve both cuts in government spending, and – if California voters approved – tax increases.
Yet Governor Brown is a life-long government employee, and will have nothing to do with cutting state spending where it is most problematic – in the arena of government employee salaries, benefits, and retirement pensions. In fact, while he has been completely unable to implement his plan of “temporarily extending” certain “temporarily inflated tax rates” (which de facto amounts to a tax increase plan), he has continued lining the pockets of unionized government employees with more lavish expenditures on their salaries, benefits, and retirement pensions.
In April, for example, Brown approved a new contract for the California Prison Guard’s union, which allows guards to accrue unlimited numbers of un-used paid vacation days each year. When a guard retires, the un-used vacation time can now be “cashed-in” at the guard’s highest salary rate- a sweet pay-off from Governor Brown to a labor union that spent nearly $2 million on his campaign last year.
And here’s where yet another set of criteria comes in to play for determining a “failed state.” According to the Fund for Peace, failed states often exhibit “a disappearance of basic state functions that serve the people, including a failure to protect citizens from terrorism and violence…” The high-minded folks at the FFP may not know this, but – shocking news! – California has so horribly mismanaged its prison system that it can’t afford to facilitate all of its prisoners.
After being taken to court over the conditions in which they were detaining convicts – which included as many as 54 prisoners sharing one toilet – the California government was ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court in May of this year to release huge numbers of prisoners. This is to say that California’s leaders had plenty of money to spend on their unionized prison guards, yet it doesn’t have enough money to properly facilitate prisoners so as to comply with federal requirements.
Is this “failure enough” to get anybody’s attention? By the FFP’s own criteria, California has failed to fulfill a “basic state function” and to protect “citizens” from “violence.”
The Fund for Peace needs to sound the alarm bells over the California government’s failures, but they probably won’t. It’s up to the state’s citizenry to demand better leadership in Sacramento – before it’s too late.
TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; US: California; Click to Add Topic
KEYWORDS: california; Click to Add Keyword
We need your help to keep the light of freedom burning!!
[ Report Abuse | Bookmark ]
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-50, 51-63 next last
1 posted on July 3, 2011 10:28:30 AM EDT by Kaslin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies | Report Abuse]
To: Kaslin
“My native homeland of California is home to the highest mountain in the contiguous forty-eight states (Mount Whitney), the lowest valley (Death Valley), Facebook...”
Facebook isn’t a reason to save the state. It’s more a contagious disease.
2 posted on July 3, 2011 10:32:21 AM EDT by PastorBooks
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies | Report Abuse]
To: Kaslin
“This is to say that California can be and should be a place of robust economic opportunity across multiple sectors. But politicians and government employee labor unions have a stranglehold on the state (sound familiar?). Businesses and capital are now leaving”
Businesses, like people, will not usually stay where they are not wanted.
3 posted on July 3, 2011 10:33:20 AM EDT by Grunthor (Support a POTUS candidate but don't get emotionally invested like a liberal.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies | Report Abuse]
To: Kaslin
Read Rawles' writings about the "Golden Horde."
The Golden Horde and the Thin Veneer
Anyone who lives in California, or any large city, needs to read this.
4 posted on July 3, 2011 10:40:25 AM EDT by PastorBooks
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies | Report Abuse]
To: Kaslin
California is just hemorrhaging businesses. For the first half of this year, some 5.4 businesses employing over 100 people, that are required to announce their departure, have on average left each week.
Only 1 in 5 such businesses are required to report their departure. So this could mean they are losing over 20 such mid-sized and large businesses *a week*. This is more than double what it was two years ago and a lot more than it was last year.
5 posted on July 3, 2011 10:43:20 AM EDT by yefragetuwrabrumuy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies | Report Abuse]
To: Kaslin
Rome, the failed state.
Britain, the failed state.
America, the failed state.
“The America of my time line is a laboratory example of what can happen to democracies, what has eventually happened to all perfect democracies throughout all histories. A perfect democracy, a ‘warm body’ democracy in which every adult may vote and all votes count equally, has no internal feedback for self-correction. It depends solely on the wisdom and self-restraint of citizens… which is opposed by the folly and lack of self-restraint of other citizens. What is supposed to happen in a democracy is that each sovereign citizen will always vote in the public interest for the safety and welfare of all. But what does happen is that he votes his own self-interest as he sees it… which for the majority translates as ‘Bread and Circuses.’
‘Bread and Circuses’ is the cancer of democracy, the fatal disease for which there is no cure. Democracy often works beautifully at first. But once a state extends the franchise to every warm body, be he producer or parasite, that day marks the beginning of the end of the state. For when the plebs discover that they can vote themselves bread and circuses without limit and that the productive members of the body politic cannot stop them, they will do so, until the state bleeds to death, or in its weakened condition the state succumbs to an invader—the barbarians enter Rome.”
— Robert A. Heinlein
6 posted on July 3, 2011 10:46:28 AM EDT by flowerplough (Bammy: It frustrates me when people talk about government jobs as if somehow those are worth less.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies | Report Abuse]
To: Kaslin
This is a poorly written article. California is a mess but the writer only skims the surface on why.
7 posted on July 3, 2011 10:47:26 AM EDT by ExtremeUnction
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies | Report Abuse]
To: yefragetuwrabrumuy
Capital flight. If I lived there I would get the hell out on the quick.Before it is foreclosed on.
8 posted on July 3, 2011 10:49:29 AM EDT by screaminsunshine (Socialism...Easier said than done.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies | Report Abuse]
To: flowerplough
Good quote.
9 posted on July 3, 2011 10:49:46 AM EDT by PastorBooks
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies | Report Abuse]
To: ExtremeUnction
Perhaps he did so, because it would make another column
10 posted on July 3, 2011 10:50:11 AM EDT by Kaslin (Acronym for OBAMA: One Big Ass Mistake America)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies | Report Abuse]
To: yefragetuwrabrumuy
Why should a private business ever have to report to a state government they are leaving? Maybe give notice to whoever they’ve leased their building(s) from, but to the state??? What is the state going to say or do? “On no, you can’t leave. You have to stay until you go
-
Free Republic
Browse · Search Pings · Mail News/Activism
Topics · Post Article
Skip to comments.
California,The "Failed State"
Townhall.com ^ | July 3, 2011 | Austin Hill
Posted on July 3, 2011 10:28:29 AM EDT by Kaslin
“Failed state.”
That sounds harsh, doesn’t it? Do a web search with the words “failed state” and names like Somalia, Haiti, and Sudan will appear on your computer screen.
Unfortunately, the 31st state in our union – California – is looking more and more like a “failed state” as well. And this should matter to every American, because like it or not, California is both a global economic epicenter and a spectacular place in the world.
My native homeland of California is home to the highest mountain in the contiguous forty-eight states (Mount Whitney), the lowest valley (Death Valley), Facebook, “Surf City, U.S.A.”(Huntington Beach), Apple Computers, The World Champion San Francisco Giants, the most fertile farm land in the world (San Joaquin Valley), eBay, Legoland, Cisco Systems, “the entertainment capitol of the world” (Hollywood), three U.S. Presidents (Richard Nixon by birth, and Herbert Hoover and Ronald Reagan by “adoption”), and Mitsubishi Motors of North America. It remains a global leader in the agricultural, information technology, and aerospace sectors. If it were its own country, it would comprise the eight largest national economy in the world.
This is to say that California can be and should be a place of robust economic opportunity across multiple sectors. But politicians and government employee labor unions have a stranglehold on the state (sound familiar?). Businesses and capital are now leaving while actual economic output is slumping.
Most academicians and government bureaucrats who keep track of the world’s “failed states” still won’t admit that Greece belongs on their lists, so the idea that California has in any sense “failed” isn’t even considered. But if we take seriously the criteria for determining a “failed state,” then the sad truth about California becomes painfully clear.
One of the most often quoted authorities on failed states is The Fund for Peace, a Washington, DC-based non-profit think tank organization, and among the many indicators of a failed state that “FFP” notes is “uneven economic development among group lines.” This notion of “uneven economic development” often has “life or death” implications in places like Zimbabwe or the Democratic Republic of the Congo, yet the idea is every bit as real in California as it regards the disparity between the government, and the private sector economy.
For the record, the government of California presently entails a budget deficit of somewhere between $10 and $15 billion – a deficit that is expected to swell to about $25 billion by the middle of 2012. With this as his backdrop, Governor Jerry Brown took office in January noting at the time that California had a history of “kickin’ the can down the road” with its budget woes, and that his plan to solve California’s dreadful fiscal problems would involve both cuts in government spending, and – if California voters approved – tax increases.
Yet Governor Brown is a life-long government employee, and will have nothing to do with cutting state spending where it is most problematic – in the arena of government employee salaries, benefits, and retirement pensions. In fact, while he has been completely unable to implement his plan of “temporarily extending” certain “temporarily inflated tax rates” (which de facto amounts to a tax increase plan), he has continued lining the pockets of unionized government employees with more lavish expenditures on their salaries, benefits, and retirement pensions.
In April, for example, Brown approved a new contract for the California Prison Guard’s union, which allows guards to accrue unlimited numbers of un-used paid vacation days each year. When a guard retires, the un-used vacation time can now be “cashed-in” at the guard’s highest salary rate- a sweet pay-off from Governor Brown to a labor union that spent nearly $2 million on his campaign last year.
And here’s where yet another set of criteria comes in to play for determining a “failed state.” According to the Fund for Peace, failed states often exhibit “a disappearance of basic state functions that serve the people, including a failure to protect citizens from terrorism and violence…” The high-minded folks at the FFP may not know this, but – shocking news! – California has so horribly mismanaged its prison system that it can’t afford to facilitate all of its prisoners.
After being taken to court over the conditions in which they were detaining convicts – which included as many as 54 prisoners sharing one toilet – the California government was ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court in May of this year to release huge numbers of prisoners. This is to say that California’s leaders had plenty of money to spend on their unionized prison guards, yet it doesn’t have enough money to properly facilitate prisoners so as to comply with federal requirements.
Is this “failure enough” to get anybody’s attention? By the FFP’s own criteria, California has failed to fulfill a “basic state function” and to protect “citizens” from “violence.”
The Fund for Peace needs to sound the alarm bells over the California government’s failures, but they probably won’t. It’s up to the state’s citizenry to demand better leadership in Sacramento – before it’s too late.
TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; US: California; Click to Add Topic
KEYWORDS: california; Click to Add Keyword
We need your help to keep the light of freedom burning!!
[ Report Abuse | Bookmark ]
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-50, 51-63 next last
1 posted on July 3, 2011 10:28:30 AM EDT by Kaslin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies | Report Abuse]
To: Kaslin
“My native homeland of California is home to the highest mountain in the contiguous forty-eight states (Mount Whitney), the lowest valley (Death Valley), Facebook...”
Facebook isn’t a reason to save the state. It’s more a contagious disease.
2 posted on July 3, 2011 10:32:21 AM EDT by PastorBooks
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies | Report Abuse]
To: Kaslin
“This is to say that California can be and should be a place of robust economic opportunity across multiple sectors. But politicians and government employee labor unions have a stranglehold on the state (sound familiar?). Businesses and capital are now leaving”
Businesses, like people, will not usually stay where they are not wanted.
3 posted on July 3, 2011 10:33:20 AM EDT by Grunthor (Support a POTUS candidate but don't get emotionally invested like a liberal.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies | Report Abuse]
To: Kaslin
Read Rawles' writings about the "Golden Horde."
The Golden Horde and the Thin Veneer
Anyone who lives in California, or any large city, needs to read this.
4 posted on July 3, 2011 10:40:25 AM EDT by PastorBooks
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies | Report Abuse]
To: Kaslin
California is just hemorrhaging businesses. For the first half of this year, some 5.4 businesses employing over 100 people, that are required to announce their departure, have on average left each week.
Only 1 in 5 such businesses are required to report their departure. So this could mean they are losing over 20 such mid-sized and large businesses *a week*. This is more than double what it was two years ago and a lot more than it was last year.
5 posted on July 3, 2011 10:43:20 AM EDT by yefragetuwrabrumuy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies | Report Abuse]
To: Kaslin
Rome, the failed state.
Britain, the failed state.
America, the failed state.
“The America of my time line is a laboratory example of what can happen to democracies, what has eventually happened to all perfect democracies throughout all histories. A perfect democracy, a ‘warm body’ democracy in which every adult may vote and all votes count equally, has no internal feedback for self-correction. It depends solely on the wisdom and self-restraint of citizens… which is opposed by the folly and lack of self-restraint of other citizens. What is supposed to happen in a democracy is that each sovereign citizen will always vote in the public interest for the safety and welfare of all. But what does happen is that he votes his own self-interest as he sees it… which for the majority translates as ‘Bread and Circuses.’
‘Bread and Circuses’ is the cancer of democracy, the fatal disease for which there is no cure. Democracy often works beautifully at first. But once a state extends the franchise to every warm body, be he producer or parasite, that day marks the beginning of the end of the state. For when the plebs discover that they can vote themselves bread and circuses without limit and that the productive members of the body politic cannot stop them, they will do so, until the state bleeds to death, or in its weakened condition the state succumbs to an invader—the barbarians enter Rome.”
— Robert A. Heinlein
6 posted on July 3, 2011 10:46:28 AM EDT by flowerplough (Bammy: It frustrates me when people talk about government jobs as if somehow those are worth less.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies | Report Abuse]
To: Kaslin
This is a poorly written article. California is a mess but the writer only skims the surface on why.
7 posted on July 3, 2011 10:47:26 AM EDT by ExtremeUnction
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies | Report Abuse]
To: yefragetuwrabrumuy
Capital flight. If I lived there I would get the hell out on the quick.Before it is foreclosed on.
8 posted on July 3, 2011 10:49:29 AM EDT by screaminsunshine (Socialism...Easier said than done.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies | Report Abuse]
To: flowerplough
Good quote.
9 posted on July 3, 2011 10:49:46 AM EDT by PastorBooks
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies | Report Abuse]
To: ExtremeUnction
Perhaps he did so, because it would make another column
10 posted on July 3, 2011 10:50:11 AM EDT by Kaslin (Acronym for OBAMA: One Big Ass Mistake America)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies | Report Abuse]
To: yefragetuwrabrumuy
Why should a private business ever have to report to a state government they are leaving? Maybe give notice to whoever they’ve leased their building(s) from, but to the state??? What is the state going to say or do? “On no, you can’t leave. You have to stay until you go
Free Republic is not a credible or factual news source. Its a internet forum full of mostly white supremacists. Why do you continue to put their garbage on these sites for instead of posting article from credible news sources
-
Why don't you refute the article instead of posting about credible news sources? Attack the messenger and ignore the message?
-
Lmfao.
-
Why don't you refute the article instead of posting about credible news sources? Attack the messenger and ignore the message?
I just did
-
I just did
Is www.townhall.com a racist website? Cause that is where this is from.
California,The "Failed State"
Townhall.com ^ | July 3, 2011 | Austin Hill
-
Is www.townhall.com a racist website? Cause that is where this is from.
California,The "Failed State"
Townhall.com ^ | July 3, 2011 | Austin Hill
Townhall is a radical conservative site. I'm sure there's plenty of white supremacist luring around the corners waiting to burn a cross..... ;D
-
Townhall is a radical conservative site. I'm sure there's plenty of white supremacist luring around the corners waiting to burn a cross..... ;D
::) ::)
95%er is a disease bro - check yourself.
-
::) ::)
95%er is a disease bro - check yourself.
I'm using the same techniques you use except I'm correct about it. Stop crying you big baby.
-
Companies Are Leaving California in Record Numbers, and It Might Get Worse
The American ^ | 07/01/2011 | Mark J. Perry
________________________ ________________________ ___
The state of California is becoming legendary for creating the most anti-business climate in the country because of its high taxes, excessive regulations, forced unionism, and bloated public sector. For the second year in a row, a large group of America’s CEOs recently rated California as the worst state in the country to do business in an annual survey conducted by Chief Executive Magazine. California currently ranks No. 49 among U.S. states for “business tax climate” according to the Tax Foundation’s 2011 State Business Tax Climate Index, and it ranks No. 48 for “economic freedom” according to a recent study by the Mercatus Center.
It shouldn’t be any surprise then that companies are leaving the “Golden State” in record numbers this year (see chart below) for “golder pastures” and more business-friendly climates in other states. In just the last two years, the number of companies leaving California has accelerated more than five-fold, from one per week in 2009 to 5.4 per week this year, according to California relocation expert Joe Vranich.
And now because of new online sales taxes signed into law this week by Governor Jerry Brown, California’s business climate has become even chillier. According to the L.A. Times, “Amazon.com dropped about 10,000 California-based associate sales partners late Wednesday so that it would not be forced to collect California state sales tax on purchases made through them.” Many of Amazon’s sales partners in California are small business like book stores that rely heavily on online sales to stay in business, and might now be forced out of business, or out of state.
With another new tax in place on business activity, California will likely remain at the bottom of the state rankings for business and tax climate, and it’s a good bet that the rate of “disinvestment events” (companies leaving California) will accelerate ever more.
-
I just did
How? By saying its not a credible news source? Wow you got him there ::)
-
How? By saying its not a credible news source? Wow you got him there ::)
I'm still waiting for him to show me crime stats on air guns converted to machine guns. LMFAO.
-
California Prison Psychiatrist Paid $838,706
By Michael B. Marois - Jul 5, 2011 2:22 PM ET .
The chief psychiatrist for California’s overcrowded prison system was paid $838,706 in 2010, more than any other state employee that year, payroll figures released today show.
The doctor, whose name wasn’t released, had a salary range of $261,408 to $308,640, according to data released today by California Controller John Chiang. The total compensation was raised by bonuses or payout of unused vacation time, according to the controller’s office.
The figures show that the 10 highest-paid state employees each earned more than $500,000 in 2010, for a total of $6.2 million. All but three were doctors or dentists for the Corrections Department. Joe Dear, the chief investment officer at the California Public Employees Retirement System, ranked seventh with a gross pay of $548,142, the data show.
Terry Thornton, a spokeswoman for the prison system, didn’t immediately respond to a telephone request for comment.
To contact the reporter on this story: Michael B. Marois in Sacramento at mmarois@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Tannenbaum at mtannen@bloomberg.net
-
Bump for straw.
-
Bump for straw.
He'll blame California Republicans.
Sad to see what his ilk have done to the world's 8th largest economy.
-
He'll blame California Republicans.
Sad to see what his ilk have done to the world's 8th largest economy.
Not to mention the collection of crazies they send to the congress.
-
Not to mention the collection of crazies they send to the congress.
Are you talking about Nancy Pelosi, champion of the everyman, whose net wealth increased 62% to $35.2 MILLION last year? Hahahaha, yeah, California has their shit together. Talk about a grifter.
The crazies sent to congress are indicative of the type of person living in California. Doesn't really say a lot about the Straw Man's in that state. :-\
-
Waxman pelosi boxer Feinstein Sanchez to name a few.
-
Skip to comments.
Calif. Hospitals Spend $1.25 Bil On Illegal Immigrants
Judicial Watch ^ | July 5, 2011
Posted on July 5, 2011 3:37:26 PM EDT by jazusamo
While the Obama Administration halts deportations to work on its secret amnesty plan, hospitals across the U.S. are getting stuck with the exorbitant tab of medically treating illegal immigrants and some are finally demanding compensation from the federal government.
The group that represents most of the nation’s hospitals and medical providers recently urged President Obama to work with Congress to reimburse them for the monstrous cost of treating illegal immigrants. Federal law requires facilities to “treat and stabilize individuals” regardless of their immigration status, but federal support for the services remains “virtually nonexistent,” according to a letter submitted by the American Hospital Association to the president.
This week officials in California, the state with the largest concentration of illegal immigrants, joined the call for federal compensation after revealing that hospitals there spend about $1.25 billion annually to care for illegal aliens. The figure skyrocketed from $1.05 billion in 2007, according to California Hospital Association figures quoted in a local news report.
The problem will only get worst, according to officials, who say the $1.25 billion for 2010 could actually be higher. They complain that federal law forces them to treat patients in emergency rooms regardless of immigration status yet they get stuck with the financial burden. This has forced many hospitals to curtail services or close beds and could ultimately compromise healthcare.
Nationwide, U.S. taxpayers spend tens of billions of dollars annually to provide free medical care for illegal immigrants with states that border Mexico taking the biggest hit. Adding to the problem is the fact that Mexico, the country that provides the largest amount of illegal immigrants in the U.S., has long promoted America’s generous public health centers. It even operates a Spanish-language program (Ventanillas de Salud, Health Windows) in about a dozen U.S. cities that refers its nationals—living in the country illegally—to publicly funded health centers where they can get free medical care without being turned over to immigration authorities.
-
Skip to comments.
Calif. Hospitals Spend $1.25 Bil On Illegal Immigrants
Judicial Watch ^ | July 5, 2011
Posted on July 5, 2011 3:37:26 PM EDT by jazusamo
While the Obama Administration halts deportations to work on its secret amnesty plan, hospitals across the U.S. are getting stuck with the exorbitant tab of medically treating illegal immigrants and some are finally demanding compensation from the federal government.
The group that represents most of the nation’s hospitals and medical providers recently urged President Obama to work with Congress to reimburse them for the monstrous cost of treating illegal immigrants. Federal law requires facilities to “treat and stabilize individuals” regardless of their immigration status, but federal support for the services remains “virtually nonexistent,” according to a letter submitted by the American Hospital Association to the president.
This week officials in California, the state with the largest concentration of illegal immigrants, joined the call for federal compensation after revealing that hospitals there spend about $1.25 billion annually to care for illegal aliens. The figure skyrocketed from $1.05 billion in 2007, according to California Hospital Association figures quoted in a local news report.
The problem will only get worst, according to officials, who say the $1.25 billion for 2010 could actually be higher. They complain that federal law forces them to treat patients in emergency rooms regardless of immigration status yet they get stuck with the financial burden. This has forced many hospitals to curtail services or close beds and could ultimately compromise healthcare.
Nationwide, U.S. taxpayers spend tens of billions of dollars annually to provide free medical care for illegal immigrants with states that border Mexico taking the biggest hit. Adding to the problem is the fact that Mexico, the country that provides the largest amount of illegal immigrants in the U.S., has long promoted America’s generous public health centers. It even operates a Spanish-language program (Ventanillas de Salud, Health Windows) in about a dozen U.S. cities that refers its nationals—living in the country illegally—to publicly funded health centers where they can get free medical care without being turned over to immigration authorities.
this is interesting
any more info on these cities ?
-
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
Sacramento -- As California's elected leaders took drastic steps to cut spending last year, the state was paying hundreds of its workers six-figure earnings that far exceeded base salaries, according to newly released compensation data for public employees.
The data, compiled by state Controller John Chiang, show that more than 500 state employees made more than $240,000 before taxes in 2010. The controller listed last year's pay for all 256,222 state workers on his website, but did not include their names.
At least nine state workers made more than $500,000 last year - most of them prison doctors and other medical staff. The top 10 earners, combined, collected more than $5.8 million in 2010.
When Chiang's office first released the data Tuesday morning, they reported the top earner as a prison system psychiatrist who made $838,706 last year. But later in the day, Jacob Roper, a spokesman for the controller, said that figure was erroneous. State officials are reviewing the payroll data and will update it as soon as possible, he said. Without that psychiatrist, Chiang's database cites the top earner as a prison surgeon who made $777,423 before taxes.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/0...
-
latimes.com/news/local/la-me-state-pay-20110706,0,6607504.story
latimes.com
California pays more than 1,400 workers in excess of $200,000
Many are prison doctors, dentists or nurses. Total compensation can be pushed higher by payouts for unused vacation and sick time. Last year, a prison doctor collected $777,423 and a dentist got $599,403.
By Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times
July 6, 2011
advertisement
Reporting from Sacramento -- More than 1,400 state employees were paid in excess of $200,000 last year, according to compensation data made public for the first time Tuesday on Controller John Chiang's website.
Of those, 790 were prison doctors, dentists or nurses. More than 300 others were psychiatrists and other medical professionals working for the Department of Mental Health.
One prison doctor collected $777,423 in 2010 and a dentist took home $599,403, according to the website. The president of the state's stem cell research agency received $482,234.
The database lists state positions by title and allows users to sort by department, salary range and total wages.
Chiang, a Democrat who has received millions in campaign contributions from state employee unions, did not include workers' names even though that information is public and has been provided upon request for years.
In October, in response to the salary scandals in Bell, Chiang collected and published payroll information from California counties and cities. His staff left names out then because "it wasn't our data, [and] couldn't be verified or scrubbed for confidential information," said Jacob Roper, a spokesman for the controller.
Chiang followed the same template in posting the state payroll. Roper denied that the identities of employees were left out to avoid upsetting the politically powerful employee unions.
The omission frustrated open-government advocates who say taxpayers have a right to see exactly where their money is going.
"The name, the position and the amount of money being paid to public employees should not be concealed," said Robert Fellmeth, executive director of the Center for Public Interest Law at the University of San Diego.
Total compensation for many of the best-paid state jobs on Chiang's list was pushed higher — in some cases more than doubled — by six-figure payouts for unused vacation and sick time.
A May analysis by The Times of Chiang's database — a version obtained by request, which contained employee names and greater detail on payouts — showed a prison psychiatrist, Fong Lai, received $594,976 for more than 2 1/2 years worth of unused sick time. A prison dentist, Robert Stogsdill, got a $553,253 payout.
Managers of state agencies are supposed cap at 80 days the amount of unused vacation time their employees can save but routinely ignore the limit, The Times found.
In all, 309 state employees got lump payments in excess of $100,000 in 2010, the data show.
For years, prison doctors, dentists and nurses were unable to use their vacation time because high numbers of vacancies in those jobs meant there was nobody to treat inmates if the employees took time off, said Nancy Kincaid, spokeswoman for the receiver put in charge of prison healthcare by federal court order.
But regular pay can also be very high for prison healthcare professionals. Sixty-five hold jobs with salary ranges that exceed $300,000, according to Chiang's website, which does not specify employees' base salaries.
It was impossible "to fill vacancies at many prisons until they raised these salaries," Kincaid said. "These are not easy places to work; the salaries had to be competitive."
Four state jobs come with salary ranges that reach above $500,000, according to Chiang's website.
The chief investment officer for the state pension system can make up to $612,000. The president of the workers' compensation insurance fund can make $585,360.
By contrast, Gov. Jerry Brown is paid $173,900 per year.
jack.dolan@latimes.com
Copyright © 2011, Los Angeles Times
-
California companies fleeing the Golden State
CNN Money ^ | 07/12/2011 | Tami Luhby
________________________ ________________________ ______________
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Buffeted by high taxes, strict regulations and uncertain state budgets, a growing number of California companies are seeking friendlier business environments outside of the Golden State.
