tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39725763133415012852024-03-12T20:37:49.093-07:00Richard Rider RantRichard Rider, Chair, San Diego Tax Fightershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259117224037487367noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972576313341501285.post-51163867531539104572010-04-21T09:03:00.000-07:002010-04-21T09:50:14.711-07:00Go to my new "leftie" Rider blog<span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;" >If perchance you come across this blog with Google, please be aware that I seldom post here anymore. I have a new, more active blog:</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:times new roman;" >www.RiderBlog.NotLong.com</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;" >While this blogger.com "Rider Rant" area has interesting posts from much of 2009, all my new stuff goes to the new blog.<br /><br />Two reasons for the switch (including the "leftie" factor):<br /><br />1. Arcane formatting differences.<br /><br />2. Open Salon is a big leftie blogging area. I don't allow comments on my blog items (HUGE waste of my time). I'm driving 'em CRAZY, since I don't give them the "COMMENT" forum to post their pathetic rebuttals. Their frustration comes through to me as a few enraged progressives frantically search me out via Google and vent their collectivist spleens. Life is good.<br /><br /><br />BTW, if you haven't looked into using "RSS feeds" to read the ever-updating news and blogs -- you must do so now. Much more efficient way to educate yourself, and to waste your time more productively. As an intro, I recommend an informative if slightly gonzo 3 minute YouTube video:<br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0klgLsSxGsU<br /><br />For my "RSS reader," I use www.igoogle.com as my browser home page. This Google option offers many, many other neat services as well (all on the same page) -- stock and commodity quotes, weather for multiple locations, calculator, daily cartoons, etc.<br /></span>Richard Rider, Chair, San Diego Tax Fightershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259117224037487367noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972576313341501285.post-36423655004290814292010-04-17T08:36:00.000-07:002010-04-17T08:40:31.468-07:00Study reveals San Diego trolley follyCheck out the <a href="http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/sep/28/1m28commute1004242/?uniontrib">SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE article</a> of 27 September, 2009 on commuting in San Diego County. The story got little consideration, but is a blockbuster when it comes to justifying our massive trolley expenditures. The madness of this wasteful spending becomes readily apparent. <br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;"> </span><br /><br />The article reveals that 90.9% drive to work. Only 3.5% use public transportation. <br /><br />Of that 3.5%, only 9% of these public transit users ride the trolleys. That comes to 0.315% of all county commuters ride our multi-billion dollar trolley boondoggle. Almost 9 times as many commuters ride the buses as ride the trolleys. <br /><br />It gets worse. SANDAG admits that about ¾ of the trolley riders used to take the bus. Hence only about 0.07875% of the trolley commuters are former car commuters. For you numerically impaired, that’s less than EIGHT ONE-HUNDREDTHS OF ONE PERCENT of former car commuters now do part or all of their work commute on a trolley. <br /><br />For this minuscule usage, we have spent (as Carl Sagan used to so elegantly intone) “billions and billions” of dollars on trolley construction – plus tens of millions more annually in subsidies.<br /><br />If we REALLY care about public transit, we should be pushing for shifting SANDAG policy (and funding) emphasis to lower cost, more efficient, far more flexible buses. Let’s end our trolley "edifice complex."Richard Rider, Chair, San Diego Tax Fightershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259117224037487367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972576313341501285.post-86069983013395591982009-10-06T07:15:00.000-07:002009-10-06T07:21:31.139-07:00Rider blog moved to new providerBecause this blog service does not handle well bloggers' HTML postings, I've decided to move my budding blog efforts to a largely LIBERAL blog service. I can copy and paste my Word articles on the new blog, and have only minor problems with the formatting.<br /><br />Go to www.open.salon.com/blog/Richard_Rider for my more recent postings. Maybe some day I'll post up all my previous "Richard Rider Rant" distributions. Every one a gem, of course.<br /><br />Again: www.open.salon.com/blog/Richard_RiderRichard Rider, Chair, San Diego Tax Fightershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259117224037487367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972576313341501285.post-46222172099902829692009-08-27T06:31:00.000-07:002009-08-27T06:42:31.021-07:00Latest California "Breaking Bad" articleThe live link above will take you to my 21 August update of my constantly updating article "Breaking Bad: CA vs. the Other States," posted as an editorial on the online East [San Diego] County Magazine. I recommend this version of my article because it has "live" links to all the reference URL's in the article -- something very difficult to achieve in this blog.<br /><br />The latest version update includes the depressing update figures on CA unemployment. For the Month of July we moved back up to the 4th worst unemployment rank (from 6th). We've gone up from 11.6% to 11.9% unemployment. Even more depressing (when comparing CA with the rest of the country), the national unemployment rate went DOWN slightly to 9.4% from 9.5%.Richard Rider, Chair, San Diego Tax Fightershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259117224037487367noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972576313341501285.post-69710742982289455112009-08-16T15:50:00.000-07:002009-08-16T16:17:46.771-07:00Fun online debate on library outsourcingRIDER COMMENT: Every so often you just gotta have fun in a debate. I sure did here -- I suspect you will enjoy this.<br /><br />Someone infatuated with government-run libraries wrote back to take issue with my PR on LSSI running the Riverside County libraries. Initially they wrote me to complain about my one-sided piece. Things got funner and funner after that. <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />ONE<br /></span><br />----- Original Message ----- <br /><br />From: CHRIS <br />TO: Richard Rider <br />Sent: Wednesday, August 12, 2009 2:32 PM<br />Subject: Re: PR: Time to Think Outside the Library Box<br /><br /><br />Richard,<br /> <br />Kinda one-sided review in your opinion piece. I looked at your link and dug further at both county web sites. Perhaps you also tried and found Riversides line item budget less than transparent, no metrics on circulation of materials, hours of operation or customer feedback for the past decade?<br /> <br />Being a frequent flier at my local branch library, and occassional user of the city's libraries, I find them worlds apart. Staff at the county sites are very engaging with the public and coordinated learing activities are plentiful.<br /> <br />Yes, I'm interested in the almighty cost to the taxpayer, but that is only one factor worthy of our consideration. The educational and entertainment value of libraries can be measured too, it's just not reported as often.<br /> <br />When did you last visit the Riverside and San Diego libraries?<br /> <br />Christopher<br /> <br /> ---<br /><br />TWO<br /><br />From: Richard Rider <rrider@san.rr.com><br />To: "Chris<br />Subject: Fw: PR: Time to Think Outside the Library Box<br /><br />Date: Thursday, August 13, 2009, 3:50 PM<br /><br /> <br />Gosh, Christopher, imagine that -- I wrote a one-sided opinion piece! <br /> <br />Remember, I'm not a reporter. Reporters are trained professional journalists who diligently compose objective one-sided pro-Big Government articles -- mindlessly regurgitating government press releases without seeking contrary opinions -- and they get paid for their work.<br /> <br />I've never visited the Riverside County libraries, but have spoken with several people up there over the years who are regular users. They are VERY happy with their libraries. (I've followed this issue for at least 8 years.) I was last in a San Diego city library on Saturday a week ago.<br /> <br />You seem to be assuming that somehow the Riverside system is substandard. What makes you think that? Because it's not run by the government? I've been able to find no discontent with their operation (tried Google too!). Do you have ANY evidence that such is the case.? Even hearsay?<br /> <br />BTW, how does one measure "the educational and entertainment value of libraries", something you assert can be done?<br /> <br />Oh, BTW, you might want to speak to Nancy Johnson, the the Riverside County head librarian -- the ONLY government employee involved in the Riverside County system -- she is the boss. A 30 year professional librarian, she speaks VERY highly of LSSI. She doesn't equivocate in her praise. <br /> <br />She'll tell you that after LSSI took over, the County Supervisors were delighted because they stopped getting calls from citizens complaining about the libraries. The one Supervisor who voted against the contract (with all the usual concerns) is now one of LSSI's biggest boosters -- his name is Bob Buster, if you wish to contact him.<br /> <br />Ms. Johnson goes on to praise the fact that their library employees are not under the civil service system. LSSI can reward good employees with better pay increases, while withholding same from mediocre performers -- and firing the slothful. Just the potential for firing precludes the need for having to use that tool very often.<br /> <br /> ---<br /><br />THREE<br /><br />----- Original Message ----- <br />From: CHRIS<br />To: Richard Rider <br />Sent: Thursday, August 13, 2009 5:17 PM<br />Subject: Something about that library you've put on a pedestal<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />So your a closet advocate for added taxes to support public services as long as public employess have been eliminated!!!<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span> (see commentary below)<br /> <span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Remarks by Judith Auth, Riverside Library Director</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Presented to CAL-TAC Workshop, March 11, 2006</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">NOTE: RIDER SUMMARY -- THIS IS HOW WE CONNED VOTERS INTO RAISING TAXES FOR OUR LIBRARY EMPIRE (NO NEED TO READ FURTHER ON THIS REPORT -- SKIP TO "LAST"]<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br />Twenty years ago when the LA author Carolyn See came to the Riverside Library to speak, she called us (Riverside and<br /><br />San Bernardino Counties) the "goat counties." Today we are the fastest growing region in the United States. In 1991 the<br /><br />Riverside Library participated in a Project for Public Spaces, exploring how a downtown library could be a catalyst for<br /><br />social and economic change. Today I am gong to tell briefly how we became that catalyst. We presented the library not as<br /><br />being in the book warehouse business, but in the people development business. We raised the expectations of our public.<br /><br />And you can too.<br /><br />Our 2002 ballot measure To Renew the Library was the first successful ballot measure for municipal services in Riverside<br /><br />in 40 years. The success for measure C belongs entirely to the Library Board and the campaign committee. In spite of the<br /><br />skepticism of our elected officials, the Library Trustees and the library constituency carried the day.<br /><br />In 1998 the Library Board authorized a public opinion survey by Godbe Research. The survey results indicated modest<br /><br />support for a library tax. But before the board could act on the results, several events occurred in Riverside that sidelined<br /><br />the effort. You may recall the October 1998 City Hall shooting in which the mayor and two city council members were<br /><br />injured. Then two months later, a nervous policeman shot to death a young black woman. These tragic events put the<br /><br />City of Riverside under a Summary Judgment by the State's Attorney General.<br /><br />In 2000, the library trustees met with the mayor to consider a ballot measure for the spring. But this time, it was the<br /><br />School District that was determined to go out for a major bond issue and the mayor asked the library to step aside.<br /><br />Undaunted, the Library Board asked for a survey update by Godbe. The results were not promising. At best, it looked as<br /><br />if an $11 parcel fee could pass with the 66 2/3 approval. Eleven dollars wouldn't accomplish what the survey results said<br /><br />the public wanted so an education campaign was in order.<br /><br />The Library hired a local public relations firm to educate the voters and to raise their expectations. Three mailers were<br /><br />designed to go to each household in the City's Public Utilities bill. The first identified what the needs were. The second<br /><br />outlined the results of several community meetings identifying what improvements were most desired. The third was<br /><br />delivered after the successful vote and urged residents to write in support of the library's application for Proposition 14<br /><br />funds.<br /><br />The campaign committee's first meeting was September 11, 2001. On that fateful day, all 13 of the invited guests showed<br /><br />up and began strategizing for a successful vote in 2002. The committee chair was a retired judge, the recent recipient of<br /><br />Riverside's Sunshine Award for the successful remodel of the historic 1909 county courthouse. Other members of the<br /><br />committee were trustees, members of the library foundation, the county law librarian, a lawyer, a CPA, Friends of the<br /><br />Library and our consultant who had prepared the educational materials.<br /><br />Between September 11 and March 2, we raised more than $80,000 in cash and in-kind services for one general mailing<br /><br />and ads in the local newspapers. One of our first meetings was with the Editor and Publisher of The Press Enterprise.<br /><br />Together with the committee chair and a trustee, I met this formidable person who grilled us thoroughly as to our likely<br /><br />prospects for success. I was later to find out that she was favorably impressed by our presentation and she gave us the<br /><br />support we requested.<br /><br />An even more intimidating meeting was with the City Council who had to vote to put this item on the ballot. It was a<br /><br />library trustee who made the pitch, who laid on the rail between the speaker's podium and the dais for the elected officials,<br /><br />a quarter, a dime and two pennies. "For 37 cents a week," he said, "We can improve our library service delivery by 12<br /><br />million dollars over the next ten years. That's just a nickel a day."<br /><br />For promotion we enlisted teams of community leaders, business people, and educators to pose for ads and the direct mail<br /><br />piece. For the argument in favor we asked the popular president of the community college and the executive director of<br /><br />Fair Housing. There was no argument against. To get out the vote, we secured a telephone bank in the lawyer's office<br /><br />and called several thousand persons from the Registrar of Voter's list. We concentrated on those who had voted in the<br /><br />recent successful school bond election. We crossed off any who were opposed. We sent out absentee ballots registrations.<br /><br />We printed endorsements in the newspaper. We used automated calling the day of the election. We did not walk<br /><br />precincts nor did we make yard signs. We did not have media advertisements other than the newspaper.<br /><br />On election day we received 69% approval for the $19 a year parcel tax with a ten year sunset. In our annual report to the<br /><br />community published January 14, 2006, we headlined,<br /><br />Measure C Keeps Its Promises. With a 20% augmentation in funding, we have accomplished a 40% increase in hours<br /><br />open and public access computers. We have increased programs and programming attendance by 66% for adults, 200%<br /><br />for children.<br /><br />We have a new automated circulation system, one new branch library and two more expanded facilities on the horizon.<br /><br />And now it is time to plan for the renewal of Measure C. The current measure sunsets in 2012. We aim to put a new<br /><br />measure on the ballot in 2007. If it does not pass, we have a couple more years to try. Our first goal is the formation of a<br /><br />new committee and then the accumulation of private funds to mount the campaign. Already the survey research folks are<br /><br />at work assessing the public's satisfaction with the Library's performance to date. The results due this summer should help<br /><br />us frame our proposal.<br /><br />In closing I would like to reflect on the power of a successful election. The Library Trustees charged with the<br /><br />administration of the public library have a renewed sense of their critical role as interpreters of the public will and<br /><br />defenders of the public library tradition. They recognize that libraries have been notoriously passive about funding,<br /><br />accepting whatever is left over after public safety and development appropriations are made.<br /><br />By capturing 69% approval, the Riverside Library is looked at with new respect by the elected officials, and the other city<br /><br />departments. Two years after our successful vote, the Fire Department went to the ballot box. With help from the<br /><br />catastrophic fires in the mountains that fall, they got 69% to build five new fire stations. Next year, the Parks, Recreation<br /><br />and Community Services Department plans to go out for a special tax. Their success or failure will be something we will<br /><br />study before mounting our next effort.<br /><br />And finally, library staff understand that their performance on the job makes a difference in the public's support for<br /><br />libraries.<br /><br />I am confident that Riverside's residents will continue to be willing to pay for the enhanced library services they now<br /><br />enjoy. Measure C has indeed kept its promises, providing more materials, more computers and more open hours.<br /><br />Borrower registration and attendance are up, programming audiences have doubled. The Eastside Library and Cybrary is<br /><br />open, demolition has begun for the expanded Arlington Library, and the Orange Terrace Library is on the horizon.<br /><br />2007 is a year for making more promises to Riverside for its libraries, promises we are just as certain to keep as those we<br /><br />made in 2002.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">FOUR -- LAST BUT NOT LEAST</span><br /><br />RIDER RESPONSE: <br /> <br />Chris, now THAT's a quality response. Seldom do my debaters seek out hard facts on the Internet to refute my case. My sincere congratulations!!!<br /> <br />Of course, you DO understand that the person giving the talk is not a private sector person, but rather a public employee -- the director of the library system. Notice how unfair it was for proponents to use the customer utility bills to send propaganda supporting a library tax increase. THREE TIMES! And note that nowhere do they mention any support or pro-tax activity by LSSI.<br /> <br />Naturally, I oppose such tax increases. I believe in the last decade or so I've written the ballot arguments against two county sales tax increases for libraries. I worked the media and handled the debates, and we ultimately defeated each tax. It's not unusual for government library systems to seek to raise taxes. And it's not often people accuse me of being a tax increase advocate.<br /> <br />Still, great job! Wonderful research! Biting zinger about the "closet advocate for added taxes"!!!!! Swell effort!!!!!!<br /> <span style="font-style:italic;"><br />(Can ya feel it coming yet?)</span><br /> <br />Only one teeny tiny little problem.<br /> <br /><span style="font-style:italic;">(Your sense of unease should be growing . . .)</span><br /> <br />The devil's in the details.<br /> <br /><span style="font-style:italic;">(Uh oh. . . . )</span><br /> <br />Seems one word changes it all around.<br /><span style="font-style:italic;"> <br />(Here it comes!)</span><br /> <br />Still, great try on your part. And I mean it!<br /> <br /><span style="font-style:italic;">(Okay, okay -- out with it!)</span><br /> <br />scroll down . . .<br /> <br />.<br /> <br />.<br /> <br />.<br /> <br />.<br /> <br />.<br /> <br />.<br /> <br />.<br /> <br />Your librarian's article on the parcel tax is about the Riverside <span style="font-weight:bold;">CITY</span> library system!!<br /> <br />MY opinion piece is about LSSI running the Riverside <span style="font-weight:bold;">COUNTY</span> library system.<br /> <br />Okay, I admit it -- it's not fair they both have "Riverside" in their names. An honest mistake on your part. But since you had fun with your zinger, I thought I'd have my fun as well. <br /> <br />Hell, for all I know, maybe the COUNTY raised taxes for their library as well. Remember, the facilities are still owned by the county. Maybe you could research that for us both. Remember -- that's COUNTY, not city.<br /> <br />And just to state the obvious -- the Riverside CITY library system is run by (and for) city government employees.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">P.S. Nothing further was heard from "Chris."</span>Richard Rider, Chair, San Diego Tax Fightershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259117224037487367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972576313341501285.post-77141783900620319142009-08-16T15:44:00.000-07:002009-08-16T15:47:08.190-07:00<span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Time to Think Outside the Library Box</span><br /><br />by Richard Rider<br />12 August, 2009<br /> <br /><br />San Diego County has a number of public library systems open to the general public. Two operations are quite large – the San Diego County and San Diego City libraries. In addition, the cities of Carlsbad, Chula Vista, Oceanside, Coronado, Escondido and National City each have their own library systems.<br /><br />Without exception, each jurisdiction’s library department has become a swelling financial drain on taxpayers. A byproduct has been the reduction of the hours of operation. This expanding cost – reflecting primarily the mushrooming compensation packages for public library employees – has been a growing problem in good times. During this recession, it’s become a much bigger problem.<br /><br />It’s time to consider an alternative way of delivering library services. There is a company – LSSI – that operates public and private libraries. They improve the service, hours of operation and customer satisfaction. And they do it for less cost.<br /><br />I’m not talking about selling off the libraries. Normally the government contracting with LSSI still owns the buildings and materials. But LSSI takes over the operation of the library, meeting the criteria set by the government.<br /><br />One does not have to go far to see how well this alternative works. In 1996 Riverside County was facing operational difficulties, and so it contracted with LSSI to run their 33 branch libraries and two bookmobiles. Coincidentally, that’s the EXACT number of branch libraries and bookmobiles now operated by the San Diego County library system.<br /><br />The results have been well received in Riverside County – by both patrons and politicians. Read the summary of this success story below.<br /><br />But first, go to the LSSI website http://www.lssi.com/approach.html. In particular, watch their seven minute video. Click on the button “View Video.” Yes, it’s a promotion piece, but is has interviews with city managers, mayors and county supervisors who laud their services. It’s really quite illuminating.<br /><br /> <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />The Riverside County Example</span><br /><br /> <br /><br />With 33 library branches, Riverside County, CA is easily the largest government library customer for LSSI. LSSI has operated the Riverside County libraries since 1996, and apparently is highly regarded in that county. The following is on their website:<br /><br />http://www.lssi.com/riverside.html<br /><br />Riverside County, California, operates 33 branch libraries and two bookmobiles serving a high growth population approaching 1 million residents in 13 cities across an area approximately the size of Massachusetts.<br /><br />For more than 80 years, Riverside County contracted with the City of Riverside for library services. The library system was administered by a city-appointed Board of Library Trustees, all City of Riverside residents.<br /><br />When a state mandated shift of property taxes resulted in funding reductions affecting the county libraries in the mid ‘90s, the individual cities and Riverside County Board of Supervisors sought more direct control. As a result, in 1996 the City of Riverside did not renew its contract to operate the County Library System and the County had only six months to develop an alternative plan.<br /><br />The County issued an innovative and ground-breaking RFP seeking optimal library services within an established budget. After a comprehensive selection process, LSSI was selected to operate the County Library System. Riverside became the first library system in the nation to outsource its library operations to a private firm.<br /><br />Through careful monitoring and control of the contract process, LSSI and the County have been able to increase library services without changing funding sources, increased taxes or additional fees. All former library system employees found positions for the same base pay rate and retained vacation time and accruals.<br /><br />Key operational benefits in Riverside County of the LSSI managed system include:<br /><br /><br /><br />· Expansion of the library system from 24 to 33 library sites<br /><br />· Expansion of local employment opportunities from 119 local employees to 193<br /><br />· More than doubling of total weekly hours of operation from 618 hrs/wk to 1380 hrs/wk<br /><br />· Increase of book budget allocation from $180K to $1.95M$5M in additional grant funding<br /><br />· Automation partnership with San Bernardino County, greatly increasing circulation access<br /><br />· Development of early literacy program<br /><br />· Establishment of ESL classes to meet community requirement<br /><br />· Development of Latino outreach program, "Leer es triunfar" (Reading is succeeding)<br /><br />· Winner of a 2005 John Cotton Dana Library Award<br /><br /> <br />-----<br /> <br /><br />If our politicians ever decide that our cities and counties are supposed to be run for the public rather than for the public EMPLOYEES, we can start pursuing alternative methods of delivering government services – such as LSSI. Since our local governments are running out of financial alternatives, perhaps that time is close upon us. We certainly hope that such is the case.