And governors around the country, smelling blood in the water, have stepped up their courtship of California companies. Officials in states like Florida, Texas, Arizona and Utah are telling California firms how business-friendly they are in comparison.
Companies are "disinvesting" in California at a rate five times greater than just two years ago, said Joseph Vranich, a business relocation expert based in Irvine. This includes leaving altogether, establishing divisions elsewhere or opting not to set up shop in California.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
________________________ _____________
Straw Man, Mal, and the other leftists - PROSPERITY IS ONE TAX HIKE AND REGULATION AWAY!
-
51st State: California, Rest in Peace?
By Joe Deaux 07/12/11 - 05:50 PM EDT
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- What would the Red Hot Chili Peppers call it? Caliconfiguration?
California county board of supervisors have passed a proposal that would separate the state into two regions -- North California and South California -- which would make them the 50th and 51st states and alter the Golden State's economy.
It's a map that looks more like gerrymandering than geography. The proposed division would put the state's two most economically powerful cities -- San Francisco and Los Angeles -- in the same state.
Jeff Stone, a Republican Riverside County supervisor in California's inland Third District, said he wanted to secede from the state and its "liberal' policies with the creation of "South California."
"This has struck a chord with a lot of people in the state who have suffered economically,'' Stone told the Los Angeles Times. "We know it's going to be a challenge to form a second state, but it's not impossible."
South California is geographically misleading, because according to Stone's plan it would consist of 13 counties that would create a virtual diagonal line from Los Angeles to Mono Country -- about 90 miles south of Lake Tahoe.
Stone's chief of staff, Verne Lauritzen, told TheStreet that the proposal passed 4-0, but the board stipulated that the supervisor could not use any county resources to promote the measure. Lauritzen said that they expected to start a grass-roots campaign to push the proposal to the state Legislature and Congress.
In the hypothetical event of partition, "North" California would include San Jose, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
"There are many factions who believe that the dysfunction and size of California has made it extremely difficult to manage," said Matthew Mahood, president of the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce. Mahood, however, said there would be major concerns about water if there were a partition.
Southern California gets most of its water via aqueducts that are connected to sources in Northern California. Mahood said that the south needs its water, and a split into two states would worsen the problem.
San Diego, Orange County and Riverside County would be part of Stone's proposed state of South California.
"It's more about how [a secession] would affect the taxes," said Heidi Larkin-Reed, president of the Orange County Chamber of Commerce. Businesses would continue to function, but a split would have consequences on property taxes.
Larkin-Reed said that she was on a board years ago in a failed attempt to split San Marino, Calif., into two counties: "Forming a new county is almost impossible," and she added that to form a new state would be even more difficult.
Ross Starr, a professor of economics at University of California-San Diego, told TheStreet that the usual rationale for division is not economic but political.
"Not really much [economic] implication, though it depends where you draw the line, and who gets all the poor people," Starr said in an email. "The usual suggestion is draw an East-West state line somewhere north of the Tehachapis. That leaves both states with ample ports, vigorous industries, major universities."
But Stone's proposal doesn't seem to consider the usual suggestion.
This may have less to do with creating a Republican California and a Democratic California and more to do with redistricting.
"This is not new, by the way," Christopher Thornberg, founding partner of Beacon Economics, told TheStreet. He said counties in Northern California -- north of San Francisco -- have called for secession before.
But would the new South California be disadvantaged without the cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles?
"Are you kidding me? [South California] has Orange County and San Diego," Thornberg said. "It's not that relevant." He added that due to interstate commerce rules outlined by the U.S. Constitution, the difference would be completely unnoticeable.
http://www.thestreet.com/story/11181697/1/51st-state-california-rest-in-peace.html?cm_ven=RSSFeed
-
Funny how leftists who collapsed California think they know how to fix what is wrong with the nation.
-
California Runs Out Of Money Again, Comes Begging To Wall Street As Moody's Threatens To Go Nuclear
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/california-runs-out-mo...
First New Jersey, now California. The cash-strapped state, which begged for, and got, a "bridge" loan from JP Morgan as recently as October 2010 (the same bank that recently bailed out Chris Christie), is asking for another bridge to the old bridge loan, ergo a "bridge bridge" loan. The excuse: the potential upcoming government shutdown, which would lock California out of the muni market.
Surely the fact that it already has little to no cash left was not a part of the equation. BusinessWeek reports: "California is considering seeking a bridge loan from Wall Street ahead of an Aug. 2 deadline for raising the federal debt ceiling, in case talks fail and send the bond market into turmoil, Treasurer Bill Lockyer said. Proceeds from the loan would be used to help pay the state’s bills until Lockyer can sell an estimated $5 billion of so-called revenue-anticipation notes, or RANs, scheduled for late August.
Without those notes, the state could run out of cash as it did in 2009, when it issued $2.6 billion of IOUs." Of course if the US is downgraded, Meredith Whitney's prediction will come true with a bang: as part of its warning yesterday, Moody's also threatened to downgrade 7000 municipal ratings http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-07-14/moody-s-wil... which would halt RAN, and any other, issuance for an indefinite period of time. And while this is merely more M.A.D. posturing to help the debt ceiling dispute come to a speedy resolution, the fact that California is now forced to issue new bridge loans to "bridge" old ones is oddly troubling.
snip
more
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-07-14/california-...
“We are hoping to get our borrowing done before Aug. 2,” Lockyer told reporters following a speech yesterday in Sacramento.
A failure to raise the nation’s $14.3 trillion debt limit would lead to a “major crisis” and throw “shock waves” through the financial system, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said yesterday at a House Financial Services Committee hearing.
Moody’s Investors Service put the U.S. under review yesterday for a credit rating downgrade, adding to concern that political gridlock will lead to a default. The company warned it may lower 7,000 ratings on $130 billion in municipal debt backed by U.S. Treasury or other federal securities or repaid with federal money such as Medicaid grants and economic-stimulus aid if the U.S. loses its top rating.
Lockyer said he’s concerned about the possibility of federal delays in Medicare subsidies and other payments to California and about long-term reductions in U.S. aid to states. A default, he said, could prompt the federal government to prioritize payments to states that would affect California’s cash flow.
“The ripple effect on state and local finances is very substantial,” he said. “Depending on how long the delay was, you might have a cash-flow hit. Of course, the budget negotiations might result in reduced payments to the states. There’s two kinds of worry.”
snip
________________________ ________________
God forbid they let 200k a year lifeguards go without.
-
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2011/07/15/MNL61KAHVQ.DTL
Sacramento --
Public schools in California will be required to teach students about the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans starting Jan. 1 after Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday signed a controversial bill to add the topic to the social sciences curriculum.
Textbooks now must include information on the role of LGBT Americans, as well as Americans with disabilities, though California's budget crisis has delayed the purchasing of new books until at least 2015.
"History should be honest," Brown, a Democrat, said in a statement. "This bill revises existing laws that prohibit discrimination in education and ensures that the important contributions of Americans from all backgrounds and walks of life are included in our history books."
The governor called the legislation, SB48, introduced by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, "historic."
The law - the first of its kind in the nation - adds the two groups to an existing list of minority and other groups that are required to be part of the social sciences curriculum.
Safer schools
Gay rights supporters heralded Brown's action as a major victory. They said the law will help make public schools a safer place for LGBT students as well as give those students, and their classmates, examples of accomplished and important LGBT people.
Throughout the debate on the measure, backers noted the recent spate of suicides among young LGBT people and said it would help to combat bullying that typically occurs beforehand.
Opponents, however, fiercely opposed the measure, citing religious objections to homosexuality and questioning whether such instruction is necessary. They expressed dismay with Brown's signing of the bill.
"If children in other countries are learning math and science, and American children are learning about the private lives of historical figures, how will our students compete for jobs in the global economy?" said Sen. Sharon Runner, R-Lancaster (Los Angeles County), the vice chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Education.
Beyond California
The provision on inclusion in textbooks could reach beyond California, too, as many book publishers tailor their texts to California's standards because of the state's large population. The bill does not prescribe how schools will teach the subject, and Leno said that decision will be made by local school officials and teachers.
"What the bill calls for is for the contributions of LGBT people to be included," Leno said, adding, "We wrote it broadly for a reason. We would be subject to more criticism than we've already been getting if we were more dictatorial."
Leno said the mandates apply broadly, though, telling reporters it would affect kindergarten through high school curriculum, "and, of course, in an age-appropriate way."
Gay rights advocates said they will be vigilant about making sure schools across California comply.
Carolyn Laub, the founder and executive director of the Gay-Straight Alliance Network, which works to establish gay-straight clubs in schools, said such clubs exist in 55 percent of California's high schools.
"We'll certainly be letting all of our constituents know about this bill, and when it goes into effect I can assure you there will be thousands of students" watching to see how it is implemented, she said.
Proponents have cited slain San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk as a person with historical significance, along with events such as the Stonewall Riots in New York City that helped launch the LGBT rights movement as examples of topics that could be taught.
Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, a Democrat, praised Brown's move, saying, "Our history is more complete when we recognize the contributions of people from all backgrounds and walks of life."
Cutting into class time
Still, opponents questioned the effect the bill would have and the need for explicit instruction for all students about a relatively small group.
The bill "does absolutely nothing to reduce bullying, improve the poor state of our education system, ensure students graduate or prepare them for global competitiveness," said Paulo Sibaja, legislative director of the Capitol Resource Institute, a socially conservative organization in Sacramento. "Instead it diverts precious classroom time away from science, math, reading and writing, and focuses on the agenda of a small group of people."
-
SF To Shutter Courtrooms; Lay Off 200 Workers
KTVU ^ | 07/18/11 | Staff
The San Francisco Superior Court is laying off more than 40 percent of its staff and shuttering 25 courtrooms because of budget cuts.
Presiding Judge Katherine Feinstein said Monday that the cuts mean it will take many more hours to pay a traffic ticket in person, up to 18 months to finalize a divorce and five years for a lawsuit to go to trial. The cuts go into effect on Sept. 30 and are needed to close a $13.75 million deficit.
Some 200 of the court's 480 workers will be let go, including 11 of 12 commissioners who preside over a variety of cases.
Feinstein said the deficit was caused by the $350 million budget cut that Sacramento lawmakers made to the courts to approve the state's annual budget.
-
Electric Car Maker Folds, Salinas (CA) Loses $500,000
KSBW Channel 8 ^ | July 18, 2011 | Amy Larson
A Salinas car manufacturing company that was expected to build environmentally friendly electric cars and create new jobs folded before almost any cars could run off the assembly line.
The city of Salinas had invested more than half a million dollars in Green Vehicles, an electric car start-up company.
All of that money is now gone, according to Green Vehicles President and Co-Founder Mike Ryan.
The start-up company set up shop in Salinas in the summer of 2009 after the city gave Ryan a $300,000 community development grant.
When the company still ran into financial trouble last year, the city of Salinas handed to Ryan an additional $240,000 in investment money.
Salinas Mayor Dennis Donohue said he was "surprised and disappointed" by the news. City officials were equally irked that Ryan notified them through an email that his company had crashed and burned.
Salinas Redevelopment Director Jeff Weir said Green Vehicles folded because of a "lack of investors," and a $2.7 million grant from California Energy Commission that never materialized.
Donohue said he will work with the state to try to get at least $240,000 back from the now-defunct company.
Mike Ryan YouTube Green Vehicles President and Co-Founder Mike Ryan
Last year, Salinas city officials said they were excited about Green Vehicles moving from San Jose to Salinas because they wanted to turn Salinas into a hub for alternative energy production.
City leaders wooed Green Vehicles to jump-start the sputtering local company and turn Salinas into an "electric valley." Donohue and Weir both voiced their high hopes for Green Vehicles.
The start-up company promised city leaders that it would create 70 new jobs and pay $700,000 in taxes a year to Salinas.
Green Vehicles was supposed to be up and running by March 2010 inside their 80,000 square-foot space at Firestone Business Park off of Abbot Street.
Ryan had lofty goals, listing his company's mission as: "To make the best clean commuter vehicles in the world; To manufacture with a radical sense of responsibility; To engage in deep transparency as an inspiration for new ways of doing business."
Green Vehicles designed two vehicles, the TRIAC 2.0 and the MOOSE, which it planned to manufacture.
On July 12, Ryan wrote a blog post announcing that his company was closing.
"The truth is that not realizing the vision for this company is a huge disappointment," Ryan wrote.
Ryan outlined three mistakes he made while steering his company into a brick wall. All three reasons boiled down failing to generate enough capital.
-
Court says cities can ban layoffs by new owners
San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 7/19/11 | Bob Egelko
California cities can protect workers from being fired immediately when their company changes owners, the state Supreme Court ruled Monday.The 6-1 decision reinstated a Los Angeles ordinance, struck down by lower courts, that required supermarkets to keep their workforce for 90 days after a new owner takes over. Similar laws covering different industries are in effect in other cities - including Oakland, San Jose, Berkeley and Emeryville - and the state also has a law protecting janitors who work for building contractors. "When you're keeping a business open and all you're doing is changing the name
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
-
California Law - Hotels Must Use 'Fitted Sheets'? Costs $15 Million...
cbs47 ^ | 8-4-11 | cakid1
Posted on August 4, 2011 6:09:36 PM EDT by cakid1
Its not a done deal yet, but lawmakers in Sacramento want a new law that would force all California hotels to start using 'fitted sheets.'
The law, is designed to cut back on hotel health problems for maids.
Supporters of the law - claim many of the injuries are preventable - if hotels started using fitted sheets and made other changes in the work load for hotel maids.
The California State Senate has passed a bill proposed by Sen. Kevin de Leόn (D-Los Angeles) that would help prevent or reduce housekeeper injuries.
"A representative of the hotel industry, led by the California Hotel and Lodging Assn., told a Senate Committee that if SB 432 passes, California hotels will have to spend an additional $15 million or more to buy fitted sheets to replace the sheets for 550,000 beds at $25 per sheet. "
-
?
How does not having a fitted sheet make it dangerous?
-
?
How does not having a fitted sheet make it dangerous?
Don't know, but it's an added cost to business.
-
Don't know, but it's an added cost to business.
That's if it passes. But would I say most hotels like Hilton, Marriot, double tree etc. Already. Use fitted sheets. But, hotels like Red Roof, Super 8 etc. Dont.
Either way. Fucking stupid proposal.
-
That's if it passes. But would I say most hotels like Hilton, Marriot, double tree etc. Already. Use fitted sheets. But, hotels like Red Roof, Super 8 etc. Dont.
Either way. Fucking stupid proposal.
I guess when you want to bang a chic at days inn it might cost a bit more now. ;D
-
I guess when you want to bang a chic at days inn it might cost a bit more now. ;D
If she's the kind of chic you would bring to the Days Inn you Might as well just go to Motel 6. ;D
-
http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2012/01/controller-state-to-run-out-of-cash-in-march-without-action.html
Good - cant wait till that mess implodes.
-
Good news for Californians: State to run out of cash by March
American Thinker ^ | 02/01/2012 | Rick Moran
It's good news in the sense that a state going broke is one way to stop the spending. A better way, of course, is to cut the budget.
Alas, Governor Moonbeam doesn't appear to have it in him:
California will run out of cash by early March if the state does not take swift action to find $3.3 billion through payment delays and borrowing, according to a letter state Controller John Chiang sent to state lawmakers today.
The announcement is surprising since lawmakers previously believed the state had enough cash to last through the fiscal year that ends in June.
But Chiang said additional cash management solutions are needed because state tax revenues are $2.6 billion less than what Gov. Jerry Brown and state lawmakers assumed in their optimistic budget last year. Meanwhile, Chiang said, the state is spending $2.6 billion more than state leaders planned on.
The Assembly budget committee approved a bill today that would enable $865 million of borrowing from existing state accounts, Senate Bill 95. Chiang, after consultation with the Department of Finance and state Treasurer Bill Lockyer, is also seeking about $2.4 billion in delayed payments to universities, counties and Medi-Cal, as well as additional borrowing from outside investors.
Absent these actions, the state would fall below its prudent $2.5 billion cash cushion on Feb. 29, Chiang estimated. On March 8, the state would actually end up $730 million in the red. The state would be below the safe cash cushion for several weeks ending April 13, save for several days at the end of March.
With such actions, Chiang believes the state would not have to use IOUs or delay tax refunds, maneuvers that have been relied upon in previous years.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
Missing Californians (The Number of Top-Income Californians Have Declined by a Third)
American Thinker ^ | 02/15/2012 | Russ Vaugh
The Sacramento Bee website is reporting that the number of top-income taxpayers in California has declined by a third. In an article in its Capitol Alert section, the Bee says that those Californians with $500,000 and up taxable incomes have declined from almost 150,000 in 2007 to slightly under 100,000 in 2009. The article also notes that the 100,000, representing just over a half percent of the 14.6 million returns, accounted for 18.8 percent of total income reported, but paid 32 percent of all income taxes in 2009.
If Governor Jerry Brown wonders where a whole bunch of those making up that sizable segment of his top taxpayers disappeared to, he might want to call their new governor, Rick Perry, who may have lost in the primary, but who's the surefire winner in the contest to snag rich Californians fleeing the tax tyranny and liberal insanity of the guy glittering Golden State.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
-
California households owe an average $30,500 for public employee pension debt
Contra Costa Times ^ | 2/26/12 | Daniel Borenstein - Staff columnist
The average California household's share of the debt for underfunded state and local government employee pensions comes to about $30,500.
Stanford University studies released last week and in December for the first time aggregate public pension shortfalls statewide. Using moderate assumptions about future investment returns, the unfunded liability is about $379 billion.
Hard-core pension reformers will maintain that the number is much more. Defenders of the status quo will insist it's significantly less. Before sorting out that dispute, let's understand what the numbers mean.
Each year public employees work, they increase their future pensions. So, as they work, they and their employers jointly should set aside enough money to cover the additional benefits.
To calculate the contributions, actuaries and pension boards make assumptions about future investment returns and pension costs. Unfortunately, they've been wrong.
They have overestimated investment earnings, underestimated pension costs and retroactively added benefits without proper funding. As a result, pension systems across California have huge unfunded liabilities.
Keep in mind that the shortfall is for pension benefits employees already earned. Like salary and health care benefits, it's a cost that should be paid when labor is performed.
Instead, the shortfall has been converted into debt to be paid off over time, up to 30 years. Government agencies make those payments, diverting money that would otherwise go for government services. So we're depriving current and future generations to pay off past labor costs.
How much is the debt? It depends on how much pension systems project they can earn on investments. The greater the assumed rate of return, the less money pension systems need now and, hence, the smaller the shortfall. The converse is also true.
Most California public pension systems anticipate they can earn about 7.75 percent annually. Every year they fall short of that target ...
(Excerpt) Read more at contracostatimes.com ...
-
San Jose faces $3.5 billion debt for employee retirement programs
Contra Costa Times ^ | 3/3/12 | Daniel Borenstein - Staff columnist
Posted on March 4, 2012 4:37:34 PM EST by SmithL
Recent San Jose actuarial reports show $3.5 billion of city debt for underfunded pension and retiree health benefits -- a shortfall that works out to about $11,000 for every household in the city.
Yet, as Mayor Chuck Reed proposes substantive pension reform, workers and a local television reporter are hyperventilating about irrelevant numbers that distract from the ballooning problem.
If not for major layoffs and salary cuts last year, the shortfall would be much worse. It would also be much larger if the city used more realistic investment earnings assumptions rather than relying on overly optimistic forecasts.
Nevertheless, the calculations show the city's retirement programs combined have only 56 percent of the funds they should. Put another way, the unfunded liability equals about eight years of city payroll.
To understand what's going on here, keep in mind that employees earn additional future retirement benefits for each year that they work along with their salaries. So the city and its workers should invest enough money annually to cover the future costs of those newly earned benefits.
The city has three problems: First, the amount that should be set aside for those newly earned benefits has increased.
Second, even that greater amount isn't enough because the payment calculation relies on those optimistic investment assumptions.
Third, past reliance on unrealistic assumptions, retroactive benefit increases and actuarial changes have caught up with the city, leaving it with huge unfunded liabilities for pensions. As for retiree health benefits, only small amounts have been set aside for future benefits.
The resulting debts are treated like mortgages, with annual payments spread over as much as 30 years, thereby passing costs to the next generation.
The city must pay off the entire pension shortfall; workers have no obligation. For retiree health, workers make a small contribution...
(Excerpt) Read more at contracostatimes.com ...
-
Free Republic
Browse · Search Pings · Mail News/Activism
Topics · Post Article
Skip to comments.
As Stockton struggles, so does California
Sacramento Bee ^ | 3/4/12 | Dan Walters
Posted on March 4, 2012 4:31:38 PM EST by SmithL
So Stockton has suspended payments to its bondholders and is seeking to renegotiate its debts in hopes of averting a formal bankruptcy.
Sound familiar? It's what Greece, which also is head-over-heels in debt, is doing.
The parallels are uncanny. Stockton and Greece spent heavily to keep money flowing to those with political pull, and borrowed heavily, all in the name of societal improvement.
Stockton wanted to improve its poor municipal image – crime-ridden and corrupt. So it borrowed to build a new sports arena, a baseball park, a hotel and a marina – the latter so over the top that boaters visit just to gawk at its grandiosity – while giving extravagant benefits to its employees.
In doing so, it acquired a new nationwide image – one of profligacy.
Stockton assumed that a surge of revenues from the housing boom would go on forever – not unlike Vallejo, which did file for bankruptcy protection. When the housing bubble burst, it could not cover its debts and all the promises of wages and fringe benefits that it had promised to its politically powerful unions.
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
-
California slipping toward bankruptcy, again
byConn Carroll Senior Editorial Writer
posted12 hours ago at6:26pmwith21 Comments
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, at center. Also seen from left: Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
California is going broke. Again. The state controller has estimated that the state will run out of money sometime this month. California will need to find $3 billion in cuts or revenues to keep the state in the black through the rest of this fiscal year.
And next year looks even worse. California's Legislative Analyst Office projects that, even with billions in one-time revenues from Facebook's impending IPO, Gov. Jerry Brown's budget will run a $6.5 billion deficit.
Democrats in state government are desperate for cash. And they are beginning to cannibalize their local government brethren for revenues to make up the difference. The state's more than 400 redevelopment agencies have become one of the first targets.
Created in the 1940s, RDAs empower a city or county to identify almost any parcel of land as a "redevelopment area." When that is done, state property tax revenues from that area are frozen and any subsequent increase in property tax revenue beyond the frozen level goes directly to the RDAs.
RDAs are also empowered to borrow money without any voter approval. They can then buy property with that borrowed money and pay it off with the expected revenue stream from their take of the property taxes. All told, RDAs skim $5 billion from Sacramento every year.
Intended for "economic development," RDAs quickly became the bread-and-butter of almost every pay-to-play construction project in the state. Developers would give money to local politicians, and those politicians would use the RDAs, and their powers of eminent domain, to obtain land for their campaign contributors on the cheap.
Developers then made millions building upscale shopping malls like Victoria Gardens in Rancho Cucamonga. Everybody won ... except the free market and taxpayers.
In 2010, then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger tried to close his multi-billion dollar budget gap by raiding the RDA. Developers didn't like that. They fought back with Proposition 22, which passed in November 2010. The measure forbids the state from siphoning off RDA money.
Fast forward to 2011, when Brown hatched a new plan to get that $5 billion. Being a Democrat, he had no philosophical problem with governments picking winners and losers through crony capitalism. But he did want, to steal a phrase from the Godfather, to wet his beak a little.
So Brown passed two laws. The first outlawed the RDAs entirely. That was the stick. The second allowed the RDAs to exist, but only if they gave a certain percentage of revenues to the state every year. That was the carrot.
Some RDAs were happy to play Brown's extortion game. But others took him to court ... and they blew up the system for everybody. The State Supreme Court threw out the second law, ruling that it conflicted with Proposition 22.
But the justices kept the first law banning the agencies. As of February 1st, all 400 plus RDAs suddenly became extinct
But while Brown now gets his RDA cash (which still isn't enough to close next year's budget gap), California local and city governments are stuck holding the bag for all their liabilities.
Cumulatively, RDAs own about $2 billion in assets statewide. Problem is, they also owe around $4 billion in debt. Local governments across the state are scrambling to figure out how to pay off this new burden.
Already crushed under the weight of unionized government employee pensions they can't afford, Brown's RDA money grab is driving many localities to the brink of bankruptcy.
The city of Stockton began the bankruptcy process last week. The cities of Hercules and Lincoln are not far behind.
So have California Democrats learned that government-funded crony capitalist development isn't good for their constituents' bottom line? Not at all. State Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, is looking to "recreate a new set of economic development tools for cities."
That will end well, too, I'm sure.
Conn Carroll is a senior editorial writer for The Washington Examiner. He can be reached at ccarroll@washingtonexaminer.com.
-
Yet, they continue to vote Democrat.
HEHEHEHEHEH!! Piglosi dares to claim that she knows what is best for the USA.
-
We are always slipping towards bank Bankruptcy here, our doom is always imminent. blah blah blah
I don't care. Beautiful day here.
-
Print page It’s taxpayers who need a ‘Bill of Rights’
By U-T San Diego Editorial Staff
Monday, March 5, 2012
If it used to be possible to look at California politics with only a modicum of cynicism, the reaction of local and state governments to the revenue crisis produced by our struggling economy now makes this impossible. That’s because an argument can be made that elected officials have spent more time trying to figure out ways to help public employees weather the revenue crisis than to helping the private sector rebound and create jobs and badly needed tax revenue.
The latest example is the Public Employees’ Bill of Rights, introduced by Assemblyman Roger Dickinson, D-Sacramento. It would put up major obstacles to any privatization of state government programs and make it much more difficult to discipline incompetent or insubordinate state employees. When AB 1655 first was introduced a month ago, it was met with such universal hostility from the pundit class that it seemed destined to die a deserved death. At a time when millions of California families are struggling, giving more protections to a category of government workers who are already under fire for their generous pension benefits couldn’t seem more tone-deaf.
But such an assumption presumes members of the Legislature’s Democratic majority share the same values and sense of propriety as the rest of us. They do not. The word from Sacramento is that Dickinson expects quick approval of AB 1655 from the Assembly Committee on Public Employees, Retirement and Social Security, and that a measure that seemed more like a satirical comment on the Legislature’s priorities than serious legislation is alive and well.