<br /> <br /><br />– 30 –Richard Rider, Chair, San Diego Tax Fightershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259117224037487367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972576313341501285.post-7967288052455457122009-08-12T16:18:00.000-07:002009-08-16T15:42:34.023-07:00RICHARD RIDER RANT - 8/11/09<em><strong>The American people will never knowingly adopt Socialism, but under the name of Liberalism, they will adopt every fragment of the Socialist program until one day America will be a Socialist nation without knowing how it happened.<br /></strong></em>Norman Thomas – 6-time Socialist Party Presidential candidate<br /><br />1. Letters to editor in response to my U-T trash fee op-ed are informative in several ways<br />2. Government productivity often is internally frowned upon – the opposite of the private sector 3. “Time to Pull the Plug on the Library”<br />4. Damned planet refuses to heat up – environmentalists distraught<br />5. Environmental madness still rules in Congress<br />6. Generic political cartoon, but seems to apply to CA best<br />7. Massachusetts is our health care canary in the coal mine<br />8. British patients with stiff upper lips forced to live in agony<br />9. Textbooks doomed – about time!<br />10. Nevada produces funny, biting ads at California’s expense – California Big Government disciples, beware<br />11. SD Airport board members abusing expense accounts big-time<br />12. Sales tax on CA laptop computers can exceed 13%<br />13. Cash for clunkers: Trade in American, buy foreign<br />14. San Diego press folks finally figuring it out – they’re switching to work for government<br />15. Fair share? Top 1% paid more federal income tax than 95% of the rest<br /><br />1. Letters to editor about my U-T trash fee op-ed are informative in several ways<br />RIDER COMMENT: As you doubtless recall from my last Rant, I had an op-ed published in the San Diego Union-Tribune, opposing charging a trash fee for San Diego city residential refuse pickup. <a href="http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/jul/26/lz1e26rider225053-we-pay-more-spending-must-be-con/?&zIndex=138070">My piece </a>was printed in conjunction with another op-ed in favor of the fees.<br /><a href="http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/jul/26/lz1e26rider225053-we-pay-more-spending-must-be-con/?&zIndex=138070">http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/jul/26/lz1e26rider225053-we-pay-more-spending-must-be-con/?&zIndex=138070</a> <http: zindex="138070"><br /><br />The online comments afterwards under my op-ed were lively and informative – well, MY comments and the comments from those who agreed with me were informative. You might want to check ’em out. Or not. It was good to see that only a couple of diligent city workers bothered to make comments – I thought I’d be inundated with their propaganda.<br /><br />Then the following Sunday the paper ran letters to the editor about the issue. The results were optimistic from my standpoint. Six letters were on my side, only one against.<br /><br />When the letters editor picks the letters to publish, he tries to pick them to roughly represent the total letters submitted. That 6-1 ratio probably roughly represented the ratio of the total letters submitted. That means that, if this thing comes to the ballot, we have a good chance of winning, even with the labor unions spending millions to raise the fees (by repealing the city’s “People’s Ordinance”).<br /><br />Moreover, I didn’t plant any of the letters. I knew three of the respondents on my side – two libertarians and a LIBERAL – but they wrote on their own (and did fine jobs, I might add).<br />Here are the U-T letters:<br /><a href="http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/aug/02/mz1e2letters20368-two-sides-san-diego-trash-issue/?&zIndex=142544">http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/aug/02/mz1e2letters20368-two-sides-san-diego-trash-issue/?&zIndex=142544</a> <http: zindex="142544"><br />Letters to the Editor<br />Sunday, August 2, 2009<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Two sides of the San Diego trash issue</span><br />Re: “Trash talk / Paying for a service many San Diegans don't get” by Leonard Martin and “Before we pay more, spending must be controlled” by Richard Rider (Dialog, August 2):<br /><br />Another tax? Another fee? How about a “sidewalk tax” for people who want to walk on the sidewalk? How about a “wheelchair tax” to help pay for installing wheelchair curb-cuts? How about a “sidewalk tax” for people who have the Union-Tribune thrown on their sidewalk every morning? How about a “breathing tax”?<br /><br />Or, how about cutting city expenses? That's what I have to do if things get too expensive and get out of hand.<br /><br />JOHN DEL SANTO<br />San Diego<br /><br />Expecting us to just forget about the fact that we are already paying for this service is criminal. Why not try reducing the employees' benefits and automatic annual raises. And why are we paying people to spy into garbage to see if it complies with recycling laws. I think people can follow a few rules without a snitch watching over their debris, much less paying the snitch, too.<br /><br />AMY DEL NAGRO<br />San Diego<br /><br />If the People's Ordinance of 1919 is rescinded, you can be assured of only one thing: The City Council will find creative ways to use the money for anything but trash collection.<br /><br />Our city does not have a good record when it comes to spending our money. So, if you don't give it to them, they won't spend it.<br /><br />ALFRED C. STROHLEIN<br />San Diego<br /><br />Individuals who elect to live in multiple complexes that do not qualify for “free” waste services should not complain. It's a question of free choice. Fairness has little impact when a question of choice enters the mix.<br /><br />Most multi-unit dwellers choose to enjoy the amenities of free laundry rooms, computer rooms, play rooms, health spas, swimming pools, Jacuzzis, barbeques, landscaping, etc. If one opts not to enjoy some of these amenities they should consider a single-family dwelling. These units continue to be in the majority.<br /><br />VIC TALLARIDA<br />San Diego<br /><br />“Tax fighter” Richard Rider offers nothing substantive regarding trash collection besides his usual diatribe against taxes, fees, city employees and unions. His opinion piece could apply, virtually unchanged, about almost any issue facing the city. In his stead, I offer a solution that remedies the inequity Leonard Marin addresses in his companion piece.<br /><br />The City Council and mayor should remove trash collection from the menu of city services, just like closing library branches, removing fire rings, etc. The roughly 50 percent of households, like mine, paying for private trash collection would be unaffected. Those now receiving trash collection as a city service would be charged no fee nor would their taxes be diverted to collect my trash, presumably satisfying “one-issue” zealots like Rider. Instead, people currently receiving city trash collection would face choices and personal choice is what America is about. There would be no tax increase, no redirection of tax monies, no fees to the city, no city employee pensions involved, just plain old personal responsibility and free enterprise allowing equal treatment of all households.<br /><br />DAVID COHEN<br />Hillcrest<br /><br />Leonard Martin writes that the repeal of the People's Ordinance “will free up nearly $60 million annually, the first year and every subsequent year . . . ” How can anyone in his right mind believe that repeal of the ordinance will provide the city with an extra $60 million to spend on maintenance and other city obligations. If the ordinance is in fact repealed, which can only happen by a vote of the people, that $60 million or whatever amount is currently used to fund trash removal from city resident homes should be credited back to each and every homeowner paying taxes in the city of San Diego. In effect lowering taxes, which will be offset by a fee that is paid to a private trash hauler. Any other treatment of these funds is in fact an increase in local taxes.<br /><br />GREGG LAWLESS<br />San Diego<br /><br />George Orwell would have found a place for Leonard Martin and the Union-Tribune's vision of “free city trash service” if he were writing “1984” today. The idea that residential property owners are getting services “free” from the city is laughable. The lack of a bill with the heading “trash pickup charge” does not make the service free. So let us be honest, this isn't about apartment dwellers in City Heights being raked over the coals for the benefit of Rancho Bernardo or Point Loma. It's about finding ways to generate more city revenue without being constrained by honesty.<br /><br />GERALD HOSENKAMP<br />San Diego<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">2. Government productivity often is internally frowned upon – the opposite of the private sector</span><br /><br />RIDER COMMENT: In a comment on Chris Reed blog article about state worker compensation, BobSp raised a GREAT point about worker productivity. It's common -- even mandatory -- in the private sector that productivity should improve. In the public sector, in many instances, increased productivity is actually frowned upon.<br /><br />The public employee labor unions make sure that better performance is not rewarded with higher pay. Work twice as hard (or half as hard) as your government co-worker, get the same pay. Showing up your government co-workers by "working too hard" can result in harsh words, shunning, or worse.<br /><br />Perhaps more important, government managers are paid more the larger their "responsibility." And the number one criterion is how many people the managers supervise. The last thing a government manager wants is a smaller work force.<br /><br />I remember my younger days as a LT in the Navy Supply Corps where I learned this lesson first hand. I suggested that by reworking my 32nd St Naval Station galley (cafeteria, to you land lubbers) work schedules and using private minimum wage food service personnel (we already used a private contractor for low level galley "mess cook" work), we could get rid of 75% of my civil service employees who were being paid for eight hours while only needing to work for three hours at most.<br /><br />No one challenged the feasibility or accuracy of my proposal. But my superior (rank-wise) and his superiors were aghast at the idea.<br /><br />Their thinking was that we should keep the deadwood because sometime in the future the Department of Defense might send out a "RIF" (Reduction in Force) mandate, and we'd want to have the unneeded employees to cut at that time.<br /><br />Hence my civil service drones continued droning. Such is the nature of government.<br /><br />Here’s the Chris Reed blog item and comments:<br /><a href="http://weblog.signonsandiego.com/weblogs/afb/archives/034823.html">http://weblog.signonsandiego.com/weblogs/afb/archives/034823.html</a> <http:><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />3. “Time to Pull the Plug on the Library”</span><br /><br />RIDER COMMENT: Below is an excellent commentary opposing the proposed downtown San Diego library -- written by SD County Taxpayers Association President Lani Lutar. The title of the piece says it all.<br /><br />The online reader comments are lively, with library lovers having a hissy fit. I missed out on putting in my own comments in a timely fashion – a loss to posterity.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2009/06/09/opinion/lutar060909.txt#info</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />VOICE OF SAN DIEGO</span><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Time to Pull the Plug on the Library</span><br /><br />By Lani Lutar<br /><br />Tuesday, June 9, 2009 The proposed downtown library currently remains on life-support after receiving a temporary extension from the State Librarian. Councilmember Carl DeMaio, a vocal critic of the project, recently pointed out <http:>that significant funding shortfalls for construction continue to plague the project. Beyond the cost of construction, the city would have to find almost $6 million every year to cover increased annual operating costs.<br /><br />Equally troublesome, the latest proposal includes the highly questionable use of school bond dollars to make up for a lack of private funds. Given the city's dire financial situation for the foreseeable future, pulling the plug on boondoggles like this project has never been more important.<br /><br />In 2005, construction of the library was estimated to cost $185 million, more than double the 1996 estimate of $63 million. Funding for construction of the project was slated to come from $80 million in CCDC redevelopment funds, $20 million from a State grant and $85 million in private donations. When private fundraising failed to meet the December 2008 state grant deadline, project proponents suggested <http:>the inclusion of a school on the two top floors of the proposed library to make up for funding shortfalls and extend the viability of the grant.<br /><br />In order to maintain the $20 million grant from the state, the city and school district are required to conduct a "feasibility study" to update construction costs and determine any redesign needs to accommodate a school as part of the building. This $169,000 study will update cost estimates and analyze any changes in design necessary to accommodate the inclusion of a school.<br /><br />The city and San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) have yet to reach an agreement on the proportionate funding of the feasibility study, but before $169,000 of taxpayer money is spent to investigate whether the hybrid project is actually viable, the complete inability of the proposal to pencil out must be considered.<br /><br />A recent report released by the Office of Councilmember Carl DeMaio highlighted the following:<br /><br />* Adjusting the 2005 proposal for construction cost inflation only (i.e. ignoring the school component) suggests that costs have increased from $185 million to $208 million today.<br />* Additional construction costs associated with Field Act compliance are likely to increase construction costs by at least another 3-4 percent. This yields an estimate of $214 million today.<br />* Using the most conservative of these inflation adjustments ($208 million construction cost), the project is underfunded by $55 million, even after taking the additional $20 million of school bond dollars in account.<br />* According to the city's Independent Budget Analyst, the new main library will require $5.7 million more per year to operate than the current downtown library.<br /><br /><br />This means that the new library will add to the city's annual operating costs at a time when budget deficits abound, branch library closures have been threatened and hours have been reduced.<br /><br />Private fundraisers have also promised to cover the first five years of operating cost increases, which amounts to more than $28 million. In total, private fundraisers have promised to raise $85 million for construction of the library, plus $28 million for operating costs. To date, only $33 million has been acknowledged, and far less confirmed.<br /><br />Furthermore, excess space in the library was originally designed to help mitigate cost by generating revenues. Adding the school to the proposal eliminates anywhere from $950,000 to $1.5 million of estimated annual revenue that would help to offset the annual operating cost increases.<br /><br />The red balance sheet outlined above tells the real story of the downtown library proposal: taxpayers are left holding the bag. Under the funding proposal in 2005, public funds (from CCDC and the State) accounted for 55 percent of the project cost. Today, assuming construction cost inflation to $208 million, taxpayer funds (via CCDC, Proposition S, the State, plus the shortfall of $57 million) would make up more than 80 percent of project funding.<br /><br />Furthermore, the proposed use of Proposition S school bond dollars for the project is a desperate attempt to save this ill-advised project <http:>and a classic case of bait-and-switch. Prior to the election last November, SDUSD sought endorsements from a variety of stakeholder groups, and provided lists of projects it planned to pursue with the bond dollars. During this campaign, SDUSD clearly outlined the need for a new elementary school downtown. However, law requires elementary schools to be housed on the lower floors of buildings and the available space in the proposed library is on top floors.<br /><br />Within moments of this discovery, the need for the new elementary school downtown was conveniently tossed aside <http:>by the school district in favor of a high school which could save the project.<br /><br />Every aspect of the library proposal depicts a financial disaster in the making. Construction is underfunded, the city cannot afford the increased operation and maintenance expenses and library boosters want taxpayers to pick up a greater portion of the total bill. In no uncertain terms, the time has come to pull the plug on this proposal once and for all.<br /><br />Lutar is president and chief executive officer of the San Diego County Taxpayers Association, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that promotes accountable, cost-effective and efficient government. You can reach her at lani@sdcta.org <?xml:namespace prefix = mailto /><mailto:lani@sdcta.org>.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />4. Damned planet refuses to heat up – environmentalists distraught</span><br /><br />RIDER COMMENT: There’s been considerable consternation by the environmentalists about the insufficient level of urgent concern about global warming, even among the young. After all, we’ve been warned! But perhaps our reality trumps the highly questionable “sky is falling” predictions.<br /><br />The following excerpt from a recent Mark Steyn column summarizes the widespread skepticism well. BTW, Steyn – an acerbic, witty conservative columnist – is always a fun read – except for his opponents.<br /><br /><a href="http://tinyurl.com/nkcukl">http://tinyurl.com/nkcukl</a> <http:><br /><br />Behind the Times<br />by Mark Steyn<br /><br />. . .<br /><br />If you’re 29, there has been no global warming for your entire adult life. If you’re graduating high school, there has been no global warming since you entered first grade. There has been no global warming this century. None. Admittedly the 21st century is only one century out of the many centuries of planetary existence, but it happens to be the one you’re stuck living in. Alan Carlin, in a report for the Environmental Protection Racket — whoops, Environmental Protection Agency — that they attempted to suppress, says:<br /><br />Fossil fuel and cement emissions increased by 3.3 percent per year during 2000-2006, compared to 1.3 percent per year in the 1990s. Similarly, atmospheric C02 concentrations increased by 1.93 parts per million per year during 2000-2006, compared to 1.58 ppm in the 1990s. And yet, despite accelerating emission rates and concentrations, there’s been no net warming in the 21st century, and more accurately, a decline.<br /><br />. . .<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">5. Environmental madness still rules in Congress</span><br /><br />RIDER COMMENT: Ya know, we are just getting jaded. Bill after feel good bill works their way through Congress, costs us TRILLIONS, and does nothing for us or the environment. The article below details one of the worst ones in process.<br /></mailto:lani@sdcta.org><br /><mailto:lani@sdcta.org><a href="http://www.ncpa.org/commentaries/waxman-markey-deserves-to-die">http://www.ncpa.org/commentaries/waxman-markey-deserves-to-die</a> <http:><br /><br /><br />Waxman-Markey Deserves to Die<br />Commentary by Pete du Pont<br />July 26, 2009<br /><br />The economy-destroying measure ekes out a House victory.<br />Source: Wall Street Journal online<br /><br />The fresh news about Washington--the White House and Congress--is that things are not going very well. A new president in full command of public-policy matters is having problems, from health care to taxes to massive federal spending and now to the Waxman-Markey bill, one of the oddest and most far-reaching pieces of legislation advocated by the new administration.<br /><br />It passed the House a few weeks ago by a 219-212 vote--not much of a margin. Most interesting was the fact that of America's 50 state delegations in the House, 28 voted no and 22 aye, and one quarter of the 219 majority votes came from New York and California. Most of America's states and communities didn't much like the bill.<br /><br />No wonder, for it would regulate many things--energy, wages, imported goods, corporations, states, cities, buildings and houses, snowmobiles, lawn mowers, light fixtures, candelabra base lamps and many others--while containing broad exemptions for regulation of agribusiness, ethanol and biofuels. The Waxman-Markey bill would be without question the biggest expansion of federal government control over our economy since the 1930s.<br /><br />The Heritage Foundation concludes it would reduce America's real gross domestic product by $400 billion each year--a cumulative loss of $9.4 trillion by 2035--leading to almost 2.5 million job losses, and raise inflation-adjusted electricity rates by 90%. For a household of four, it would cost on average $2,979 annually and in 2035 the total family cost would be over $4,600 for everything, including power, food, supplies, gasoline and transportation.<br /><br />Our federal government would have full control over global-warming matters. States would not be permitted to create their own cap-and-trade programs, but could be given emission allowances by the federal government which they could sell to generate funds for clean energy programs.<br /><br />The federal government would also have control over the carbon permit process. It would give away 85% of the permits to utility companies, refineries and other politically connected businesses, and these no-cost permits could be used by companies to continue to crank out historically high CO2 emission levels, or be sold to other companies for real money.<br /><br />Next would come the expansion of American protectionism. China and India have declined to participate in global-warming control, so under Waxman-Markey we would be able to impose tariffs on their goods coming into America, something India's environmental minister pointed out to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton a few days ago. The other side of that coin is of course that they could impose tariffs on our exports too. That would hurt American businesses and expand government control of our economy, products and businesses, all in the name of fighting global warming.<br /><br />Of course we have seen the predecessor of the Waxman-Markey bill in the European Union's cap-and-trade regulation, a political failure as well as an economic one. As Heritage's Ben Lieberman has pointed out, it has not worked in various countries, and is now being opposed by nations that need to burn coal for their electricity generation. As the Washington Post wrote last February, European "emission targets were set too high. Too many pollution allowances were given away to industry. . . . Companies made windfall profits by charging customers more for energy while selling allowances they didn't need. And the Europeans have not had much success in reducing greenhouse gas emissions."<br /><br />As Lieberman observes, "To the limited extent European nations have reduced emissions below business-as-usual levels it has hurt their economies. . . . Far from seeing evidence of the bright new green economy some are now promising, we are seeing that cap and trade has contributed to the harm." Waxman-Markey would operate much the same way with many of the same results in America, and that means central government planning would pull America down to European levels.<br /><br />So who is in favor of this massive expansion of governmental authority in America? Labor unions of course, for tucked away is the requirement that any project receiving grants from the billions of giveaways in the Waxman-Markey bill would be required to apply Davis-Bacon union wage rules.<br /><br />Environmentalists like it too, but as climate researcher Chip Knappenberger pointed out in May, neither Henry Waxman nor Ed Markey nor anyone else in Congress is arguing that "the bill is going to save the earth from human-caused climate apocalypse." It won't, and it "will have virtually no impact on the future course of the earth's climate." The Waxman-Markey reduction of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, Mr. Knappenberger concludes, would reduce temperatures by less than one-tenth of a degree Fahrenheit by 2050.<br /><br />The real purpose of Waxman-Markey is to vastly expand the scope, power and authority of the federal government. Washington would permanently regulate and dictate the performance of the U.S. economy, reward constituencies it favors and punish those it doesn't, and make more and more Americans dependent upon federal largesse.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">6. Generic political cartoon, but seems to apply to CA best</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.bostonherald.com/galleries/index.php?gallery_id=791&p=7">http://www.bostonherald.com/galleries/index.php?gallery_id=791&p=7</a> <http: gallery_id="791&p=7"><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />7. Massachusetts is our health care canary in the coal mine</span><br /><br />RIDER COMMENT: Unwittingly, Massachusetts signed on in 2005 to show us how the currently proposed national health insurance would actually work in America. Would that we could learn from the results.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.ncpa.org/pub/ba667">http://www.ncpa.org/pub/ba667</a> <http:><br /><br /><br />Three Lessons from Massachusetts<br />Brief Analysis <http:>Health <http:><br />Tuesday, July 28, 2009<br />by Greg Scandlen<br /><br />The Massachusetts experiment in health care reform offers many lessons that are applicable to the current debate in Congress. The goals of the Massachusetts plan are similar to proposals supported by Democratic congressional leaders and the Obama administration: universal health insurance coverage through greater access to health insurance.