This comes on top of many other developments that should leave California taxpayers feeling like they are the ones who need a bill of rights. Attorney General Kamala Harris killed ambitious pension-reform measures with ballot descriptions that could have been written by public employee unions. The state Public Employment Relations Board has taken extraordinary, unprecedented steps that make plain its intention to kill San Diego’s ambitious pension-reform ballot measure if it is approved in June. In Stockton, desperate city leaders contemplating filing for bankruptcy must first overcome a new state law that essentially requires them to get permission from the state Debt and Investment Advisory Commission, a little-known board whose members consist almost entirely of politicians whose futures depend on union support. (One of the two exceptions, obscurely enough, is Jay Goldstone, the city of San Diego’s chief operating officer.)
No wonder Dickinson is confident AB 1655 will get through. In his milieu, it not only isn’t extreme; it’s what is expected.
We hear from many hardworking public employees who feel they’ve been unfairly targeted for decisions they didn’t make. But while they have our sympathies, we hope they acknowledge what’s behind their mixed image: the vast extent of union power in Sacramento – and the appalling ways that power is used to maul taxpayers.
Print page © Copyright 2012 The San Diego Union-Tribune, LLC. An MLIM LLC Company. All rights reserved.
-
Things are so bad here.
I will be going on a hike tomorrow, eating some good food for dinner. I will get there driving on roads in my truck through wine country. It will be during the week, so every one will be at school or work. It should be sunny and in the low 70's.
JUST LIKE ANY OTHER DAY HERE.
boy this place sucks as a failed liberal state.
wah wah wah wah wah
;D
-
California Cities Scramble to Avert Insolvency
CREDIT, MARKET, CALIFORNIA, BOND PAYMENTS, MUNICIPAL DEBT
Reuters | 19 Mar 2012 | 11:21 AM ET
When the city of Stockton, Calif., announced last month it would skip some bond payments and enter talks with its creditors, the municipal debt world shuddered.
If Stockton were to file for bankruptcy protection, it would be the largest U.S. city ever to do so. Other troubled Californian municipalities might be tempted to follow suit. Predictions of mass defaults on municipal bonds might start to look a little more realistic.
But a close look at the municipal finance situation across California suggests mass bankruptcies are unlikely.
Most troubled local governments in the state have taken drastic steps to cut spending, with city managers asserting they have their arms around the problems. A new, state-mandated mediation process may also help municipalities avoid the worst — though it could force bondholders to accept losses outside the bankruptcy process.
The new law, passed after the San Francisco Bay area city of Vallejo filed for bankruptcy in 2008, requires Stockton to try to corral its major bondholders, bond insurers, city employees and retirees into mediation for up to 90 days.
"City negotiators will surely hold the bankruptcy gun to stakeholders' heads, including employees and their unions and bondholders represented by the insurers," wrote Alan Schankel, an analyst with Janney Capital Markets, in a recent note.
The city's credit ratings have been slashed. Moody's Investors Service lowered Stockton's general fund-supported debt ratings to below investment grade, a move affecting about $341 million in debt, while Standard & Poor's has taken Stockton's issuer credit rating down to one notch above 'D,' the bottom speculative-grade level.
As in other troubled cities around the state, the depth of Stockton's problems is a mirror image of the heights the city of 292,000 appeared to reach during the housing boom. An inland port and agricultural hub for Central Valley farms, Stockton was abruptly — and briefly — transformed into a distant bedroom community for the Bay area in those prosperous times.
According to online foreclosure marketplace RealtyTrac, Stockton last year had the second-highest foreclosure rate of all large U.S. metro areas, with 5.43 percent of its housing units receiving foreclosure filings. Las Vegas had the highest rate: 7.38 percent, compared with a nationwide 1.45 percent.
Stockton's financial problems were worsened by two decades of profligate spending on items including rich public employee contracts, a downtown sports arena and other urban revitalization projects, according to its city manager, Bob Deis.
The city faces a deficit of as much as $38 million on its general fund budget of $165 million.
In Stockton, as in Vallejo and other cities, the root of the problem is a dramatic fall in revenues. Developer fees have largely vanished with the near-halt of home building, and property taxes have followed housing values south. In Stockton, general fund revenue fell to an estimated $161.8 million for its current fiscal year, from $217.5 million in 2007-2008.
With unemployment at 10.9 percent across California — and above 16 percent in hard-hit places such as Stockton and Fresno — raising revenue with new taxes and fees is difficult. State law also puts firm limits on property tax increases and makes any type of tax rise difficult.
Still, many local officials say bankruptcy and default concerns are exaggerated.
Hercules, a town about 10 miles (16 km) south of Vallejo, recently defaulted on a debt payment amid a lawsuit with its bond insurer, prompting Standard & Poor's last month to drop its ratings on some city debt by five notches to a speculative grade 'BB.'
Since then, though, Hercules and Ambac Assurance, a subsidiary of Ambac Financial Group , have reached a settlement; together with union concessions, that will keep the city from having to consider pre-bankruptcy mediation.
"For the most part, the unions have been willing to come to the table," said Steve Duran, city manager of Hercules.
The only other California municipality currently seeking pre-bankruptcy talks is Mammoth Lakes. But the issue in the 7,400-person ski resort town is not the economy but rather a $42 million legal judgment against it over a property development dispute. Assistant City Manager Marianna Marysheva-Martinez said the town would not default on its roughly $2 million in debt.
A more typical case might be the town of Lincoln, a bedroom community outside Sacramento that has also suffered severely from the housing bust.
Over the course of a decade, Lincoln was transformed from a sleepy rural community of 8,000 into a bustling suburb of 42,000 and city services were expanded accordingly, including a full-time fire department put in place in 2001.
Beyond Bare Bones
When the housing market went bust, Lincoln's revenue shrank. City leaders responded by tapping reserves and slashing spending on public safety, which accounts for most of the budget. The city reduced the number of its police officers to 20 from 40 and closed two of three fire houses. Increased contributions by city employees to their retirement accounts also helped.
Bankruptcy isn't an option, said Mayor Spencer Short, adding that more cuts are coming: "I'm looking at the possibility of introducing a budget that's beyond bare bones."
Antioch, a city of 100,000 on the eastern fringe of the San Francisco Bay area, is another municipality clobbered by the housing slump. Unlike in Vallejo and Stockton, though, relations between Antioch's city leaders and labor units were not contentious, allowing quick action to cut costs when the scale of its financial troubles became clear, City Manager Jim Jakel said.
Jakel ticked off Antioch's moves to keep its books balanced: a hiring freeze; furloughs; employees waiving pay increases; and a city workforce reduced to 245 from 401 through attrition and layoffs.
Costa Mesa, a city of 110,000 south of Los Angeles, has slashed its payroll from 611 to 450. It is selling its police helicopters and has hired a neighboring city for air patrols. It's also pursuing a controversial effort to convert to a charter city from a general law city, which would give City Hall more power to outsource more work, said councilman Jim Righeimer.
Cost Cuts
In a similar vein, nearby Santa Ana, population 325,000, recently folded its fire department and turned fire protection over to the county, saving $10 million a year. Consolidating fire districts has become a popular cost-saving move across the state.
In San Diego, Mayor Jerry Sanders wants to hire private firms for some services — unless city employees undercut them. Last month, city workers won a bid for street sweeping that will cut the city's expenses by $560,000 a year. Similar city-worker bidding last year resulted in $5.5 million in savings.
Sanders, who said cost-cutting and a revenue uptick would help San Diego post a $16.6 million surplus this year, has a more dramatic plan to pare expenses over the long term: a ballot measure that would put nearly all new city employees into 401(k)-style retirement accounts instead of traditional pensions.
Voters in San Jose, California's third-largest city, will vote in June on a pension measure to reduce retirement expenses that Mayor Chuck Reed blames for consuming an increasing share of funds for city services. Reed has said San Jose faces "service-level insolvency" if it fails to control pension costs.
While political battles over pensions in those two big cities have been contentious, public employees across California have been quietly agreeing to pension concessions in recent years and local officials are seen pressing for more, according to the League of California Cities.
They'll keep clamping down on other costs too as property tax revenue remains tight. "Those of us who look at government economics just don't see a near-term turnaround," said Stewart Gary of Citygate Associates, a government consulting firm in Folsom, Calif.
The new California law mandating mediation came after the Vallejo situation exposed the weaknesses of bankruptcy as a means to address municipal finance problems. City services there have been eviscerated, many employees lost much of their healthcare and other benefits, and legal bills have topped $10 million.
Yet many of Vallejo's largest long-term costs, namely pension liabilities, remain in place, and the hit to the city's reputation has further depressed its housing market and discouraged businesses from opening.
Mediation could enable cities to get some debt relief without the stigma and costs of bankruptcy.
But some in the municipal bond world worry that the process will create moral hazard.
"I'm just wondering if Stockton's actions are going to prompt some people to say 'Hey, we've got a quick fix here'," said Dick Larkin, director of credit analysis at HJ Sims.
Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
URL: http://www.cnbc.com/id/46783384/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
.
© 2012 CNBC.com
-
LAPD to Ignore California’s Car Impound Law Because It’s “Unfair” to Illegal Aliens
Stand With Arizona ^ | 03-24-2012 | John Hill
Posted on March 23, 2012 11:53:05 PM EDT by montag813
by John Hill
Stand With Arizona
We have become sadly accustomed to California - America's Sanctuary State - sinking lower and lower into utter lawlessness for the sake of naked racial politics. But whatever they do in Sacramento doesn't even come close to the utter madness that is Los Angeles - which makes the rest of the state look conservative by comparison.
This week saw the Los Angeles Police Department announcing that it will soon start ignoring California state law, which requires police to impound the vehicles of unlicensed drivers for 30 days - because it is "unfair" to illegal aliens!
That's right. The LAPD's Chief Charlie Beck actually said "It's about fairness" to illegals. Beck says that the majority of unlicensed motorists in L.A. are "immigrants" who are in the country illegally and have low-income jobs. Therefore, according to Beck, the state's impound law is unfair because it limits their ability to get to their jobs and imposes a steep fine to get their car
Their "jobs"? Does Beck not realize that it is against Federal law for illegal aliens to obtain employment in any state? Does he not understand that these laws are there to punish existing law-breakers and also deter potential illegals from seeking employment?
Does he also not realize that a a 2011 AAA study titled "Unlicensed to Kill" found that unlicensed drivers are five times more likely to be involved in fatal crashes and more likely to flee the scene of a crime.
Sorry - you are confusing the LAPD Chief with an actual law enforcement officer concerned with protecting the public. Beck is serving his true constituency - illegal aliens and their La Raza protector Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
So while citizen drivers without a license elsewhere in California will lose their cars, illegal aliens in L.A. will have nothing to worry about - if the state and Feds do nothing about it.
For the full story on this latest L.A., insanity, and the thoughts of a victim's father, see the video report below. Pay particular attention to former L.A. Archbishop Cardinal Mahony - a radical left imigration activist - who has never shown the slightest compassion for the victims of illegal alien criminals - only for the lawbreakers themselves who make up the majority of his parishioners. He truly has no shame.
-
WONDER WHY CALIFORNIA IS SO BROKE?? TAKE A LOOK These are all California State Agencies
California Academic Performance Index (API) * California Access for Infants and Mothers * California Acupuncture Board * California Administrative Office of the Courts * California Adoptions Branch * California African American Museum * California Agricultural Export Program * California Agricultural Labor Relations Board * California Agricultural Statistics Service * California Air Resources Board (CARB) * California Allocation Board * California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority * California Animal Health and Food Safety Services * California Anti-Terrorism Information Center * California Apprenticeship Council * California Arbitration Certification Program * California Architects Board * California Area VI Developmental Disabilities Board * California Arts Council * California Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus * California Assembly Democratic Caucus * California Assembly Republican Caucus * California Athletic Commission * California Attorney General * California Bay Conservation and Development Commission * California Bay-Delta Authority * California Bay-Delta Office * California Biodiversity Council * California Board for Geologists and Geophysicists * California Board for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors * California Board of Accountancy * California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology * California Board of Behavioral Sciences * California Board of Chiropractic Examiners * California Board of Equalization (BOE) * California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection * California Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind * California Board of Occupational Therapy * California Board of Optometry * California Board of Pharmacy * California Board of Podiatric Medicine * California Board of Prison Terms * California Board of Psychology * California Board of Registered Nursing * California Board of Trustees * California Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians * California Braille and Talking Book Library * California Building Standards Commission * California Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education * California Bureau of Automotive Repair * California Bureau of Electronic and Appliance Repair * California Bureau of Home Furnishings and Thermal Insulation * California Bureau of Naturopathic Medicine * California Bureau of Security and Investigative Services * California Bureau of State Audits * California Business Agency * California Business Investment Services (CalBIS) * California Business Permit Information (CalGOLD) * California Business Portal * California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency * California Cal Grants * California CalJOBS * California Cal-Learn Program * California CalVet Home Loan Program * California Career Resource Network * California Cemetery and Funeral Bureau * California Center for Analytical Chemistry * California Center for Distributed Learning * California Center for Teaching Careers (Teach California) * California Chancellors Office * California Charter Schools * California Children and Families Commission * California Children and Family Services Division * California Citizens Compensation Commission * California Civil Rights Bureau * California Coastal Commission * California Coastal Conservancy * California Code of Regulations * California Collaborative Projects with UC Davis * California Commission for Jobs and Economic Growth * California Commission on Aging * California Commission on Health and Safety and Workers Compensation * California Commission on Judicial Performance * California Commission on State Mandates * California Commission on Status of Women * California Commission on Teacher Credentialing * California Commission on the Status of Women * California Committee on Dental Auxiliaries * California Community Colleges Chancellors Office, Junior Colleges * California Community Colleges Chancellors Office * California Complaint Mediation Program * California Conservation Corps * California Constitution Revision Commission * California Consumer Hotline * California Consumer Information Center * California Consumer Information * California Consumer Services Division * California Consumers and Families Agency * California Contractors State License Board * California Corrections Standards Authority * California Council for the Humanities * California Council on Criminal Justice * California Council on Developmental Disabilities * California Court Reporters Board * California Courts of Appeal * California Crime and Violence Prevention Center * California Criminal Justice Statistics Center * California Criminalist Institute Forensic Library * California CSGnet Network Management * California Cultural and Historical Endowment * California Cultural Resources Division * California Curriculum and Instructional Leadership Branch * California Data Exchange Center * California Data Management Division * California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission * California Delta Protection Commission * California Democratic Caucus * California Demographic Research Unit * California Dental Auxiliaries * California Department of Aging * California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs * California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control Appeals Board * California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control * California Department of Boating and Waterways (Cal Boating) * California Department of Child Support Services (CDCSS) * California Department of Community Services and Development * California Department of Conservation * California Department of Consumer Affairs * California Department of Corporations * California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation * California Department of Developmental Services * California Department of Education * California Department of Fair Employment and Housing * California Department of Finance * California Department of Financial Institutions * California Department of Fish and Game * California Department of Food and Agriculture * California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) * California Department of General Services * California Department of General Services, Office of State Publishing * California Department of Health Care Services * California Department of Housing and Community Development * California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) * California Department of Insurance * California Department of Justice Firearms Division * California Department of Justice Opinion Unit * California Department of Justice, Consumer Information, Public Inquiry Unit * California Department of Justice * California Department of Managed Health Care * California Department of Mental Health * California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) * California Department of Personnel Administration * California Department of Pesticide Regulation * California Department of Public Health * California Department of Real Estate * California Department of Rehabilitation * California Department of Social Services Adoptions Branch * California Department of Social Services * California Department of Technology Services Training Center (DTSTC) * California Department of Technology Services (DTS) * California Department of Toxic Substances Control * California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) * California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVets) * California Department of Water Resources * California Departmento de Vehiculos Motorizados * California Digital Library * California Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Certification Program * California Division of Apprenticeship Standards * California Division of Codes and Standards * California Division of Communicable Disease Control * California Division of Engineering * California Division of Environmental and Occupational Disease Control * California Division of Gambling Control * California Division of Housing Policy Development * California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement * California Division of Labor Statistics and Research * California Division of Land and Right of Way * California Division of Land Resource Protection * California Division of Law Enforcement General Library * California Division of Measurement Standards * California Division of Mines and Geology * California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) * California Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources * California Division of Planning and Local Assistance * California Division of Recycling * California Division of Safety of Dams * California Division of the State Architect * California Division of Tourism * California Division of Workers Compensation Medical Unit * California Division of Workers Compensation * California Economic Assistance, Business and Community Resources * California Economic Strategy Panel * California Education and Training Agency * California Education Audit Appeals Panel * California Educational Facilities Authority * California Elections Division * California Electricity Oversight Board * California Emergency Management Agency * California Emergency Medical Services Authority * California Employment Development Department (EDD) * California Employment Information State Jobs * California Employment Training Panel * California Energy Commission * California Environment and Natural Resources Agency * California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) * California Environmental Resources Evaluation System (CERES) * California Executive Office * California Export Laboratory Services * California Exposition and State Fair (Cal Expo) * California Fair Political Practices Commission * California Fairs and Expositions Division * California Film Commission * California Fire and Resource Assessment Program * California Firearms Division * California Fiscal Services * California Fish and Game Commission * California Fisheries Program Branch * California Floodplain Management * California Foster Youth Help * California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) * California Fraud Division * California Gambling Control Commission * California Geographic Information Systems Council (GIS) * California Geological Survey * California Government Claims and Victim Compensation Board * California Governors Committee for Employment of Disabled Persons * California Governors Mentoring Partnership * California Governors Office of Emergency Services * California Governors Office of Homeland Security * California Governors Office of Planning and Research * California Governors Office * California Grant and Enterprise Zone Programs HCD Loan * California Health and Human Services Agency * California Health and Safety Agency * California Healthy Families Program * California Hearing Aid Dispensers Bureau * California High-Speed Rail Authority * California Highway Patrol (CHP) * California History and Culture Agency * California Horse Racing Board * California Housing Finance Agency * California Indoor Air Quality Program * California Industrial Development Financing Advisory Commission * California Industrial Welfare Commission * California InFoPeople * California Information Center for the Environment * California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (I-Bank) * California Inspection Services * California Institute for County Government * California Institute for Education Reform * California Integrated Waste Management Board * California Interagency Ecological Program * California Job Service * California Junta Estatal de Personal * California Labor and Employment Agency * California Labor and Workforce Development Agency * California Labor Market Information Division * California Land Use Planning Information Network (LUPIN) * California Lands Commission * California Landscape Architects Technical Committee * California Latino Legislative Caucus * California Law Enforcement Branch * California Law Enforcement General Library * California Law Revision Commission * California Legislative Analyst’s Office * California Legislative Black Caucus * California Legislative Counsel * California Legislative Division * California Legislative Information * California Legislative Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Caucus * California Legislature Internet Caucus * California Library De velopment Services * California License and Revenue Branch * California Major Risk Medical Insurance Program * California Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board * California Maritime Academy * California Marketing Services * California Measurement Standards * California Medical Assistance Commission * California Medical Care Services * California Military Department * California Mining and Geology Board * California Museum for History, Women, and the Arts * California Museum Resource Center * California National Guard * California Native American Heritage Commission * California Natural Community Conservation Planning Program * California New Motor Vehicle Board * California Nursing Home Administrator Program * California Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board * California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board * California Ocean Resources Management Program * California Office of Administrative Hearings * California Office of Administrative Law * California Office of AIDS * California Office of Binational Border Health * California Office of Child Abuse Prevention * California Office of Deaf Access * California Office of Emergency Services (OES) * California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment * California Office of Fiscal Services * California Office of Fleet Administration * California Office of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Implementation (CalOHI) * California Office of Historic Preservation * California Office of Homeland Security * California Office of Human Resources * California Office of Legal Services * California Office of Legislation * California Office of Lieutenant Governor * California Office of Military and Aerospace Support * California Office of Mine Reclamation * California Office of Natural Resource Education * California Office of Privacy Protection * California Office of Public School Construction * California Office of Real Estate Appraisers * California Office of Risk and Insurance Management * California Office of Services to the Blind * California Office of Spill Prevention and Response * California Office of State Publishing (OSP) * California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development * California Office of Systems Integration * California Office of the Inspector General * California Office of the Ombudsman * California Office of the Patient Advocate * California Office of the President * California Office of the Secretary for Education * California Office of the State Fire Marshal * California Office of the State Public Defender * California Office of Traffic Safety * California Office of Vital Records * California Online Directory * California Operations Control Office * California Opinion Unit * California Outreach and Technical Assistance Network (OTAN) * California Park and Recreation Commission * California Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) * California Performance Review (CPR) * California Permit Information for Business (CalGOLD) * California Physical Therapy Board * California Physician Assistant Committee * California Plant Health and Pest Prevention Services * California Policy and Evaluation Division * California Political Reform Division * California Pollution Control Financing Authority * California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo * California Postsecondary Education Commission * California Prevention Services * California Primary Care and Family Health * California Prison Industry Authority * California Procurement Division * California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) * California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) * California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) * California Real Estate Services Division * California Refugee Programs Branch * California Regional Water Quality Control Boards * California Registered Veterinary Technician Committee * California Registrar of Charitable Trusts * California Republican Caucus * California Research and Development Division * California Research Bureau * California Resources Agency * California Respiratory Care Board * California Rivers Assessment * California Rural Health Policy Council * California Safe Schools * California San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission * California San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy * California San Joaquin River Conservancy * California School to Career * California Science Center * California Scripps Institution of Oceanography * California Secretary of State Business Portal * California Secretary of State * California Seismic Safety Commission * California Self Insurance Plans (SIP) * California Senate Office of Research * California Small Business and Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Certification Program * California Small Business Development Center Program * California Smart Growth Caucus * California Smog Check Information Center * California Spatial Information Library * California Special Education Division * California Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Board * California Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) * California Standards and Assessment Division * California State Administrative Manual (SAM) * California State Allocation Board * California State and Consumer Services Agency * California State Architect * California State Archives * California State Assembly * California State Association of Counties (CSAC) * California State Board of Education * California State Board of Food and Agriculture *California Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) * California State Children’s Trust Fund * California State Compensation Insurance Fund * California State Contracts Register Program * California State Contracts Register * California State Controller * California State Council on Developmental Disabilities (SCDD) * California State Disability Insurance (SDI) * California State Fair (Cal Expo) * California State Jobs Employment Information * California State Lands Commission * California State Legislative Portal * California State Legislature * California State Library Catalog * California State Library Services Bureau * California State Library * California State Lottery * California State Mediation and Conciliation Service * California State Mining and Geology Board * California State Park and Recreation Commission * California State Parks * California State Personnel Board * California State Polytechnic University, Pomona * California State Railroad Museum * California State Science Fair * California State Senate * California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science (COSMOS) * California State Summer School for the Arts * California State Superintendent of Public Instruction * California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) * California State Treasurer * California State University Center for Distributed Learning * California State University, Bakersfield * California State University, Channel Islands * California State University, Chico * California State University, Dominguez Hills * California State University, East Bay * California State University, Fresno * California State University, Fullerton * California State University, Long Beach * California State University, Los Angeles * California State University, Monterey Bay * California State University, Northridge * California State University, Sacramento * California State University, San Bernardino * California State University, San Marcos * California State University, Stanislaus * California State University (CSU) * California State Water Project Analysis Office * California State Water Project * California State Water Resources Control Board * California Structural Pest Control Board * California Student Aid Commission * California Superintendent of Public Instruction * California Superior Courts * California Tahoe Conservancy * California Task Force on Culturally and Linguistically Competent Physicians and Dentists * California Tax Information Center * California Technology and Administration Branch Finance * California Telecommunications Division * California Telephone Medical Advice Services (TAMS) * California Transportation Commission * California Travel and Transportation Agency * California Unclaimed Property Program * California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board * California Unemployment Insurance Program * California Uniform Construction Cost Accounting Commission * California Veterans Board * California Veterans Memorial * California Veterinary Medical Board and Registered Veterinary Technician Examining Committee * California Veterinary Medical Board * California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board * California Volunteers * California Voter Registration * California Water Commission * California Water Environment Association (COWPEA) * California Water Resources Control Board * California Welfare to Work Division * California Wetlands Information System * California Wildlife and Habitat Data Analysis Branch * California Wildlife Conservation Board * California Wildlife Programs Branch * California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) * California Workers Compensation Appeals Board * California Workforce and Labor Development Agency * California Workforce Investment Board * California Youth Authority (CYA) * Central Valley Flood Protection Board * Center for California Studies * Colorado River Board of California * Counting California * Dental Board of California * Health Insurance Plan of California (PacAdvantage) * Humboldt State University * Jobs with the State of California * Judicial Council of California * Learn California * Library of California * Lieutenant Governors Commission for One California * Little Hoover Commission (on California State Government Organization and Economy) * Medical Board of California * Medi-Cal * Osteopathic Medical Board of California * Physical Therapy Board of California * Regents of the University of California * San Diego State University * San Francisco State University * San Jose State University * Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy * State Bar of California * Supreme Court of California * Teach California * University of California * University of California, Berkeley * University of California, Davis * University of California, Hastings College of the Law * University of California, Irvine * University of California, Los Angeles * University of California, Merced * University of California, Riverside * University of California, San Diego * University of California, San Francisco * University of California, Santa Barbara * University of California, Santa Cruz * Veterans Home of California
It is said that the only places they can cut is Police and Fire….
It doesn’t matter whether you are a Democrat, a Republican or Independent. This list has to shock you.
Over the years, our politicians have created this enormous pork barrel of agencies that employ over 350,000 people directly and countless more via contracts with the State. All of these people get salaries, medical coverage and pensions at our expense.
Source
-
The fate of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System should matter greatly to every Golden State taxpayer because of its stewardship of pension funds for state employees. It should matter even more to Californians who live in cities where CalPERS handles pensions for municipal employees. In San Diego County, that includes every city but San Diego. Most of those cities’ pension plans are in far worse shape than the state’s. These local governments desperately need CalPERS to do a good job.
Unfortunately, the news could scarcely be worse. Wilshire Consulting, a longtime CalPERS contractor, reported last week that over the past five years – since the tail end of the housing bubble and the subsequent market collapse and rebound – 99 percent of the nation’s larger public employee pension funds outperformed CalPERS in investment earnings.
That’s terrible. But what makes this news of particular significance is that for many years, amid controversies big and small, CalPERS has always pointed to its superior investment returns to suggest that trumps everything. A 19.1 percent return for fiscal 2006-07, for example, had CalPERS’ leaders boasting about “remarkable” results to the San Francisco Chronicle in July 2007. A few months later, after a senior investment adviser was recruited away from CalPERS by a hedge fund, a Sacramento Bee account featured pension fund officials crowing over CalPERS’ “great performance.”