<br /><br />The Obama proposals would use similar means to achieve these goals: requiring individuals to purchase insurance and creating an "insurance exchange" where they can buy heavily regulated, heavily subsidized health insurance.<br /><br />Some of the lessons to be learned from the Massachusetts experience have been well-chronicled elsewhere, but there are three lessons that remain to be explored.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Lesson 1:</span> Reform has raised costs, not lowered them. The state has indeed lowered the number of uninsured dramatically - down to 2.6 percent of the population by some estimates. But it has done so in a very expensive way that does nothing to control costs. Massachusetts has relied primarily on two factors to fund its plan: 1) state premium subsidies for almost everyone who has gained coverage and 2) the requirement that individuals enroll. This is a huge burden on taxpayers and on anyone who pays directly for health care:<br /><br />* The state was able to get the federal government to pay for much of these new costs, but even with that help, state government spending has increased 42 percent since 2006.<br />* The Massachusetts program has cost about one-third more than projected when the law was passed.<br />* Before the Massachusetts health insurance reform plan was implemented in 2005, total per capita health care spending in the state was 33 percent above the national average.<br />* In just two years under the Massachusetts reforms, from 2005 to 2007, health care spending per capita rose an additional 23 percent.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Lesson 2:</span> The people reform was intended to help say they are being hurt. That level of spending might be justified if it was clear that large numbers of previously uninsured people were being helped. But a survey conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health found just the opposite.<br /><br />* Slightly more than half (51 percent) of those required to purchase coverage say their health care costs have gone up and only 14 percent say they have gone down.<br />* Some 22 percent say the law is helping them personally, but 60 percent say it is hurting them.<br /><br />Although the survey found that most residents of Massachusetts support the law, the level of support is greatest among those least affected - the people who are more likely to have insurance or be able to afford coverage because of their education and income:<br /><br />* Some 69 percent of those with college degrees or incomes of more than $75,000 a year support the law.<br />* Just 49 percent of those making $25,000 to $50,000 and only 45 percent of those with a high school or lower education, support it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Lesson 3:</span> Everyone else is being hurt, too. It isn't only those directly affected by the mandate who are being hurt in Massachusetts. Due to the sudden increase in demand for physicians, every resident who would like to see a doctor is being harmed. Massachusetts has by far the largest number of physicians per capita of any state. Despite this, patients in Massachusetts now have the longest waiting times to see a doctor, according to a recent survey of physician waiting times in 15 major U.S. cities. For example, in Boston the average waiting time to get an appointment for any of five types of specialists is almost double the wait in the next highest area, Philadelphia. [See the table.]<br /><br />Long waiting times to see a physician have caused the use of hospital emergency rooms to soar by 17 percent to 2.5 million visits in 2007. Half of these ER visits were for nonurgent conditions. Although one of the state's goals was to increase access to private physicians for the previously uninsured, Massachusetts payments to community health centers for free care to the indigent have increased from $52.2 million in 2005 to $58.6 million in 2007.<br /><br />Lessons for America. Of all these developments, the most sobering one is the soaring waiting times to see a doctor. Previously, Massachusetts enjoyed the highest number of physicians per capita of any state, and it had one of the lowest rates of noninsured in the country. If any jurisdiction could have accommodated a surge of newly insured people it should have been Massachusetts. By contrast, California has half as many physicians per capita and twice the level of uninsured. Imagine what will happen to waiting times in California if all the uninsured suddenly become insured. As in Massachusetts, if they can't see a doctor on a timely basis, patients may seek treatment at hospital emergency rooms. But California doesn't have any excess capacity there, either. Waiting times in ERs will soar. Other big states like Texas and Florida are even less able than California to serve the newly insured.<br /><br />What kind of health care reform requires working people to pay for coverage, but then deprives them of the ability to see a doctor? It is the kind that will generate an enormous backlash of outraged patients. Members of Congress need to think twice before embarking on the same journey as Massachusetts.<br /><br />Greg Scandlen is director of Consumers for Health Care Choices at the Heartland Institute.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">8. British patients with stiff upper lips forced to live in agony</span><br /><br />RIDER COMMENT: No, a stiff upper lip is not an English medical malady. It’s just that the wise central planning souls in charge of the UK’s national health insurance now eschew adequate pain relief for folks with lower back problems. Acupuncture is being recommended instead (cheaper – even when it doesn’t work!).<br /><br />Rationing health treatment is SOP in dear old Britain – for those who cannot afford private health care.<br /><a href="http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=18282">http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=18282</a> <http: article_id="18282"><br /><br />BRITISH PATIENTS FORCED TO LIVE IN AGONY<br /><br />In England, the government's drug rationing watchdog says "therapeutic" injections of steroids, such as cortisone, which are used to reduce inflammation, should no longer be offered to patients suffering from persistent lower back pain when the cause is not known. Instead the National Institute of Health (NHW) and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is ordering doctors to offer patients remedies like acupuncture and osteopathy, says the Telegraph.<br /><br />Every year, one-in-three people are estimated to suffer from lower back pain, while one in 15 consult their general practitioner (GP) about it. Specialists say therapeutic injections using steroids can deaden nerve endings, can provide months or even years of respite from pain. Others fear that if funding, tens of thousands of people, mainly the elderly and frail, will be left to suffer excruciating levels of pain or pay as much as £500 (about U.S. $847) each for private treatment, says the Telegraph:<br /><br />* The NHS currently issues more than 60,000 treatments of steroid injections every year.<br />* NICE said in its guidance it wants to cut this to just 3,000 treatments a year, a move which would save the NHS £33 million (about U.S. $56 million).<br />* But the British Pain Society, which represents specialists in the field, has written to NICE calling for the guidelines to be withdrawn after its members warned that they would lead to many patients having to undergo unnecessary and high-risk spinal surgery.<br /><br />While the NICE guidelines admit that evidence was limited for many back pain treatments, where scientific proof was lacking, advice was instead taken from its expert group.<br /><br />But specialists are furious that while the group included practitioners of alternative therapies, there was no one with expertise in conventional pain relief medicine to argue against a decision to significantly restrict its use, says the Telegraph.<br /><br />Source: Laura Donnelly, "Patients forced to live in agony after NHS refuses to pay for painkilling injections," Telegraph, August 2, 2009.<br /><br />For text:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/5955840/Patients-forced-to-live-in-agony-after-NHS-refuses-to-pay-for-painkilling-injections.html">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/5955840/Patients-forced-to-live-in-agony-after-NHS-refuses-to-pay-for-painkilling-injections.html</a> <http:><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />9. Textbooks doomed – about time!</span><br /><br />RIDER COMMENT: While the level of education in the U.S. has deteriorated, one area of learning has shown remarkable growth – textbooks. They’ve grown in a number of ways.<br /><br />Certainly modern textbooks have grown in entertainment value compared to the drab textbooks of yore. They’ve grown in the sheer quantity of material offered (much of which is never covered by classroom teachers). Then there is all that growth in PC coverage. Robust growth can be observed in the price of textbooks. And all of this adds together – leading to the oppressive growth in the massive size and weight of textbooks – today’s textbook tomes lugged around by kids without school lockers.<br /><br />It’s time to put an end to this madness – at least the madness of hard copy textbooks. The day of the personal/laptop computer has arrived. And the price for such has plummeted.<br /><br />***<br /><br />SIDEBAR: One ongoing canard is that the “digital divide” leaves behind the poor without computers. Nonsense! There are many inexpensive ways to buy a computer. Go on Craigslist and buy a used basic desktop computer for $125 or less. Sometimes MUCH less. Furthermore, there are charities that provide computers for poor kids for free!<br /><br />Yes, the poor have fewer computers at home – but that’s a decision they make. Anyone with the slightest initiative can solve that problem for little cost. Instead most poor folks spend far too much on TV’s, cell phones and video console games. No one likes to point out that such bad decision-making is one big reason the poor are poor!<br /><br />***<br /><br />Let’s go back to taxpayer-paid education. It appears that some educators are figuring out that digital textbooks can be read and studied on a portable computer. Some mavens are predicting that hard copy textbooks will all but disappear within five years.<br /><br />Meanwhile notebook laptops are down under $300 retail. Simple full-size laptops can be found under $350 retail. Given the cost of hard copy textbooks, it would seem that the districts can save money (and students’ posture) by buying cheap, no frills notebooks or laptops for students (the notebooks weigh under 3 pounds) and then acquire textbooks electronically. I suspect the savings on software textbooks could pay for the notebooks in a year.<br /><br />School districts in Arizona have already figured out the benefits of providing laptops and avoiding costly textbooks. As we all know from our online experiences, there’s a wealth of FREE material on the Internet available for dissemination – including educational material. Furthermore, the Arizona districts are encouraging teachers to disseminate good lesson plans prepared for the computer.<br /><br />Here’s a link to a May, 2009 LA TIMES editorial encouraging the digital textbook option:<br /><br /><a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2009/may/23/opinion/ed-textbooks23">http://articles.latimes.com/2009/may/23/opinion/ed-textbooks23</a> <http:><br /><br />And here’s a link to an encouraging (and more detailed) article in the 9 August, 2009 NY TIMES – referencing the Arizona district experience:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/09/education/09textbook.html">http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/09/education/09textbook.html</a> <http:><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">10. Nevada produces funny, biting ads at California’s expense – California Big Government disciples, beware</span><br /><br />RIDER COMMENT: The zany folks in the Nevada Development Authority keep putting out outrageous ads pounding on how business-UNfriendly CA is. The ads – both print and video – are slick, funny and irritating – as they should be. And the gonzo nature of the ads is getting Nevada a good bit of free media coverage as well. Here’s a couple newspaper ads that I particularly liked:<br /><br />To look over what the Nevada Development Authority has to say about leaving CA for the Las Vegas area, go to:<br /><a href="http://www.nevadadevelopment.org/">http://www.nevadadevelopment.org/</a> <http:><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">11. SD Airport board members abusing expense accounts big-time</span><br /><br />RIDER COMMENT: A couple years ago the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE did a fine exposé on the extravagant spending by the appointed members of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. Currently the agency has a $121 million budget, which it derives from public money – primarily from airport fees and rents.<br /><br />As a result of that exposé, new spending guidelines were put in place. Guidelines, smidelines. Our airport officials don’t need no stinkin’ guidelines. Must be so, since they imperiously ignore said guidelines.<br /><br />We know that such is still the case, thanks to a follow-up investigation by the intrepid Voice of San Diego. Here’s the link to their just-released article:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2009/08/09/economics/846airport080909.txt">http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2009/08/09/economics/846airport080909.txt</a> <http:><br /><br />You might be wise not to read it – if you pay the fees for flying in and out of San Diego’s Lindberg Airport. Don’t want you going postal in the airport.<br /><br />Perhaps the most egregious incident was when two board members flew to England for a Charger exhibition game (I’ll leave it to you to conjure up the rationale for that trip). No taxpayer expense was spared – from the $5,500 first class airline tickets to the $350 Charger reception to the $1,200 for seats (a board member and a guest -- $600 each) at the game. And just to be clear, that’s the price for EACH board member’s football two tickets, reception and airfare.<br /><br />Ya gotta’ love authority Chairman Bob Watkins’ response to the Voice story – it’s just lowly-paid reporter envy. Great stuff – his elitism is insufferable.<br /><br />Just in case you think the above expenses are a one-time aberration – consider this: San Diego Airport staff fly to Los Angeles for as much as $820 a ticket. And yes, that is Los Angeles, California.<br /><br />Now, let’s see if these political appointees avoid being fired.<br /><br />Assuming that they are not fired, surely they will be denied reappointment by the politicians who first put them there. Yeah, when pigs land on the Lindberg runway.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">12. Sales tax on CA laptop computers can exceed 13%</span><br /><br />RIDER COMMENT: Currently our total sales tax on goods in San Diego County ranges from 8.75% to 9.75%, depending on where the purchase is made. But what few people realize is that California now levies a second DE FACTO sales tax on laptops, computer monitors and TV’s. The Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003 was passed to levy an E-waste “fee” on items with a screen (anything larger than 4”). Supposedly this fee is imposed to somehow help recycle such items.<br /><br />BTW, included in this law are provisions to make tossing such items in the trash a criminal offense. And that aspect of the law covers other items as well (such as computer cases with the innards included), though few know just what those items are.<br /><br />The E-waste tax is crudely figured based on the size of the screen.<br /><br />4” up to (under) 15” is an $8 fee<br /><br />15” up to 35” is a $16 fee<br /><br />35” and above is a $25 fee<br /><br />This is not like some bottle or can deposit you can get back when you properly recycle your screen device. It’s money that’s disappears into state government.<br /><br />I ran into one particularly nefarious aspect of this tax when this spring I purchased a laptop at Costco. I got a great deal for $450. But like most laptops sold today, my screen was a tad bigger than 15”. 15.1”, to be exact. Currently this is probably the single most popular size for a laptop screen. For that tiny incremental increase, the state doubles my E-waste fee from $8 to $16.<br /><br />So what’s my total “sales tax” on that $450 purchase? 8.75% (“normal” sales tax) + 3.55% (E-waste fee) = 12.3%. If I had purchased my laptop from the El Cajon Costco, it would have cost me 13.3% sales tax.<br /><br />Most people realize that they can break the law by avoiding the sales tax – buying their computers from out-of-state vendors via the Internet. But few think about the fact that such a purchase also avoids the E-waste tax – doubtless violating another law.<br /><br />As this knowledge spreads, it surely will not help our California vendors sell our uber-taxable computer laptop, monitor and TV’s. Too bad.<br /><br />And BTW, CA is looking at banning plasma TV sales in CA (for energy savings) – making out-of-state purchase the only alternative (yeah, and making that choice will surely break yet another law).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">13. Cash for clunkers: Trade in American, buy foreign</span><br /><br />RIDER COMMENT: The Law of Unintended Consequences strikes the “Cash for Clunkers” trade-in program. Once again, our central planners have screwed up. American taxpayers subsidize foreign car industry. Read on.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.dickmorris.com/blog/2009/08/10/cash-for-clunkers-trade-in-american-buy-foreign/">http://www.dickmorris.com/blog/2009/08/10/cash-for-clunkers-trade-in-american-buy-foreign/</a> <http:><br /><br />CASH FOR CLUNKERS: TRADE IN AMERICAN; BUY FOREIGN<br /><br />By DICK MORRIS & EILEEN MCGANN<br /><br />Published on DickMorris.com <http: u="aHR0cDovL3d3dy5kaWNrbW9ycmlzLmNvbS8%3d&x=e52957d2">on August 10, 2009<br /><br />The only part of the stimulus program that is working, the cash-for-clunkers program is, in reality, a subsidy to foreign car companies, proving that Barack Obama is the best president Japan ever had.<br /><br />The Department of Transportation reports that the ten leading trade-ins are all American branded cars while six of the top ten new cars purchased - and four of the top five - are foreign. So the United States Senate is about to pass additional funds to subsidize the trade-in of American cars and the purchase of foreign cars.<br /><br />DOT reports that the following are the ten top trade-ins, all American:<br /><br />Ten Top Trade-Ins Under Cash for Clunkers<br /><br />1. Ford Explorer<br />2. Ford F150 Pickup 2WD<br />3. Jeep Grand Cherokee 4 WD<br />4. Jeep Cherokee 4 WD<br />5. Dodge Caravan/Grand Caravan<br />6. Chevrolet Blazer 4 WD<br />7. Ford Explorer 2 WD<br />8. Ford F150 Pickup 4 WD<br />9. Chevrolet C1500 Pickup 2 WD<br />10. Ford Windstar FWD Van<br /><br /><br />And the top ten new car purchases, subsidized by the American taxpayer, are mainly foreign vehicles:<br /><br />Top Ten New Car Purchases: Cash for Clunkers<br /><br />1. Toyota Corolla<br />2. Ford Focus FWD<br />3. Honda Civic<br />4. Toyota Prius<br />5. Toyota Camry<br />6. Ford Escape FWD<br />7. Hyundai Elantra<br />8. Dodge Caliber<br />9. Honda Fit<br />10. Chevrolet Cobalt<br /><br />It is a violation of the World Trade Organization rules to enact a public subsidy program and skew it toward only domestically produced products, so the Congress has no choice but to extend the program to all comers. No choice, that is, but to not spend the money in the first place.<br /><br />Cash for Clunkers will do wonders for the Japanese economy, but its impact on the US job situation is problematic. This unintended consequence is a great illustration of what happens when the blunt tool of government subsidy is applied to the fine tuning of a free market economy. Government planners keep getting it wrong. That's why socialism is such a bad idea.<br /><br />So Obama can boast of a great success in taking American cars off the road and replacing them with foreign cars. Great going!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">14. San Diego press folks finally figuring it out – they’re switching to work for government</span><br /><br />RIDER COMMENT: Normally when I conclude a speech on local politics, I ask the audience what’s the ONE thing that they should take with them out of the lecture – what ONE piece of advice could turn their lives around.<br /><br />Someone eventually comes up with the right answer – “get a government job.” More specifically, get a San Diego CITY government job.<br /><br />I give the same advice to media folks at the conclusion of an interview or press conference. Given the tenuous nature of their occupational job security, coupled with their stagnated compensation, such advice fits them particularly well.<br /><br />As the article below demonstrates, it looks like many media pundits have indeed heeded my advice and become government employees at an accelerating rate – even more than I realized. After years of covering stories that show the stark contrast between public and private sector employment, many reporters have fled to (or been laid off and gone to) government jobs.<br /><br />I’m worried that such a career pattern might give reporter cause to hesitate in doing investigative journalism, delving into our politicians’ antics. I doubt such a potential conflict is a major factor, but the number of press folks switching to public “service” is unsettling.<br /><br />It also means that when the press wants info from government, it’s often their former co-workers that they deal with – which is a little too chummy for objective media coverage.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local-beat/Trend-Reporters-Turned-Pols-52687452.html">http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local-beat/Trend-Reporters-Turned-Pols-52687452.html</a> <http:><br /><br />Another S.D. Journalist Goes Into Politics<br /><br />San Diego has experienced a noticeable shift of journalists entering the world of politics<br />By RON DONOHO <http: keywords="%22RON+DONOHO%22&author=y&sort=date"><br /><br />Updated 3:45 PM PDT, Fri, Aug 7, 2009<br /><br />Next time you read a byline in a local newspaper or magazine, or watch an anchor on a nightly TV newscast, take note: Those people may soon be your public servants. Over the past few years, there’s been a steady march from the field of journalism into politics.<br /><br />On Monday, Tim McClain <http: topic="Tim+McClain">is expected to begin working as a legislative assistant/press secretary for San Diego County District 4 Supervisor Ron Roberts. For the previous dozen years, McClain was the editor of "Metropolitan" magazine and appeared on "Editors Roundtable” on KPBS.<br /><br />What’s it like to go from asking the questions to answering and/or avoiding them?<br /><br />"I love journalists and writers -- I've always been a big defender of what they try to do," McClain said. "And I'll help them do their jobs from this side of the fence."<br /><br />Last month, San Diego City Councilwoman Marti Emerald <http: topic="Marti+Emerald">(District 7) hired former KGTV weather reporter Geni Cavitt to be her director of communications. You might recall Emerald was the "Troubleshooter” consumer reporter for 10News.<br /><br />Within the last year, San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders snatched up San Diego Union-Tribune writers Gerry Braun and Rachel Laing <http: topic="Rachel+Laing">to be director of special projects and deputy press secretary, respectively.<br /><br />District 6 City Councilwoman Donna Frye has also double-dipped at the Union-Tribune. Former reporters Mark Sauer and Chet Barfield <http: topic="Chet+Barfield">are now her district representatives.<br /><br />Former U-T reporter Tony Manolatos was grabbed to be the director of communications for District 2 City Councilman Kevin Faulconer. District 1 County Supervisor Greg Cox has the U-T's Luis Monteagado as his spokesman. And the director of communications for the past couple years for District 5 County Supervisor Bill Horn is former KFMB-TV anchor John Culea.<br /><br />And now, I'd like to announce I'm running for president ... not.<br /><br />Ron Donoho <http: topic="Ron+Donoho">is a regular contributor to NBCSandiego.com and a contributing editor to sandiego.com. His Web site (sandiegoDTOWN.com) is dedicated to news, sports, culture, happy hours and all things downtown.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">15. Fair share? Top 1% paid more federal income tax than 95% of the rest</span><br /><br />RIDER COMMENT (well, actually, mostly Bill Leonard’s comment): The Tax Foundation has crunched the IRS numbers for the most recent data available, 2007. It found the top one percent of taxpayers paid 40.4 percent of the total income taxes collected by the federal government. What is remarkable about this is the share of the tax burden by the top one percent now exceeds the share paid by the bottom 95 percent of taxpayers combined. In 2007, the bottom 95 percent paid 39.4 percent of the income tax burden. This is down from the 58 percent of the total income tax burden they paid 20 years ago.<br /><br />The top one percent is comprised of just 1.4 million taxpayers and they pay a larger share of the income tax burden now than the bottom 134 million taxpayers combined. Given that we are no longer a republic, but rather simply a “majority rules” democracy, that fact does not bode well for the wealthy – as more voters feeling little pain from the income tax seek to increasingly soak the rich to benefit themselves.<br /><br />The substantiating income tax data tables on the foundation’s website (links below) are illuminating. One aspect that the report did not discuss is that we had tax cuts in rates during this decade, and now the wealthy pay more taxes (a higher percent of their income), and a higher percent of the total income taxes paid. The Laffer Curve lives!<br /><br />I may dig deeper into this data at another time.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.taxfoundation.org/publications/show/23408.html">http://www.taxfoundation.org/publications/show/23408.html</a> <http:><br /><br /><a href="http://www.taxfoundation.org/blog/show/24944.html">http://www.taxfoundation.org/blog/show/24944.html</a> <http:><br /><br /></mailto:lani@sdcta.org><mailto:lani@sdcta.org></mailto:lani@sdcta.org>Richard Rider, Chair, San Diego Tax Fightershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259117224037487367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972576313341501285.post-67536030756601122362009-08-11T11:38:00.000-07:002009-08-11T14:08:00.646-07:00RICHARD RIDER RANT 7/31/09<div align="left"><em>There are severe limits to the good that the government can do for the economy, but there are almost no limits to the harm it can do.<br /></em>Milton Friedman, Nobel laureate </div><div align="left"><br />1. Rider trash fee opposition op-ed in SD UNION-TRIBUNE.<br /><br />2. One area of employment grew in the county – you’ll never guess. Well, actually you probably WILL guess.<br /><br />3. SD County firing volunteer firefighters like crazy – and crazy is the word for it.<br /><br />4. Read about Rider’s heroes – volunteer firefighters.<br /><br />5. Media blacks out story predicting 1.1 million California jobs lost from AB 32’s Draconian environmental regs<br /><br />6. For a great daily dose of free market economics, go to . . .<br /><br />7. Fools! You could have made a fortune (like me) investing in greedy health care companies. Or not.<br /><br />8. California “only” the 6th worst state? We wish!<br /><br />9. Feds’ stimulus often “much ado about nothing.” Their PR departments are working overtime. Naturally at our expense.<br /><br />10. If Obama disappoints his fans, they will have only themselves to blame.<br /><br />1. Rider trash fee opposition op-ed in SD UNION-TRIBUNE<br />In the Sunday, 26 July edition of the San Diego Union-Tribune "Dialog -- Insight and Opinion" section there is a full page "Trash Talk" two-opinion debate. I wrote the pro-taxpayer column – you’ll see the details below.<br />The issue is whether to repeal the San Diego city "People's Ordinance" which includes single unit residential trash pickup as a city service. Proponents of the repeal want to start charging fees for this city service, while opponents (such as I) see this as a slippery slope -- a way to start raising DE FACTO taxes without the required 2/3 vote of the electorate (or any vote at all, actually). See my column for more thoughts on this.<br />BTW, the U-T (hopefully inadvertently) summarized the issue with a pro-fee, anti-taxpayer explanation published with each column -- omitting any reason for NOT imposing the fee.<br />Here's the U-T summary. See what you think.<br />---<br />The city of San Diego is mandated, under the People's Ordinance of 1919, to use tax money, rather than a fee for service, to pay for trash pickup at most single-family residences. Over the years, many have called for the repeal of the ordinance on the grounds that it is unfair to those who live in multifamily units and that by charging for trash pickup, as many municipalities do, the city could ease its financial problems.<br />---<br />BACKGROUND: The San Diego County Grand Jury did an "investigation" and concluded that we should start charging fees. But their investigation is by law secret, and they won't tell you who they talked to. Their foreman wrote the "raise fees" column.<br />Well, I have a good idea who they talked to -- and, more important, I know who they DIDN'T talk to. They went to city bureaucrats and politicians who favor charging the fee, and probably some Big Government professor at a local government college. Apparently the (not so) Grand Jury spoke with NO ONE who disagreed. Not me, not Carl DeMaio, not the San Diego County Taxpayers Association (which actually has not yet taken a position on the matter) -- not anyone I can find who is familiar with city government and opposes the new fees.<br />IF this change would result in REBATES to all San Diego taxpayers of the current taxes being spent on trash pick-up, I could support such a measure. But this is about one thing – getting more revenue for the city so the politicians don’t have to face down the city workers over excessive compensation issues.<br />You can read the two columns online. Of course, you can read the comments by readers – and my devastating retorts. There is a lively give-and-take between yours truly and the fee fanciers.<br /><br />Here are the two SD U-T columns:<br /><strong>SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE<br />Trash talk</strong><br />Before we pay more, spending must be controlled<br />By Richard Rider<br />July 26, 2009<br />To now start charging “fees” – in reality taxes levied without a vote of the citizens – for city services previously paid for by taxes is a dangerous idea, and shear madness in a recession.<br /><br />For generations, the city of San Diego has provided for single-unit residential trash pickup, paid out of city revenues. Now we are told that this historical service is a budget problem, contributing to the city budget deficit. A recent grand jury report calls for new fees for residential trash pick-up. What has changed?<br />Granted, this recession is dramatic. But city revenue has dropped only modestly. Indeed, property tax revenue is still going up. The city's 2009-2010 general fund revenue is projected to be only 3.7 percent lower than 2008-2009.<br />What is different is San Diego's municipal expenses. They have soared. And clearly the driving force is our runaway city salaries, pensions and health care costs.<br />A recent grand jury report claimed that these compensation excesses have largely been brought under control – an embarrassingly silly assertion. In this stock market, the city pension fund deficit is approaching $2 billion. Unfunded retiree health care costs exceed $1 billion. Three years after the citizens mandated that the city begin competitive bidding of municipal services, there has been zero progress. The vaunted two-tier pension plan for new non-safety employees saves only a tiny amount for taxpayers, and is still far too generous. This past calendar year, city payroll costs – not counting benefits – rose by $43 million.<br />To now start charging “fees” – in reality taxes levied without a vote of the citizens – for city services previously paid for by taxes is a dangerous idea, and shear madness in a recession. It's a slippery slope, leading to city labor unions insisting on fees for all sorts of municipal functions in order to maintain the employees' opulent compensation packages.<br />How bad can it get? Some towns in other states have been charging fees exceeding $500 to have police or firefighters to come to a traffic accident – even a minor one.<br />Trash fee proponents want us to pay more, but refuse to control costs. Before such fees are even considered, we should first make every effort to improve efficiency.<br />Most important, we should put city trash collection out to aggressive competitive bid for substantial savings. We are the only city in the county to use government workers to pick up refuse.<br />Just because city taxpayers pay for a service does not mean that overpriced city employees have to provide the service. Given our incredible overcompensation of city workers, taxpayer savings could easily exceed 30 percent. Similar savings can be achieved by putting other city functions out to bid – libraries, printing, street light maintenance, landscaping, etc.<br />The majority of the San Diego City Council is beholden to the labor unions that put them in office. But these politicians are not fools. They know they can't keep spending what they don't have.<br />It comes down to this: If our politicians run out of revenue options, they will control spending: seeking ways to deliver city services at lower cost. If they can talk us into paying more taxes and fees, they won't control spending.<br />Our job as voters and taxpayers is to provide the adult supervision needed to get our elected officials to do the job we pay them for – making citizens' welfare a higher priority than the prosperity of city workers. <a href="http://tinyurl.com/ngetul" target="_blank">(Find this article on line here)</a><br /><br />Rider is chairman of San Diego Tax Fighters.<br />--------------------<br />RAISE FEES OP-ED by Rider’s opponent<br />Trash talk<br />Paying for a service many San Diegans don't get<br /><br />By Leonard D. Martin<br />July 26, 2009<br />Yada, yada, yada (<a href="http://tinyurl.com/ko3h7u" target="_blank">I thoughtfully summarized it for you, but you can read it here</a>).<br /><br />2. One area of employment grew in the county – you’ll never guess. Well, actually you probably WILL guess.<br />RIDER COMMENT: For me, two items stood out from a 20 July Rick Toscano blog/column in the Voice of San Diego concerning the San Diego County job market for the fiscal year just ended 30 June, 2009:<br />A. Of the 9 categories of employment in the county, the largest was “government.” An amazing 18% of working folks in the county are employed by some government – federal, state or local. Of course, this does not count people employed under government contracts. Nor does it count those employed by government regulations, or the government-created legal morass we find ourselves in.<br />B. Of these 9 categories of employment, only one category actually grew. Need I tell you which one? HINT FOR DULLARDS: I don’t even need to bother telling you what the other categories are. <a href="http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/toscano/" target="_blank">Click here</a><br /><br />3. County “firing” volunteer firefighters like crazy – and crazy is the word for it<br />RIDER COMMENT: As you probably recall, I headed up the opposition to last November’s San Diego countywide parcel tax (the perennial Prop A) to pay for a regional fire fighting agency. Everything I said in our opposition argument seems to have been proven true.<br />Except one thing.<br />My “official” published opposition SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE op ed was titled “No: County already has funds to improve firefighting.” Of course, that assertion proved correct.<br />What I got wrong was the timing. On election night when it became apparent that we opponents would indeed win, I predicted in a Channel 10 TV interview/debate that “within six months the county will come up with the funding for the fire district.” Actually it took less than three weeks after election night.<br />We saw this “found money” turnaround before when a few years ago the county pushed a ¼% sales tax proposition for libraries. Their actual semi-official campaign slogan was “There is no Plan B” – claiming that there was no source available to fund new and renovated branch libraries. We won that election handily. As it turned out, they started coming up with the needed funding less than 48 hours after they lost the election. Essentially everything was built that they wanted without the “critical” sales tax increase.<br />But back to the county’s new regional fire agency. Here’s the ironic postscript. As I’ve said before, government can screw up anything. Now they’ve screwed up our county volunteer firefighting.<br />The meddling of the County Supervisors has been disqualifying or driving away many of the volunteer firefighters that used to work for free, but are now essentially being banned from volunteering and forced to quit. In particular, this includes our grizzled veterans who know more about back country firefighting than those labor union city slicker firefighters who assist in the big brushfires.<br />It's apparent that the politicians and others who are so anxious to raise the standards for volunteer firefighters miss one important point -- supply and demand.<br /><br />PAID fire departments have oodles of applicants -- as many as 100 applicants per opening. Most of today's newly hired urban paid firefighters are, if anything, overqualified. Paid fire departments can be picky.<br /><br />On the other hand, VOLUNTEER fire departments have a constant battle getting volunteers. Along with the lack of pay, volunteers are required to take the same fire fighting (and often EMT) training of our paid firefighters -- sometimes at their own expense. This involves hundreds of hours of training and studying. And has been pointed out, the volunteers often must pay for most of their own gear.<br /><br />Raising the standards shrinks the pool of volunteers. And it looks like that shrinkage is going to hit us hard this fall just when we may be facing major back country fires. Given our drought situation, that seems to be a likely event.<br /><br />The irony is we can expect the labor union firefighters and politicians to place substantial blame on the county-forced understaffed volunteer fire departments for the property damage and lost lives from such fires. 'Vat a country!<br />How this mass disqualification of firefighter volunteers saves lives and property is an absolute mystery. But it’s a tale worth telling. Or, in this case, reading. And I strongly encourage you to read my next item as well – an excellent ode to volunteer firefighters.<br /><br />SAN DIEGO READER<br />Big Agency Burns Little Volunteers<br />By Joe Deegan Published Wednesday, July 22, 2009<br />The history of wildfires in San Diego’s backcountry has yielded a vigorous volunteer firefighting subculture. Its foundations are self-reliance, strong community involvement, ingenuity, independence, and thrift. Today, those who embody the tradition feel threatened. They perceive the enemy to be the new San Diego County Fire Authority.<br />A plan to consolidate fire departments, both professional and volunteer, has been the pet project of county supervisor Dianne Jacob since the mid-1990s. But after the 2003 Cedar fire, according to the Los Angeles Times on October 31, 2003, Jacob conceded that “even with [consolidation], there is a dark cloud over all of us called lack of adequate resources.” <a href="http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2009/jul/22/big-agency-burns-little-volunteers/" target="_blank">Click here to continue</a><br /><br />4. Read about Rider’s heroes – volunteer firefighters<br />RIDER COMMENT: PARADE MAGAZINE (that color supplement in many of the big papers’ Sunday edition) is one of my LEAST favorite publications. Their cover stories seem to alternate between self-indulgent articles about narcissistic celebrities who overcame adversity (truly pathetic stuff, sometimes), and stories about “The Crisis in ______________” (a different crisis every time – but always a crisis).<br />Last Sunday’s crisis was day care/preschool for tykes. The INEVITABLE conclusion of every such crisis story is that we need massive new government spending to cure the problem of the week.<br />But something went VERY wrong in their 5 July issue. Their cover story was a truly inspirational article lauding the nation’s volunteer firefighters.<br />VOLUNEER firefighters! Not our government often-overcompensated labor union firefighters. VOLUNTEERS! I was stunned to read about my REAL firefighter heroes in PARADE.<br />This was a GREAT piece! I’m suspect heads later rolled in PARADE’s pinko home office.<br />Here are some salient factoids in the article that few Americans are aware of:<br />A. 72% of all our nation’s firefighters are volunteers.<br /><br />B. By most states’ laws, these volunteers have to receive the same training as the full time paid firefighters. Plus EMT training often is included.<br /><br />C. More than 20,000 of the nation’s 30,200 fire departments are all-volunteer (and thousands more fire departments are a mix of paid and volunteer firefighters).<br /><br />D. Of the 118 firefighters who died in the line of duty in 2007, 68 were volunteers.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2009/edition_07-05-2009/Why-They-Serve.html" target="_blank">You can read it here</a></div><br /><br />5. Media blacks out story predicting 1.1 million California jobs lost from AB 32’s Draconian environmental regs<br />RIDER COMMENT: My maven Chris Reed <a href="http://weblog.signonsandiego.com/weblogs/afb/archives/035106.html" target="_blank">succinctly says it all here.</a><br /><br />6. For a great daily dose of free market economics, go to . . .<br /><strong>RICHARD RIDER COMMENT</strong>: Below are (probably too many) examples of a terrific free blogging service you might want to sign up for. You can receive updates as a daily email with links (the sample below). Or for you Internet sophisticates, receive an RSS feed to your computer or Blackberry. You can click on the "Google" icon below will post the “CARPE DIEM” RSS feed on your "igoogle.com" home page, if you have one (like me!). Or to your "Google Reader" service if you use that option. <br />The blogger, a rather libertarian free market college professor, is big on the fact that the economy has already turned around, and that few have noticed it (until this week!). He’s been saying so for months. <br />More important, the author has LOTS of interesting insights on economic and political issues, with data. Excellent stuff. <br /> If the graphics aren't there to see, go to his website -- <a href="http://mjperry.blogspot.com" target="_blank">See here.</a><br />CARPE DIEM<br /><br /><strong>Bidding Wars Break Out On Low-Priced FL Homes</strong> <br />Posted: 21 Jul 2009 04:48 PM PDT<br />FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – July 21, 2009 – Bidding wars are returning to South Florida’s housing market, as investors and first-time buyers compete for homes and condominiums listed at $200,000 or less. The race for properties is reminiscent of the boom years from 2000 to 2005, when multiple offers on all types of dwellings helped push prices to record highs.<br /><br />Back then, a dearth of properties for sale had buyers rushing to scoop up anything they could find, for fear that prices would keep rising. Now, frustrated with a bloated inventory of foreclosed homes in disrepair, buyers go to great lengths when they spot a house or condo in pristine condition.<br /><br />“When they find a good listing, people are pouncing,” said Terry Story, a real estate agent for Coldwell Banker in Broward and Palm Beach counties.<br /><br />Agents say the heated competition has been building in recent months, a result of low mortgage rates and the $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers that expires Nov. 30. Steady sales increases during the past year gradually have worked off the inventory of available homes. Real estate agents are convinced that the overall market has hit bottom or is close to one. <a href="http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2009/07/bidding-wars-break-out-on-low-priced.html" target="_blank">Click here</a> <br /><br /><strong>Median Home Prices in Houston Hit Record High </strong><br />Posted: 21 Jul 2009 01:49 PM PDT<br />HOUSTON — (July 21, 2009) — Sales of single-family homes for the greater Houston area continued to improve in June, with the highest volume recorded since August 2008 and the highest median price in history. This comes despite a year-over-year decline in overall property sales of 15.0 percent and 13.5 percent for single-family homes, according to new monthly data compiled by the Houston Association of REALTORS® (HAR).<br /><br />At $164,500, the June single-family home median price – the figure at which half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less – rose 2.8% from one year earlier to reach an all-time high. The average price of a single-family home in Houston dipped 2.4% last month to $221,783 compared to June 2008. That represents the highest average price since August 2008. <a href="http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2009/07/median-home-prices-in-houston-hit.html" target="_blank">Continued here</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/6539800.html" target="_blank">Houston Chronicle story here</a>, "Houston's median home price hit an all-time high last month, as the market was boosted by seasonal buying, low interest rates and a tax incentive to spur sales." <br /> <br />Why America Shouldn't Buy "Buy American" <br />Posted: 21 Jul 2009 01:06 PM PDT<br /><br />Is your iPod unpatriotic?<br /><br />Its 451 parts are made in dozens of nations, and creating the little doodads employs thousands of foreigners. Final assembly is done in China—a country that right-wingers and left-wingers alike fear is an economic threat to the U.S.<br /><br />As the recession worsens, maybe patriotic Americans should be smashing foreign-made iPods in protest. Or at least hiring bikini-clad American women to do the job, which is exactly what Reason.tv did. Our patriotic, sledgehammer-wielding bikini bandits headed to California’s Venice Beach to smash some foreign-made iPods to make a political statement about saving American jobs. <a href="http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2009/07/blog-post_21.html" target="_blank">Watch the Video Here.</a> <br />Watch another version of the video and find out more here at <a href="http://reason.tv/video/show/834.html" target="_blank">Reason.tv.</a><br /><br /><br /> <a href="http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2007/06/ipod-teardown_1249.html" target="_blank">See related CD post "iPod Teardown: Who Really Makes It?" from June 2007.</a> <br /><br /> <br />Posted: 21 Jul 2009 08:08 AM PDT<br /><a href="http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2009/07/despite-troulbe-in-us-gm-thrives-abroad.html" target="_blank">Despite Troubles In the U.S., GM Thrives Abroad; Sales in China Increase by 38%</a><br /><br /> <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106734155" target="_blank">National Public Radio -- </a> General Motors, once the world's largest automaker, has had a rough few months. In June, the company filed for bankruptcy. Last week, as part of a massive restructuring plan, 60 percent of the company's ownership shifted to U.S. taxpayers. <br /><br />However, the news isn't all doom and gloom for the U.S. auto giant. Many of the company's international operations are posting strong gains. In China, GM's second-largest market, sales jumped to 814,442 units in the first half of 2009 from 590,132 during the same period in 2008 — an increase of 38% (see chart above). And in Latin America, seven countries set GM sales records in 2008. <br /><br />MP: In the first half of 2008, GM sold almost three times (2.7X) as many cars in the U.S. (1,589,000) as in China (590,132), and this year vehicle sales are almost the same in both countries: 947,518 in the U.S. (data here for U.S.) compared to 814,442 in China. <br /><br />For GM's sake, let's hope they don't start a "Buy China" campaign, or start erecting signs saying "Parking of U.S. vehicles strictly prohibited and will be towed at owner's expense." <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106734155" target="_blank">(Click here to read and listen to the story)<br /></a>Richard Rider, Chair, San Diego Tax Fightershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259117224037487367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972576313341501285.post-47672807622697485772009-08-11T11:31:00.000-07:002009-08-11T11:38:10.661-07:00SD Airport board members abusing expense accounts big timeRICHARD RIDER COMMENT: A couple years ago the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE did a fine exposé on the extravagant spending by the appointed members of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. Currently the agency has a $121 million budget, which it derives from public money – primarily from airport fees and rents.<br />As a result, new spending guidelines were put in place. Guidelines, smidelines. Our airport officials don’t need no stinkin’ guidelines. Must be so, since they imperiously ignore said guidelines.<br />We know that such is still the case, thanks to a follow-up investigation by the intrepid Voice of San Diego. <a href="http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2009/08/09/economics/846airport080909.txt" target="_blank">Click here to link to their just-released article.</a><br />You might be wise not to read it – if you pay the fees for flying in and out of San Diego’s Lindberg Airport. Don’t want you going postal in the airport.<br />Perhaps the most egregious incident was when two board members flew to England for a Charger exhibition game (I’ll leave it to you to conjure up the rationale for that trip). No expense was spared – from the $5,500 first class tickets to the $350 Charger reception to the $1,200 for seats (a board member and a guest -- $600 each) at the game. BTW, that’s the price for EACH board member’s football two tickets, reception and airfare.<br />Ya gotta’ love authority Chairman Bob Watkins’ response to the Voice story – it’s just lowly paid reporter envy. Great stuff – his elitism is insufferable.<br />Just in case you think the above expenses are a one-time aberration – consider this: San Diego Airport staff fly to Los Angeles for as much as $820 a ticket. And yes, that is Los Angeles, California.<br />Now, let’s see if these political appointees avoid being fired. Assuming that they are not fired, surely they will be denied reappointment by the politicians who first put them there. <br />Yeah, when pigs land on the Lindberg runway.Richard Rider, Chair, San Diego Tax Fightershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259117224037487367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972576313341501285.post-88394659811408819112009-07-31T12:11:00.000-07:002009-07-31T13:08:03.662-07:00<span style="font-weight:bold;">RICHARD RIDER RANT 7/31/09</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">There are severe limits to the good that the government can do for the economy, but there are almost no limits to the harm it can do.</span><br />Milton Friedman, Nobel laureate<br /><br /> <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">1. Rider trash fee opposition op-ed in SD UNION-TRIBUNE.<br /> <br />2. One area of employment grew in the county – you’ll never guess. Well, actually you probably WILL guess.<br /><br />3. County dismissing volunteer firefighters like crazy – and crazy is the word for it.<br /><br />4. Read about Rider’s heroes – volunteer firefighters.<br /><br />5. Media blacks out story predicting 1.1 million California jobs lost from AB 32’s Draconian environmental regs<br /><br />6. For a great daily dose of free market economics, go to . . .<br /><br />7. Fools! You could have made a fortune (like me) investing in greedy health care companies. Or not.<br /><br />8. California “only” the 6th worst state? We wish!<br /><br />9. Feds’ stimulus often “much ado about nothing.” Their PR departments are working overtime. Naturally at our expense.<br /><br />10. If Obama disappoints his fans, they will have only themselves to blame.</span><br /><br /> <br /><br /> <span style="font-weight:bold;"><br /><br />1. Rider trash fee opposition op-ed in SD UNION-TRIBUNE</span><br /><br />In the Sunday, 26 July edition of the San Diego Union-Tribune "Dialog -- Insight and Opinion" section there is a full page "Trash Talk" two-opinion debate. I wrote the pro-taxpayer column – you’ll see the details below.<br /><br />The issue is whether to repeal the San Diego city "People's Ordinance" which includes single unit residential trash pickup as a city service. Proponents of the repeal want to start charging fees for this city service, while opponents (such as I) see this as a slippery slope -- a way to start raising DE FACTO taxes without the required 2/3 vote of the electorate (or any vote at all, actually). See my column for more thoughts on this.