But now that it is clear that CalPERS’ investment record over the past five years is the opposite of “remarkable” and “great,” perhaps there finally can be a reckoning in Sacramento – and a massive shake-up of both the agency’s staff and its board of directors. The horrible investment returns, after all, come on top of a far-ranging pay-to-play bribery scandal involving former CalPERS CEO Fred Buenrostro; reporting that showed how CalPERS deceived the Legislature in 1999 on the fiscal implications of a bill allowing for a massive retroactive increase in pension benefits; CalPERS’ aggressive efforts to block pension reform through relentless spin and a grossly misleading website; and the seeming silencing of those within CalPERS who warned that benefits were “unsustainable.”
Gov. Jerry Brown wants changes, too – an expanded CalPERS board with more experts that would give taxpayers a better shake in board decisions. But that doesn’t go nearly far enough. It’s fair to look at CalPERS’ record over the past 13 years and say its executives have acted in ways that would have brought shareholders, regulators and prosecutors down on their heads in the private sector – and we’re not even talking about the bribery scandal.
Alas, how CalPERS is treated is just one more example of Sacramento’s warped priorities. Legislators care far more about the out-of-state shenanigans of a fish and game official than the ongoing perfidy of a giant pension agency. This may seem funny to outsiders. To Californians, however, it is the grimmest of realities.
Comments (12)
-
http://www.city-journal.org/comments/index.php?story=7934#comments
WTF is wrong you people out there?
-
Free Republic
Browse · Search Pings · Mail Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article
Skip to comments.
California Tax Revenues Plunge; Businesses Exit "Taxifornia" in Droves
Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis ^ | 03/24/2012 | Mike Shedlock
Posted on March 25, 2012 9:44:58 AM EDT by SeekAndFind
California Tax Revenue Plunges
Inquiring minds have noticed a huge plunge in California Tax Revenue for the month of February compared to February 2011.
That is a 22.55% plunge in spite of the fact that this February was a leap year adding a day to the calendar.
Madeline Schnapp, at TrimTabs Investment Research sent me a quick note regarding that plunge a few days ago.
Madeline writes...
Hello Mish
I came across this little tidbit from the February report from the Comptroller's office of the State of CA.
In Feb 2012 income tax receipts are down $328 million y-o-y, or 16.5%. Ouch!
What about retail sales taxes? CA had a "temporary" sales tax hike of one cent that expired last July. Adjust the data to reflect that change, it looks like sales taxes in February are $400 million y-o-y +/-, a decline of about 12.4%. Double ouch!
That doesn't sound like robust growth to me.
Something About the Economy Doesn't Add Up
In Piecing Together the Jobs-Picture Puzzle, Jon Hilsenrath at The Wall Street Journal wonders "How can an economy that is growing so slowly produce such big declines in unemployment?"
Something about the U.S. economy isn't adding up.
At 8.3%, the unemployment rate has fallen 0.7 percentage point from a year earlier and is down 1.7 percentage points from a peak of 10% in October 2009. Many other measures of the job market are improving. Companies have expanded payrolls by more than 200,000 a month for the past three months, according to Labor Department data. And the number of people filing claims for government unemployment benefits has fallen.
Yet the economy is barely growing. Many economists in the past few weeks have again reduced their estimates of growth. The economy by many estimates is on track to grow at an annual rate of less than 2% in the first three months of 2012. The economy expanded just 1.7% last year. And since the final months of 2009, when unemployment peaked, the economy has expanded at a pretty paltry 2.5% annual rate.
How can an economy that is growing so slowly produce such big declines in unemployment?
Trimtabs thinks the problem lies in the heavily massaged BLS employment data and the highly suspect BEA personal income data.
That said, withholding tax data is also messy and not a perfect measure either, but no matter what I do with the data, I can't get to 200,000+ jobs unless a huge percentage of the workforce is suddenly working for McDonalds
Best,
Madeline Schnapp
Director, Macroeconomic Research
TrimTabs Investment Research
Many Explanations for the Unemployment Puzzle
There are many explanations for the "miracle drop" in unemployment.
Disability Fraud: Disability Fraud Holds Down Unemployment Rate; Jobless Disability Claims Hit Record $200B in January
Exploding growth in student loans and middle-aged job hopefuls returning to school: Consumer Credit "Demolishes Expectations" Really? No Not Really! The "Non-Bounce" in Non-Revolving Credit
Involuntary Retirement: Boomers of retirement age that still want and need a job have involuntarily retired to collect social security because unemployment benefts rans out and they have no other source of income.
Divergence with Gallup
Those three things piece together the "unemployment puzzle" nicely except for one thing. Gallup polls do not agree as noted in Gallup Reports Large Jump in Unemployment to 9.1%, Underemployment to 19.1%.
U.S. unemployment, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment, increased to 9.1% in February from 8.6% in January and 8.5% in December.
The 0.5-percentage-point increase in February compared with January is the largest such month-to-month change Gallup has recorded in its not-seasonally adjusted measure since December 2010, when the rate rose 0.8 points to 9.6% from 8.8% in November.
So, is the BLS carefully massaging the data, or are their seasonal adjustments simply that far out of line with reality, tax collections, and common sense?
Businesses Exit California in Droves
Madeline and I are not the only ones who noticed the plunge in California. Chriss W. Street on Beitbart discusses the California Exodus behind the drop. Street has the reason: Businesses fed up with high taxes have fled the state.
California politicians seem delusional in their continued delusion that high taxes have not savaged the State’s economy. Each month’s disappointment is written off as due to some one-time event.
The more likely reason tax collections continue falling is that businesses and successful people are leaving California for the better tax rates available in more pro-business states.
Derisively referred to as “Taxifornia” by the independent Pacific Research Institute, California wins the booby prize for the highest personal income taxes in the nation and higher sales tax rates than all but four other states. Though Californians benefit from Proposition 13 restrictions on how much their property tax can increase in one year, the state still has the worst state tax burden in the U.S.
Spectrum Locations Consultants recorded 254 California companies moved some or all of their work and jobs out of state in 2011, 26% more than in 2010 and five times as many as in 2009. According SLC President, Joe Vranich: the “top ten reasons companies are leaving California: 1) Poor rankings in surveys 2) More adversarial toward business 3) Uncontrollable public spending 4) Unfriendly business climate 5) Provable savings elsewhere 6) Most expensive business locations 7) Unfriendly legal environment for business 8) Worst regulatory burden 9) Severe tax treatment 10) Unprecedented energy costs.
Vranich considers California the worst state in the nation to locate a business and Los Angeles is considered the worst city to start a business. Leaving Los Angeles for another surrounding county can save businesses 20% of costs. Leaving the state for Texas can save up to 40% of costs. This probably explains why California lost 120,000 jobs last year and Texas gained 130,000 jobs.
California Governor Jerry Brown’s answer to the State’s failing economy and crumbling tax revenue is to place a $6 billion tax increase initiative on the ballot to support K-12 public schools. He promises to only “temporarily” raise personal income rates by 25% on any of the rich folk who haven’t already left.
Taxed to Death
If Brown continues to suck up to the public unions responsible for the mess California is in, expect still more businesses to leave, expect the unemployment rate to rise, and expect a continued plunge in revenue.
-
Free Republic
Browse · Search Pings · Mail News/Activism
Topics · Post Article
Skip to comments.
California Takes Another Stab at Destroying Small Business
Townhall.com ^ | March 25, 2012 | Mike Shedlock
Posted on March 25, 2012 10:08:10 AM EDT by Kaslin
Ludicrous Taxifornia Healthcare Proposal
California keeps up its insane attack on businesses of all kinds, this time with a proposal to force small businesses away from money-saving self-insurance plans into the arms of more costly Obama-care plans.
The LA Times writes, California seeks limits on small-business self-insurance trend
Sensing a fresh threat to state and federal healthcare reforms, California insurance officials are seeking new limits on a controversial form of health coverage insurers are selling to small employers.
At issue is a new type of self-insurance for small businesses with as few as 25 workers.
Critics said insurers such as Cigna Corp. are using these new plans to game the system and cherry-pick companies with healthier workers. They said this could undermine a key goal of the federal Affordable Care Act to lower premiums by pooling together more healthy and sick Americans into insurance exchanges. Premiums could continue to escalate without a diverse pool of consumers. That prospect has federal health officials weighing action against this practice as well.
Self-insurance, in which employers pay medical providers for their workers' care, has traditionally been used only by large employers that have the financial resources to pay for expensive medical claims. A Kaiser Family Foundation study found that 60% of U.S. workers with health coverage were in self-insured plans last year.
Now some insurers are chasing after much smaller customers with new plans designed to limit employer payouts for big claims using what's called stop-loss policies. This guarantees that businesses won't be responsible for anything over a certain amount per employee, perhaps as low as $10,000 or $20,000, with the rest paid by an insurer. Regulators and health-policy experts say this arrangement undercuts the notion of self-insurance since employers aren't bearing much of the risk, and it allows companies to circumvent some state insurance rules.
California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones will unveil proposed legislation next week that would bar insurers from selling stop-loss policies below a certain amount. The specific dollar figure is still under consideration, but some experts recommend a minimum of $40,000 per worker.
Officials in the Obama administration are keeping a close eye on developments in California and other states where insurers are aggressively selling these plans.
"We are working carefully to ensure that consumers in all markets have the protections guaranteed by the Affordable Care Act and will provide more clarity on the tools available to reinforce these protections soon," a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said.
Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court will begin hearing arguments over the constitutionality of the federal healthcare law and specifically its mandate that individuals purchase health insurance.Yet Another Stab at Destroying Small Businesses
Not only does Obama want to tell you that you have to have insurance, the State of California (with Obama giving a careful eye) wants to mandate self-insured businesses be responsible for the first $40,000 per person, in healthcare liability.
If this passes, any sane business would move to another state if possible.
Indeed businesses are exiting California in drove already. Please see California Tax Revenues Plunge; Businesses Exit "Taxifornia" in Droves; Piecing Together the Jobs-Picture Puzzle for details.
Those businesses with 25-40 employees who need to stay within the state will start firing employees to get below the 25 employee minimum. The rest will simply be screwed (some into bankruptcy).
This Taxifornia proposal is yet another huge step in the wrong direction, and the idiots running the state cannot even figure out why businesses are leaving.
Enough is enough. It's time to start all over with health-care. Hopefully the Supreme Court tosses out Obama-care next week.
-
Strong Majority Backs Jerry Brown's Tax-Hike Initiative [64% OK On Sales Tax and Rich]
LATimes ^ | March 25, 2012 | Anthony York
Posted on March 25, 2012 11:46:38 PM EDT by Steelfish
Strong Majority Backs Jerry Brown's Tax-Hike Initiative Sixty-four percent of those surveyed said they supported the measure that the governor hopes to place on the November ballot. It would hike the sales tax and levies on upper incomes to help raise money for schools and balance the state's budget.
By Anthony York March 25, 2012 Reporting from Sacramento— California voters strongly support Gov. Jerry Brown's new proposal to increase the sales tax and raise levies on upper incomes to help raise money for schools and balance the state's budget, according to a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll.
Sixty-four percent of those surveyed said they supported the governor's measure, which he hopes to place on the November ballot. It would hike the state sales tax by a quarter-cent per dollar for the next four years and create a surcharge on incomes of more than $250,000 that would last seven years. A third of respondents opposed the measure.
Brown's new plan, rewritten recently amid pressure from liberal activist and union groups that had a competing proposal, relies on a larger share of revenue from upper-income earners than his original measure. Correspondingly, it leans less upon sales taxes, which are paid by all California consumers. The poll shows that taxing high earners is overwhelmingly popular.
"These poll results illustrate that Brown was very smart to put together this initiative the way he did," said Dan Schnur, director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at USC.
Shirley Karns, 74, an independent voter from the Northern California town of Lakeport who backs the governor's new plan, said the wealthy should pay more.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
-
Calif. Democratic treasurer perpetrated $7M fraud
AP via SFGate ^ | 3/27/10 | TOM VERDIN and DON THOMPSON, Associated Press
Sacramento, Calif. (AP) -- Federal prosecutors say in a court filing that Democratic campaign treasurer Kinde Durkee defrauded at least 50 candidates, officeholders and political organizations out of $7 million in a scheme that dates back more than a decade.
The U.S. attorney's office in Sacramento filed the new charges in federal court late Tuesday, providing the most detailed account to date in a case that has left some Democratic candidates scrambling for campaign cash in an election year.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
-
(http://a57.foxnews.com/static/managed/img/U.S./396/223/KindeDurkee.JPG)
Kinde Durkee
She never missed a meal.
-
How California's Colleges Indoctrinate Students
Wall Street Journal ^ | March 30, 2012 | PETER BERKOWITZ
Posted on April 1, 2012 9:58:13 PM EDT by reaganaut1
The politicization of higher education by activist professors and compliant university administrators deprives students of the opportunity to acquire knowledge and refine their minds. It also erodes the nation's civic cohesion and its ability to preserve the institutions that undergird democracy in America.
So argues "A Crisis of Competence: The Corrupting Effect of Political Activism in the University of California," a new report by the California Association of Scholars, a division of the National Association of Scholars (NAS). The report is addressed to the Regents of the University of California, which has ultimate responsibility for governing the UC system, but the pathologies it diagnoses prevail throughout the country.
The analysis begins from a nonpolitical fact: Numerous studies of both the UC system and of higher education nationwide demonstrate that students who graduate from college are increasingly ignorant of history and literature. They are unfamiliar with the principles of American constitutional government. And they are bereft of the skills necessary to comprehend serious books and effectively marshal evidence and argument in written work.
This decline in the quality of education coincides with a profound transformation of the college curriculum. None of the nine general campuses in the UC system requires students to study the history and institutions of the United States. None requires students to study Western civilization, and on seven of the nine UC campuses, including Berkeley, a survey course in Western civilization is not even offered. In several English departments one can graduate without taking a course in Shakespeare. In many political science departments majors need not take a course in American politics.
Moreover, the evidence suggests that the hollowing of the curriculum stems from too many professors' preference for promoting a partisan political agenda.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
-
always fanced moveing to California :-\.... i hate it here in the .U.K
BUT after reading this lot its put me right off :(
-
always fanced moveing to California :-\.... i hate it here in the .U.K
BUT after reading this lot its put me right off :(
Don't. FAR better places to live in the US. My brother bailed on the smoldering shithole of California a couple of years ago and is much happier for it.
-
Yeah smoldering pretty bad here today. 70's with about a 100 mile visibility and all the hills were green. Could a rats ass othwise :D
-
Yeah smoldering pretty bad here today. 70's with about a 100 mile visibility and all the hills were green. Could a rats ass othwise :D
Talking about the economy. Beautiful state. But call me back when the mudslides and wildfires roll thru. ;D
-
Talking about the economy. Beautiful state. But call me back when the mudslides and wildfires roll thru. ;D
Only dealt with a wild fire once since 1978 and it didn't interrupt my life.
Yeah things are more expensive here. Yu gotta pay for the weather I guess lol.
-
Free Republic
Browse · Search Pings · Mail News/Activism
Topics · Post Article
Skip to comments.
Untouchable Pensions May Be Tested in California
New York Times - Business Day ^ | March 16, 2012 | By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
Posted on April 2, 2012 10:59:07 PM EDT by Razzz42
When the city manager of troubled Stockton, Calif., had to tell city council members why it was on track to become the biggest American city yet to go bankrupt, it took hours to get through the list.
There was the free health care for retirees, the unpaid parking tickets, the revenue bonds without enough revenue to pay them. On it went, a grim drumbeat of practically every fiscal malady imaginable, except an obvious one: municipal pensions. Stockton is spending some $30 million a year to pay for them, but it has less than 70 cents set aside for every dollar of benefits its workers expect.
Some public pension experts think they know why pensions were not on the city manager’s list. They see the hidden hand of California’s giant state pension system, known as Calpers, which administers hundreds of billions of dollars in retirement obligations for municipalities across the state.
Calpers does not want cities like Stockton going back on their promises, and it argues that the state Constitution bars any reduction in pensions — and not just for people who have already retired. State law also forbids cuts in the pensions that today’s public workers expect to earn in the future, Calpers says, even in cases of severe fiscal distress. Workers at companies have no comparable protection...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events; Click to Add Topic
-
Yeah smoldering pretty bad here today. 70's with about a 100 mile visibility and all the hills were green. Could a rats ass othwise :D
So the only thing your state can offer is good weather.
3333, you are right.
-
A leading U.S. demographer and 'Truman Democrat' talks about what is driving the middle class out of the Golden State.
Article
Comments (931)
MORE IN OPINION »
Email
Print
Save
↓ More
smaller
Larger
By ALLYSIA FINLEY
'California is God's best moment," says Joel Kotkin. "It's the best place in the world to live." Or at least it used to be.
Mr. Kotkin, one of the nation's premier demographers, left his native New York City in 1971 to enroll at the University of California, Berkeley. The state was a far-out paradise for hipsters who had grown up listening to the Mamas & the Papas' iconic "California Dreamin'" and the Beach Boys' "California Girls." But it also attracted young, ambitious people "who had a lot of dreams, wanted to build big companies." Think Intel, Apple and Hewlett-Packard.
Now, however, the Golden State's fastest-growing entity is government and its biggest product is red tape. The first thing that comes to many American minds when you mention California isn't Hollywood or tanned girls on a beach, but Greece. Many progressives in California take that as a compliment since Greeks are ostensibly happier. But as Mr. Kotkin notes, Californians are increasingly pursuing happiness elsewhere.
Nearly four million more people have left the Golden State in the last two decades than have come from other states. This is a sharp reversal from the 1980s, when 100,000 more Americans were settling in California each year than were leaving. According to Mr. Kotkin, most of those leaving are between the ages of 5 and 14 or 34 to 45. In other words, young families.
The scruffy-looking urban studies professor at Chapman University in Orange, Calif., has been studying and writing on demographic and geographic trends for 30 years. Part of California's dysfunction, he says, stems from state and local government restrictions on development. These policies have artificially limited housing supply and put a premium on real estate in coastal regions.
"Basically, if you don't own a piece of Facebook or Google and you haven't robbed a bank and don't have rich parents, then your chances of being able to buy a house or raise a family in the Bay Area or in most of coastal California is pretty weak," says Mr. Kotkin.
While many middle-class families have moved inland, those regions don't have the same allure or amenities as the coast. People might as well move to Nevada or Texas, where housing and everything else is cheaper and there's no income tax.
And things will only get worse in the coming years as Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown and his green cadre implement their "smart growth" plans to cram the proletariat into high-density housing. "What I find reprehensible beyond belief is that the people pushing [high-density housing] themselves live in single-family homes and often drive very fancy cars, but want everyone else to live like my grandmother did in Brownsville in Brooklyn in the 1920s," Mr. Kotkin declares.
"The new regime"—his name for progressive apparatchiks who run California's government—"wants to destroy the essential reason why people move to California in order to protect their own lifestyles."
Housing is merely one front of what he calls the "progressive war on the middle class." Another is the cap-and-trade law AB32, which will raise the cost of energy and drive out manufacturing jobs without making even a dent in global carbon emissions. Then there are the renewable portfolio standards, which mandate that a third of the state's energy come from renewable sources like wind and the sun by 2020. California's electricity prices are already 50% higher than the national average.
Oh, and don't forget the $100 billion bullet train. Mr. Kotkin calls the runaway-cost train "classic California." "Where [Brown] with the state going bankrupt is even thinking about an expenditure like this is beyond comprehension. When the schools are falling apart, when the roads are falling apart, the bridges are unsafe, the state economy is in free fall. We're still doing much worse than the rest of the country, we've got this growing permanent welfare class, and high-speed rail is going to solve this?"
Mr. Kotkin describes himself as an old-fashioned Truman Democrat. In fact, he voted for Mr. Brown—who previously served as governor, secretary of state and attorney general—because he believed Mr. Brown "was interesting and thought outside the box."
But "Jerry's been a big disappointment," Mr. Kotkin says. "I've known Jerry for 35 years, and he's smart, but he just can't seem to be a paradigm breaker. And of course, it's because he really believes in this green stuff."
In the governor's dreams, green jobs will replace all of the "tangible jobs" that the state's losing in agriculture, manufacturing, warehousing and construction. But "green energy doesn't create enough energy!" Mr. Kotkin exclaims. "And it drives up the price of energy, which then drives out other things." Notwithstanding all of the subsidies the state lavishes on renewables, green jobs only make up about 2% of California's private-sector work force—no more than they do in Texas.
Of course, there are plenty of jobs to be had in energy, just not the type the new California regime wants. An estimated 25 billion barrels of oil are sitting untapped in the vast Monterey and Bakersfield shale deposits. "You see the great tragedy of California is that we have all this oil and gas, we won't use it," Mr. Kotkin says. "We have the richest farm land in the world, and we're trying to strangle it." He's referring to how water restrictions aimed at protecting the delta smelt fish are endangering Central Valley farmers.
Enlarge Image
Zina Saunders
Meanwhile, taxes are harming the private economy. According to the Tax Foundation, California has the 48th-worst business tax climate. Its income tax is steeply progressive. Millionaires pay a top rate of 10.3%, the third-highest in the country. But middle-class workers—those who earn more than $48,000—pay a top rate of 9.3%, which is higher than what millionaires pay in 47 states.
And Democrats want to raise taxes even more. Mind you, the November ballot initiative that Mr. Brown is spearheading would primarily hit those whom Democrats call "millionaires" (i.e., people who make more than $250,000 a year). Some Republicans have warned that it will cause a millionaire march out of the state, but Mr. Kotkin says that "people who are at the very high end of the food chain, they're still going to be in Napa. They're still going to be in Silicon Valley. They're still going to be in West L.A."
That said, "It's really going to hit the small business owners and the young family that's trying to accumulate enough to raise a family, maybe send their kids to private school. It'll kick them in the teeth."
A worker in Wichita might not consider those earning $250,000 a year middle class, but "if you're a guy working for a Silicon Valley company and you're married and you're thinking about having your first kid, and your family makes 250-k a year, you can't buy a closet in the Bay Area," Mr. Kotkin says. "But for 250-k a year, you can live pretty damn well in Salt Lake City. And you might be able to send your kids to public schools and own a three-bedroom, four-bath house."
According to Mr. Kotkin, these upwardly mobile families are fleeing in droves. As a result, California is turning into a two-and-a-half-class society. On top are the "entrenched incumbents" who inherited their wealth or came to California early and made their money. Then there's a shrunken middle class of public employees and, miles below, a permanent welfare class. As it stands today, about 40% of Californians don't pay any income tax and a quarter are on Medicaid.
It's "a very scary political dynamic," he says. "One day somebody's going to put on the ballot, let's take every penny over $100,000 a year, and you'll get it through because there's no real restraint. What you've done by exempting people from paying taxes is that they feel no responsibility. That's certainly a big part of it.
And the welfare recipients, he emphasizes, "aren't leaving. Why would they? They get much better benefits in California or New York than if they go to Texas. In Texas the expectation is that people work."
California used to be more like Texas—a jobs magnet. What happened? For one, says the demographer, Californians are now voting more based on social issues and less on fiscal ones than they did when Ronald Reagan was governor 40 years ago. Environmentalists are also more powerful than they used to be. And Mr. Brown facilitated the public-union takeover of the statehouse by allowing state workers to collectively bargain during his first stint as governor in 1977.
Mr. Kotkin also notes that demographic changes are playing a role. As progressive policies drive out moderate and conservative members of the middle class, California's politics become even more left-wing. It's a classic case of natural selection, and increasingly the only ones fit to survive in California are the very rich and those who rely on government spending. In a nutshell, "the state is run for the very rich, the very poor, and the public employees."
So if California's no longer the Golden land of opportunity for middle-class dreamers, what is?
Mr. Kotkin lists four "growth corridors": the Gulf Coast, the Great Plains, the Intermountain West, and the Southeast. All of these regions have lower costs of living, lower taxes, relatively relaxed regulatory environments, and critical natural resources such as oil and natural gas.
Take Salt Lake City. "Almost all of the major tech companies have moved stuff to Salt Lake City." That includes Twitter, Adobe, eBay and Oracle.
Then there's Texas, which is on a mission to steal California's tech hegemony. Apple just announced that it's building a $304 million campus and adding 3,600 jobs in Austin. Facebook established operations there last year, and eBay plans to add 1,000 new jobs there too.
Even Hollywood is doing more of its filming on the Gulf Coast. "New Orleans is supposedly going to pass New York as the second-largest film center. They have great incentives, and New Orleans is the best bargain for urban living in the United States. It's got great food, great music, and it's inexpensive."
What about the Midwest and the Rust Belt? Can they recover from their manufacturing losses?
"What those areas have is they've got a good work ethic," Mr. Kotkin says. "There's an established skill base for industry. They're very affordable, and they've got some nice places to live. Indianapolis has become a very nice city." He concedes that such places will have a hard time eclipsing California or Texas because they're not as well endowed by nature. But as the Golden State is proving, natural endowments do not guarantee permanent prosperity.
Ms. Finley is the assistant editor of OpinionJournal.com and a Journal editorial page writer.
-
California should stop sending the Federal governement so much money
We receive back 78 cents for every dollar we send to the Federal Governement
What doe the Federal Governement do with that money
They give it to welfare queen states such as Mississippi, Alaska, Virginia etc.
Yes, the federal government redistributes the wealth of Blue States to those deadbeat leeches in the Red States
http://visualeconomics.creditloan.com/united-states-federal-tax-dollars/
-
California should stop sending the Federal governement so much money
We receive back 78 cents for every dollar we send to the Federal Governement
What doe the Federal Governement do with that money
They give it to welfare queen states such as Mississippi, Alaska, Virginia etc.
Yes, the federal government redistributes the wealth of Blue States to those deadbeat leeches in the Red States
http://visualeconomics.creditloan.com/united-states-federal-tax-dollars/
no way bro, the repub states are the shit holes? the most uneducated welfare receiving in breds.33 is a fucking clown he supported both bachmann and Palin, both clearly fucking stupid humans, one a bigot the other a quitter.
-
no way bro, the repub states are the shit holes? the most uneducated welfare receiving in breds.33 is a fucking clown he supported both bachmann and Palin, both clearly fucking stupid humans, one a bigot the other a quitter.
they are not all shitholes and I'm making a generalization to make a specific point on this thread since 333 seems to want to devote hours of his life (mostly it seems - talking to himself) to bitch a moan about a state where he doesn't even reside. The fact is that many of the most conservative states that bitch most about the federal government also rely on the Federal government to support the deadbeats in their own state.
Look at that socialist nightmare called Alaska
they receive a 1.84 in federal funds for every dollar they pay in taxes.
The residents also receive annual payment as their "share" of of the wealth from oil revenue
-
they are not all shitholes and I'm making a generalization to make a specific point on this thread since 333 seems to want to devote hours of his life (mostly it seems - talking to himself) to bitch a moan about a state where he doesn't even reside. The fact is that many of the most conservative states that bitch most about the federal government also rely on the Federal government to support the deadbeats in their own state.
Look at that social nightmare called Alaska
they receive a 1.84 in federal funds for every dollar they pay in taxes.
The residents also receive annual payment as their "share" of of the wealth from oil revenue
Palin would of made an amazing VP, her state is raping and she doesn't quit, wait......
-
http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/state-351388-california-growth.html#
Great article. No wonder the communist leftists and progressive marxists see nothing wrong w this crappola.
-
http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/state-351388-california-growth.html#
Great article. No wonder the communist leftists and progressive marxists see nothing wrong w this crappola.
explain how Alaska is not a communist state? why do red states receive the most handouts? how can you reconcile that fact with what you are spewing? you wanted Palin yet her state is a shithole and she quit, she quit for fame and money, you clearly lack critical thinking and are a party slave.
-
explain how Alaska is not a communist state? why do red states receive the most handouts? how can you reconcile that fact with what you are spewing? you wanted Palin yet her state is a shithole and she quit, she quit for fame and money, you clearly lack critical thinking and are a party slave.
LOL Most of Alaska is controlled by the Federal Govt douche.
Party slave? WTF are you talking about? The only slaves I see around here are those defending obama doing shit they would be in the streets over if anyone else did it.
-
LOL Most of Alaska is controlled by the Federal Govt douche.
Party slave? WTF are you talking about? The only slaves I see around here are those defending obama doing shit they would be in the streets over if anyone else did it.
are you for real? Palin quit her job to chase money, she quit LMAO. she is stupid as all fuck and you support her, the only reason being she is a repub. You have given obama no credit, absolutely nothing. You are black and white, everything obama does is bad and the answer is the next republican in line. You are bouncing from candidate to candidate as long as they are republican. You get all your info from a republican mouthpiece and claim that liberals are brainwashed, wake up moron you both are. What is so hard for you to fathom that the party that once was worthy of honour is now full of crazy fundamentalist christians who deny facts and reality.
You are a reality denying meatpie.
the facts:
red states have more poverty, less education, less income and lead the board on umemployment. What else, the red states have more health problems, lower taxes and receive the most help from the government, in fact the top ten states that receive the least handouts are all liberal states. Teen pregnancy is higher in republican lead states are more religious. You can't even argue this, it's fucking facts, you assholes run shit into the ground because you support people like Palin. I can't even fathom how she is in politics, it's hilarious to me that anyone in their right mind would vote for someone who is clearly told what to say and can't even get that straight.
oh yes the low education and religion go hand in hand, stupid people need God, they can't fathom fact and science, thunderstorms still cause shock and awe in these people. I truly value conservative ideals, but there is nothing conservative about absolute morons who sign things that state they will never raise taxes, absolutely absurd.
-
are you for real? Palin quit her job to chase money, she quit LMAO. she is stupid as all fuck and you support her, the only reason being she is a repub. You have given obama no credit, absolutely nothing. You are black and white, everything obama does is bad and the answer is the next republican in line. You are bouncing from candidate to candidate as long as they are republican. You get all your info from a republican mouthpiece and claim that liberals are brainwashed, wake up moron you both are. What is so hard for you to fathom that the party that once was worthy of honour is now full of crazy fundamentalist christians who deny facts and reality.
You are a reality denying meatpie.
the facts:
red states have more poverty, less education, less income and lead the board on umemployment. What else, the red states have more health problems, lower taxes and receive the most help from the government, in fact the top ten states that receive the least handouts are all liberal states. Teen pregnancy is higher in republican lead states are more religious. You can't even argue this, it's fucking facts, you assholes run shit into the ground because you support people like Palin. I can't even fathom how she is in politics, it's hilarious to me that anyone in their right mind would vote for someone who is clearly told what to say and can't even get that straight.
oh yes the low education and religion go hand in hand, stupid people need God, they can't fathom fact and science, thunderstorms still cause shock and awe in these people. I truly value conservative ideals, but there is nothing conservative about absolute morons who sign things that state they will never raise taxes, absolutely absurd.
Tell me what exactly I should give the ghetto marxist slug credit for?
-
Tell me what exactly I should give the ghetto marxist slug credit for?
wait you avoid all the facts as usual. Why are the republican run states the exact opposite of what you claim your party is about? they are the welfare states, they are the states the resemble communist ideals. Why then if conservative ideals are superior are these states run so poorly? why after what everyone in the world witnessed from bush (the opposite of clinton) should republicans be given more power?everything this party touches turns to shit, it's all right there in front of you. What is conservative about never raising taxes? what is conservative about avoiding green energy? what is conservative about this party at all anymore? they pay less taxes but get the most handouts. Obama inherited the worst period of american history imo after bush. The wars, the debt, the mortgage collapse etc.. how he managed to get to that point after clinton's run is mind boggling, he literally appeared to be sabotaging the USA. Obama has been too impotent, no doubt, he has lied like all politicians, but to deny how fucked up the country was when he took office is ignorant.
Even IQ is lower in the red states, which makes sense since they are often of low SES. The facts refute you and your bullshit propaganda. The problem with your country is the extremists, namely the GOP extremists. Obama has been very central in his presidency, not far left communist marxist etc.. the GOP on the other hand pushed the debt ceiling issue to the brink namely because they are far right. Far anything is usually bad, the GOP seemed to have embraced this with open arms.
-
wait you avoid all the facts as usual. Why are the republican run states the exact opposite of what you claim your party is about? they are the welfare states, they are the states the resemble communist ideals. Why then if conservative ideals are superior are these states run so poorly? why after what everyone in the world witnessed from bush (the opposite of clinton) should republicans be given more power?everything this party touches turns to shit, it's all right there in front of you. What is conservative about never raising taxes? what is conservative about avoiding green energy? what is conservative about this party at all anymore? they pay less taxes but get the most handouts. Obama inherited the worst period of american history imo after bush. The wars, the debt, the mortgage collapse etc.. how he managed to get to that point after clinton's run is mind boggling, he literally appeared to be sabotaging the USA. Obama has been too impotent, no doubt, he has lied like all politicians, but to deny how fucked up the country was when he took office is ignorant.
Even IQ is lower in the red states, which makes sense since they are often of low SES. The facts refute you and your bullshit propaganda. The problem with your country is the extremists, namely the GOP extremists. Obama has been very central in his presidency, not far left communist marxist etc.. the GOP on the other hand pushed the debt ceiling issue to the brink namely because they are far right. Far anything is usually bad, the GOP seemed to have embraced this with open arms.
Again - give me a list of 5 things you think I should cheer obama for - and dont say bin laden because i already give him credit for not getting in the way of that.
-
Again - give me a list of 5 things you think I should cheer obama for - and dont say bin laden because i already give him credit for not getting in the way of that.
i will after you acknowledge that GOP run states are worse off, if not, dispute it with facts.
-
i will after you acknowledge that GOP run states are worse off, if not, dispute it with facts.
LOL - Illinois and Cali, along w RI, are a mess.
Again 1-5 - list the things i should applaud obama for.
-
LOL - Illinois and Cali, along w RI, are a mess.
Again 1-5 - list the things i should applaud obama for.
holy sweet fuck, this is the problem. Instead of acknowledging facts and trying to critically appraise your party and their motives you attack liberals straight off. I give up, you are clearly unable to step outside your box and think about the issue. Note i'm not saying anything positive about the liberal party here, i'm just asking why this clear juxtaposition exists, between reality and ideals within this party.
the fact that some liberal states are in the shitter doesn't show the whole picture. On average liberal states are much better off in almost every SES category, thats factoring in cali etc. So the conclusion to be made is that on a whole red states are poorly run or the face some unique circumstances these blue states do not.
-
holy sweet fuck, this is the problem. Instead of acknowledging facts and trying to critically appraise your party and their motives you attack liberals straight off. I give up, you are clearly unable to step outside your box and think about the issue. Note i'm not saying anything positive about the liberal party here, i'm just asking why this clear juxtaposition exists, between reality and ideals within this party.
the fact that some liberal states are in the shitter doesn't show the whole picture. On average liberal states are much better off in almost every SES category, thats factoring in cali etc. So the conclusion to be made is that on a whole red states are poorly run or the face some unique circumstances these blue states do not.
Hey idiot - 1-5 please.
And spare me your wind bag responses. Simply typing a bigger load of shit does not make your crap stink any less.
-
Hey idiot - 1-5 please.
And spare me your wind bag responses. Simply typing a bigger load of shit does not make your crap stink any less.
;D
-
Hey idiot - 1-5 please.
And spare me your wind bag responses. Simply typing a bigger load of shit does not make your crap stink any less.
ok, why dont you post some more, its obvious you have no job or you have some mental disorder. You fit right in with the crowd you keep though.
-
SAN FRANCISCO: Double whammy! City warns store after Occupy protestors smash windows
SFGate: City Insider ^ | 5/3/12 | John Coté
Posted on May 3, 2012 6:30:24 PM EDT by SmithL
To the folks at Weston Wear, it was like getting salt rubbed in their wound.
The day after a marauding band of Occupy protestors smashed the Valencia Street clothing store’s windows, the owners got another jolt – a city citation notice for having graffiti on the plywood they had put up over the vandalized windows.
“It was just a head scratcher to us,” said Bridget Moore, the store manager. “It seemed there was no thought why we had a bunch of plywood up.”
The store’s four windows were smashed in the Monday night protest – ostensibly held over income inequality – and Weston Wear had them boarded up later that night. The next morning, Moore said, she discovered a small graffiti tag on the plywood.
. . .
Moore said that Tuesday afternoon, less than 24 hours after the protest turned violent, she found a city notice of citation taped on the plywood saying they had 30 days to remove the graffiti or face an escalating $500 fine.
(Excerpt) Read more at blog.sfgate.com ...
LOL!!!!!
-
Yeah smoldering pretty bad here today. 70's with about a 100 mile visibility and all the hills were green. Could a rats ass othwise :D
Hi five brotherman! A lot of people jealous of our beautiful California Beach Hollywood lifestyle and beautiful women ;D
-
Hi five brotherman! A lot of people jealous of our beautiful California Beach Hollywood lifestyle and beautiful women ;D
I do agree... People hate on California often because it sucks where they are.
-
I do agree... People hate on California often because it sucks where they are.
This is true.
-
I do agree... People hate on California often because it sucks where they are.
People often hate on California because of sky high price of living and bankrupt cities trying to tax the shit outta the citizens to pay for the pensions, not to mention trying to tax former citizens, lol. Oh, and the politicial climate that bankrupted the state and caused people to have to make 200k just to live comfortably.
And Washington is going the same way, thanks to a massive influx of Californians' moving to King County (who try to model themselves after california) voting in the same programs that bankrupted California.
Thats why people hate.
The way I see it, the ONLY reason to live in California is because its beautiful and the weather is always nice. (Keep in mind I lived in California for a couple years.)
-
People often hate on California because of sky high price of living and bankrupt cities trying to tax the shit outta the citizens to pay for the pensions, not to mention trying to tax former citizens, lol. Oh, and the politicial climate that bankrupted the state and caused people to have to make 200k just to live comfortably.
And Washington is going the same way, thanks to a massive influx of Californians' moving to King County (who try to model themselves after california) voting in the same programs that bankrupted California.
Thats why people hate.
The way I see it, the ONLY reason to live in California is because its beautiful and the weather is always nice. (Keep in mind I lived in California for a couple years.)
If you don't live in the state of California... Why do you care what it does?
Their tax rate has no effect on any other state, or did the laws of statehood change all of a sudden?
-
If you don't live in the state of California... Why do you care what it does?
Their tax rate has no effect on any other state, or did the laws of statehood change all of a sudden?
Because that jackass state has 55 electoral college votes , 2 jackasses in the senate, a large contingent of idiots in the congress, etc.
-
Because that jackass state has 55 electoral college votes , 2 jackasses in the senate, a large contingent of idiots in the congress, etc.
Why does that bother you?
If EVERYONE disagrees with California, then California gets nothing.
PLUS, not everyone in congress is a Democrat.
So I still don't see why everyone cares so damn much. Maybe if your states had as many people, you could have lots of reps too.
-
Actually, when theyre citizens flee on mass to other states and begin voting in the same laws that bankrupted your state, yeah it matters. Cause thats happening in my home state as we speak.
As I said, I lived in Camp Pendleton, Oceanside, California. Loved the weather, hated the prices, hated the political climate, and hated most of the people I met in L.A. (with the exception of you Tu_, your my current favorite Californian, you actually seem reasonable most of the time) ;D
As of other people that havent lived their, I couldnt say why, unless it has something to do with other states wanting to copy their political philosophy cause its "progressive" and "good for people". Lol.
But seriously, I think people hate on it because it has become a symbol for Liberal ideals and those ideals have destroyed the economy there - and other liberal leaning states look to California for guidance for some fucked up reason I cant fathom.
-
Actually, when theyre citizens flee on mass to other states and begin voting in the same laws that bankrupted your state, yeah it matters. Cause thats happening in my home state as we speak.
As I said, I lived in Camp Pendleton, Oceanside, California. Loved the weather, hated the prices, hated the political climate, and hated most of the people I met in L.A. (with the exception of you Tu_, your my current favorite Californian, you actually seem reasonable most of the time) ;D
As of other people that havent lived their, I couldnt say why, unless it has something to do with other states wanting to copy their political philosophy cause its "progressive" and "good for people". Lol.
But seriously, I think people hate on it because it has become a symbol for Liberal ideals and those ideals have destroyed the economy there - and other liberal leaning states look to California for guidance for some fucked up reason I cant fathom.
I would wager that they look to them for guidance based on the fact that it's economy is so huge.
Not that it should matter to be honest... It's just numbers... I think that wherever you have huge cities, it's just going to have a more liberal leaning.
For whatever reason, the population of most large cities just happens to lean to the left.
I think the bigger issue is that no one (left or right) is willing to look beyond their own face and do what is good for the country. Everyone only cares about themselves and THAT is where the bigger issue lies.
-
I would wager that they look to them for guidance based on the fact that it's economy is so huge.
Not that it should matter to be honest... It's just numbers... I think that wherever you have huge cities, it's just going to have a more liberal leaning.
For whatever reason, the population of most large cities just happens to lean to the left.
I think the bigger issue is that no one (left or right) is willing to look beyond their own face and do what is good for the country. Everyone only cares about themselves and THAT is where the bigger issue lies.
The economy is huge, but the political climate is bankrupting your state. And copying their laws isnt going to re-create a private sector economy - its going to bankrupt a much smaller economy much faster.
Does a massive economy matter if you have to make 200k just to get by? (Most people I know from California moved out of state to do the same job for less money, but with a huge increase in quality of life due to lower costs of living.)
Does it matter if the cities are going bankrupt and the skilled proffesionals are fleeing en'mass due to their government?
Does it matter if the economy is collapsing under the political laws?
JMHO from my very limited knowledge of Econ.
-
Another incredible day here. ;D
You fckers in shitsvile keep telling yourself how bad Cali is, it will make things better for you.
-
Another incredible day here. ;D
You fckers in shitsvile keep telling yourself how bad Cali is, it will make things better for you.
Ive lived there! Aside from the weather its a fucking shithole! Yes, there are some beautiful neighborhoods, but unless your a millionaire it fucking sucks there IMHO. Just because its pretty doesnt mean its a nice place to live.
Seriously, I kind of understand pride in your state, but I fucking hate my home state of Washington. I realize its a shithole, and I realize my government is making things 100x worse.
Seems like 99% of you California's live in ignorance, like your cities arent going bankrupt, like its some glorious wonderland and that you cannot imagine living anywhere else.
My school has more CNC programmer positions calling from Cali for workers, than their are people in the class. No one will go work there, not even the 2 guys from Cali. They told everyone else to stay the fuck outta that state if you want a decent living.
-
Yeah right. You don't have to be a millionaire to live here. It's great. The women are beautiful, the Hollywood nightlife is great. Everything about it is fantastic.
-
Let me ask some of you Californians, how many other states have you lived in?
Is the ONLY reason you live in Cali for the women, weather and the nightlife?
Cause if so, than fine. I wont argue that. But if not, what are you reason for so vehemently defending it as you do?
So far, all Ive heard from any of you is
"You keep talking shit! Its sunny with hot chicks! Yeah!"
(Note this is exempting Tu_Holmes)
-
Let me ask some of you Californians, how many other states have you lived in?
Is the ONLY reason you live in Cali for the women, weather and the nightlife?
Cause if so, than fine. I wont argue that. But if not, what are you reason for vehemently defending it so hard?
So far, all Ive heard from any of you is
"You keep talking shit! Its sunny with hot chicks! Yeah!"
(Note this is exempting Tu_Holmes)
Of course that's why we live here (in addition to occupational reasons).
What more reason do you need?
-
Of course that's why we live here (in addition to occupational reasons).
What more reason do you need?
Occupational reasons where you have to make 3x the national average just to live comfortably? (Where, FYI according to the numbers Ive seen, you DONT make 3x the national average on the majority of jobs)
If your lucky enough to have a job in Cali that pays enough to live well, good on you. But your definatley not in the majority, otherwise you wouldnt be having such a massive exodus of people fleeing to less retardedly ran states.
BTW, this topic I think was supposed to more be about the failure of Cali's political ideologies, than about why Cali owns ever other state cause of the bitches and sun.
-
Occupational reasons where you have to make 3x the national average just to live comfortably? (Where, FYI according to the numbers Ive seen, you DONT make 3x the national average on the majority of jobs)
If your lucky enough to have a job in Cali that pays enough to live well, good on you. But your definatley not in the majority, otherwise you wouldnt be having such a massive exodus of people fleeing to less retardedly ran states.
BTW, this topic I think was supposed to more be about the failure of Cali's political ideologies, than about why Cali owns ever other state cause of the bitches and sun.
You sound like an embittered ex-Californian that couldn't cut it in this state.
Some jobs (entertainment industry) you don't have a choice--it's either NY or CA--and I'd take California over NY any day.
I agree that it is poorly ran, but things haven't fallen off enough yet that people don't want to live here. It's still better than living in the midwest.
-
You sound like an embittered ex-Californian that couldn't cut it in this state.
Some jobs (entertainment industry) you don't have a choice--it's either NY or CA--and I'd take California over NY any day.
I agree that it is poorly ran, but things haven't fallen off enough yet that people don't want to live here. It's still better than living in the midwest.
I was in the Military broseph, Camp Pendleton. Not originally Californian. I didnt have to struggle for a job or deal with any of that shit - I could just see what it was like whenever we had liberty. Yeah, its was fun and you guys had hot loose chicks, but I would never go there for a job, when I could go elsewhere and live a much higher standard of living with the same or lower wage.
Im married and not interested in hot sluts anymore, and there is plenty of other strong economies have decent weather and arent particularly hostile towards skilled workers. But thats just me.
These are all observations from someone fairly unbiased - I wasnt from there and was distant enough from things that I could enjoy the good things but still take an overall look at the state.
You guys in the state seem to love it like there isnt anything else (Most while never having lived anywhere else), while most other people look at California like a plague they wish to break off and float away. (I dont feel that strongly, but there is plenty of reasons for me to move somewhere else and zero for me to move back there.) - Again these are simply observations made over the course of my life, from people that lived their to people that left, and people from across the country.
I think what is most interesting is that back in the 90's, everyone wanted to move to Cali. Now you cant pay people to move there. Its strange to me, but Its mostly laid squarely at the feet of your state government.
BTW, comparing the midwest to anything is akin to comparing it to a piece of shit. No one wants to live in the midwest.
-
I was in the Military broseph, Camp Pendleton. Not originally Californian. I didnt have to struggle for a job or deal with any of that shit - I could just see what it was like whenever we had liberty. Yeah, its was fun and you guys had hot loose chicks, but I would never go there for a job, when I could go elsewhere and live a much higher standard of living with the same or lower wage.
Im married and not interested in hot sluts anymore, and there is plenty of other strong economies have decent weather and arent particularly hostile towards skilled workers. But thats just me.
These are all observations from someone fairly unbiased - I wasnt from there and was distant enough from things that I could enjoy the good things but still take an overall look at the state.
You guys in the state seem to love it like there isnt anything else (Most while never having lived anywhere else), while most other people look at California like a plague they wish to break off and float away. (I dont feel that strongly, but there is plenty of reasons for me to move somewhere else and zero for me to move back there.) - Again these are simply observations made over the course of my life, from people that lived their to people that left, and people from across the country.
I think what is most interesting is that back in the 90's, everyone wanted to move to Cali. Now you cant pay people to move there. Its strange to me, but Its mostly laid squarely at the feet of your state government.
BTW, comparing the midwest to anything is akin to comparing it to a piece of shit. No one wants to live in the midwest.
California is superior to all other states. We have the largest economy and the most electoral votes. Our opinion has a far greater impact than other states.
We are effectively a separate country. We have the hottest women. We have an amazing climate and the beach. We have celebrities.
-
California is superior to all other states. We have the largest economy and the most electoral votes. Our opinion has a far greater impact than other states.
We are effectively a separate country. We have the hottest women. We have an amazing climate and the beach. We have celebrities.
This made me lol, and is probably the only reason I could justify the San Andreas fault breaking off and watching you guys float away.
Itd all be worth it just to get rid of all those homo actors/celebrities/wannabe celebrities.
-
Ive lived there! Aside from the weather its a fucking shithole! Yes, there are some beautiful neighborhoods, but unless your a millionaire it fucking sucks there IMHO. Just because its pretty doesnt mean its a nice place to live.
Seriously, I kind of understand pride in your state, but I fucking hate my home state of Washington. I realize its a shithole, and I realize my government is making things 100x worse.
Seems like 99% of you California's live in ignorance, like your cities arent going bankrupt, like its some glorious wonderland and that you cannot imagine living anywhere else.
My school has more CNC programmer positions calling from Cali for workers, than their are people in the class. No one will go work there, not even the 2 guys from Cali. They told everyone else to stay the fuck outta that state if you want a decent living.
Dude, stop being a propaganda bot, I make decent living, have a nice house, car etc... AND the weather and terrain is fantastic. People are friendlier for the most part than most of the USA too.
-
Dude, stop being a propaganda bot, I make decent living, have a nice house, car etc... AND the weather and terrain is fantastic. People are friendlier for the most part than most of the USA too.
Im dead serious dude. My school is getting calls daily from race shops in Cali that need CNC machinists (operators and programmers), and no one is willing to go there.
I dont know why you think Im being a propoganda bot, im not making shit up.
- It has nice weather and hot chicks;
- but you have to make waaayyy more to have the same quality of life as other places.
- and, your government is bankrupting your state moreso than any other state.
- Your having a mass exodus of skilled employees to other states.
These are facts.
You refuted NOTHING I have said, just the same thing you say everytime, weather yadda yadda im doing ok.
Duh.
-
The economy is huge, but the political climate is bankrupting your state. And copying their laws isnt going to re-create a private sector economy - its going to bankrupt a much smaller economy much faster.
Does a massive economy matter if you have to make 200k just to get by? (Most people I know from California moved out of state to do the same job for less money, but with a huge increase in quality of life due to lower costs of living.)
Does it matter if the cities are going bankrupt and the skilled proffesionals are fleeing en'mass due to their government?
Does it matter if the economy is collapsing under the political laws?
JMHO from my very limited knowledge of Econ.
You will get no disagreement from me that there is a huge problem with the way politicians in California typically look at their own economy and most of that stems from lack of control on spending. The problem is that it's not just them.
In 2009 there was a ballot vote that basically said "Should the government cut spending"? The vote was a resounding YES by a pretty good majority.
Along with that was a subsection, of, should we cut:
Public Safety: Vote was a majority NO
Social Services: Vote was a majority NO
Road Service: Vote was a majority NO
Basically, they all voted yes to cutting spending, and then they voted NO on cutting it out from an specific item.
So nothing got cut and all of the spending stayed.
That's why California is fucked up.
This was a public vote... The constituents voted this way. I was dumbfounded.
-
May 12, 2012
Shortfall in California’s Budget Swells to $16 Billion
By ADAM NAGOURNEY
LOS ANGELES — The state budget shortfall in California has increased dramatically in the last six months, forcing state officials to assemble a series of new spending cuts that are likely to mean further reductions to schools, health care and other social programs already battered by nearly five years of budget retrenchment, state officials announced on Saturday.
Gov. Jerry Brown, disclosing the development in a video posted on YouTube, said that California’s shortfall was now projected to be $16 billion, up from $9.2 billion in January. Mr. Brown said that he would propose a revised budget on Monday to deal with it.
“We are now facing a $16 billion hole, not the $9 billion we thought in January,” Mr. Brown said. “This means we will have to go much further and make cuts far greater than I asked for at the beginning of the year.”
Mr. Brown disclosed the news in a video that had all the trappings of a campaign announcement. In it, he aggressively accounted for the steps he said he had taken to try to scale back a $26 billion deficit he found upon taking office. And he urged viewers to back an initiative he is putting on the November ballot that would increase sales taxes by 0.25 percent and impose an income tax surcharge on wealthy Californians to try to stave off more cuts.
State officials said Mr. Brown’s proposal would include a package of immediate cuts, as well as others that would be triggered only if voters failed to approve his tax plan. The sales tax increase would expire after four years, while the income tax surcharge would last for seven years.
State officials said the shortfall was a result of disappointing revenue collections in April as California continued to struggle to pull out of the recession. “We are still recovering from the worst recession since the 1930s,” Mr. Brown said.
Still, the state controller reported that the state had exceeded spending by $2.1 billion as well, though Mr. Brown said court rulings and other actions that restricted California from making the cuts were at least partly to blame.
At the same time, the deficit projections — which have been increasing since Mr. Brown and the Democratic-controlled Legislature approved a budget last summer — suggest that the state may have been overly optimistic in estimating what kind of revenue it would take in. That has been a repeated problem in Sacramento as officials have struggled over the past five years with the state’s worst financial crisis since the Depression. Mr. Brown, in taking office last year, pledged to end what he said were the tricks lawmakers regularly used to paper over budget shortfalls.
-
(Democrat) Brown pushes tax hike as California's money woes deepen
reuters ^ | 5/14/2012 | Jim Christie
Posted on May 14, 2012 6:24:51 AM EDT by tobyhill
(Democrat) California Governor Jerry Brown was elected in 2010 on a promise to fix the state's chronic fiscal crisis. His weekend announcement of a much bigger-than-expected shortfall in the state budget signals how far he still has to go.
In an unusual move that underscored the highly politicized nature of the state budget, Brown took to YouTube on Saturday to deliver the bad news: the state's projected budget deficit for the fiscal year starting July 1 is now $16 billion, up from the $9 billion anticipated in January.