<br /><br />BTW, the U-T (hopefully inadvertently) summarized the issue with a pro-fee, anti-taxpayer explanation published with each column -- omitting any reason for NOT imposing the fee. <br /><br />Here's the U-T summary. See what you think.<br /><br /> ---<br /><br />The city of San Diego is mandated, under the People's Ordinance of 1919, to use tax money, rather than a fee for service, to pay for trash pickup at most single-family residences. Over the years, many have called for the repeal of the ordinance on the grounds that it is unfair to those who live in multifamily units and that by charging for trash pickup, as many municipalities do, the city could ease its financial problems.<br /><br /> ---<br /><br /> BACKGROUND: The San Diego County Grand Jury did an "investigation" and concluded that we should start charging fees. But their investigation is by law secret, and they won't tell you who they talked to. Their foreman wrote the "raise fees" column.<br /><br />Well, I have a good idea who they talked to -- and, more important, I know who they DIDN'T talk to. They went to city bureaucrats and politicians who favor charging the fee, and probably some Big Government professor at a local government college. Apparently the (not so) Grand Jury spoke with NO ONE who disagreed. Not me, not Carl DeMaio, not the San Diego County Taxpayers Association (which actually has not yet taken a position on the matter) -- not anyone I can find who is familiar with city government and opposes the new fees.<br /><br />IF this change would result in REBATES to all San Diego taxpayers of the current taxes being spent on trash pick-up, I could support such a measure. But this is about one thing – getting more revenue for the city so the politicians don’t have to face down the city workers over excessive compensation issues.<br /><br />You can read the two columns online. Of course, you can read the comments by readers – and my devastating retorts. There a lively give-and-take between yours truly and the fee fanciers.<br /><br />Here are the two SD U-T columns, each preceded by the URL.<br /><br />http://tinyurl.com/ngetul<br /><br />SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE <br /><br />Trash talk<br />Before we pay more, spending must be controlled<br />By Richard Rider <br /><br />July 26, 2009<br /><br />To now start charging “fees” – in reality taxes levied without a vote of the citizens – for city services previously paid for by taxes is a dangerous idea, and shear madness in a recession. <br /><br /> <br /><br />For generations, the city of San Diego has provided for single-unit residential trash pickup, paid out of city revenues. Now we are told that this historical service is a budget problem, contributing to the city budget deficit. A recent grand jury report calls for new fees for residential trash pick-up. What has changed? <br /><br />Granted, this recession is dramatic. But city revenue has dropped only modestly. Indeed, property tax revenue is still going up. The city's 2009-2010 general fund revenue is projected to be only 3.7 percent lower than 2008-2009. <br /><br />What is different is San Diego's municipal expenses. They have soared. And clearly the driving force is our runaway city salaries, pensions and health care costs. <br /><br />A recent grand jury report claimed that these compensation excesses have largely been brought under control – an embarrassingly silly assertion. In this stock market, the city pension fund deficit is approaching $2 billion. Unfunded retiree health care costs exceed $1 billion. Three years after the citizens mandated that the city begin competitive bidding of municipal services, there has been zero progress. The vaunted two-tier pension plan for new non-safety employees saves only a tiny amount for taxpayers, and is still far too generous. This past calendar year, city payroll costs – not counting benefits – rose by $43 million. <br /><br />To now start charging “fees” – in reality taxes levied without a vote of the citizens – for city services previously paid for by taxes is a dangerous idea, and shear madness in a recession. It's a slippery slope, leading to city labor unions insisting on fees for all sorts of municipal functions in order to maintain the employees' opulent compensation packages. <br /><br />How bad can it get? Some towns in other states have been charging fees exceeding $500 to have police or firefighters to come to a traffic accident – even a minor one. <br /><br />Trash fee proponents want us to pay more, but refuse to control costs. Before such fees are even considered, we should first make every effort to improve efficiency. <br /><br />Most important, we should put city trash collection out to aggressive competitive bid for substantial savings. We are the only city in the county to use government workers to pick up refuse. <br /><br />Just because city taxpayers pay for a service does not mean that overpriced city employees have to provide the service. Given our incredible overcompensation of city workers, taxpayer savings could easily exceed 30 percent. Similar savings can be achieved by putting other city functions out to bid – libraries, printing, street light maintenance, landscaping, etc. <br /><br />The majority of the San Diego City Council is beholden to the labor unions that put them in office. But these politicians are not fools. They know they can't keep spending what they don't have. <br /><br />It comes down to this: If our politicians run out of revenue options, they will control spending: seeking ways to deliver city services at lower cost. If they can talk us into paying more taxes and fees, they won't control spending. <br /><br />Our job as voters and taxpayers is to provide the adult supervision needed to get our elected officials to do the job we pay them for – making citizens' welfare a higher priority than the prosperity of city workers. <br /><br />Rider is chairman of San Diego Tax Fighters. <br /><br />--------------------<br /><br /> RAISE FEES OP-ED by Rider’s opponent<br /><br /> <br /><br />http://tinyurl.com/ko3h7u<br /><br />Trash talk<br />Paying for a service many San Diegans don't get<br /> <br /><br />By Leonard D. Martin <br /><br />July 26, 2009<br /><br />Yada, yada, yada (I thoughtfully summarized it for you, but the link IS above for you to read).<br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />2. One area of employment grew in the county – you’ll never guess. Well, actually you probably WILL guess.</span><br /><br />RIDER COMMENT: For me, two items stood out from a 20 July Rick Toscano blog/column in the Voice of San Diego concerning the San Diego County job market for the fiscal year just ended 30 June, 2009:<br /><br />A. Of the 9 categories of employment in the county, the largest was “government.” An amazing 18% of working folks in the county are employed by some government – federal, state or local. Of course, this does not count people employed under government contracts. Nor does it count those employed by government regulations, or the government-created legal morass we find ourselves in.<br /><br /> <br /><br />B. Of these 9 categories of employment, only one category actually grew. Need I tell you which one? HINT FOR DULLARDS: I don’t even need to bother telling you what the other 8 categories are.<br /><br />http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/toscano/<br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">3. County “firing” volunteer firefighters like crazy – and crazy is the word for it<br /></span><br />RIDER COMMENT: As you probably recall, I headed up the opposition to last November’s San Diego countywide parcel tax (the perennial Prop A) to pay for a regional fire fighting agency. Everything I said in our opposition argument seems to have been proven true.<br /><br />Except one thing. <br /><br />My “official” published opposition SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE op ed was titled “No: County already has funds to improve firefighting.” Of course, that assertion proved correct.<br /><br />What I got wrong was the timing. On election night when it became apparent that we opponents would indeed win, I predicted in a Channel 10 TV interview/debate that “within six months the county will come up with the funding for the fire district.” Actually it took less than three weeks after election night.<br /><br />We saw this “found money” turnaround before when a few years ago the county pushed a ¼% sales tax proposition for libraries. Their actual semi-official campaign slogan was “There is no Plan B” – claiming that there was no source available to fund new and renovated branch libraries. We won that election handily. As it turned out, they started coming up with the needed funding less than 48 hours after they lost the election. Essentially everything was built that they wanted without the “critical” sales tax increase.<br /><br />But back to the county’s new regional fire agency. Here’s the ironic postscript. As I’ve said before, government can screw up anything. Now they’ve screwed up our county volunteer firefighting. <br /><br />The meddling of the County Supervisors has been disqualifying or driving away many of the volunteer firefighters that used to work for free, but are now essentially being banned from volunteering and forced to quit. In particular, this includes our grizzled veterans who know more about back country firefighting than those labor union city slicker firefighters who assist in the big brushfires.<br /><br />It's apparent that the politicians and others who are so anxious to raise the standards for volunteer firefighters miss one important point -- supply and demand. <br /><br />PAID fire departments have oodles of applicants -- as many as 100 applicants per opening. Most of today's newly hired urban paid firefighters are, if anything, overqualified. Paid fire departments can be picky. <br /><br />On the other hand, VOLUNTEER fire departments have a constant battle getting volunteers. Along with the lack of pay, volunteers are required to take the same fire fighting (and often EMT) training of our paid firefighters -- sometimes at their own expense. This involves hundreds of hours of training and studying. And has been pointed out, the volunteers often must pay for most of their own gear.<br /><br />Raising the standards shrinks the pool of volunteers. And it looks like that shrinkage is going to hit us hard this fall just when we may be facing major back country fires. Given our drought situation, that seems to be a likely event.<br /><br />The irony is we can expect the labor union firefighters and politicians to place substantial blame on the county-forced understaffed volunteer fire departments for the property damage and lost lives from such fires. 'Vat a country!<br /><br />How this mass disqualification of firefighter volunteers saves lives and property is an absolute mystery. But it’s a tale worth telling. Or, in this case, reading. And I strongly encourage you to read my next item as well – an excellent ode to volunteer firefighters.<br /><br />http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2009/jul/22/big-agency-burns-little-volunteers/<br /><br /> <br /><br />SAN DIEGO READER<br /><br />Big Agency Burns Little Volunteers<br />By Joe Deegan | Published Wednesday, July 22, 2009 <br /><br />The history of wildfires in San Diego’s backcountry has yielded a vigorous volunteer firefighting subculture. Its foundations are self-reliance, strong community involvement, ingenuity, independence, and thrift. Today, those who embody the tradition feel threatened. They perceive the enemy to be the new San Diego County Fire Authority.<br /><br />A plan to consolidate fire departments, both professional and volunteer, has been the pet project of county supervisor Dianne Jacob since the mid-1990s. But after the 2003 Cedar fire, according to the Los Angeles Times on October 31, 2003, Jacob conceded that “even with [consolidation], there is a dark cloud over all of us called lack of adequate resources.”<br /><br />On May 29, 2008, the County Grand Jury pinned the blame for wildfire damage on too much trust in backcountry volunteer fire departments. The report suggested that people were acting as if it was still “the ‘Old West,’ when people banded together and formed groups to protect themselves.” What is needed, according to the report, is what most large counties use, a regional firefighting agency.<br /><br />So the County asked citizens to fund it. But at the polls last fall, voters narrowly defeated a $52-a-year parcel-tax initiative to consolidate all fire departments in the region. The plan had wider support than the outcome indicates, as a two-thirds vote was required for passage. In the wake of defeat and anticipation of more big wildfires, a familiar rant went up that San Diegans are too cheap to pay for government services.<br /><br />But Jacob had Plan B ready to go, a $15.5 million agency with the power to coordinate firefighting efforts in San Diego’s backcountry. “County officials said the authority [could] be formed although voters rejected the tax,” according to a November 23, 2008 California Fire news release. The new agency has responsibility to watch over “about a third of the county,” more than 920,000 acres. Within that area, “The authority will cover about 50,000 people…now served by six volunteer agencies and Cal Fire.… The volunteer agencies will remain but will be better-funded and administered by a fire warden, a new position.”<br /><br />“The fire authority is one of the first steps in the process of creating a countywide agency,” the news release continued. “Jacob said she hopes to expand the regional authority within the next two years to include other parts of the unincorporated county now served by rural fire districts. After that, urban areas served by fire departments would be included.”<br /><br />The good news for the volunteer firefighters seemed to be the $95 to $110 per 24-hour shift they’re set to receive under the new plan. But as paid employees, they had to qualify for workers’ compensation. And that meant passing a physical exam, as well as background and credit check, conditions of the contract the County offered them. A number of volunteers are in their 70s and/or out of shape. So many resisted signing the contract, saying they were thinking over their decision until the last minute of an initial July 1 deadline the County gave them. But on June 24, the County told the volunteers they had until the next day to sign or lose the opportunity to fight future backcountry fires.<br /><br />During the period of mid- to late June, the Ramona Sentinel and North County Times aired out volunteer firefighters’ grievances about having to take the physical exam. One fire chief stated that some volunteers feared an exam failure would mean they wouldn’t be able to qualify for health insurance in the future. The newspaper accounts focused mainly on the volunteer departments surrounding Ramona.<br /><br />To get a different perspective, I speak with three volunteers from the Shelter Valley Volunteer Fire Department. Shelter Valley lies 16 miles east and downhill from Julian. All three of the volunteers concurred that the physical exam constitutes a serious issue for many firefighters who still have much to contribute. Fire operations chief Tony Mayors, who is 53, tells me he knows he can’t pass the exam due to his high blood pressure. But he has been a volunteer in Shelter Valley for 12 years and the operations chief for 5. He believes his experience of fighting fires in the area is still a valuable resource.<br /><br />Mayors eventually did fail the physical, but, the County has not rejected him outright. Instead, he’s been placed on hold while officials try to figure out how he might be used. “I think I should still be able to go out on calls,” Mayors says. “Call it quality control or whatever you want, but I’ve been doing this so long I can correct less experienced firefighters’ mistakes when I see them. That’s why I became a chief. I know I can’t carry a hundred-pound fire hose up a steep hill. But I can hardly be useful in my own way if I’m not allowed to go out on calls.”<br /><br />I speak about the issue with Gig Conaughton, a spokesman for the County’s Department of Planning and Land Use, the administrative home for the new fire authority. Conaughton tells me the County cannot even allow volunteers to perform field supervision if they can’t pass the physical. “Think about it,” he says. “Somebody who goes out on a call might suddenly face a dangerous situation where they’re needed to help. It wouldn’t be safe. We [do] have one to three administrative positions that experienced chiefs could be offered.”<br /><br />Gerald Sanders is currently the administrative chief at the Shelter Valley department. He has worked as a local volunteer for 30 years. He is 78 years old. “I know I could pass the physical,” he tells me, “because I walk eight miles every other day.” But these days, he confines himself to the “technical issues and paperwork.”<br /><br />For years, Sanders has written grants for the Shelter Valley department. He thinks the money he has brought in totals somewhere near $800,000. With some of it, the department bought several of its own trucks, including one brush clearer and a small fire engine, and converted a station wagon into a medical emergency response vehicle. The department also built the Shelter Valley fire station.<br /><br />The County gave Shelter Valley another truck. But it’s a bulky gas guzzler, says Sanders, and his colleagues agree. “The ladder is so high on the truck,” says Tony Mayors, “that you’d have to be seven feet tall to pull it out.”<br /><br />Does the County prefer, I ask, that you use that truck?<br /><br />“Yes, it’s got their name real big on the door,” says Mayors, laughing. “Our trucks have a small Shelter Valley logo.”<br /><br />What would have happened if the volunteer departments did not sign the county contracts? “They would have taken our equipment and buildings,” Gerald Sanders tells me, “and replaced our volunteers with Cal Fire firefighters. Of course, the professionals would fight the fires as well as we have. But we have a record of having never missed a call out here and never having anyone get hurt. The Shelter Valley department covers a 582-square-mile area, so that’s not too bad. And one thing we do know better than outsiders is the terrain, all the little canyons. We’ve been to every one of them.<br /><br />“But only 10 percent of our calls are fire related,” Sanders continues. “The rest are emergency rescues. For stopping fire, the biggest need in the backcountry is brush control around people’s properties. If the County wanted to help us, they would do more of that. But they don’t have the personnel to do it.”<br /><br />I ask the County’s Gig Conaughton how brush management is handled. “The County has an ongoing relationship with Cal Fire regarding brush and weed control,” he writes me by email. “We loan budgeted equipment (trucks) to Cal Fire, which provides manpower to do inspections. Our County Code Enforcement follows up if abatement is called for.”<br /><br />Ron Thornhill used to drive Shelter Valley’s fire engine. Not anymore. He decided not to take the physical even though he’s 50 and believes he would pass it. Thornhill is the angriest of the men I speak with. His biggest concern is the money the County is spending on its new fire authority.<br /><br />“The volunteers were doing a very good job,” says Thornhill, “and doing it for nothing. I can’t tell you the number of small fires we stopped before they got going. If they reach the top of the hill and there’s a Santa Ana wind, you’re going to get the next Cedar fire. But that never happened on our watch.<br /><br />“Now the County comes along and is going to spend $15 million and not do any better than we’ve been doing. And we did it free.<br /><br />“I heard the County is renting a house for Cal Fire firefighters who will come in here from the outside and work out of our station. That’s new salaries they’ll pay and new benefits packages and new workmen’s comp payments they’ll make with taxpayer dollars. Today, I went down and turned in my equipment. No more firefighting for me.” Thornhill is not the only one. Of 12 original volunteers, 6 decided to take the physical. Among those 6, 2 passed to become County-approved firefighters.<br /><br />I confirm with the County’s Conaughton that two Cal Fire firefighters, one an officer, will live in a rented building at Shelter Valley. He wants to emphasize, however, that the new guys will become members of the Shelter Valley community.<br /><br />It’s a touchy point for operations chief Tony Mayors. “Yeah,” he says, “they say the County can generate money better than our barbecue fund-raisers. But we care about this community, and the community cares about us. I’m going to feel terrible if I have to let them down. And it won’t be the same not making the hamburgers.”<br /><br />Meanwhile, Cal Fire firefighters have been rotating in and out of Shelter Valley, making it difficult for local volunteers to help them learn locations. And fiscal reality may be setting in. In talks with their new supervisors, chiefs Sanders and Mayors have learned that the County probably can’t afford to keep two Cal Fire firefighters permanently stationed in Shelter Valley. Since the local volunteer force has been “decimated,” in the words of Sanders, new volunteers will have to come from outside the area, and none will be officers. The Mount Laguna Volunteer Fire Department is already sending down new volunteers.<br /><br />There may be hope that some of the lost Shelter Valley volunteers might still contribute. There has been a tiny bit of progress, Sanders tells me. “The County agreed to allow us mediation on points of dispute. But they’ve reserved the right to walk away from talks after ten days. Which means that if they don’t like something we want, they can wait ten days."<br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">4. Read about Rider’s heroes – volunteer firefighters</span><br /><br />RIDER COMMENT: PARADE MAGAZINE (that color supplement in many of the big papers’ Sunday edition) is one of my LEAST favorite publications. Their cover stories seem to alternate between self-indulgent articles about narcissistic celebrities who overcame adversity (truly pathetic stuff, sometimes), and stories about “The Crisis in ______________” (a different crisis every time – but always a crisis). <br /><br />Last Sunday’s crisis was day care/preschool for tykes. The INEVITABLE conclusion of every such crisis story is that we need massive new government spending to cure the problem of the week.<br /><br />But something went VERY wrong in their 5 July issue. Their cover story was a truly inspirational article lauding the nation’s volunteer firefighters. <br /><br />VOLUNEER firefighters! Not our government often-overcompensated labor union firefighters. VOLUNTEERS! I was stunned to read about my REAL firefighter heroes in PARADE. <br /><br />This was a GREAT piece! I’m suspect heads later rolled in PARADE’s pinko home office.<br /><br />Here are some salient factoids in the article that few Americans are aware of:<br /><br />A. 72% of all our nation’s firefighters are volunteers.<br /><br />B. By most states’ laws, these volunteers have to receive the same training as the full time paid firefighters. Plus EMT training often is included.<br /> <br />C. More than 20,000 of the nation’s 30,200 fire departments are all-volunteer (and thousands more fire departments are a mix of paid and volunteer firefighters).<br /><br /> <br /><br />D. Of the 118 firefighters who died in the line of duty in 2007, 68 were volunteers.<br /><br />http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2009/edition_07-05-2009/Why-They-Serve.html<br /><br /> <br />PARADE MAGAZINE<br /><br />72% of America's firefighters are volunteers<br /><br />Why They Serve<br />by Peter Greenberg<br /><br />published: 07/05/2009<br /><br />When the fire alarm sounds, across America, grocers immediately leave their checkout lanes, architects put down their pencils, plumbers drop their wrenches, chefs hand over their cooking chores, and telephone repairmen leave the lines cut. Our nation’s volunteer firefighters are always prepared to serve.<br /><br />Of the estimated 1.15 million firefighters in the U.S., 72% are volunteers. Their departments can be found in small towns and large cities, in isolated areas of Alaska and New Mexico, on Indian reservations, even abroad. Since March 2008, 10 volunteer firefighters from New York State have helped to lead the fire department at Camp Phoenix in Afghanistan. More than 20,000 of the nation’s 30,200 fire departments are all-volunteer. In Massachusetts alone, there are about 120 fire departments made up entirely of volunteers. In fact, most small and midsize communities in the U.S. rely primarily on volunteer firefighters.<br /><br />There are departments located completely underground, their stations mined out of the side of a mountain (Creede, Colo.), others staffed by high school students (Aniak, Alaska), and others, such as the department in Dover, Del., that work solely to protect state capitals. Yet all share one thing in common: They are central to the American community, and in many towns, they are the community.<br /><br />The volunteer fire department is often the first line of defense in times of emergency. When Continental Flight 3407 crashed short of the runway near Buffalo, N.Y., in February, killing 50, the first responders were the 64 members of the Clarence Center Volunteer Fire Company.<br /><br />These days, volunteer fire service can sometimes mean making do with a barely equipped firehouse on a limited budget or having the local car dealer pitch in to fix broken equipment. But it doesn’t mean using untrained staff. Most volunteer fire departments require the same standards of their members as paid municipal firefighters. The volunteers train in CPR, hazardous materials, communications, and advanced firefighting techniques. The work also is no less dangerous: Of the 118 firefighters who died in the line of duty in 2007, 68 were volunteers. <br /><br />On Fire Island National Seashore, a 32-mile-long strip of beach 50 miles east of New York City, most of the fire trucks are specially converted four-wheel-drive vehicles. “Out here, when you turn 18, you join the volunteer department,” says Ed Horton, 52, a building contractor who has been a member of the Ocean Bay Park Fire Department for more than 30 years and currently serves as fire commissioner. “It’s just the way it is.”<br /><br />For Horton, the fire department is all about community and family. His grandfather helped found it in 1950, his father was a chief, his mom served as fire commissioner, his brother Michael is the current chief, and his youngest daughter just joined. “There’s this feeling that because we’re on an island and we’re volunteers, that we’re untrained,” Horton says. “But it’s not true. We’re subject to the same rules and regulations as mainland departments. You do this job because it’s part of your family, part of your community.”<br /><br />The Ocean Bay Park Fire Department consists of a 1957 Willys Jeep fire truck and three other vehicles. Two are 1000-gallons-per-minute pumpers, which carry more than 1000 feet of hose—nearly enough to reach across Fire Island, from bay to ocean. With limited water on the island, it’s not unusual for the firefighters to pump seawater from the south bay to fight a blaze. In winter, there are few fires. But in the summer, when the population on Fire Island explodes from several hundred year-round residents to more than 50,000 people, the department can be extremely busy.<br /><br />In fact, at many resort and vacation destinations, volunteer fire departments are nothing less than lifelines. Take the small Alaskan community of Skagway. In the high summer season, the population doubles to about 1600. That would be tough enough on the small department, which was created during the Gold Rush of 1898. But on most days, there can be as many as six cruise ships that pull into Skagway’s tiny harbor, instantly expanding the population to around 16,000 and making the Skagway volunteers stay on duty for at least eight hours a day. Fighting fires? No—mostly providing EMT services and racing sick cruise-ship passengers to hospitals 200 miles away.<br /><br />And then there are the “Dragon Slayers,” volunteer firefighters in the remote town of Aniak, Alaska. The entire department: four adults, including a schoolteacher and bush pilot, and nine high school students. Their equipment: one ambulance and an aging 1976 pumper truck in need of repair. Aniak is isolated. There are no roads to any other village in Alaska, and Anchorage is 350 miles away. “We struggle a lot, but somehow we make it work,” says Fire Chief Pete Brown, 64, a retired fishing guide. This year, the Aniak fire department expects to handle at least 300 alarms—a huge number for a town of 600 residents.<br /><br />No matter where NBC News anchor Brian Williams goes on assignment, the first place he stops is the local volunteer firehouse. “If you want to know what’s going on in town, that’s where you need to be,” says Williams, who joined the Middletown Township, N.J., fire department as a volunteer at 18. “The volunteers know their town, because they are their town. It’s all about community.”<br /><br />“I never had any thoughts of becoming a firefighter,” says Mary Hauprich, 45, a writer and mother of two from New York. But three years after moving to Islesboro, a small enclave (pop. 600) off the coast of Lincolnville Beach, Maine, she was approached by its volunteer firefighters. “They heard I was a writer, and they said they just needed someone to take notes at their meetings,” she recalls. “I said I would. And the next thing I knew, I had signed on. As it developed, I never took a single note!<br /><br />“It uncovered a passion I didn’t know was there,” she says. Before long, Hauprich was learning about all the pumps, how to attack an interior fire, and how to fix a fire truck. Currently, there are 21 members in the department (her husband Brian, a former chef, also volunteers as an EMT) and only four vehicles. “For six years, I was the only woman in the department, but I recruited another,” she says proudly. “She manages a nearby farm.” Hauprich’s 15-year-old son is now a captain of Islesboro’s junior firefighters program. <br /><br />Recruiting is a worrisome issue for many volunteer fire departments. “It’s a real problem,” Brian Williams says. “We need to find more people willing to serve.”<br /><br />In some departments, membership levels are dropping to—pun intended—alarming levels. “We need folks to support their volunteer fire departments,” Williams adds. “They’re the guys who come when you call, and they truly are the backbone of America.”<br /><br />Author and travel expert Peter Greenberg has been a volunteer firefighter since he was 18.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">5. Media blacks out story predicting 1.1 million California jobs lost from AB 32’s Draconian environmental regs</span><br /><br />RIDER COMMENT: My maven Chris Reed succinctly says it all below.<br /><br />http://weblog.signonsandiego.com/weblogs/afb/archives/035106.html<br /><br /> <br /><br />CHRIS REED BLOG<br /><br />July 24, 2009<br />Yet another media greenout: Report predicting 1.1 million job loss from AB 32 is ignored<br /><br />A study commissioned by the California Small Business Roundtable -- see the PDF here -- suggests California may someday look back on the current 11.6% state unemployment rate as a golden era. <br /><br />Sanjay Varshney, dean of the college of business administration at Sacramento State, and Dennis Tootelian, director of the university's center for small business, predict that AB 32 will cut the state's economic output by 10 percent and lead to the loss of 1.1 million jobs.<br /><br />That's right. 1.1 million jobs. More than the 904,300 jobs California has lost since the recession officially began in December 2007.<br /><br />Now, of course, the fact that a business group sponsored the study raises questions about it. But the study's warnings about the dire effects of forcing state businesses to switch to cleaner but much costlier forms of energy -- unlike their rivals in other states and nations -- track precisely with the high-profile economists who trashed the California air board "scoping plan," which ridiculously asserted AB 32 would have no economic downside.<br /><br />Here's the kicker: The California media eagerly report the claims coming from a handful of zealot UC Berkeley professors that their "research" shows AB 32 will be an economic bonanza. But how many California newspapers detailed Varshney's and Tootelian's findings? <br /><br />None.<br /><br />According to Nexis, the only coverage it got was from Investor's Business Daily.<br /><br />This is pathetic. And typical. Remember, the high-profile economists who trashed the AB 32 "scoping plan" were ignored by almost everyone -- until after the plan was adopted by the air board. <br /><br />Arnold thinks AB 32 will be his lasting legacy. It sure will. Just not remotely in the way he thinks. Abetted by the media, the Schwarzenegger depression is just around the corner.<br /><br />Posted by Chris Reed at July 24, 2009 11:44 AM <br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />6. For a great daily dose of free market economics, go to . . .</span><br /><br />RICHARD RIDER COMMENT: Below are (probably too many) examples of a terrific free blogging service you might want to sign up for. You can receive updates as a daily email with links (the sample below). Or for you Internet sophisticates, receive an RSS feed to your computer or Blackberry. You can click on the "Google" icon below will post the “CARPE DIEM” RSS feed on your "igoogle.com" home page, if you have one (like me!). Or to your "Google Reader" service if you use that option. <br /><br />The blogger, a rather libertarian free market college professor, is big on the fact that the economy has already turned around, and that few have noticed it (until this week!). He’s been saying so for months. <br /><br />More important, the author has LOTS of interesting insights on economic and political issues, with data. Excellent stuff. See below.<br /><br /> If the graphics aren't there to see, go to his website -- http://mjperry.blogspot.com<br /><br /> <br /><br />CARPE DIEM <br /> <br /><br /><br />--------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /><br />Bidding Wars Break Out On Low-Priced FL Homes <br />Median Home Prices in Houston Hit Record High <br />Why America Shouldn't Buy "Buy American" <br />Despite Troubles In the U.S., GM Thrives Abroad; Sales in China Increase by 38% <br />Markets in Everything: EKGs, MRIs on a Blackberry <br />Chicago Fed Index Increases for 5th Straight Month <br />Now Here Is a Real Housing Crisis; And It Probably Won't Be Getting Better Anytime Soon <br />Bidding Wars Break Out On Low-Priced FL Homes <br /><br />Posted: 21 Jul 2009 04:48 PM PDT<br /><br />FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – July 21, 2009 – Bidding wars are returning to South Florida’s housing market, as investors and first-time buyers compete for homes and condominiums listed at $200,000 or less. The race for properties is reminiscent of the boom years from 2000 to 2005, when multiple offers on all types of dwellings helped push prices to record highs.<br /><br />Back then, a dearth of properties for sale had buyers rushing to scoop up anything they could find, for fear that prices would keep rising. Now, frustrated with a bloated inventory of foreclosed homes in disrepair, buyers go to great lengths when they spot a house or condo in pristine condition.<br /><br />“When they find a good listing, people are pouncing,” said Terry Story, a real estate agent for Coldwell Banker in Broward and Palm Beach counties.<br /><br />Agents say the heated competition has been building in recent months, a result of low mortgage rates and the $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers that expires Nov. 30. Steady sales increases during the past year gradually have worked off the inventory of available homes. Real estate agents are convinced that the overall market has hit bottom or is close to one. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br />Median Home Prices in Houston Hit Record High <br /><br />Posted: 21 Jul 2009 01:49 PM PDT<br /><br />HOUSTON — (July 21, 2009) — Sales of single-family homes for the greater Houston area continued to improve in June, with the highest volume recorded since August 2008 and the highest median price in history. This comes despite a year-over-year decline in overall property sales of 15.0 percent and 13.5 percent for single-family homes, according to new monthly data compiled by the Houston Association of REALTORS® (HAR).<br /><br />At $164,500, the June single-family home median price – the figure at which half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less – rose 2.8% from one year earlier to reach an all-time high. The average price of a single-family home in Houston dipped 2.4% last month to $221,783 compared to June 2008. That represents the highest average price since August 2008.<br /><br />Foreclosure property sales showed further decline, as they have each month this year, making up 16.8% of all single-family home sales in the Houston area in June. That compares to 34% percent in January, 28% in February, 24.5% in March, 23.6% in April and 19.9% in May. The median price of June foreclosure sales reported in the Multiple Listing Service fell 3% from $90,000 to $87,000 on a year-over-year basis. <br /><br />Houston Chronicle story here, "Houston's median home price hit an all-time high last month, as the market was boosted by seasonal buying, low interest rates and a tax incentive to spur sales." <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br />Why America Shouldn't Buy "Buy American" <br /><br />Posted: 21 Jul 2009 01:06 PM PDT<br /><br /><br />Is your iPod unpatriotic?<br /><br />Its 451 parts are made in dozens of nations, and creating the little doodads employs thousands of foreigners. Final assembly is done in China—a country that right-wingers and left-wingers alike fear is an economic threat to the U.S.<br /><br />As the recession worsens, maybe patriotic Americans should be smashing foreign-made iPods in protest. Or at least hiring bikini-clad American women to do the job, which is exactly what Reason.tv did. Our patriotic, sledgehammer-wielding bikini bandits headed to California’s Venice Beach to smash some foreign-made iPods to make a political statement about saving American jobs.<br /><br />Watch the video and find out more here at Reason.tv. <br /><br />See related CD post "iPod Teardown: Who Really Makes It?" from June 2007. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br />Despite Troubles In the U.S., GM Thrives Abroad; Sales in China Increase by 38% <br /><br />Posted: 21 Jul 2009 08:08 AM PDT<br /><br /><br /><br />National Public Radio -- General Motors, once the world's largest automaker, has had a rough few months. In June, the company filed for bankruptcy. Last week, as part of a massive restructuring plan, 60 percent of the company's ownership shifted to U.S. taxpayers.<br /><br />However, the news isn't all doom and gloom for the U.S. auto giant. Many of the company's international operations are posting strong gains. In China, GM's second-largest market, sales jumped to 814,442 units in the first half of 2009 from 590,132 during the same period in 2008 — an increase of 38% (see chart above). And in Latin America, seven countries set GM sales records in 2008. <br /><br />MP: In the first half of 2008, GM sold almost three times (2.7X) as many cars in the U.S. (1,589,000) as in China (590,132), and this year vehicle sales are almost the same in both countries: 947,518 in the U.S. (data here for U.S.) compared to 814,442 in China. <br /><br />For GM's sake, let's hope they don't start a "Buy China" campaign, or start erecting signs saying "Parking of U.S. vehicles strictly prohibited and will be towed at owner's expense." <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br />Markets in Everything: EKGs, MRIs on a Blackberry <br /><br />Posted: 21 Jul 2009 07:42 AM PDT<br /><br />Medical data delivered to the Palm of your hand, Anytime... Anywhere....<br /><br /><br />The mVisum Medical Communication System is a communication tool that allows medical professionals to securely receive, review and respond to patient data recorded at the point of care. Information is transmitted via secure HIPAA compliant internet servers then transmitted through mobile technology to the required physicians’ handheld smartphone.<br /><br /><br />Sent data can include: EKGs, DICOM Images, Cine Loops, X-Rays, CT Scans, and MRIs. <br /><br />Traditional information such as vital signs and other textual information can also be included in the delivered message thus providing a complete picture of patient condition. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br />Chicago Fed Index Increases for 5th Straight Month <br /><br />Posted: 21 Jul 2009 07:25 AM PDT<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />CHICAGO FED -- The Chicago Fed National Activity Index shows that economic activity improved in June - the index was –1.80 in June, up from –2.30 in May. The three-month moving average, CFNAI-MA3, was –2.12 in June, up from –2.65 in the previous month (see top chart above). <br /><br /><br />June’s CFNAI-MA3 suggests that growth in national economic activity was well below its historical trend. The increase in the index was primarily due to the production and income category of indicators. This category made a smaller negative contribution to the index in June, –0.32, compared with its contribution in May, –0.70. The smaller negative contribution was driven by the fact that total industrial production decreased 0.4 percent in June after declining 1.2 percent in May.<br /><br /><br />MP: The Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI-MA3) has increased in each of the last five months, the first five consecutive monthly increase since the end of the 2001 recession, see bottom chart above. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br />Now Here Is a Real Housing Crisis; And It Probably Won't Be Getting Better Anytime Soon <br /><br />Posted: 21 Jul 2009 06:10 AM PDT<br /><br />Forbidden to buy and sell houses, Cubans rely on informal exchange to look for a better location or something in a better condition. The bureaucratic machinery to manage these bartered trades is complicated, so many pay a "stimulus" to the bureaucrats at the Housing Institute to help the process move more quickly. There are specialists in finding each family what they need, called "exchangers," and it's an occupation at the edges of the law. <br /><br />The illusion that Raul Castro would allow a real estate market has been vanishing after a year of the mandate. The Cuban leaders know that if they authorize it, citizens will redistribute themselves in a short time. Those who have convertible money will move to the best neighborhoods and those who earn only Cuban pesos will live on the periphery. The fact that there are not rich areas and poor areas is not because, as some believe, we've achieved social justice, but rather the inability to buy and sell houses. What they haven't been able to face is the people's creativity, which disguises the frequent acts of buying and selling as simple exchanges.<br /><br />~Yoani Sanchez, Cuban blogger<br /><br />Update: See related NY Times article "With a Whisper, Cuba’s Housing Market Booms" (January 28, 2008), thanks to Colin for the pointer <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br />Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610<br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br />http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2009/06/women-dominate-higher-education-at.html<br /><br /> <br /><br />Women Now Dominate Higher Education at Every Degree Level; The Female-Male Degree Gap Grows <br /><br /><br />It's college graduation season, and according to data available from the U.S. Department of Education, an estimated 3,092,800 degrees will be granted this academic year (2008-2009) for Associate's degrees (714,000), Bachelor's degrees (1,585,000), Master's degrees (647,000), Professional degrees for MD, DDS and JD (91,000) and Doctor's degrees for Ph.D and Ed.D (55,800). <br /><br />Of the more than 3 million college degrees for the Class of 2009, women will earn close to 60% of those degrees (1,849,200), or almost 149 degrees for every 100 degrees earned by men. <br /><br />And it's now official: Women dominate men at every level of higher education, in terms of degrees conferred. Here's the breakdown for graduates of the class of 2009: <br /><br />Associate's Degrees: 167 for women for every 100 for men.<br /><br />Bachelor's Degrees: 142 for women for every 100 for men.<br /><br />Master's Degrees: 159 for women for every 100 for men.<br /><br />Professional Degrees: 104 for women for every 100 for men.<br /><br />Doctoral Degrees: 107 for women for every 100 for men.<br /><br />In fact, the last time men had more degrees than women at any level was the Class of 2006, which had slightly more men than women for both Professional and Doctoral degrees. For the other levels, it hasn't been even close for decades. The last year that men earned more Master's degrees than women was 1984-1985, for Bachelor's degrees it was the Class of 1981, and for Associates degrees it was 1976-1977 when men earned more degrees than women. <br /><br />For all levels of higher education, women have earned more college degrees than men in every year since the Class of 1982, and the degree gap has widened in every year since then, and is expected to widen in the future through the 2016-2017 year (see chart above). <br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">7. Fools! You could have made a fortune (like me) investing in greedy health care companies. Or not.</span><br /><br />RIDER COMMENT: Certain businesses engender reflexive hate from the public – doubtless even from most of my enlightened readers. Oil companies. Loan companies. Banks. Used car dealers. <br /><br />And insurance companies. Especially health care companies. <br /><br />Instinctively, we all know that these firms make their living by systematically ripping us gullible consumers off, reaping HUGE windfall profits as a result. But if you can’t beat ‘em, shouldn’t you join ‘em. Better yet, OWN ‘em! <br /><br />Here’s my response to the usual online commenters denigrating those evil health care companies:<br /><br />Oh stop whining. Get on the capitalist bandwagon. Surely you were aware years ago that insurance companies are ripping us all off. It's common knowledge. Ask anyone.<br /><br />Why weren't you bright enough to BUY stock in an insurance company? You'd be fabulously rich from their banditry. Right?<br /><br />Take my example. I bought Aetna Insurance the first market day of 1982. I paid $5.59 a share. Today the stock is selling (adjusted for splits) at $25.44. I made a killing!<br /><br />Or did I? Over that timeframe, my annual compounded appreciation comes to 5.65%. Acceptable, but not what one would hope for from a common stock holding.<br /><br />But wait -- I'm raking in the big dividends too. Eat your heart out!<br /><br />Let's see -- how much is my annual dividend per share? 4 cents a share. That a 0.17% annual return. <br /><br />I suspect one would find that similar mediocre returns are the historical norm for health insurance companies. Whatever other problems we have with health insurance and health care (and there are many), the companies "ripping us off" under some supposed conspiracy or cartel action doesn't stand scrutiny.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> <span style="font-weight:bold;"><br /><br />8. California “only” the 6th worst state? We wish!</span><br /><br />RIDER COMMENT: Good news! A new study by the National Journal says that California “only” the 6th worst run state. I feel SO much better. I should have quite reading after the first paragraph or so.<br /><br />Turns out the bozos putting together this “study” came up with four criteria that they counted equally. Three were tangential, at best – having to do with nebulous state “leadership,” “criminality” of state leaders, and “media circus” surrounding the state capitol. <br /><br />The only criteria they rated that mattered is this: <br /><br />“The severity of the state's policy challenges.”<br /><br />Guess where CA ranked in that category? Numero uno worsto!<br /><br />http://weblog.signonsandiego.com/weblogs/afb/archives/034965.html<br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />9. Feds’ stimulus often “much ado about nothing.” Their PR departments are working overtime. Naturally at our expense.<br /></span><br />RIDER COMMENT: It seems that every federal department is desperately spinning their local activities as part of the stimulus package. Sometimes the fanfare is simply laughable.<br /><br />Doubtless the following editorial “outing” this nonsense was written by Chris Reed. It has his fingerprints all over it.<br /><br /> <br /><br />http://tinyurl.com/mupe64<br /><br />Union-Tribune Editorial<br />Your stimulus dollars at work<br />July 25, 2009<br /><br />SAN DIEGO — The announcement from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was downright breathless: “San Diego Unified (is) nation's first to use federal stimulus funding to clean up school buses.” <br /><br />Of the nearly $1 trillion in stimulus funds (all borrowed money) lavished on the economy by the Obama administration, a few shekels have trickled down to the local level. The result is a case study in how to waste enormous sums of tax dollars while scoring political points for such fashionable causes as greener energy. It certainly has nothing to do with spurring the sputtering economy. <br /><br />It turns out that Congress added $88 million to the boundless stimulus measure for states to use in cleaning up diesel engines. (The hyperbolic EPA announcement gives full credit for this to the Obama administration, ignoring Congress altogether.) The San Diego Unified School District is getting a minuscule chunk of these dollars to retrofit its diesel buses with a pollution control device. <br /><br />Now, the school district has 519 buses. Guess how many will be retrofitted with your tax dollars from Washington? A grand total of 10. That's right, 10 vehicles – or 1.9 percent of the fleet. Geez, it's pretty hard to see how that is going to stop global warming or even cleanse San Diego's air of diesel pollution. As it turns out, the school district already has retrofitted, without Washington help, all but 17 of its buses. <br /><br />No matter. A grand press conference was staged at the school district's fleet maintenance yard with a bevy of federal, state and local officials. The highlight was a touted “white hankie test” demonstrating the “cleanliness of new technology.” <br /><br />The officials no doubt patted themselves on the back for this popular display of forward thinking with your tax dollars. Never mind about the monstrously profligate nature of the stimulus package. Never mind that the money spent to retrofit 10 school buses will do nothing to stimulate San Diego's economy. Never mind that our children and grandchildren will be hit with higher taxes to repay the borrowed money given to the school district with great fanfare. <br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />10. If Obama disappoints his fans, they will have only themselves to blame.</span><br /><br />RIDER COMMENT: While most of my stuff has to do with state and local matters, we must remember that we still have a few niggling problems remaining on the federal level. Even our new messiah President is having a tad trouble solving all these matter. The following article nails our foolish expectations – and why what got Obama elected may ultimately lead to his downfall.