The Democratic governor also warned of further cuts to an already-battered public education system if voters rejected a tax increase in a ballot initiative this fall.
On Monday, Brown will hold a news conference to detail the new budget deficit and how he intends to close it.
California, whose economy is the largest in the nation and would rank ninth in the world if the state were a country, has struggled for decades with a tax system in which property tax increases are limited by law and tax hikes of any kind must be approved by voter initiatives or a two-thirds vote of the legislature.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
-
California and further tax hikes:
1.)The new taxes won't generate the amount of money that they predict.
2.)They will budget for the fantasy amount anyways.
3.)Every last penny of the new revenue will be spent.
4.)They will be in a deeper hole next year.
-
California and further tax hikes:
1.)The new taxes won't generate the amount of money that they predict.
2.)They will budget for the fantasy amount anyways.
3.)Every last penny of the new revenue will be spent.
4.)They will be in a deeper hole next year.
5.)Will drive more skilled employees out of the state, which I guess falls under number 1 as well.
-
They deserve everything they get for voting for the same Democrats who destroyed that state's economy.
Que a moron to "brag" about California's weather in 3, 2, 1...
-
I am for reducing the state's population. Its the only real shitty thing about place. And frankly, unless you are a state or city employee, California is freaking great!
Very mild winters, tons of stuff to do, very little gray dirty industrial shit holes, like for example Cleveland, skiing, surfing, hiking, camping, etc. practically year round, ;D
-
They deserve everything they get for voting for the same Democrats who destroyed that state's economy.
Que a moron to "brag" about California's weather in 3, 2, 1...
Here's the point Dario:
Unless you live in Cali you don't get it. Nothing that you read about, the blatant propaganda about a failed liberal state, affects me or the vast majority of people here.
So yeah, the weather is GREAT!
I hope California's budget troubles makes you feel better about living what ever shit hole you live in.
-
Here's the point Dario:
Unless you live in Cali you don't get it. Nothing that you read about, the blatant propaganda about a failed liberal state, affects me or the vast majority of people here.
So yeah, the weather is GREAT!
I hope California's budget troubles makes you feel better about living what ever shit hole you live in.
HEHEHEHE!!
So you are not concerned that you live in a bankrupt state and that in time the other states with the "bad" weather may have to bail you out.
Give it time. Unless you are wealthy, if your state doesn't get it together, you will suffer the consequences.
-
HEHEHEHE!!
So you are not concerned that you live in a bankrupt state and that in time the other states with the "bad" weather may have to bail you out.
Give it time. Unless you are wealthy, if your state doesn't get it together, you will suffer the consequences.
I have lived here for 35 years.
If all you can say is: "Give it time. Unless you are wealthy, if your state doesn't get it together, you will suffer the consequences." then you are grasping for straws and making assertions based on complete ignorance.
AND...............consid ering you don't even live here shows hows stupid you are to fall for conservative spin.
That being said, you should know where i stand on California issues:
- too much government
- Corrupt state government
- Wanted Meg not Jerry
- Too much EPA BS
- State has lots of problems
But as far it affects me? It doesn't. What affects me is the great weather, and the greatness of the land. :)
Spent the weekend in Simi Valley and Ventura, visited the Ronald Reagan Library, hung out on the beach, Over dosed on Beer and Sushi. :)
What's not to love?
-
I have lived here for 35 years.
If all you can say is: "Give it time. Unless you are wealthy, if your state doesn't get it together, you will suffer the consequences." then you are grasping for straws and making assertions based on complete ignorance.
AND...............consid ering you don't even live here shows hows stupid you are to fall for conservative spin.
That being said, you should know where i stand on California issues:
- too much government
- Corrupt state government
- Wanted Meg not Jerry
- Too much EPA BS
- State has lots of problems
But as far it affects me? It doesn't. What affects me is the great weather, and the greatness of the land. :)
Spent the weekend in Simi Valley and Ventura, visited the Ronald Reagan Library, hung out on the beach, Over dosed on Beer and Sushi. :)
What's not to love?
pelosi, waxman, feinstein, gov. brown, boxer, gavin neusem, et al.
-
I have lived here for 35 years.
If all you can say is: "Give it time. Unless you are wealthy, if your state doesn't get it together, you will suffer the consequences." then you are grasping for straws and making assertions based on complete ignorance.
AND...............consid ering you don't even live here shows hows stupid you are to fall for conservative spin.
That being said, you should know where i stand on California issues:
- too much government
- Corrupt state government
- Wanted Meg not Jerry
- Too much EPA BS
- State has lots of problems
But as far it affects me? It doesn't. What affects me is the great weather, and the greatness of the land. :)
Spent the weekend in Simi Valley and Ventura, visited the Ronald Reagan Library, hung out on the beach, Over dosed on Beer and Sushi. :)
What's not to love?
Did you not read your post? You just confirmed why your state is in the economic crapper. Conservative view point? Your state's troubling economic stituation has been reported by many in the media. EVEN WITHIN YOUR STATE. I don't need to live there to read the figures. IT IS A FACT YOUR STATE IS IN TROUBLE, EVEN IF A CONSERVATIVE SAYS IT.
But, hey, you have nice weather, duuuuude. Hanging tan, man!!
-
Did you not read your post? You just confirmed why your state is in the economic crapper. Conservative view point? Your state's troubling economic stituation has been reported by many in the media. EVEN WITHIN YOUR STATE. I don't need to live there to read the figures. IT IS A FACT YOUR STATE IS IN TROUBLE, EVEN IF A CONSERVATIVE SAYS IT.
But, hey, you have nice weather, duuuuude. Hanging tan, man!!
So?
Its doesn't effect me, but things like the weather do.
Take pleasure in pointing out the economic problems of California to help make life easier to live in the shit hole you live in.
READ THAT. :)
-
So?
Its doesn't effect me, but things like the weather do.
Take pleasure in pointing out the economic problems of California to help make life easier to live in the shit hole you live in.
READ THAT. :)
Perfect example of an obamabot right there.
-
Perfect example of an obamabot right there.
Tool is tool does. (always goes to the OB bot lol)
How's that shit hole you live in these days?
You know, that dirty immigrant infested sewer?
:)
-
Tool is tool does. (always goes to the OB bot lol)
How's that shit hole you live in these days?
You know, that dirty immigrant infested sewer?
:)
Trying to leave - it sucks.
Thugs everywhere worse than roaches.
-
Trying to leave - it sucks.
Thugs everywhere worse than roaches.
Is it hard because your business is there?
Don't blame ya.
Also, I do agree Cali is fucked up, but unless you are a state or city employee or dependent on aid or entitlements, its great place to live if you can afford it. I can. None of that stuff affects me. Higher state taxes do suck, but its a small price to pay IMO, for what i get from living here in terms of weather, land, and things to do.
-
Is it hard because your business is there?
Don't blame ya.
Also, I do agree Cali is fucked up, but unless you are a state or city employee or dependent on aid or entitlements, its great place to live if you can afford it. I can. None of that stuff affects me. Higher state taxes do suck, but its a small price to pay IMO, for what i get from living here in terms of weather, land, and things to do.
I have been trying to sell my office and the real estate market is dead dead dead. Realtor said we have to lowert he price again. not happy about it, but still have enough equity to walk away w enough $$4 to make it worth it.
-
Troy Senik
The Worst Union in America
How the California Teachers Association betrayed the schools and crippled the state
Spring 2012
In 1962, as tensions ran high between school districts and unions across the country, members of the National Education Association gathered in Denver for the organization’s 100th annual convention. Among the speakers was Arthur F. Corey, executive director of the California Teachers Association (CTA). “The strike as a weapon for teachers is inappropriate, unprofessional, illegal, outmoded, and ineffective,” Corey told the crowd. “You can’t go out on an illegal strike one day and expect to go back to your classroom and teach good citizenship the next.”
Fast-forward nearly 50 years to May 2011, when the CTA—now the single most powerful special interest in California—organized a “State of Emergency” week to agitate for higher taxes in one of the most overtaxed states in the nation. A CTA document suggested dozens of ways for teachers to protest, including following state legislators incessantly, attempting to close major transportation arteries, and boycotting companies, such as Microsoft, that backed education reform. The week’s centerpiece was an occupation of the state capitol by hundreds of teachers and student sympathizers from the Cal State University system, who clogged the building’s hallways and refused to leave. Police arrested nearly 100 demonstrators for trespassing, including then–CTA president David Sanchez. The protesting teachers had left their jobs behind, even though their students were undergoing important statewide tests that week. With the passage of 50 years, the CTA’s notions of “good citizenship” had vanished.
So had high-quality public education in California. Seen as a national leader in the classroom during the 1950s and 1960s, the country’s largest state is today a laggard, competing with the likes of Mississippi and Washington, D.C., at the bottom of national rankings. The Golden State’s education tailspin has been blamed on everything from class sizes to the property-tax restrictions enforced by Proposition 13 to an influx of Spanish-speaking students. But no portrait of the system’s downfall would be complete without a depiction of the CTA, a political behemoth that blocks meaningful education reform, protects failing and even criminal educators, and inflates teacher pay and benefits to unsustainable levels.
The CTA began its transformation in September 1975, when Governor Jerry Brown signed the Rodda Act, which allowed California teachers to bargain collectively. Within 18 months, 600 of the 1,000 local CTA chapters moved to collective bargaining. As the union’s power grew, its ranks nearly doubled, from 170,000 in the late 1970s to approximately 325,000 today. By following the union’s directions and voting in blocs in low-turnout school-board elections, teachers were able to handpick their own supervisors—a system that private-sector unionized workers would envy. Further, the organization that had once forsworn the strike began taking to the picket lines. Today, the CTA boasts that it has launched more than 170 strikes in the years since Rodda’s passage.
The CTA’s most important resource, however, isn’t a pool of workers ready to strike; it’s a fat bank account fed by mandatory dues that can run more than $1,000 per member. In 2009, the union’s income was more than $186 million, all of it tax-exempt. The CTA doesn’t need its members’ consent to spend this money on politicking, whether that’s making campaign contributions or running advocacy campaigns to obstruct reform. According to figures from the California Fair Political Practices Commission (a public institution) in 2010, the CTA had spent more than $210 million over the previous decade on political campaigning—more than any other donor in the state. In fact, the CTA outspent the pharmaceutical industry, the oil industry, and the tobacco industry combined.
All this money has helped the union rack up an imposing number of victories. The first major win came in 1988, with the passage of Proposition 98. That initiative compelled California to spend more than 40 percent of its annual budget on education in grades K–12 and community college. The spending quota eliminated schools’ incentive to get value out of every dollar: since funding was locked in, there was no need to make things run cost-effectively. Thanks to union influence on local school boards, much of the extra money—about $450 million a year—went straight into teachers’ salaries. Prop. 98’s malign effects weren’t limited to education, however: by essentially making public school funding an entitlement rather than a matter of discretionary spending, it hastened California’s erosion of fiscal discipline. In recent years, estimates of mandatory spending’s share of the state’s budget have run as high as 85 percent, making it highly difficult for the legislature to confront the severe budget crises of the past decade.
In 1991, the CTA took to the ramparts again to combat Proposition 174, a ballot initiative that would have made California a national leader in school choice by giving families universal access to school vouchers. When initiative supporters began circulating the petitions necessary to get it onto the ballot, some CTA members tried to intimidate petition signers physically. The union also encouraged people to sign the petition multiple times in order to throw the process into chaos. “There are some proposals so evil that they should never go before the voters,” explained D. A. Weber, the CTA’s president. One of the consultants who organized the petitions testified in a court declaration at the time that people with union ties had offered him $400,000 to refrain from distributing them. Another claimed that a CTA member had tried to run him off the road after a debate on school choice.
Weber and his followers weren’t successful in keeping the proposition off the ballot, but they did manage to delay it for two years, giving themselves time to organize a counteroffensive. They ran ads, recalls Ken Khachigian, the former White House speechwriter who headed the Yes on 174 campaign, “claiming that a witches’ coven would be eligible for the voucher funds and [could] set up a school of its own.” They threatened to field challengers against political candidates who supported school choice. They bullied members of the business community who contributed money to the pro-voucher effort. When In-N-Out Burger donated $25,000 to support Prop. 174, for instance, the CTA threatened to press schools to drop contracts with the company.
In 1993, Prop. 174 finally came to a statewide vote. The union had persuaded March Fong Eu, the CTA-endorsed secretary of state, to alter the proposition’s heading on the ballot from PARENTAL CHOICE to EDUCATION VOUCHERS—a change in wording that cost Prop. 174 ten points in the polls, according to Myron Lieberman in his book The Teacher Unions. The initiative, which had originally enjoyed 2–1 support among California voters, managed to garner only a little over 30 percent of the vote. Prop. 174’s backers had been outspent by a factor of eight, with the CTA alone dropping $12.5 million on the opposition campaign.
As the CTA’s power grew, it learned that it could extract policy concessions simply by employing its aggressive PR machine. In 1996, with the state’s budget in surplus, the CTA spent $1 million on an ad campaign touting the virtues of reduced class sizes in kindergarten through third grade. Feeling the heat from the campaign, Republican governor Pete Wilson signed a measure providing subsidies to schools with classes of 20 children or fewer. The program was a disaster: it failed to improve educational outcomes, and the need to hire many new teachers quickly, to handle all the smaller classes, reduced the quality of teachers throughout the state. The program cost California nearly $2 billion per year at its high-water mark, becoming the most expensive education-reform initiative in the state’s history. But it worked out well for the CTA, whose ranks and coffers were swelled by all those new teachers.
The union’s steady supply of cash allowed it to continue its quest for political dominance unabated. In 1998, it spent nearly $7 million to defeat Proposition 8—which would have used student performance as a criterion for teacher reviews and would have required educators to pass credentialing examinations in their disciplines—and more than $2 million in a failed attempt to block Proposition 227, which eliminated bilingual education in public schools. In 2002, the union spent $26 million to defeat Proposition 38, another school voucher proposal. And in 2005, with a special election called by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger looming, the CTA came up with a colossal $58 million—even going so far as to mortgage its Sacramento headquarters—to defeat initiatives that would have capped the growth of state spending, made it easier to fire underperforming teachers, and ensured “paycheck protection,” which compels unions to get their members’ consent before using dues for political purposes. (A new paycheck-protection measure will appear on the November 2012 ballot.)
Cannily, the CTA also funds a wide array of liberal causes unrelated to education, with the goal of spreading around enough cash to prevent dissent from the Left. Among these causes: implementing a single-payer health-care system in California, blocking photo-identification requirements for voters, and limiting restraints on the government’s power of eminent domain. The CTA was the single biggest financial opponent of another Proposition 8, the controversial 2008 proposal to ban gay marriage, ponying up $1.3 million to fight an initiative that eventually won 52.2 percent of the vote. The union has also become the biggest donor to the California Democratic Party. From 2003 to 2012, the CTA spent nearly $102 million on political contributions; 0.08 percent of that money went to Republicans.
At the same time that the union was becoming the largest financial force in California politics, it was developing an equally powerful ground game, stifling reform efforts at the local level. Consider the case of Locke High School in the poverty-stricken Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts. Founded in response to the area’s 1967 riots, Locke was intended to provide a quality education to the neighborhood’s almost universally minority students. For years, it failed: in 2006, with a student body that was 65 percent Hispanic and 35 percent African-American, the school sent just 5 percent of its graduates to four-year colleges, and the dropout rate was nearly 51 percent.
Shortly before Locke reached this nadir, the school hired a reform-minded principal, Frank Wells, who was determined to revive the school’s fortunes. Just a few days after he arrived, a group of rival gangs got into a dust-up; Wells expelled 80 of the students involved. In the new atmosphere of discipline, Locke dropped “from first in the number of campus crime reports in LAUSD [Los Angeles Unified School District] to thirteenth,” writes Donna Foote in Relentless Pursuit: A Year in the Trenches with Teach for America. Test scores and college acceptance also began to rise, Foote reports.
But trouble arose with the union when Wells began requiring Locke teachers to present weekly lesson plans. The local CTA affiliate—United Teachers Los Angeles—filed a grievance against him and was soon urging his removal. The last straw was Wells’s effort to convert Locke into an independent charter school, where teachers would operate under severely restricted union contracts. In May 2007, the district removed Wells from his job. He was escorted from his office by three police officers and an associate superintendent of schools, all on the basis of union allegations that he had let teachers use classroom time to sign a petition to turn Locke into a charter. Wells called the allegations “a total fabrication,” and the signature gatherers backed him up. The LAUSD reassigned him to a district office, where he was paid $600 a day to sit in a cubicle and do nothing.
Luckily for Locke students, the union’s rearguard action came too late. In 2007, the Los Angeles Board of Education voted 5–2 to hand Locke High School to Green Dot, a charter school operator. Four years later, as the final class of Locke students who had attended the school prior to its transformation received their diplomas, the school’s graduation rate was 68 percent, and over 56 percent of Locke graduates were headed for higher education.
One of the most noticeable changes at Locke has ramifications statewide: when Green Dot took over, it required all teachers to reapply for their jobs. It hired back only about one-third of them. That approach is unimaginable in the rest of the state’s public schools, where a teaching job is essentially a lifetime sinecure. A tiny 0.03 percent of California teachers are dismissed after three or more years on the job. In the past decade, the LAUSD—home to 33,000 teachers—has dismissed only four. Even when teachers are fired, it’s seldom because of their classroom performance: a 2009 exposé by the Los Angeles Times found that only 20 percent of successful dismissals in the state had anything to do with teaching ability. Most terminations involved teachers behaving either obscenely or criminally. The National Council on Teacher Quality, a Washington-based education-reform organization, gave California a D-minus on its teacher-firing policies in its 2010 national report card.
Responsibility for this sorry situation goes largely to the CTA, which has won concessions that make firing a teacher so difficult that educators can usually keep their jobs for any offense that doesn’t cross into outright criminality. With the cost of the proceedings regularly running near half a million dollars, many districts choose to shuffle problem employees around rather than try to fire them.
Even outright offenses are no guarantee of removal, thanks to CTA influence. When a fired teacher appeals his case beyond the school board, it goes to the Commission on Professional Competence—two of whose three members are also teachers, one of them chosen by the educator whose case is being heard. The CTA has stacked this process as well by bargaining to require evidentiary standards equal to those used in civil-court procedures and coaching the teachers on the panels. One veteran school-district lawyer calls the appeals process “one of the most complicated civil legal matters anywhere.” As the Times noted, “The district wanted to fire a high school teacher who kept a stash of pornography, marijuana and vials with cocaine residue at school, but [the Commission on Professional Competence] balked, suggesting that firing was too harsh.” The commission was also the reason that, as the newspaper continued, the district was “unsuccessful in firing a male middle school teacher spotted lying on top of a female colleague in the metal shop”; the district had failed to “prove that the two were having sex.”
Another regulatory body dominated by CTA influence is the state’s Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC), the institution responsible for removing the credentials of misbehaving teachers. A report released in 2011 by California state auditor Elaine Howle found that the commission had a backlog of approximately 12,600 cases, with responses sometimes taking as long as three years. Because the CTC—which was created by an act sponsored by the CTA—is made up of members appointed by the governor, the CTA is able to bring its political pressure to bear on determining the commission’s makeup. In September 2011, for instance, one of Governor Jerry Brown’s appointments to the CTC was Kathy Harris, who had previously been a CTA lobbyist to the body.
The CTA’s most recent crusade for job security made clear that the union was prepared to jeopardize the financial future of California’s schools. Last June, it vigorously pushed (and Governor Brown hastily signed) Assembly Bill 114, which prevented any teacher layoffs or program cuts in the coming fiscal year and removed the requirement that school districts present balanced budget plans. The bill also forced public schools to prepare budget estimates that didn’t take into account the state’s downturn in revenues—meaning that schools could budget for activities even though there wasn’t money to pay for them. Since then, state officials have forecast that revenues for the 2012 fiscal year will be $3.2 billion lower than they were when the schools were making their budgets. Eventually, accommodations to reality will have to be made—at which time the CTA will, of course, use them to plead hardship.
Such pleas seem impudent coming from the highest-paid teachers in the nation, with an average annual salary of $68,000. For a bit of perspective, if two California teachers get married (not an unusual occurrence) and each makes the average salary, their combined annual income would be $136,000, nearly $80,000 more than what the state’s median household pulls down. That’s for an average annual workload of 180 days, only two-thirds of the average total in the private sector. Don’t forget retirement benefits: after 30 years, a California teacher may retire with a pension equal to about 75 percent of his working salary. That pension averages more than $51,000 a year—more than working teachers earn in more than half the states in the nation. And that’s just an average; from 2005 to 2011, the number of education employees pulling down more than $100,000 a year in pensions skyrocketed from 700 to 5,400.
With the state’s economy in tumult, however, prospects for the teachers’ retirement fund look grim. CalSTRS is now officially estimated to have about $56 billion in liabilities and about 30 years left before it runs dry, though many outside analysts think that those numbers are too optimistic. A report by the Legislative Analyst’s Office in November 2011 estimated that restoring full funding to CalSTRS would require finding an extra $3.9 billion a year for at least 30 years.
If California is to generate the economic growth necessary to mitigate its coming fiscal reckoning, it will need to retain its historical role as a leading site for innovation and entrepreneurship. But that won’t be possible if its next generation of would-be entrepreneurs attends one of the Golden State’s many mediocre or failing schools. And what little economic dynamism is left in California will be impeded if the union gets its way and the state increases its already weighty tax burden.
Meaningful change probably won’t come from elected officials, at least for now. The CTA’s size, financial resources, and influence with the state’s regnant Democratic Party are enough to kill most pieces of hostile legislation. For years, school reformers fantasized about a transformative figure who could shift the balance of power from the union through force of charisma and personality, taking his case directly to the people. Yet when that figure seemed to emerge in Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, even he proved unable to alter the status quo, with his 2005 ballot initiatives to reform tenure, school financing, and political spending by unions all going down to decisive defeat. It’s unlikely that salvation will come from Governor Brown, either. The man who originally opened the door for the CTA’s collective bargaining has remained a steadfast ally of the union, firing four pro-reform members of the state board of education in his first few days in office and appointing a new group that included Patricia Ann Rucker, the CTA’s top lobbyist. Brown also avoided including any changes to CalSTRS in his October announcement of proposed pension reforms, probably because he had learned Schwarzenegger’s lesson that irking the CTA can lead to the demise of a broader agenda.
Parents, however, are starting to revolt against CTA orthodoxy. Unlike elected officials, parents—who want nothing more than a good education for their kids—are hard for the union to demonize. In early 2010, a Los Angeles–based nonprofit called Parent Revolution shocked California’s pundit class by getting the state legislature to pass the nation’s first “parent trigger” law, which lets parents at failing schools force districts to undertake certain reforms, including converting schools into independent charters. The law caps the number of schools eligible for reform at 75, but if early results are successful, it will become hard for Californians to avoid comparing thriving charter schools with failing traditional ones.
The CTA is fighting back, of course. In 2010, when 61 percent of parents at McKinley Elementary School in the blighted L.A. neighborhood of Compton opted to pull the trigger, the CTA claimed that “parents were never given the full picture . . . [or] informed of the great progress already being made”—despite the fact that McKinley’s performance was ranked beneath nearly all other inner-city schools in the state. Several Hispanic parents in the district also said that members of the union had threatened to report them to immigration authorities if they signed the petition. Eventually, the Compton Unified school board—heavily lobbied by the CTA—dismissed the petition signatures, with no discussion, as “insufficient” on a handful of technicalities, such as missing dates and typos. Though the union’s power had proved too much for the McKinley parents, an enterprising charter school operator opened two new campuses in the neighborhood anyway.
Institutions like Locke High School, Green Dot, Parent Revolution, and the Compton charters are glimmers of hope for California’s public school system. Despite their inferior resources, they have fought the CTA not by participating in direct political conflict but by undermining the union’s moral standing. These organizations reframe the education question in starkly humanitarian terms: In the California public school system, are anyone’s interests more important than the students’? It was a question that the CTA itself might have asked back when teachers entered the classroom to “teach good citizenship.”
Troy Senik is a senior fellow at the Center for Individual Freedom and an editor at Ricochet.com.
http://www.city-journal.org/2012/22_2_california-teachers-association.html
-
http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/california-356374-state-billion.html
Same as NYS - decent hard working people trying to escpae the democrat/communist/socialist tyranny in droves.
-
Maybe the UN and NATO should get involved like in Egypt and Libya
-
http://www.businessinsider.com/stockton-california-nears-bankruptcy-2012-6
They all need o declare bankruptcy and tell the unions to fuk off
-
OPINION Updated June 3, 2012, 6:03 p.m. ET
Boskin and Cogan: California's Casino Budgeting
Higher tax rates will speed the exodus from the state and increase the revenue system's dangerous volatility.
facebook
twitter
google plus
linked in
Email
Print
Save
↓ More
By MICHAEL BOSKIN AND JOHN COGAN
California's fiscal and governance crisis careens from bad to worse. The latest blow: a 70% increase in the state's projected budget deficit in Gov. Jerry Brown's revised budget, to $16 billion from $9 billion. Meanwhile, S&P warns of a downgrade to the state's bond rating, already the lowest of any state, and the latest CEO survey ranks California's business climate dead last.
Caught in the symbiotic financial embrace of special interests—teacher and other public-employee unions, trial lawyers and environmental extremists—Mr. Brown and the state legislature repeatedly nibble around the edges of the budget broken by costly, ineffective programs, financed by an uncompetitive, volatile tax system.
David Klein
Mr. Brown colorfully but correctly calls the budget, riddled with earmarks and creative accounting, a "pretzel palace of incredible complexity." He and the state legislature are choking on the pretzel. They've lost credibility by offering hopelessly optimistic projections; diverting revenue earmarked for other purposes (such as funds meant to help homeowners from the national bank-mortgage settlement) to the general fund; and gambling on Silicon Valley to produce more revenue from capital gains and stock options. Call it casino budgeting.
The governor describes his budget and November tax-hike ballot initiative as "real increased austerity" while calling on voters to "please increase taxes temporarily." Cutting through the shifting numbers and fanciful assumptions, what is actually proposed is closer to a permanent tax hike and modest temporary budget cuts to fund a permanent spending increase.
Mr. Brown's original bad idea, raising the state's top marginal tax rate of 10.3% to 12.3% for five years, is now even worse: a highest-in-the-nation 13.3% on individuals and small businesses for seven years retroactive to Jan. 1, 2012, and a small increase in the sales tax for next year.
While the governor proposes cuts in social services, higher education and the courts, total spending nevertheless goes up to $91.4 billion in fiscal year 2013 from $86.5 billion in 2012, a 6% increase. Spending on K-12 education alone rises beyond constitutional requirements to $38.5 billion from $34 billion, a 13% increase.
In the past, Californians have supported more education spending on the assumption it would improve education outcomes. It hasn't. Sadly, the state has an elementary and secondary school system that ranks in the bottom fifth of all 50 states in math scores, and a high-school dropout rate that's soared relative to other states, especially for African Americans and Hispanics.
The prison system spends $45,000 per year per inmate—about equal to the median take-home pay of American families. Welfare and MediCal (the state's Medicaid program) caseloads are vastly in excess of national averages.
Mr. Brown does have some good proposals. He's bringing the state's welfare-to-work program in line with federal rules, and he's called for small Medicaid co-pays, which the Obama administration foolishly blocked. But his bad ideas far outweigh the good, including restricting the use of private contractors on public projects and a $68 billion high-speed rail proposal that would drain revenues from higher priorities for decades.
The governor's one innovative program is "realignment" between the state and counties, especially of the state's overburdened prison system. But counties worry that costs of the permanent shift of convicts from state prisons to county jails will eventually fall to them.
Unlike other governors from both parties who pushed overdue reforms, opposed by public-employee unions, through their legislatures—Wisconsin's Scott Walker, New Jersey's Chris Christie and New York's Andrew Cuomo, to varying degrees—Mr. Brown has not even pressed the Democratic-controlled legislature to pass his own sensible pension proposal.
He is seeking a deal with the unions that only temporarily reduces wages and work hours by 5% each, saving 0.4% of the budget. Usually a pay cut refers to working the same hours for less pay, not a forced, unpaid vacation. Mr. Brown has not made it clear whether the reduction is for one year or longer, or even whether the compensation would be paid back later (if so, it amounts to a paid vacation, not a pay cut).
The governor has reduced the workforce by 2% and proposed further, gradual reductions. But this represents a failure of imagination. The state should replace half of the sizable number of workers who will retire in the next 10 years with technology and at the same time institute performance pay, saving a bundle and improving service delivery.
Meanwhile, Mr. Brown forges ahead with his proposal for higher taxes despite considerable evidence that states with lower tax rates grow faster than states with high tax rates. Higher marginal tax rates will speed the exodus from the state, which has a 10.9% unemployment rate, the country's third-highest.
California's casino-like budget reflects its highly volatile revenue system. In good times it collects almost half its income taxes from the top 1% of the population, relying heavily on capital gains, taxed at ordinary income rates, and stock options. This exposes the state to dramatic revenue collapses during recessions and stock market declines.
The state lurched from income tax growth of 54% in the two years from 1998-2000—money that was spent and built into the permanent budget base line—to a collapse that erased these revenue gains the next two years. This dysfunctional swing was repeated in the recent housing bubble and bust. Mr. Brown's tax initiative would exacerbate the volatility.
To remedy this and other problems, two recent bipartisan California Tax Reform Commissions, one on which we served in 2008-09, recommended the state combine a broader tax base of economic activity with much lower marginal tax rates, modeled on the landmark 1986 tax reform of President Ronald Reagan and Sens. Bill Bradley and Bob Packwood—the exact opposite of Mr. Brown's proposal.
Absent real reform, there is little likelihood the long-run budget will be balanced, and a high likelihood the "temporary" tax hikes will not only become permanent but form the new base from which even higher taxes are demanded.
California still leads the world in technology, agriculture and entertainment, but politicians in Sacramento are headed in the opposite direction from growth, prosperity and effective, affordable government. They have so far refused to live up to the demands of, let alone seize, the moment. Instead, like their counterparts in Greece and other bankrupt European nations, they seem intent on continuing the broken high-tax-and-spend welfare state experiment as long as they remain in office.
Messrs. Boskin and Cogan are, respectively, professors of economics and public policy at Stanford University, where they are both senior fellows at the Hoover Institution.
Copyright 2012
-
Voters in California Appear to Approve Pension Cuts
By IAN LOVETT
LOS ANGELES — As Wisconsin residents voted on Tuesday not to recall Gov. Scott Walker — who has become an enemy of labor unions nationwide — two California cities dealt blows of their own to organized labor.
In both San Diego and San Jose, voters appeared to overwhelmingly approve ballot initiatives designed to help balance ailing municipal budgets by cutting retirement benefits for city workers.
Around 70 percent of San Jose voters favored the pension reform measure, with almost 80 percent of precincts reporting. In San Diego, 67 percent had supported a similar pension reform measure, with more than 65 percent of precincts reporting.
“This is really important to our taxpayers,” Chuck Reed, the mayor of San Jose, said Tuesday night. “We’ll get control over these skyrocketing retirement costs and be able to provide the services they are paying for.”
Statewide, voters also remained very closely divided on a $1-per-pack tax on cigarettes, which would be the first increase in the cigarette tax here in 14 years. Proceeds from the tax would not go to state coffers, but would instead fund cancer research.
Just past midnight, opponents of the measure held a razor-thin lead, with about 65 percent of precincts reporting.
Antismoking advocates, who promoted the tax as the best way to reduce smoking rates, were outspent nearly four to one. Their opponents, financed largely by the tobacco industry, spent almost $47 million in advertisements to defeat the measure.
Public employee unions, meanwhile, had fought hard against the two pension reform initiatives.
The San Diego Municipal Employees Association brought an unsuccessful legal challenge in an effort to keep the measure off the ballot.
Speaking to KPBS, a local television station, Michael Zucchet, general manager of the San Diego Municipal Employees Association, said last month the ballot initiative would not save the city money.
“This initiative doesn’t save anything,” Mr. Zucchet said. “You are basically cutting off your nose to spite your face for pension reform.”
Mr. Zucchet did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday night.
But the mayors of both cities pushed the pension reforms hard, arguing that changes to city worker pensions were essential to keep municipal budgets in the black.
Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, said he hoped the initiatives would provide models for other cities and for the state government, where pension reform efforts have stalled. “The appetite for pension reform in California is huge,” Mr. Coupal said.
Tuesday also offered the first widespread test of the state’s new primary system, in which the top two vote-getters move on to a runoff, irrespective of party affiliation.
One of the most heavily funded races will pit two sitting Democratic representatives against each other: Brad Sherman and Howard L. Berman, colleagues in the House for 15 years who were thrown together by redistricting.
Mr. Sherman had collected about 40 percent of the vote, while Mr. Berman had 33 percent, with about 18 percent of precincts reporting late Tuesday. They will face each other again in the November runoff.
Finally. These public sector thugs need to be crushed.
-
San Jose unions sue to block pension reform
San Jose Mercury News ^ | 6/6/12 | John Woolfolk
San Jose police officers Wednesday made good on promises to legally challenge San Jose's voter-approved pension reform with a lawsuit filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court.
San Jose Police Officers' Association President Jim Unland said the lawsuit argues that the measure -- approved by almost 70 percent of voters Tuesday -- violates employees' "vested rights" to their pensions. He based that on a history of court rulings that effectively hold that government employers cannot cut back workers' retirement plans without offering a comparable benefit in return.
The officers asked the court to block implementation of the measure's provisions until the case is decided, Unland said.
"If we lose, so be it, but we'll at least try to fight it," Unland said, adding that the measure has poisoned any chance of cooperation between the city and its cops, who had offered pension cuts for new hires, which the city rejected as insufficient. "The days of trying to work with these folks are over. ... We'll see you in court."
The pension measure limits retirement benefits for new hires and requires current employees to either pay up to 16 percent of their salary more for their current pension plan or switch to one that is less generous. It also would allow the city to temporarily suspend cost-of-living pension increases for retirees in a fiscal emergency.
San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, who urged approval of Measure B, said the city Tuesday asked a federal court to rule quickly on its legality.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
-
Stockton, Calif. to take up bankruptcy budget plan
By Jim Christie
STOCKTON, Calif., June 26 | Tue Jun 26, 2012 3:23pm IST
(Reuters) - Stockton, California was poised on Tuesday to take a major step toward becoming the largest U.S. city ever to file for bankruptcy after talks with its creditors on Monday at midnight.
Negotiations aimed at averting bankruptcy may press on informally, the city's spokeswoman said, adding that city officials would next discuss any moves toward bankruptcy at the city council meeting on Tuesday evening.
The council's main order of business will be taking up and voting on a proposed budget to guide Stockton during bankruptcy, an option city officials have been considering since February.
City Manager Bob Deis, who the council has authorized to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy, last week unveiled the budget proposal, also known as a pendency plan.
The plan assumed Stockton, a city of 292,000 people about 85 miles (about 135 km) east of San Francisco, would fail to win concessions from its 18 creditors to close its $26 million shortfall for the fiscal year beginning on July 1.
To help close the budget gap, Stockton's plan would suspend $10.2 million in debt payments, a move likely to trigger rating agencies to further downgrade the city, and reduce spending on employee compensation and retiree benefits by $11.2 million.
About $7 million in savings would come from cutting retiree health care benefits for one year and then phasing them out. Stockton officials have said the benefits are a crushing expense due to their fast rise and projected liability of $417 million.
Stockton's confidential mediation with its creditors - required by a state law approved after the bankruptcy of Vallejo, California in 2008 - was part of an effort launched in February by city officials to restructure the city's finances in time for the beginning of its next fiscal year.
The plan, however, left open the possibility of a bankruptcy filing in light of Stockton's severe financial troubles.
Mark McLaughlin, a member of the board of the city police officers' union, said he is resigned to a bankruptcy filing but expects his group will try to seek common ground with city before it should take that drastic step.
"It's unfortunate we're here but we need to keep working with the city," McLaughlin said.
Stockton's finances collapsed along with its housing market, forcing city officials to slash $90 million in spending in recent years and a quarter of positions across agencies.
Despite the cuts, Stockton has not been able to avoid recurring deficits. Its revenue is weak and its financial troubles have been compounded, according to city officials, by generous pay and benefits for city workers and retirees and too much debt taken on by the city when it enjoyed a home-building boom in the early part of the last decade that transformed it into a distant bedroom community for the San Francisco Bay area.
Many of the houses built and bought in that boom have been abandoned, repossessed and sold at deep discount as Stockton has been at the top or near the top of lists of housing markets suffering a glut of foreclosures in recent years.
Under its restructuring plan, Stockton has already defaulted on about $2 million in debt, allowing the trustee for one of its bond insurers to seize a building once slated to be its future city hall and three parking garages.
The intentional default and of bankruptcy prompted Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's Ratings Services to drop their credit ratings on Stockton, which has more than $700 million in debt across its various agencies.
Moody's has its issuer rating for Stockton at a junk level Ba2 from Baa1 while S&P has its issuer rating on the city from BB to SD, one notch above its D default rating.
A bankruptcy filing by Stockton is a "high-probability event," Gregory Lipitz, a vice president and senior analyst at Moody's, said on Monday. (Reporting By Jim Christie)
-
Stockton California Files For Bankruptcy, And Murder Is Surging After Police Corps Gets Gutted
Business Insider ^ | 06/27/2012 | Ben Duronio
Stockton, California is filing for the largest bankruptcy of any U.S. city in history due to the decline in the once hot housing market and an intake of debt during its boom years.
The city has cut more than $90 million in spending over the past few years, specifically in its police department. The city has cut over one quarter of its police jobs, which has led to a "surge in murders," and has created an "emboldened criminal element" in the city.
According to police spokesman Joe Silva, the city has had 87 murders since the start of 2011, 29 of which have already occurred this year. In contrast, there were 35 murders in 2009 and 48 in 2010. With six months left in the year, there have already been more murders in the city since the start of 2011 than the two-year stretch of 2009-2010.
Further cuts to the police department would likely only worsen the issue, so filing for bankruptcy after already having cut 40 percent of its city's employees was the only option, according to Mayor Ann Johnston.
“We have hit the wall; we are insolvent,” said Mayor Ann Johnston. "Citizens will not be affected. We will still have police and fire departments and we will still operate and pay our bills to vendors."
While the city still has police officers, the dramatic decrease in the department has certainly not helped the crime rate. It certainly seems like citizens have been affected.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
-
Stockton is a bung hole, even when the housing market was going good.
-
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/07/mammoth-lakes-bankruptcy.html
Boooommmm
-
Train to Nowhere: Full Speed Ahead
National Review ^ | 07/09/2012 | John Fund
Sacramento, Calif.—It’s hard to express how sad it was for me to watch, in person, as the state I grew up in committed fiscal suicide.
I went down to the state capitol here on Friday afternoon to watch the state senate approve, by a single vote, a $4.7 billion bond package to build a high-speed-rail system from nowhere to nowhere. If the whole system is ever built — highly doubtful — it will cost at least $68 billion and run between Los Angeles and San Francisco. But this first 130-mile segment will run from Madera to Bakersfield, a stretch that less than 3 percent of the line’s potential ridership can use.
“Where [Governor Brown], with the state going bankrupt, is even thinking about an expenditure like this is beyond comprehension,” leading California demographer Joel Kotkin told the Wall Street Journal. “When the schools are falling apart, when the roads are falling apart, the bridges are unsafe, the state economy is in free fall. We’re still doing much worse than the rest of the country, we’ve got this growing permanent welfare class, and high-speed rail is going to solve this?”
The whole operation began in 2008, when voters narrowly approved $9.9 billion in bonds. It was a time when the estimated total cost was $33 billion and projections showed the project would be finished by 2020. The bond measure stipulated that the system must deliver passengers from the Bay Area to Los Angeles in 160 minutes or less.
Environmentalists and other opposition groups have made the 160-minute target impossible to meet, the costs have more than doubled, and the completion date has been pushed back to 2032 — and counting.
But there’s no stopping the runaway train. It’s full steam ahead, even though no one knows where all the money will come from after the nowhere-to-nowhere segment is completed, and even though Congress warns that builders shouldn’t count on more than a $3.3 billion down payment from Washington (a leftover from the 2009 stimulus bill).
The public has turned against the project because of concerns that it will never be finished and that it will line the pockets of government-linked business and union interests. A majority of voters want a re-vote, and 59 percent of Californians now oppose the project.
The state senate ignored the public on Friday, and the bill authorizing the bonds will be signed into law by Governor Brown, a big booster of the project. Before the senate vote, supporters waxed eloquent about the historic nature of the line. “How many chances do we have to vote on something that will inject a colossal stimulus into today’s economy while looking into the future far beyond our days in this house?” asked senate president Darrell Steinberg. “Do we have the ability to see beyond the challenges, the political point-scoring and controversies of today? Are we willing to take some short-term risk, knowing that the benefit to this great state will be, for centuries, enormous?”
Republican senator Tony Strickland responded by pointing to the state’s perennial budget deficits and asked why Democrats would put high-speed rail ahead of the pressing need to provide health care for children, prevent soaring increases in university tuition, and make necessary infrastructure repairs.
“I do believe Californians will remember in November — they will remember how out of touch you are in your spending priorities when you ask them to dig deeper,” Strickland told his colleagues. “They will see you spent money we simply don’t have.”
Passage of the high-speed-rail bill could also make it difficult for Governor Brown to achieve his other goals. The governor and Democratic legislators are backing a large tax increase on the November ballot, and they are risking voter backlash by spending money on the choo-choo project at a time when voter priorities are elsewhere. A new Field Poll finds that a full 21 percent of current supporters of Brown’s tax package will be less likely to support it with the bullet-train funding approved. The tax package is already hovering at just above 50 percent support in polls. The silver lining of Friday’s vote is that it may make Brown’s November measure the ninth straight tax increase rejected by California voters.
Voters have absorbed the reality that California’s taxes are already sky-high. The top rate of its individual income tax is 10.3 percent, the second-highest in the country. A single middle-class worker earning just $48,000 pays a top rate of 9.3 percent, which is higher than the rate for millionaires in 47 other states. The Golden State is a Golden Turkey for business: Its regulatory and tax climate for business is the third-worst in the nation, according to the Tax Foundation. It’s no wonder that 4 million more people have fled the state since the early 1990s than have moved to California from other states. (Immigration is the only reason that the state’s population is stable or slightly growing.)
Even former supporters of high-speed rail have soured on the idea of a train as an economic boon to the state. Former San Francisco state senator Quentin Kopp, until 2010 a member of the state’s High-Speed Rail Authority board, told the Los Angeles Times that he now views the project as “the great train robbery.” He notes that his former colleagues approved the bill (without a vote to spare) only after they nabbed federal pork for local transit in exchange for their vote.
It was wrenching to watch the California state legislature — for which I worked in the 1980s — as it led California over a fiscal cliff. The high-speed-rail line that was approved on Friday is a train to nowhere. And it’s offering Californians a nonstop ticket to their future as residents of a homegrown version of Greece.
— John Fund is national-affairs columnist for NRO
-
Free Republic
Browse · Search Pings · Mail News/Activism
Topics · Post Article
Skip to comments.
San Bernardino, California, considers bankruptcy
Reuters ^ | 7/10/12
Posted on July 11, 2012 12:46:28 AM EDT by Kartographer
The city council of San Bernardino, California, will discuss and may act as early as Tuesday evening on a motion for the city to seek chapter 9 bankruptcy protection from its creditors at the same time as it takes up a plan to stabilize the city budget.
It is unclear if the leaders of the city of about 210,000 residents approximately 65 miles (104 km) east of Los Angeles will act on the motion. They are also scheduled to take it up during a special meeting on Wednesday if needed, according to city council agenda items posted on the city's website.
(Excerpt) Read more at in.reuters.com ...
-
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/11/san-bernardino-bankruptcy_n_1663940.html#comments
LOL at the babies screaming for higher taxes.
-
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/11/san-bernardino-bankruptcy_n_1663940.html#comments
LOL at the babies screaming for higher taxes.
Only on the rich, not on you and me and the rest of blue-collar americans :)
-
Police chiefs in California getting huge final paychecks
http://www.latimes.com/new ^ | 7/11/2012 | Sam Allen
El Monte Police Chief Thomas Armstrong oversaw a modestly sized department, with 120 officers
But when Armstrong stepped down last year, he was paid nearly $430,000
The payday was possible thanks to a clause in Armstrong's contract that allowed him to accrue unlimited sick and vacation hours and sell them back to the city at the end of his career. By the time he retired at age 56, Armstrong cashed out for roughly $200,000.
And he's not alone. Similar payouts have been made in city governments across the state.
Those employees include Roy Campos, Downey's former police chief, who was paid $594,000 in 2009 after cashing out more than 3,300 hours of unused sick and vacation time. The same year, Monterey Park's outgoing chief, Jones Moy, earned $531,000, including cash-outs of about 2,700 unused hours. In 2010, Santa Clara's police chief, Steve Lodge, left his job with almost $600,000
Supporters say the system provides an incentive for diligent work habits
Armstrong was permitted to bank unused hours without limit, then cash them out at the hourly rate he made as police chief. Armstrong's pension is also higher than the largest base salary he earned, $217,000.
His predecessor, Ken Weldon, cashed out about $90,000 worth of unused time when he retired in 2008. Before that, outgoing Police Chief James Ankeny received a $121,000 cash payment when he left the city .
Like Armstrong, both former chiefs draw CalPERS pensions worth more than $200,000 a year. Weldon was also awarded more than $100,000 in deferred compensation.
Weldon's and Armstrong's contracts permitted more than three months off each year. That total covered one month of vacation, about three weeks of leave, as many as 12 sick days and 14 holidays (including Admissions Day, a holiday that celebrates the date California became a state).
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
________________________ ________________________ ______________
According to Obama this is what we need more of. ::) ::) ::)
-
The New Normal: Municipal Bankruptcy
National Review Online ^ | July 11, 2012 | Michael Auslin
Half a million Californians now live in bankrupt cities, as San Bernardino joins Stockton in declaring insolvency thanks to a $46 million deficit (a smaller city also declared bankruptcy this month). Lest anyone think this was a result solely of the 2008 housing bubble and financial crisis, Reuters reports that:
the city attorney general James Penman said San Bernardino’s city officials had been submitting false accounting documents for 13 of the last 16 years in an effort to hide the real financial situation of the city.
San Bernardino’s mayor since 2006, Patrick Morris, said he had never heard of allegations of fraud in the city’s accounting documents. So, felony malfeasance can be added to the deficit spending, unsustainable pension plans, and unresponsive government that, according to the Los Angeles Times, has left only the city only $150,000 in the bank. That means the city has less than one dollar in savings for each of its 209,000 residents. The Times goes on to note that the Chapter 9 filing will allow San Bernardino to renegotiate labor contracts, stall payments to creditors, and insulate the city from large lawsuit judgments. But the real fear is that if the city can’t make the next payroll, it will effectively shut down, including closing police and fire services.
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...
-
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-san-bernardino-bankruptcy-20120712,0,2433019.story
LL!!!! It's coming!
-
San Bernardino bankruptcy: Why Other California cities could be next
Los Angeles Times ^ | 07/12/2012
San Bernardino this week became the third California city to seek bankruptcy protection in the last month, and experts say it might not be the last.
"There are likely to be more in the future, but it's hard to know, since a lot of struggling cities may manage to work things out,'' said Michael Coleman, a fiscal policy adviser for the California League of Cities. "Some cities may not go into a bankruptcy, but they may dissolve. They may cease to exist.''
Once rare, turning to bankruptcy has become a painful but enticing option for cities whose labor costs and municipal debt far outpace anemic tax revenue. The Bay Area city of Vallejo began the current trend in May 2008, filing for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection because, city leaders said, salaries and benefits for its public safety workers were eating up too much of the general fund.
Last month, Stockton became the largest city in the state to seek bankruptcy protection after it was unable to come to agreement with its employee unions and creditors on a plan to close a $26-million gap in its general fund.
On July 2, the tiny resort town of Mammoth Lakes filed bankruptcy papers in part because it was saddled with a $43-million court judgment it couldn't pay.
San Bernardino couldn't close a $45.8-million budget shortfall and would be unable make its payroll this summer, city leaders said. Days before Tuesday's City Council vote, the city of 211,00 people had just $150,000 in the bank. The city barely scraped together enough money to cover its June payroll.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimesblogs.latimes.com ...
-
Three cities in California have declared bankruptcy over the past month.
But, hey. The weather is great, man!
-
Chris Reed
Off the Rails
How union power plays could crash spectacularly in California
10 July 2012
The arrogance displayed last week by California’s legislature and its union comrades-in-arms can scarcely be exaggerated. In rejecting Governor Jerry Brown’s surprisingly ambitious pension-overhaul plan in favor of a proposal that defines minor tinkering as “reform,” Democratic legislative leaders have ignored how crippling the pension crisis has been for local governments, as well as the bipartisan support that exists for serious reform. And in approving on Friday Brown’s plan to spend $5.8 billion in federal and state funds on a troubled high-speed rail project—the so-called bullet train—Democratic leaders have dismissed mounting public skepticism about the project as well as substantial evidence from independent evaluators and journalists that it could become one of the world’s biggest public-works boondoggles.
If there is any good news here, it is that the legislature’s contempt for common sense and public opinion should only fuel California voters’ building anger toward the Sacramento establishment. This anger seems increasingly likely to deal two huge strikes against the status quo in November.
The first involves the California budget. Brown’s $92 billion spending blueprint for 2012–13 relies heavily on voter approval of a November ballot measure to hike the state sales-tax rate and impose higher income taxes on the wealthy. Brown claims these moves will raise $8.5 billion. If voters balk, $6 billion in already-set “trigger” cuts would kick in, with by far the biggest chunk taken out of public schools through a reduction in the school year from 175 days to 160.
Taken at a time when most voters still aren’t paying attention and before any serious campaigning has gotten under way, polls show soft support for the tax measure—but they also show that the plan loses substantially if it’s linked to high-speed rail spending. Tax fighters may not need to play the rail card, however: California voters have a record of rejecting tax increases, including a proposal similar to Brown’s that lost decisively in a 2009 special election.
A second ballot measure could spur a more profound change. The “Stop Special Interest Money” campaign, while billed as limiting the political influence of both unions and corporations, is primarily about curbing unions’ vast power by banning the use of members’ dues for political purposes. The measure is sure to be vilified by the California media, whose members tend to share the Democrats’ view that the greatest problem the state faces is the required two-thirds majority to raise taxes. In 2005, unions used a massive TV blitz to defeat a similar measure, Proposition 75, and it’s likely that they’ll try to do the same again. But in the seven years since then, public perception of union power in the Golden State has become much more negative.
Which brings us to last week’s double whammy from Sacramento. Unions drove both the decision to kill Brown’s pension-reform plan and to pursue his bullet-train project. To use a trendy new term among the political class, the “optics” of both decisions couldn’t be worse. The legislature’s pension vote came just days after the city of Stockton, facing unsustainable public-employee compensation costs, declared bankruptcy. The commitment to spend $5.8 billion in taxpayer funds on a bullet-train segment in the lightly populated Central Valley came after two years of apparent anguish from Brown and Democratic allies about harsh cuts in state safety-net programs.
Bad as they are, if these blinkered public-policy decisions prompt voters to rebuff a massive tax increase and to curb union power, they will have had a salutary effect. Freed from some of the worst excesses of union looting, Sacramento might then return to conventional governance for the first time since Pete Wilson’s gubernatorial tenure ended in 1999. As for the bullet train, environmentally based lawsuits might delay construction until a likely 2014 state referendum on scrapping the project. And if that project does come to another vote, count on Californians to do the right thing.
Chris Reed is an editorial writer for the U-T San Diego newspaper, formerly the San Diego Union-Tribune.
-
http://www.businessinsider.com/stunning-what-if-charts-of-californias-pension-shortfall-2012-7
Wow. Who the heck is going to pay for this?
-
City of Compton (California) may declare bankruptcy by September: officials
Reuters ^ | July 18, 2012 | Ronald Grover and Jim Christie
Posted on July 18, 2012 6:01:10 AM EDT by Zakeet
The City of Compton, a city of 93,000 people located on the outskirts of Los Angeles, must decide by September 1 whether to seek bankruptcy, according to its two most senior financial officials.
Such a move would see it join a growing number of deficit-hobbled California cities that have used the filing to restructure onerous debt loads.
Compton, which has an accumulated $43 million deficit and has depleted what had been a $22 million reserve, will run out of cash to make its payroll on September 1 at its current cash consumption rate, city comptroller Steven Ajobiewe told the city council during a July 17 meeting.
"I have $3 million in the bank and $5 million in warrants due in the next 10 to 12 days," said city treasurer Doug Sanders. "By then, the council will have a decision to make: don't pay the bonds, default on them, or have a serious talk about bankruptcy."
The city council adjourned at 11 pm without discussing a potential bankruptcy filing.
Compton Mayor Eric J. Perrodin also said he brought unspecified charges of "waste, fraud and abuse of public monies" to California officials, and had met with auditors from both the state and Los Angeles County.