<br /><br /> <br /><br />The Obama cult<br /><br />Jul 23rd 2009 <br />From The Economist print edition<br /><br /> <br /><br />If Barack Obama disappoints his supporters, they will have only themselves to blame<br /><br />IN JANUARY 2007 Mike Huckabee, a former governor of Arkansas, said he was running for president to revive “our national soul”. He was not alone in taking an expansive view of presidential responsibilities. With the exception of Ron Paul, all the serious candidates waxed grandiloquent about their aims. John McCain said he modeled himself on Teddy Roosevelt, a man who “nourished the soul of a great nation”. Hillary Clinton lamented that America had no goals, and offered to supply some. And let us not forget the man they all sought to replace, George Bush, who promised, among other things, to “rid the world of evil”. Appalled by such hubris, a libertarian scholar called Gene Healy wrote “The Cult of the Presidency”, a book decrying the unrealistic expectations Americans have of their presidents. The book was written while Barack Obama’s career was still on the launch pad, yet it describes with uncanny prescience the atmosphere that allowed him to soar. <br /><br />Mr. Obama has inspired more passionate devotion than any modern American politician. People scream and faint at his rallies. Some wear T-shirts proclaiming him “The One” and noting that “Jesus was a community organiser”. An editor at Newsweek described him as “above the country, above the world; he’s sort of God.” He sets foreign hearts fluttering, too. A Pew poll published this week finds that 93% of Germans expect him to do the right thing in world affairs. Only 14% thought that about Mr. Bush. <br /><br />Perhaps Mr. Obama inwardly cringes at the personality cult that surrounds him. But he has hardly discouraged it. As a campaigner, he promised to “change the world”, to “transform this country” and even (in front of a church full of evangelicals) to “create a Kingdom right here on earth”. As president, he keeps adding details to this ambitious wish-list. He vows to create millions of jobs, to cure cancer and to seek a world without nuclear weapons. On July 20th he promised something big (a complete overhaul of the health-care system), something improbable (to make America’s college-graduation rate the highest in the world by 2020) and something no politician could plausibly accomplish (to make maths and science “cool again”). <br /><br />The Founding Fathers intended a more modest role for the president: to defend the country when attacked, to enforce the law, to uphold the constitution—and that was about it. But over time, the office has grown. In 1956 Clinton Rossiter, a political scientist, wrote that Americans wanted their president to make the country rich, to take the lead on domestic policy, to respond to floods, tornadoes and rail strikes, to act as the nation’s moral spokesman and to lead the free world. The occupant of the Oval Office had to be “a combination of scoutmaster, Delphic oracle, hero of the silver screen and father of the multitudes,” he said. <br /><br />The public mood has grown more cynical since then; Watergate showed that presidents can be villains. But Americans still want their commander-in-chief to take command. It is pointless for a modern president to plead that some things, such as the business cycle, are beyond his control. So several have sought dubious powers to meet the public’s unreasonable expectations. Sometimes people notice, as when Mr. Bush claimed limitless leeway to tap phones and detain suspected terrorists. But sometimes they don’t. For example, Mr. Bush was blamed for the debacle of Hurricane Katrina, although responding to natural disasters is largely a local responsibility. So he pushed Congress to pass a law allowing the president to use the army to restore order after a future natural disaster, an epidemic, or under “other condition[s]”, a startling expansion of federal power. <br /><br />Mr. Obama promised to roll back Mr. Bush’s imperial presidency. But has he? Having slammed his predecessor for issuing “signing statements” dismissing parts of laws he had just signed, he is now doing the same thing. He vowed to close the prison at Guantánamo Bay, but this week put off for another six months any decision as to what to do with the inmates. Meanwhile, he has embraced Mrs. Clinton’s curious notion that the president should be “commander-in-chief of our economy”, by propping up banks, firing executives, backing car warranties and so forth. Mr. Healy reckons that Mr. Obama is “as dedicated to enhancing federal power as any president in 50 years.”<br /><br /> <br /><br />The perils of over-promising<br /><br /> <br /><br />Nonsense, say his supporters. Taking over banks and car companies was a temporary measure to tackle a crisis. When the danger recedes, Mr. Obama will pull back. The restructuring of General Motors, for example, is comfortably ahead of schedule. And far from lording it over Congress, the president has if anything abdicated too much responsibility to it.<br /><br />These are all fair points. But Mr. Healy’s warnings are still worth heeding. Mr. Obama is clearly not the socialist of Republican demonology, but he is trying to extend federal control over two huge chunks of the economy—energy and health care—so fast that lawmakers do not have time to read the bills before voting on them. Perhaps he is hurrying to get the job done before his polls weaken any further. In six months, his approval rating has fallen from 63% to 56% while his disapproval rating has nearly doubled, from 20% to 39%. Independent voters are having second thoughts. And his policies are less popular than he is. Support for his health-care reforms has slipped from 57% to 49% since April. <br /><br />All presidential candidates promise more than they can possibly deliver. This sets them up for failure. But because the Obama cult has stoked expectations among its devotees to such unprecedented heights, he is especially likely to disappoint. Mr. Healy predicts that he will end up as a failed president, and “possibly the least popular of the modern era”. It is up to Mr. Obama to prove him wrong.Richard Rider, Chair, San Diego Tax Fightershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259117224037487367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972576313341501285.post-31679119351745264712009-07-27T16:30:00.000-07:002009-07-27T16:47:45.625-07:00<span style="font-weight:bold;">RICHARD RIDER RANT 7/24/09</span><br /><br />No republic has long outlived the discovery by a majority of its people that <br />they could vote themselves largess from the public treasury.<br />Alexander Tytler<br /><br />1. Spendthrift New York state needs California’s super-majority vote protection<br /><br />2. Left’s media champion for higher California taxes thoroughly debunked<br /><br />3. Private prisons crush government prison guards’ pay con job<br /><br />4. If San Diego city public worker pay is so low, have city employees fled their jobs these past few years? Au contraire!<br /><br />5. Does Obama want to own the airlines?<br /><br />6. The Golden State's political class comes unglued in the face of a citizens' revolt.<br /><br />7. Two Rider comments on why CA voters deserve only small part of blame for runaway spending<br /><br />8. Fans Flock to Mourn California, 1849-2009<br /><br />9. The coming federal tax increase(s)<br /><br />10. How many of California’s 480+ agencies and commissions can you list – let alone recommend dissolving? Here’s one hell of a cheat sheet<br /><br />11. Liberals love majority rule – except when it works against them<br /><br />12. The feminist “78 cents on a dollar” myth<br /><br />13. Thomas Sowell: “You can usually only equalize downwards”<br /><br />14. Past (and many present) City Managers in San Diego County are the biggest crooks when it comes to the local pension debacles<br /><br />15. Man bites dog. Rider supports labor union proposition<br /><br />16. Over half the price of a ticket for international flight can be taxes <br /><br />17. Tech Corner – Offsite backup – DO IT! Easier and cheaper than ever.<br /><br />18. Financial tip: How to get extra discounts on online purchases<br /><br />19. Latest updates to my “California Breaking Bad” article<br /><br /><br />--------------------<br /><br /><br />1. Spendthrift New York state needs California’s supermajority vote protection<br /><br />RIDER COMMENT: Previously I published a “must read” Chris Reed blog item showing how simple majority voting is working in our liberal sister state – New York. http://weblog.signonsandiego.com/weblogs/afb/archives/034073.html<br /><br />As that blog item showed, in the teeth of this severe downturn, NY politicians are raising taxes left and right while increasing the state budget 8%.<br /><br />If you didn’t read that item, do it now. If you DID read that item, reread it, commit its essence to memory, and send it to everyone you know – that’s one chain letter that needs to circulate the California Internet.<br /><br />This Chris Reed follow-up blog item below is almost as valuable. Like California, some in New York are pushing for a constitutional convention to solve their government’s budget problems. But unlike California, they want and need such a convention to ELIMINATE simple majority tax increases – to adopt supermajority requirements for raising taxes! <br /><br />When it comes to simple majority voting, they’ve been there, done that, and are now through with that.<br />http://weblog.signonsandiego.com/weblogs/afb/archives/034488.html<br /><br />CHRIS REED BLOG<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">New York, like California, ponders constitutional convention -- partly to block tax hikes on simple majority vote!</span><br /><br />So in California, things are so dysfunctional that self-styled "good government" groups like the Bay Area Council want a constitutional convention, where job no. 1 would be killing the Legislature's two-thirds requirement for raising taxes and adopting a budget. California may be among the most heavily taxed states in the union, but these "goo goos" somehow think our problem is the budget process, not a refusal to live within our means.<br /><br />Now for the hilarious twist:<br /><br />In New York, things are so dysfunctional that perhaps the most popular politician in the state wants a constitutional convention, where job no. 1 would be killing the Legislature's ability to raise taxes by a simple majority vote. Introducing Mr. Rudy Giuliani:<br />Too often increasing taxes is the first impulse for Albany legislators. Requiring a supermajority for tax increases would provide a powerful check on those who still think we can tax and spend our way out of economic problems. A supermajority would protect already over-burdened citizens and attract businesses, improving our long-term competitiveness.<br /><br />What led Rudy to this constitution? The appalling 2009-10 New York state budget I wrote about here. Rudy shares my low opinion of it:<br />There are more New Yorkers unemployed than at any time in 33 years, and the poverty rate is rising. Our combined state and local tax burden is the highest in the nation after New Jersey. Our business tax climate is rated the second worst in the country. And in the face of the worst recession in a quarter-century, the State Legislature decided to increase spending by 9 percent while increasing taxes and fees by $8 billion. No wonder a recent poll showed that more than 20 percent of New Yorkers are thinking of leaving the state in search of lower taxes and fewer government mandates. <br /><br />Giving the California Legislature the option of behaving like the New York Legislature is what Jim Wunderman and the Bay Area Council want for California? Really? Really? Really?<br /><br />Thanks to Bruce Kesler for drawing Giuliani's New York Times op-ed to my attention.<br />Posted by Chris Reed at June 24, 2009 01:05 PM<br /><br /><br />2. Left’s media champion for higher California taxes thoroughly debunked<br /><br />RIDER COMMENT: The liberal press got all excited by a Michael Hiltzik column in the LA TIMES claiming that California’s spending problem is just a right wing myth. But the piece has since been crushed by a simple look at Hiltzik’s incorrect math and pathetic research. <br /><br />Naturally, the TIMES and other liberal publications have failed to give much coverage to this robust rebuttal. Fortunately for you, this blog ain’t the LA TIMES! Here’s the REASON column tearing it to shreds – I had a tiny hand in it.<br />http://www.reason.com/blog/show/133764.html?success=1#lastpost<br /><br />LAT Columnist: State Spending Problem a "Myth"...Unless You Count All State Spending<br />Matt Welch | May 28, 2009, 11:01am<br /><br />In today's installment of You Californians Are Just Too STUPID, L.A. Times anti-business columnist and recovering sock-puppeteer Michael Hiltzik thunders: "California's problem is spending? That's a myth." Hiltzik's case:<br />[T]he idea that California's budget has been out of control as measured against inflation and population growth is a deeply cherished talking point in the debate over the state's fiscal deficit.<br /><br />Unfortunately, it turns out to be yet another infectious myth. The truth is that over the last 10 years, California's spending has tracked population growth and price increases almost to the penny.<br /><br />This finding comes from the nonpartisan legislative analyst's office, which subjects the state budget to more careful scrutiny than almost anyone else in Sacramento.<br /><br />Analyzing the 2008-09 budget bill last year, the legislative analyst determined that since 1998-99, spending in the general fund and state special funds -- the latter comes from special levies like gasoline and tobacco taxes -- had risen to $128.8 billion from $72.6 billion, or 77%.<br /><br />During this time frame, which embraced two booms (dot-com and housing) and two busts (ditto), the state's population grew about 30% to about 38 million, and inflation charged ahead by 50%. The budget's growth, the legislative analyst found, exceeded these factors by only an average of 0.2% a year.<br />What's missing from this analysis? Hiltzik cops to it a few paragraphs later: Bond spending. Which, as he quotes the state legislative analyst as saying, has amounted to $85 billion in voter-mandated issuances this decade alone.<br /><br />In what universe does "bond spending" not count as "spending"? Does this mean I am not technically spending when I buy stuff with my credit card? If a "deeply cherished talking point" turns out to be true, can it still be "infectious"? These are the questions.<br /><br />To see what an honest and complete accounting of California budget data over the past two decades looks like (hint: the phrase "almost to the penny" is not used), consult the Reason Foundation's study [PDF] "California Spending By the Numbers."<br />UPDATE: The San Diego Union-Tribune's Chris Reed has found what he calls a "Huge, obvious error" in Hiltzik's calculations of population growth. <br />RIDER NOTE: What Chris Reed discovered is that columnist Hiltzik claimed that CA population grew 30% over a 10 year period. But a check of the numbers shows that the state grew only 13.8% during that timeframe. I brought this point to REASON’s attention, and I think that was the reason for the “UPDATE” to the article (see comments at the REASON website).<br /><br /><br />3. Private prisons crush government prison guards’ pay con job<br /><br />RIDER COMMENT: As you may know from my previous rants, the powerful California Correctional Peace Officers Association was instrumental in effectively banning private CA state prisons, driving up the California cost of incarceration. And then they bribed Gray Davis and the legislature to give the guards a 35% pay boost for dessert.<br /><br />“California Correctional Peace Officers Association” – isn’t that a great name for a prison guard union? “Peace officers”? Uh huh. Funny how “public safety” employees never want to call their unions what they are – labor unions! <br /> <br />As usual, I digress. Below is a comparison of the cost of government vs. private prisons in the U.S. The cost savings from competition can be dramatic. The study is done by a Washington state think tank so it’s geared to that state’s needs, but the lesson available is more universal.<br /><br />Bottom line of the study – comparing states with more than and less than 20% of inmates in private prisons: The states with less than 20% in private prisons are paying 49.4% more per day per inmate than states with more than 20% in private prisons.<br /><br />http://tinyurl.com/pnxrjw<br />Washington Policy Institute<br />Private Prisons and the Public Interest<br />Improving Quality and Reducing Costs through Competition<br />by Paul Guppy, Vice President for Research<br />2003-06 <br />________________________________________<br />The cost of maintaining Washington’s state-run prison system is becoming increasingly unsustainable. The state Department of Corrections budget has more than doubled over the last ten years, rising from $502 million in the 1991-1993 biennium to $1,072 million in the current biennium. Corrections costs rose more than 12.3% over the last two years, a rate more than four times faster than inflation. The increasing cost of operating the state prison system has outpaced the rise in total General Fund spending in every biennium in the 1990s, and is now one of the fastest growing areas of state spending.<br /><br />Mounting prison expenditures are a major cost driver for state government, and are one reason overall state spending is increasing considerably faster than the rising level of tax revenues. State legislators now face a $2.4 billion deficit compared to what they had planned to spend in the 2003-2005 biennium.<br /><br />Every state prison facility but one is overcrowded, some by as much as 50%. Many of Washington’s 39 county jails are also filled beyond capacity. Together county jails are designed to hold 8,770 prisoners, but instead house an average daily population of around 10,000, resulting in an average over-capacity of just over 113%.<br /><br />The state’s tight financial situation lends fresh urgency to privatization and competitive bidding as a long-term way to bring rising spending under control. Introducing competition from the private sector would allow state leaders to provide critical prison services at lower cost.<br /><br />Recent research compares two groups of states over four years, 1997 through 2001. The first group consists of nine states that took strong advantage of competitive forces by devoting at least 20% of their corrections system to privately run prisons. The second group consists of 24 states with few or no private prisons. Washington is one of these. In every rated category, the states in the first group operated a more cost-effective prison system than those in the second group. The results are summarized in the graph.<br /><br />Comparison of Increasing State Prison Costs Based on Number of Privately Run Prisons<br /> <br />Over the four-year period the states with few or no private prisons experienced significantly faster growth in total spending, higher corrections costs and higher daily prisoner costs than states with a large proportion of privately run prisons.<br />States that made a greater investment in private prisons enjoyed far lower expenses per day per inmate than other states. These states had an average daily cost of $82.59 per inmate in 2001, compared with an average daily cost of $123.43 for states with few or no privately run prisons.<br /><br />In Washington, with little prison privatization, per diem costs in 2001 were $104.25. Yet in neighboring Idaho, where state leaders made a significant investment in private prisons, per diem costs were 42% lower, just $60.21. <br />Other Western states that greatly benefited from lower per day costs because they had significant number of private prisons were Montana ($80.93), New Mexico ($85.89) and Colorado ($67.05).<br /><br />There is a measurable relationship between states that have invested in private prisons and their ability to control the rise in total structural costs of state government. <br /><br />States with 20% or more private prisons saw their total spending increase an average of 24.34% over four years, compared with an average increase of more than 32% for non-privatized states.<br /><br />Concurrently, such states were better able to contain costs in their Department of Corrections budgets. In the states with more private prisons, Department of Corrections costs increased an average of 38.12%, while the states that had neglected privatization opportunities saw their corrections budget soar an average of 50%. Over the same period the populations of the two groups of states rose at similar rates, in the 15% to 18% range.<br /><br />Details from the study reveal striking examples of the efficiencies states gain from investing in prison privatization:<br /><br />Utah spends $125.40 per day for each prisoner housed, while neighboring Colorado spends just $67.05 per day for the same service.<br /><br />Minnesota spends $164.03 per prisoner per day, while Wisconsin spends $93.33 per day, or 43% less.<br /><br />Tennessee was able to reduce prisoner costs per day by more than 8% over four years, while in neighboring North Carolina per diem corrections costs over the same period increased by 15%.<br /><br />In Washington per day costs increased almost 25% over four years, while in Idaho they increased at less than one-third that rate, by only 7.4%.<br /><br />The measurable results of prison privatization have been overwhelmingly positive. While the private prison system is not perfect, the high quality, safety, low cost and management innovations that resulted from competitive pressures have been beneficial to the public interest.<br /><br />Adopting a policy of prison privatization in Washington could go a long way to relieving prison overcrowding and slowing the growth in the government’s long-term structural costs.<br /><br /> See the full study on “Private Prisons and the Public Interest” here. http://tinyurl.com/q8qdot<br /><br /><br />4. If San Diego city public worker pay is so low, have city employees fled their jobs these past few years? Au contraire!<br /><br />RIDER COMMENT: I meant to post this Chris Reed blog item in a March, 2008 Rider Rant. It’s still excellent ammo, so I’m “publishing” it now.<br /> --- <br />http://weblog.signonsandiego.com/weblogs/afb/archives/020735.html<br />The public employee pay urban myth, part 2: The numbers don't lie<br /><br /><br />John Kaheny says I don't know what I'm talking about when I mock his claim that constantly improving pay and great benefits are crucial to retaining municipal employees in San Diego. I quoted local government expert Steve Frates saying this claim was an "urban myth" and that there was essentially no market demand for public employees except for police officers.<br /><br />OK, John, you want stats, here are stats.<br /><br />"Median occupational tenure" -- the length of time a worker toils for the same employer -- is a very accurate indicator of job satisfaction. (Job satisfaction maybe not in the sense of personal fulfillment, etc., but in the sense of not looking for greener pastures elsewhere.)<br /><br />"Median occupational tenure" is far higher for public employees than for the average U.S. worker. As this Bureau of Labor Statistics report confirms ...<br />In January 2006, wage and salary workers in the public sector had almost double the median tenure of private sector employees, 6.9 versus 3.6 years.<br /><br />Also this:<br />Federal employees had a higher median tenure (9.9 years) than state (6.3 years) or local government (6.6 years) employees. <br /><br />Now guess what the figure is in San Diego for general city employees (all but police, firefighters and lifeguards): 12.32 years -- way more than the national average even for other public employees, not just all workers. And this despite years of union leaders telling the rank and file they're being abused by city leaders.<br /><br />There's more. <br /><br />Here's the average annual turnover rate the past three fiscal years for general city employees: 3.8 percent.<br /><br />Cue the Bureau of Labor Statistics.<br /><br />The total separations, or turnover, rate fell to 3.1 percent in December 2007. Separations are terminations of employment that occur at any time during the month. <br />Got that? The monthly overall job turnover rate for the U.S. as a whole is similar to the turnover rate for the city of San Diego FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR!<br /><br />Put another way: Over the past six weeks, the total percentage of people who have changed or lost jobs in the economy as a whole is a higher percentage than we saw in the San Diego municipal work force for all of 2007.<br /><br />Oh, yeah, municipal employees are in high demand, they're eager to leave, an exodus is imminent. City Hall would just be crazy to not jack up pay and benefits.<br />Bunk.<br /><br />Case closed. Kaheny and friends will offer anecdotes galore, but the numbers don't lie.<br /><br />Posted by Chris Reed at March 7, 2008 03:27 PM<br /><br /><br />5. Does Obama Want to Own the Airlines?<br /><br />Manny Klausner Comment: Holman Jenkins' column in the Wall Street Journal poses an ominous question, in analyzing the current approach of the Obama Justice Department -- which threatens to undermine the prospects for survival of the chronically troubled U.S. airline industry.<br /><br /> ===========================================<br />http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124701148185808655.html<br />Wall Street Journal<br />July 8, 2009<br /><br />Does Obama Want to Own the Airlines?<br /><br />Welcome to government for the benefit of government officials and their hangers-on.<br /><br />By Holman W. Jenkins, Jr.<br /><br />Only luck and falling oil prices saved Washington from having to face mass bankruptcy of the airline industry last year. Now the specter is rising again. Fuel prices are up. Traffic continues to plummet amid a global recession. United Airlines last week mortgaged its spare-parts inventory to raise cash at a usurious 17% interest rate.<br /><br />Yet the Obama Justice Department has come out of the blocks trying to scuttle a promising experiment to stabilize the chronically unprofitable U.S. airline sector. The new administration seemingly won't let companies fail, and won't let them succeed either.<br /><br />The airline industry's self-help solution has been an evolving trio of international alliances, partly blessed with "antitrust immunity" by the U.S. Department of Transportation. One, the Star Alliance led by United and Lufthansa, is currently poaching Continental from a rival alliance, SkyTeam. DOT was set to approve their application last week when Justice belatedly intervened with a 58-page complaint about why the pact should be restructured.<br /><br />To anyone drilled in the antitrust mindset, Justice's argument won't seem outlandish. It frets about reduced competition on this or that international route, and sees little chance of competitive entry by new carriers despite fat profits that presumably would be on offer. It argues, in a fashion typical of antitrust these days, that nonstop flights are a market unto themselves, so connecting flights on the same routes don't count.<br /><br />But the real fulcrum is Justice's insistence, or plea, that DOT should set a high bar for antitrust immunity, because antitrust enforcement has been such a gosh-darn boon to consumers.<br /><br />Justice offers no supporting evidence for this proposition, which has resisted academic verification. And in dismissing the "putative" benefits of immunized airline alliances, Justice fails even to acknowledge the one benefit that Obama Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has emphasized: "These alliances are life savers for airlines. That is the premise from which we start. We believe it. The airlines believe it."<br /><br />In part, such alliances are substitutes for international airline mergers (which are prohibited under U.S. law), but are more interesting than mergers, thanks to the flexibility with which carriers can enter and exit cooperative agreements with each other.<br /><br />The antitrust mindset naturally sees such cooperation as always harmful, inflating prices and gouging consumers. But then why does organized labor oppose the deals? Shouldn't workers favor alliances if they reduce competitive pressure on wages? Yet Justice's intervention came after United's pilots ran a full-page ad in Roll Call attacking the company's own deal.<br /><br />And why do carriers lobby against each other's pacts? Shouldn't they favor anything that leads to oligopoly pricing? And what to make of Continental's decision to jilt SkyTeam and jump to Star, shifting the competitive balance on the North Atlantic?