He told the city council that at one point in its past the city had overspent legally set limits on certain programs by $17 million but would not elaborate.
Neither the state nor county has started an audit or investigation, city officials said.
[Snip]
Unlike San Bernardino, which has a large unfunded liability to pay its employees' pensions, Compton years ago increased its property tax to fund its workers' pension obligations, said Perrodin, and the retirement program is fully funded.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
-
Compton May Be The Next City To Go; Then Victorville, Montebello, Los Angeles, Oakland
Mike "Mish" Shedlock, Global Economic Trend Analysis|46 minutes ago|2|
As part of a growing trend, Compton California is on the verge of bankruptcy. When it files (and it will eventually), it will become California's 4th city to do so.
The Huffington Post reports Compton Will Run Out Of Funds By September 1
Compton, Calif. could be the fourth city in the Golden State to seek bankruptcy protection.
At a city council meeting Tuesday, officials announced that Compton is set to run out of funds by Sept. 1. Compton, which has only 93,000 residents, faces a deficit of $43 million after having depleted a $22 million reserve, reports Reuters.
"I have $3 million in the bank and $5 million in warrants due in the next 10 to 12 days," said city treasurer Doug Sanders during the live-streamed city council meeting. "By then, the council will have a decision to make: don't pay the bonds, default on them, or have a serious talk about bankruptcy."
What's to Consider?
Compton is clearly broke so there is noting to consider. The LA Times has more grim details in Compton on brink of bankruptcy.
City officials announced that Compton could run out of money by summer's end, with $3 million in the bank and more than $5 million in bills due...
In many cases cities resorted to these measures because they could not balance their books or raise revenues but were loath to make cuts.
A recent grand jury report found that the High Desert city of Victorville used a series of disparate, possibly illegal measures to stave off insolvency. Those included dipping into sanitation funds to help keep the city's treasury afloat, loaning water agency funds to bail out the city's electric utility and siphoning $2 million in airport bond funds to buy land for a city library.
The inter-agency borrowing was so questionable — with $69 million sloshing around City Hall as of June 2011 — that the Securities and Exchange Commission launched an investigation, which is ongoing.
In Montebello, state auditors last year said they were troubled to learn that the city regularly used money designed for specific purposes to balance its budget — in apparent violation of the law.
Victorville, Montebello, Los Angeles, Oakland
It's a safe bet to add Montebello and Victorville to the list. Moreover, some of the big guns will eventually go under as well.
Unsound pension problems will be the death of many cities. I consider Oakland and LA to be sure things. It's just a matter of time.
Delays in filing will only waste more taxpayer money. Eventually cities will catch on and there will be a flood of bankruptcies.
S&P Revises Pennsylvania's Outlook to Negative
Citing pension problems and a slowing economy, S&P Revises Pennsylvania's Outlook to Negative
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services changed its outlook to 'negative' from 'stable' for Pennsylvania's general obligation debt because of growing spending pressures, particularly for public pensions, and a slow-growing state economy, the agency said on Thursday.
S&P affirmed the 'AA' credit rating on the state's general-obligation debt, but said it could lower that rating a notch in the next two years if Pennsylvania does not enact pension reform.
Read more: http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2012/07/s-revises-pennsylvanias-outlook-to.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MishsGlobalEconomicTrendAnalysis+%28Mish%27s+Global+Economic+Trend+Analysis%29&utm_content=Google+Reader#ixzz21AC9Bwcy
-
http://www.businessinsider.com/mayor-of-bankrupt-california-city-explains-where-she-failed-2012-7
Lol. This is idiocy in govt.
-
First Vallejo, then Stockton, then Mammoth Lakes, and now San Bernardino and soon possibly Compton. As Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach told Bloomberg News, the bankruptcy dominoes are starting to fall. One California city after another—following a decade-long spree of ramping up public-employee pay and pension benefits, as well as redevelopment debt—are becoming insolvent.
Not that the state’s legislators have anything constructive to offer. California’s Democratic leaders are not only unwilling to rein in the costs of benefits for their patrons, the public-sector unions, but they have been erecting roadblocks to those localities that want to fix the problem on their own. Yet all the political blockades in the world cannot fix the basic problem of insolvency.
Stockton negotiated the new process created by a state law requiring a 60-day period of negotiations before filing for Chapter 9 bankruptcy. That period is over and the city—a hard-pressed port on the edge of the California Delta—has become the largest city in the country to pursue municipal bankruptcy. The cause was a pension system eating up 30 percent of the budget, an absurdly generous retiree medical program, and excess bond debt for pension obligations and redevelopment projects.
Soon after, Mammoth Lakes decided to pursue bankruptcy. That city’s problem came after it lost a judgment in a development case. Although not tied to public-employee compensation, the situation was caused by city officials who prefer to play developer than tend to the nuts-and-bolts of city government—a long-term problem in that eastern Sierra vacation town. In 1996, Mammoth Lakes lost a court case after it declared its downtown area blighted because of excess urbanization, in a ruling the judge said exemplified the misuse of redevelopment power.
The latest city to declare bankruptcy is San Bernardino, which has declared an emergency situation that will allow it to evade the negotiation period mandated by state law. The city simply doesn’t have the cash to keep operating. As Bloomberg reported, “San Bernardino and its agencies have more than $220 million of debt, including $48.6 million of taxable pension-obligation bonds, according to financial statements.” Pension-obligation bonds are used by cities to pay ongoing pension expenses, yet San Bernardino’s problems show that a city cannot borrow its way out of debt.
Other big cities, including Los Angeles, are talking more openly about the bankruptcy option. Not long ago critics who mentioned the B-word were considered Chicken Littles.
The latest talking point is that these cities couldn’t control what happened to them. The Riverside Press-Enterprise reported: “The city of San Bernardino’s financial woes are a directly correlation to a torrent of foreclosures in the Inland area of Southern California, the national foreclosure tracking firm RealtyTrac said Thursday. ‘Property taxes plunged in San Bernardino because of an avalanche of foreclosure activity during the recent housing bust,’ said RealtyTrac vice president Daren Blomquist.”
There’s no doubt San Bernardino and Stockton—Ground Zero for the housing crisis—suffered from the problem described above. But what did those cities do with the rapid increase in property tax revenues during the price run-up? We know—they squandered it on increased compensation for government employees, on redevelopment projects and other questionable spending deals. They squandered the money when it came flowing in, now depict themselves as victims of circumstance when the funds dried up.
The real culprit is foolish decision making. Stockton, for instance, refused to take advantage of an exemption in prevailing wage laws—something that could have saved it money but would have angered the powerful unions.
The housing bubble hit the hardest in cities inland from the growth-controlled major metropolitan areas. When the prices went up in Los Angeles and San Francisco, developers moved inland, where it was easier to get the permits necessary to respond to the demands of the marketplace.
But even coastal cities are struggling. Los Angeles is not a victim of the foreclosure crisis. Pension costs in San Jose—where the housing market has rebounded thanks to a healthy tech-based economy—rose 350 percent in 10 years and now consume 20 percent of the general-fund budget. That city passed pension reform on the November ballot to stop the fiscal bleeding.
In the Prop Zero blog Joe Mathews debunks San Bernardino’s allegations that the state is to blame for its fiscal problems: “Local elected officials who complain about a lack of state money have things backwards. The state of California is relatively spare in its spending, compared to national averages. California’s local officials are, by contrast, big spenders, at or near the national lead in compensation for local workers, especially law enforcement.” Mathews misses a big point—California state government spends its money poorly, but he is right about local government wastrels, who busted the bank on public-safety pay and benefit packages and now are looking to cast blame anywhere they can.
Bankruptcy is not a great option but at least it gives cities a chance to get their house in order and start fresh. Unfortunately, Vallejo and Stockton refused to tackle existing pension debt in their bankruptcy plans. Orange County emerged from bankruptcy in the 1990s in better shape than ever, but as writer Chris Reed explained in Calwatchdog, subsequent boards of supervisors then began spending like crazy on public-sector compensation.
Bankruptcy cannot stop future officials from wasting the taxpayer dollar. But when there’s no money, there’s nothing left to do. In Scranton, Pa., a judge issued an injunction to stop the mayor’s plan to begin paying all city employees minimum wage. But there’s no money left to pay any more than that, he said. The city will gladly pay more as soon as it has the cash to pay it.
Only when the money runs out will cities find the necessary solutions. That’s perhaps the saddest commentary on the situation in California cities these days.
Steven Greenhut is vice president of journalism at the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity.
-
Donors who bailed out California state parks want their money back
San Jose Mercury News ^ | 07/26/2012 05:43:29 PM PDT | By Paul Rogers
Posted on July 28, 2012 2:29:00 PM EDT by DeaconBenjamin
Betrayed by the discovery of $54 million hidden in two state parks accounts, groups that donated money to keep California state parks from closing this year now say they want a refund -- or at least a binding promise from lawmakers to spend the extra money on parks.
"They sort of came to us under false pretenses. They cried wolf, and we responded," said Reed Holderman, executive director of the Sempervirens Fund. "An elegant solution would be for them to refund the nonprofits, and put whatever is left into parks."
State Parks Director Ruth Coleman resigned Friday and her top deputy was fired after Gov. Jerry Brown's administration announced the state parks department had kept $54 million in two accounts without reporting it to the state Department of Finance.
Brown announced last year that the state was so short of cash that 70 state parks -- one-quarter of the entire system -- had to be closed by July 1 to save $22 million. Critics called the threat a political gimmick to convince middle-class voters to support Brown's tax increase measure on the upcoming November ballot.
What happened?
Reportedly, $20.4 million of the unreported money was from state park entry fees traditionally used to fund parks. Another $33.5 million comes from registration of off-highway vehicles and used to fund parks for motorcycles and dune buggies.
"The $20 million, that money came from folks visiting the parks, spending money at the parks. It's obvious it should be used for state parks."
State legislative leaders were noncommittal on Thursday.
"There's no determination at this point," said a spokesman for state Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento. "The priority is to get to the bottom of the situation and figure out what happened. And then we go from there."
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
Good luck suckers.
-
Cities In California Are Declaring Bankruptcy To Avoid Governor Brown's Ridiculous Tax Raises
Michael Boskin, Project Syndicate|11 minutes ago|1|
While central governments’ fiscal problems plague many economies, a parallel crisis is enveloping many subnational governments around the world. From Spain to China to the United States to Italy, these governments – regions, states, provinces, cities, and towns – face immense fiscal challenges. Higher levels of government are “on the hook” to bail out local insolvent governments, and may even suffer bond downgrades as a result; in Spain, Italy, and China, that role falls to the national government, and for US cities and towns, to their states.
There are many similarities within and among countries in terms of the nature and causes of these local fiscal calamities. Local officials used growing revenues during the boom to fund pet projects or boost pay and benefits, with little regard to future costs. In the downturn, revenues and subsidies from the central government collapsed and the bills came due. Creative accounting gimmicks masked the full extent of the problem. Now comes the reckoning.
To finance local businesses, Chinese local governments use local-government financing vehicles (LGFVs) to circumvent bans on direct borrowing. In Spain, housing and employment collapses have hammered revenue. Rumors of an imminent default swirl around Sicily, whose governor has resigned as borrowing soared after cutbacks from Rome. A new report from a task force co-chaired by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker indicates that unfunded pension and health-care costs make many American states’ medium- and longer-run fiscal prospects bleak.
California’s fiscal crises may also provide lessons for subnational governments around the world. Three California cities have recently declared bankruptcy: Stockton, the largest American city ever to do so; San Bernardino, the second-largest bankrupt city; and Mammoth Lakes. Compton is rumored to be next; most observers expect more to follow.
The state faces another large budget deficit, yet Governor Jerry Brown’s budget this year includes a substantial spending increase. Brown’s ballot initiative this November would raise California’s top personal income-tax rate to 13.3%, the nation’s highest. According to Brown, the tax hike would be temporary, yet it would last seven years. Meanwhile, he claims to be tough on California’s notoriously well-paid and powerful public-employee unions by negotiating a 5% pay cut. But the details reveal a net 1.6% pay cut in exchange for a 5% reduction in work hours.
Cities are declaring bankruptcy to escape the pressure of exponentially rising pension and health costs. In contrast to the state, cities have even cut back essential services, including 20% reductions in police and fire personnel.
Bankruptcy should allow local governments to renegotiate their bond debt and, perhaps, their retired employees’ pension and health-care costs (that’s up to a bankruptcy judge). The state would be expected to take over essential public services from bankrupt local governments. But the state itself is in dire financial straits; one of the cities’ problems is the sharp curtailment of state funds to localities.
Despite these problems, Brown has committed California to a San Francisco-to-Los Angeles high-speed rail boondoggle. To get the cost projections down to $68 billion from a $100 billion estimate, some existing low-speed rail will be used, likely doubling the time it takes to travel from Los Angeles to San Francisco to 5-6 hours. California will most likely be unable to pay for the entire project, leaving little use for the first segment in the sparsely populated Central Valley. And, if the project somehow is completed, it will be a not-so-high-speed rail that will drain badly needed resources from other essential government services for many decades.
These sorry episodes reveal some important lessons. One-party government weakens accountability and breeds hubris. The California legislature has been controlled by the Democratic Party for decades, and it takes its cue from its party’s most powerful special interests: public-employee unions, environmentalists, trial lawyers, and teachers’ unions.
They have concocted an extremely progressive social experiment: with 12% of the US population, California has more than 30% of its welfare dependents. From the mid-1980’s to 2005, California's population grew by 10 million, while Medicaid recipients soared by seven million; tax filers paying income taxes rose by just 150,000; and the prison population swelled by 115,000.
The state income tax is not only uncompetitively high, but the revenues are volatile. In the economic and stock-market upswing, revenues roll in far more rapidly than incomes rise, owing to the extremely progressive income tax (in good years, the top 1% pays about half the state’s income taxes).
The legislature spends it as if the elevated revenues will continue forever. Then the inevitable recession and stock-market collapse plunges the state into crisis. The progressive social experiment has gone so severely off-track that the state cannot even dependably provide essential services, from courts to education, for the most needy.
Not surprisingly, California’s economy, which used to outperform the rest of the US, now substantially underperforms. The unemployment rate, at 10.8%, is almost one-third higher than the national average, and higher than every other state except Nevada and Rhode Island.
California still has great strengths in technology, entertainment, and agriculture. But citizens and politicians alike must agree to target services far more carefully; reform the tax system with lower rates on a broader base of economic activity and people (almost half pay no state income tax); and modernize inefficient state programs to spend less and produce far better outcomes. Not coincidentally, that’s a perfect prescription for bloated, debt-ridden central and subnational governments worldwide.
This article was originally published by Project Syndicate. For more from Project Syndicate, visit their new Web site, and follow them on Twitter orFacebook.
Read more: http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/california-bad-dreaming#ixzz229PLi4GP
-
But according to 240 they are educated. Surely such education should have helped the state. According to the stupid left, a diploma means you know what you are doing and automatically makes you smarter than everyone else. Right?
-
Facebook Stock Crash Hoses California's Tax Revenue
Henry Blodget|Aug. 1, 2012, 11:08 PM|24,887|33
Well, the hits from the Facebook stock implosion keep coming.
Now, it's the State of California, which apparently overestimated how much tax revenue it was going to collect from Facebook employees after the IPO.
According to Bloomberg's John Erlichman, California is now saying its "tax revenue is at risk" because it assumed it would get $1.9 billion from newly enriched Facebook employees.
But now those Facebook employees are only going to get about half as rich as they would have if the stock were still trading at the IPO price.
And that means that California--and the Federal government--are likely to collect only about half as much Facebook-related tax revenue as they thought.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-stock-crash-hoses-californias-tax-revenue-2012-8#ixzz22QEC0ouh
-
Facebook Stock Crash Hoses California's Tax Revenue
Henry Blodget|Aug. 1, 2012, 11:08 PM|24,887|33
Well, the hits from the Facebook stock implosion keep coming.
Now, it's the State of California, which apparently overestimated how much tax revenue it was going to collect from Facebook employees after the IPO.
According to Bloomberg's John Erlichman, California is now saying its "tax revenue is at risk" because it assumed it would get $1.9 billion from newly enriched Facebook employees.
But now those Facebook employees are only going to get about half as rich as they would have if the stock were still trading at the IPO price.
And that means that California--and the Federal government--are likely to collect only about half as much Facebook-related tax revenue as they thought.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-stock-crash-hoses-californias-tax-revenue-2012-8#ixzz22QEC0ouh
That's life... Once all of the employees sell their stock on the 16th of August, it will crash and burn!
-
That's life... Once all of the employees sell their stock on the 16th of August, it will crash and burn!
The libs in the legislature and the governor made spending committments based on those anticipated revenues.
-
Bankrupt city paying $204K per year in retirement for police chief who served for … eight months
Hotair ^ | 08/02/2012 | Ed Morrissey
Posted on Thursday, August 02, 2012 12:37:15
Want to know how California finds itself in debt at the state level by tens of billions each budget cycle? Why three of their cities have already declared bankruptcy this year, and more may be on the way? Here's a cautionary tale from Stockton, one of the three Golden State cities to shield itself from its creditors this year, where they pay a retired police chief in pension slightly more than half of what the President of the United States makes. That's a fine reward for devoted service of --- eight months?
Stockton, California, Police Chief Tom Morris was supposed to bring stability to law enforcement when he was appointed to the job four years ago.
He lasted eight months and left the now-bankrupt city at age 52 with an annual pension that pays more than $204,000 --- the third of four chiefs who stayed in the position for less than three years and retired with an average of 92 percent of their final salaries.
Stockton, which filed for bankruptcy protection on June 28, is among California cities from the Mexican border to the San Francisco Bay confronting rising pension costs as they contend with growing unemployment and declining property- and sales-tax revenue. The pensions are the consequence of decisions made when stock markets were soaring, technology money flooded the state, and retirement funds were running surpluses.
Actually, it's the consequence of the pension structure itself. California, like most other states, use defined-benefit pensions for their public employees, rather than the defined-contribution plans used by almost everyone in the private sector. The latter either utilizes a 401K plan or something similar, where both employees and employers deposit funds, which get invested over the time of service. When employees retire, they own their own fund and draw off of it for their retirement income, which leaves no overhang of debt for the employer and gives the employee control over the investment strategies used.
The defined-benefit structure, on the other hand, guarantees certain levels of payment regardless of whether the retirement fund has actually performed to that level or whether the employer has made the requisite deposits. The payout levels usually hinge on the average compensation paid during the final three to five years of service. This structure lends itself to all sorts of mischief. People work large amounts of paid overtime to pad the average and boost their retirement checks, for instance. Employers defer plan payments in order to cover other spending, figuring that contemporary tax receipts will cover the eventual costs of retirement; that is why San Diego and San Jose were forced to offer referendums to revise their benefit plans, because those costs ate over 20% of the operating budgets of both cities. Finally, that kind of retirement leads to very perverse outcomes for people who only work a short period of time, and who draw the same kind of pension as those who have worked for decades.
That’s also one of the main problems for San Bernardino, which declared bankruptcy last month:
San Bernardino, a city of 209,000 about 60 miles (100 kilometers) east of Los Angeles, is typical of the phenomenon. Its city council voted July 18 to approve an emergency bankruptcy filing, about six years after the panel unanimously lowered the retirement age for public-safety workers to 50 from 55.
The council acted in August 2006 even though Aon Plc, the city’s risk-management consultant, had warned it that such a change would add millions of dollars to San Bernardino’s long- term pension costs. In the fiscal year that ended in June, pensions consumed 13 percent of the city’s general fund, up from 9 percent in fiscal 2007.
Two of San Bernardino’s former police chiefs receive pensions above the $200K mark. Keith Kilmer actually took another job — as interim police chief in Seal Beach.
-
The libs in the legislature and the governor made spending committments based on those anticipated revenues.
Why do you always say "Libs"?
When was the last time that a conservative cut spending? Please tell me when it happened because I haven't seen it.
-
Why do you always say "Libs"?
When was the last time that a conservative cut spending? Please tell me when it happened because I haven't seen it.
No such thing as a conservative legislature in Califonication
-
No such thing as a conservative legislature in Califonication
Or most of any government... As a matter of fact, the last time I saw a governor cut spending, it was a Democrat, back in 2003 I think, when Mark Warner of Virginia cut spending across the board by 15%.
-
Struggling Calif. cities looking to tax hikes
My Fox Phoenix ^ | 30 July 2012 | Amy Taxin, Hannah Dreier
Posted on Mon Aug 13 2012 14:30:45 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time) by Lorianne
There's a new twist emerging as some of California's most financially troubled cities look for ways out of their predicaments: They're declaring fiscal emergencies so they can quickly get tax hike initiatives on local November ballots.
Leaders are turning most often to an increase in the local sales tax. But there also are proposals for hikes on utility taxes, parcel taxes and, in the Los Angeles-area city of El Monte, a proposal to tax sugary drinks.
Last month's bankruptcy filing by Stockton, quickly followed by one in Mammoth Lakes and then San Bernardino's sudden declaration of a fiscal emergency and plan to file for bankruptcy drew attention to an increasingly common theme - some communities battered by the economy and unable to control costs now are heading toward insolvency.
El Monte finance director Julio Morales said San Bernardino was a wakeup call. Local officials declared a fiscal emergency last week, clearing the way for a ballot question asking residents to approve a 1 cent-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened drinks. Local officials think the tax would bring in up to $7 million per year.
"We don't want to wait like San Bernardino and say, 'We can't make payroll,'" Morales said.
La Mirada, Fairfield and Culver City are among other communities that declared fiscal emergencies this year and placed sales tax increases on their ballots. The Orange County community of Stanton declared a fiscal emergency, got a utility tax question on the June ballot and voters rejected it. Now the city may try again in November.
(Excerpt) Read more at myfoxphoenix.com ...
-
Free Republic
Browse · Search Pings · Mail General/Chat
Topics · Post Article
Skip to comments.
LA Officials Consider Hiring Porn Film Condom Cop
AP) ^ | August 16, 2012 5:12 PM
Posted on August 16, 2012 10:06:44 PM EDT by BenLurkin
Dust off those resumes, the Los Angeles City Council may soon be looking for a condom cop.
Earlier this year the council appointed a committee to study how a newly minted law requiring the use of condoms on some adult film sets could be enforced.
After several meetings between police, representatives of the porn industry and other committee members, the city’s administrative officer issued a 47-page report Wednesday.
Among its recommendations: contracting with a licensed medical professional who would conduct periodic inspections of film productions to make sure condoms are used.
Other proposals include establishing a fee, the amount to be determined, to pay for those inspections.
(Excerpt) Read more at losangeles.cbslocal.com ...
-
AP Photo/Ben Margot
US VIDEO
BUY AP PHOTO REPRINTS
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- One of the nation's top credit rating agencies said Friday that it expects more municipal bankruptcies and defaults in California, the nation's largest issuer of municipal bonds.
Moody's Investors Service said in a report that the growing fiscal distress in many California cities was putting bondholders at risk.
The service announced that it will undertake a wide-ranging review of municipal finances in the nation's most populous state because of what it sees as a growing threat of insolvency.
The report has both investors and government leaders worried.
Three California cities - Stockton, San Bernardino and Mammoth Lakes - have filed for bankruptcy so far this year. They are not likely to be the last, Moody's said.
Moody's reports that some cities are turning bankruptcy as a new strategy to take on budget deficits and avoid obligations to bondholders, an emerging dynamic that could have ripple effects throughout the investment community.
The municipal bond market has long been characterized by low default rates and relatively stable finances, Moody's said, but that outlook is beginning to change as bankruptcy becomes a tool for cash-strapped cities.
As a result, the agency will reassess the financial position of all cities in California, which issues about 20 percent of the municipal bond volume nationwide, "to reflect the new fiscal realities and the governmental practices."
The agency also will examine the outlook for municipal bonds in other troubled states, according to Robert Kurtter, managing director of public finance at Moody's.
Moody's would not say which states it will review, though Kurtter mentioned Michigan and Nevada as possibilities. Friday's report noted that cities across the country are in financial distress but said that a greater share of bankruptcies are expected in California.
In California, officials rushed to downplay the report.
"Moody's has an obligation to review changing circumstances, but we would just suggest that their assessment of the framework and ground activities is perhaps exaggerated," said Chris McKenzie, executive director of the League of California Cities.
The state treasurer's office also cautioned against overacting to three bankruptcies among California's 482 cities.
"No city's going to blithely skip into bankruptcy court to avoid its obligations," said treasurer's office spokesman Tom Dresslar, who called the report "a little hyperbolic."
More than 10 percent of California cities have declared fiscal crises, according to the Moody's, with the most troubled areas lying inland in the middle of the state and east of the Los Angeles area.
Kurtter said the declarations of emergency were "a reflection of the broader fiscal stress in the state."
Moody's floated the idea Friday of an across-the-board ratings adjustment for California cities, a move McKenzie warned "would have a terrible impact on taxpayers."
The agency will consider ratings downgrades for embattled counties, school districts and special districts.
The report highlighted growing doubts in some corners about whether cash-strapped cities are making good-faith efforts to pay their debts.
"Credit analysis is based on the ability to pay and the willingness to pay," said Paul Rosenstiel, Principal at DeLaRosa & Co., a San Francisco-based municipal bond investment-banking firm.
Investors have historically assumed that cities are willing to pay their debts because they want continued access to the bond market, Rosenstiel said.
Now, some are not so sure.
"What is being considered is whether the willingness to pay is something that needs to be factored in more than in the past - and if so, how would you measure it?" he said.
Lower bond ratings would increase borrowing costs for cities at a time when many already are struggling financially because of a steep drop in tax revenue. Because of that, Friday's report is raising alarms for city leaders who fear that it could trigger a crisis of confidence that would hinder their ability to borrow for needed projects.
"Every city in the state is looking on with some concern," said Dave Vossbrink, spokesman for the city of San Jose. "Governments of all kinds borrow money, usually to build infrastructure that lasts a long time. It's like getting a mortgage to build roads, a sewage plant, whatever it might be."
San Jose has shuttered libraries and laid off police officers to cut costs, and residents voted this summer to cut the pension benefits for city workers. But while the city is taking steps to reassure investors of its fiscal health, there is frustratingly little it can do to control larger fears about the municipal bond market.
"We know that even though we have a good reputation for our own affairs, if you are in a marketplace where some of your counterparts may be in a less desirable position, then it could have some bearing," Vossbrink said.
Moody's said it will review all California cities in the coming weeks and conduct in-depth reviews of stressed cities in September, with reports issued as the reviews are completed.
© 2012 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED. Learn more about our PRIVACY POLICY and TERMS OF USE.