<br /><br />Obama antitrust chief Christine Varney doesn't have much good to say about her Bush predecessors. But she praises their record of cartel-busting. She might examine that record for what it actually says about the incentive to collude.<br /><br />It shows, for one thing, that companies are inclined to snuggle up mainly to share losses and preserve capacity in a downturn or to curb the free-riding of powerful customers. When profits are available, on the other hand, they quickly go back to competing to maximize their respective shares rather than colluding to limit their individual upsides.<br /><br />These incentives would very likely prevail in the highly flexible airline alliances. Such alliances are no miracle cure for what ails the domestic carriers, but they would open a window to let us see beyond antitrust's indiscriminate prejudice against cooperative acts by competitors.<br /><br />Of course, this would fly in the face of Ms. Varney's agenda, which is to expand the bailiwick of the Washington antitrust bar. Even now, she has turned her attention from airlines to the mobile-phone business on the theory that any industry that hasn't collapsed into government receivership must be doing something wrong.<br /><br />Mr. Obama blabs about the evils of lobbying, but his administration is fast becoming the greatest fillip to lobbying ever seen. Ms. Varney has now horned in on the DOT's action, forcing the airline business and all its camp followers to come and pay tribute. Her choice of targets is obviously designed for political effect. Airlines and mobile-phone operators both touch the public in ways that leave the public frequently annoyed.<br /><br />What we're seeing here and elsewhere from the new administration is not some rebirth of thoughtful liberalism, but a spastic descent into machine liberalism -- government for the benefit of government officials and their hangers-on. Mr. Obama, however, may not be so pleased with the result if it means he must soon add the airlines to the collection of failed industries being run out of the White House.<br /><br /><br />6. The Golden State's political class comes unglued in the face of a citizens' revolt.<br /><br />RIDER COMMENT: Below is an excellent article from REASON magazine that details the huge chasm between the grubby voters and the elitists who think they can direct us towards European socialism. It’s both an instructive and fun read.<br />Excerpt:<br /><br />> According to Adam Summers -- a policy analyst at the Reason<br />> Foundation, the nonprofit that publishes this magazine -- the<br />> state's annual pension fund contribution vaulted from $321 million<br />> in 2000-01 to $7.3 billion last year. According to public<br />> databases, more than 5,000 people are drawing pensions in excess<br />> of $100,000 from the state of California each year.<br /><br />http://www.reason.com/news/show/134445.html<br /><br />Reason Magazine<br />August/September 2009 Print Edition<br /><br />California Screaming<br /><br />The Golden State's political class comes unglued in the face of a<br />citizens' revolt.<br /><br />By Matt Welch<br /><br />On May 19, California voters went to the polls to decide whether to pass a package of six tax-and-gimmick ballot propositions. Its supporters—Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Democratic legislative leaders, the California Teachers Association, and the overwhelming majority of the state’s major newspapers—billed it as the last best hope to plug Sacramento’s $24 billion budget deficit. “Either pass it,” warned the Los Angeles Times editorial board, “or risk fiscal disaster.”<br /><br />Those who believe that either money or the media determine political outcomes should pay close heed to what happened next: Although opponents were outspent by more than 7 to 1, they trounced the state’s political class, rejecting five of the six measures by an average of 30 percentage points. The only proposition to pass was an anger-driven new law that limits elected officials’ salaries.<br /><br />Faced with such thorough repudiation, California’s best and brightest then did a telling thing. They lashed right back. <br /><br />The Los Angeles Times headlined its morning-after news analysis, “California Voters Exercise Their Power—and That’s the Problem.” Sacramento columnist George Skelton argued that “voters helped get themselves into this fix” by “passing feel-good ‘ballot box budgeting’ initiatives” and sanctioning “heavy borrowing” for “infrastructure projects.” Business columnist Michael Hiltzik (RIDER NOTE: see item #2 in this Rant to get a better feel for this guy’s credibility) averred that “far more blame for the deficit belongs to California voters” because “year in, year out, they enact spending mandates at the polls, often without endowing a revenue source.” Missing from any of these critiques was the fact that the Times’ own editorial board endorsed more than 90 percent of the very same ballot-box bond measures during the last decade. No matter: A perpetrator had been located. <br /><br />“Good morning, California voters,” The Sacramento Bee’s post-election editorial began. “Do you feel better, now that you’ve gotten that out of your system?” The Bee, which (like the Times) had endorsed four of the five losing measures, came under immediate attack for its heavy-handed, citizen-blaming sarcasm. (A sample: “So, now that you’ve put those irksome politicians in their place, maybe it’s time to think about this: Since you’re in charge, exactly what do you intend to do about that pesky $25 billion hole in the budget?”) Rush Limbaugh gleefully read passages on his show, San Diego Union-Tribune editorial writer Chris Reed called it “staggeringly juvenile, arrogant and revealing,” and commenters on the Bee’s website were full of reactions like, “What an obnoxious editorial. Nevertheless, it illustrates that the Bee is completely in favor of bigger government and higher taxes.” <br /><br />Then another funny thing happened: The Bee scrubbed the editorial off its website, replacing it with a much more conciliatory piece, addressed this time to legislators. The original editorial had been posted in “error,” the paper explained, and the new piece was the one that appeared in the print edition. “That [first] article was a draft prepared for internal discussion among members of The Bee’s editorial board,” a brief note said. “Such discussions are a routine part of our work, and frequently lead to editorials that are considerably different from writers’ first drafts.” <br /><br />This instant airbrushing, normally fodder for such journalism-tracking websites as Jim Romenesko’s Media News, went virtually ignored by all but a few mostly right-leaning websites. So did another colossal gaffe, by the aforementioned Los Angeles Times columnist Michael Hiltzik, who thundered that the very notion California had a “spending problem” was an “infectious myth.” <br /><br />Hiltzik claimed that the state government’s budget growth had kept pace “almost to the penny” with growth in population and inflation during the last decade. There were three problems with this analysis: Hiltzik miscalculated population growth (claiming 30 percent instead of 14 percent), he chose a federal inflation rate of 50 percent during that period instead of the California Consumer Price Index figure of 35 percent, and, most important, he excluded from state spending more than $100 billion in bond measures. This whopper was roasted and dissected on local talk radio, but it was unmentioned by more august repositories of public policy and journalism debate, such as the Times-tracking LA Observed. <br /><br />Rarely has the chasm between elite political discourse and grubby popular opinion been displayed in such sharp relief. The implications of this citizen revolt—and the hostile reactions to it—stretch far beyond Nevada’s western border. California is the Ghost of Federal Government Future. <br /><br />During the last two decades, the Golden State has been transformed from what was once known as the nation’s most anti-labor outpost to a state essentially run by public-sector unions. Nearly three in five public sector workers are unionized, compared to less than two in five public employees in other states. The Democratic Party, which is fully in hock to unions, has controlled the legislature and most statewide posts, with the notable exception of the governor’s mansion, for more than a decade. That means more government workers, higher salaries, and drastically higher pension costs. <br /><br />According to Adam Summers—a policy analyst at the Reason Foundation, the nonprofit that publishes this magazine—the state’s annual pension fund contribution vaulted from $321 million in 2000–01 to $7.3 billion last year. According to public databases, more than 5,000 people are drawing pensions in excess of $100,000 from the state of California each year. <br /><br />So pervasive is the union influence that big labor doesn’t even try to defend its deleterious effects on California’s finances. Just before the special election, a member of the Los Angeles Times editorial board asked Service Employees International Union chief Andy Stern to respond to charges that unions are the 21st-century equivalent of the railroads that were once all-powerful in California. Stern verbally shrugged: “I think democracy is an ugly thing at times.” <br /><br />That ugliness has made the California budget, like those in most of the other 49 states, less efficient and more bloated. Government spending, unlike spending in the private economy, is a zero-sum game—especially on the state level, since governors can’t print money. Every dollar spent gilding a pension is a dollar not spent funding an orphanage. Naturally, the same elite outlets that were busy blaming voters after the election spent even more time detailing the horrors of the “annihilating cuts,” as the Los Angeles Times called them in a news article, that were coming down the pike. (In early June, the paper invited readers to be shocked that a high school with 3,200 students would have to make do with just three guidance counselors.) Bloated pension costs and the increasingly inefficient provision of state services received a fraction of the coverage.<br /><br />The federal government is now run by a president and Congress more responsive to union concerns than any in at least two decades. The same bloat currently bogging down statehouses and city halls is being duplicated in boomtown Washington, D.C. President Barack Obama even brought Andy Stern in to help warn Schwarzenegger that federal stimulus money would not be disbursed to California unless the governor rescinded some proposed state job cuts. Though that threat was later withdrawn, Schwarzenegger at press time was pushing for a measly work force reduction of 2 percent.<br /><br />But there’s another interpretation of California’s rebellion, one with far sunnier implications for those of us who prefer our governments constrained. Faced with a political class that ignored bureaucratic inefficiency, that demanded higher taxes, that filled the newspapers with scare stories about people who will literally die as a result of budget cuts, the citizens of one of the bluest states in the nation collectively said we just don’t believe you anymore. If even California’s famous fruits and nuts can call the statists’ bluff, there may be hope for the rest of the country. <br /><br />Matt Welch (matt.welch@reason.com) is editor in chief of reason. <br /><br /><br />7. Two Rider comments on why CA voters deserve only small part of blame<br /><br />RIDER COMMENT: I have a foolish habit of commenting on articles online – and verbally sparing with opponents. I can’t help myself!<br /><br />Well, I’ve decided I should make a greater effort to disseminate such thoughts by posting insightful comments in my Rant when appropriate. Like now.<br /><br />These two comments were in response to elitists’ claims that it’s the voters who are to blame for our state mess. But much of that is from a lack of understanding of what’s being voted on, and the ramifications. Of course, these same elitists campaigned mightily via the press and through contributions to convince the public to support all these spending measures. But that’s well covered in the REASON piece above.<br /><br />Here are my two comments:<br /><br />A. Yes, California voters supported more spending and $100B+ in bonds. But sadly, the average voter doesn't see the connection between these commitments and higher taxes.<br /><br />When it comes to state bonds, the deception is by design. <br /><br />A LOCAL bond usually includes a specific tax increase to go with it -- so the voter knows what the measure is going to cost. Furthermore most such bonds require a 2/3 vote majority to pass (55% for most school bonds).<br /><br />On the state level, no tax is included with the bond -- it seems to be almost free. In addition, the bond can be passed with a simple majority vote. Unsophisticated voters are left to assume that the payments somehow will be magically paid out of the general fund, and proponents are not about to indicate otherwise.<br /> <br /> ---<br /><br />B. Voters deserve only a small part of the blame.<br /><br />Voters didn't decide to ban private jails in California, resulting in our per-prisoner incarceration costs being over 50% higher than the rest of the nation. <br /><br />Voters didn't decide to give away huge pensions and opulent health care benefits to our "public servants."<br /><br />Voters didn't decide to pay over $100K annually to age 20-something prison guards with high school educations.<br /><br />Voters didn't decide to let most highway patrol personnel to retire on bogus disability claims.<br /><br />Voters didn't vote for most of the state commissions that impede commerce while paying the "commissioners" patronage salaries of $120K or more for at most six weeks work.<br /><br />Voters didn't decide to give away community college educations at fire sale prices. (The average nationwide community college tuition is 4.5 times higher than California's.)<br /><br />I could go on (and often do). Enough for now.<br /><br /><br />8. Fans Flock to Mourn California, 1849-2009<br /><br />RIDER COMMENT: A sad yet quite humorous report of the demise of California, a la Michael Jackson.<br />http://iowahawk.typepad.com/<br />Fans Flock to Mourn California, 1849-2009<br /><br />LOS ANGELES - Millions of fans from around the globe gathered along Sunset Boulevard to pay final respects to California today, as a slow moving funeral procession transported the eccentric superstar state's remains to its final resting place in a Winchell's Donuts dumpster in Van Nuys. The self-proclaimed 'King of Pop Culture' died last week at 160, in what coroners ruled an accidental case of financial autoerotic asphyxiation. The death sent shock waves across the world and sparked an outpouring of grief by rabid fans. <br /><br />"I don't care what the tabloids and the Wall Street Journal say," said a weeping Illinois. "I still love you, Cali!"<br /><br />The 640-mile long funeral parade route was lined with flowers, candles, teddy bears, and IOUs from millions of mourners and debtors who made the somber journey to watch the passing of the state that had once ruled the box office and industrial charts. Among them were current chart-toppers who cited California as a key influence.<br /><br />"If it wasn't for California, I wouldn't be where I am today," said Arizona of Westside 3, the popular sunbelt trio who recently benefited from the late state's generous gift of fleeing taxpayers and businesses. As a tribute to their mentor, Arizona vowed the group would start spending money "like crack-addled hip hop stars."<br />"California's financial and musical legacy will never die," said band mates Nevada and Oregon. <br /><br />At the official funeral service at the LA Coliseum, a grief stricken Washington, who teamed with California on several hit software and wine projects, had to be physically restrained from climbing into the deceased's gold plated casket.<br /><br />Similar emotional outpourings were the rule of the day. Stories - apocryphal or not - of the late state's bizarre self-destructive behavior and fondness for molesting children did little to dampen the flood of tributes from fans who preferred to remember California as America's Sweetheart.<br /><br />From a humble beginning as a water-poor remote Spanish mission outpost, California proved to be a precocious and talented child performer. It struck gold with 'Sutter's Mill' in 1849, earning accolades and attracting millions of crusty bearded prospectors. Black gold soon followed with 'La Brea Tar Pits.' Unlike many child acts, California made a smooth transition to adolescence, scoring a major hit with 'Agriculture' in 1891. <br /><br />Even a frightening bout with tremors did not stop the flow of hits. The 1915 megasmash 'Hollywood' broke all records, as did the wartime favorite 'Aerospace.' More recently, California topped the charts with 'Tourism,' 'High Tech,' and 'Coastal Pretension.'<br /><br />For a time it seemed as if the superstar could do no wrong, but behind the glittering facade of Disneyland Manor troubling signs of mental instability began to emerge. The state developed a well publicized drug problem during filming of 1967's 'Summer of Love,' and briefly dabbled in strange religious cults. Under the influence of spiritual guru Jerry Brown, it began wholesale experimentation in exotic spending programs, eventual resulting in a traumatic 1979 stay at the Prop 13 Rehab Center.<br /><br />During the 80's and 90's California enjoyed a brief career renaissance with hits like 'Olympics,' 'Real Estate' and 'Dot Com Boom,' but personal problems plagued the reclusive star once again. During the recording of the 'OJ' and 'Rodney King' albums, friends and visitors expressed concern over its recurring tremors and penchant for self-mutilation.<br /><br />"California used to be so happy and beautiful," said a horrified Ohio. "I hardly recognize it any more."<br /><br />During that period, camp insiders say the increasingly psychotic state began driving away its long time professional management team and support crew. In its place, it assembled an entourage of con men and embezzlers, some of whom stoked California's increasingly bizarre environmental paranoia. It was seldom seen in public without a breathing mask to ward off imagined pollutants.<br /><br />Worse, the hits began drying up; the huge 2001 flop 'Dot Com Bust' put a huge crimp into California's once unlimited cash flow. Despite the setback, insiders say the superstar was unwilling to change its lavish lifestyle, and retreated once again into spending abuse. Personal expenses skyrocketed, propelled in part by California's 8 million adopted foster children. During the 90's sensationalistic accounts of child abuse began surfacing. Eyewitnesses reported California cruising local neighborhoods in school buses, luring unsuspecting kid for sessions of 'public education.' By some estimates hundreds of thousands were left traumatized and severely brain damaged.<br /><br />The charges were vigorously denied by California camp spokestate Vermont.<br />"California loves children," said Vermont. "California loves children, because deep inside California is a also a child -- full of innocent wonder, and the belief that any budget wish can come true as long as you just wish hard enough."<br /><br />True or not, the charges alienated many longtime fans, leaving California in an ever worsening financial position. In 2003 the state rejected suggestions that it was facing bankruptcy, saying that "I can't be out of money, I still have checks left." Amid the maelstrom, though, it fired tour manager Grey Davis who many blamed for California's financial woes. In his place, California hired Arnold Schwarzenegger to help engineer a career-saving comeback tour.<br />Under the management of the flamboyant Austrian body builder / therapist, California began a rapid descent that ultimately ended in death. Some faulted Schwarzenegger's unconventional therapeutic methods and prescription spending pills, including state pension steroids that some say were powerful enough to kill a Scandinavian industrial power. Schwarzenegger denied culpability, saying that his spending pills "help build de upper financial torso and lats, and deese other sings and so on."<br /><br />Despite the last minute financial maneuvers analysts say the state died penniless, owing creditors as much as $100 billion. Amid the swirling recriminations between California camp factions, fans chose to mark its passing quietly. Longtime California fan club president Iowa said that despite being the constant butt of the Golden State's insults and jokes, it will remember the late superstar fondly.<br /><br />"Let's not remember California as a bloated, rotting freakshow corpse hanging above a filthy public pension toilet," it said. "Let's remember the good times. Like my 6-day bender at the '91 Rose Bowl."<br /><br />"California's pain is finally over, and I like to think that the whole state is going to a better place," Iowa added. "Just look at all those U-Hauls headed to Oklahoma."<br /><br /><br />9. The coming federal tax increase(s)<br /><br />RIDER COMMENT: VAT’s an interesting topic. Not to mention a broader income tax increase. <br /><br />But you greedy citizens can afford it. Just ask Obama and company.<br /><br />http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/jul/12/awaitinga-taxincrease/?uniontrib<br /><br />Awaiting a tax increase<br />George F. Will<br /><br />THE WASHINGTON POST<br />2:00 a.m. July 12, 2009<br /><br />What's your bet on a tax increase? Economic policy, which became startling when Washington began buying automobile companies, has become surreal now that disappointment with the results of the second stimulus is stirring talk about the need for a . . . second stimulus. Elsewhere, it requires centuries to bleach mankind's memory; in Washington, 17 months suffice: In February 2008, President George W. Bush and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who normally were at daggers drawn, agreed that a $168 billion stimulus — this was Stimulus I — would be the “booster shot” the economy needed. Unemployment then was 4.8 percent. <br /><br />In January, the administration, shiny as a new dime and bursting with brains, said that unless another stimulus — Stimulus II wound up involving $787 billion — was passed immediately, unemployment, which then was 7.6 percent, would reach 9 percent by 2010. But halfway through 2009, the rate is 9.5. For the first time since the now 16-nation Eurozone was established in 1999, the unemployment rate in America is as high as it is in that region, which Americans once considered a cautionary lesson in the wages of sin, understood as excessive taxation and regulation. <br /><br />“Everyone guessed wrong” about the economy's weakness, says the vice president, explaining why Stimulus II has not yielded anticipated benefits. Joe Biden is beguiling when unfiltered by calculation, as he often is and as he was when he spoke about guessing (“Meet the Press,” June 14) and how everyone “misread” the economy (“This Week,” July 5). To be fair, economics is a science of single instances, which means it is hardly a science. And it is least like one when we most crave certainty from it — when there is a huge and unprecedented event and educated guessing is the best anyone can do. <br />But before embarking on Stimulus III, note that only about 10 percent of Stimulus II has yet been injected into the economy in 2009. This is not the administration's fault, the administration's defenders say, because government is cumbersome, sluggish and inefficient. But this sunburst of insight comes as the administration toils to enlarge governmental control of health care, energy, finance, education, etc. The administration guesses that these government projects will do better than the Postal Service (its second-quarter loss, $1.9 billion, was 68 percent of its losses for all of 2008) and the government's railroad (Amtrak has had 38 money-losing years and this year's losses are on pace to set a record). <br /><br />Let's guess: Will a person or institution looking for a place to invest $1 billion seek opportunities in the United States, where policy decisions are deliberately increasing taxes, debt, regulations and the cost of energy, and soon will increase the cost of borrowing and hiring? Or will the investor look at, say, India. It is the least urbanized major country — 70 percent of Indians live in rural areas, 50 percent on farms — so the modernizing and productivity-enhancing movement from the countryside to the city is in its infancy. This nation of 1.2 billion people has a savings rate of 25 percent to 30 percent, and fewer than 20 million credit cards. Which nation, India or the United States, is apt to have the higher economic growth over the next decade? <br /><br />Yet while government diminishes America's comparative advantages, liberals are clamoring for . . . higher taxes. Partly because of changes endorsed by presidents from Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama, approximately 60 percent of taxpayers now pay either no income tax (43 percent) or less than 5 percent of their income. Because one cannot raise significant money by that tax without nicking the middle class, or without bringing millions of people back onto the income tax rolls, attention is turning to a value-added tax. <br /><br />A VAT is levied at every stage of production. Like the cap-and-trade regime being constructed, a VAT is a liberal politician's delight: It taxes everything, but opaquely. <br /><br />Before he became an economic adviser in the Obama White House, where wit can be dangerous, Larry Summers said: Liberals oppose a VAT because it is regressive and conservatives oppose it because it is a money machine, but a VAT might come when liberals realize it is a money machine and conservatives realize it is regressive. <br />At the June 29 White House briefing, press secretary Robert Gibbs was asked, with reference to health care legislation, if the president's pledge not to raise taxes on couples making less than $250,000 is “still active.” Gibbs answered: “We are going to let the process work its way through.” What is your guess? <br /><br />Will can be reached at georgewill@washpost.com . <br /><br /><br />10. How many of California’s 480+ agencies and commissions can you list – let alone recommend dissolving? Here’s one hell of a cheat sheet<br /><br />RIDER COMMENT: This is not so much a “must read” entry as a “must scroll through” article. <br /><br />http://weblog.signonsandiego.com/weblogs/afb/archives/034862.html<br /><br />CHRIS REED BLOG<br />July 13, 2009<br /><br />Arnold is furloughing employees. How about permanently furloughing dozens of these 480-plus state agencies?<br /><br />This e-mail is going around listing all the state agencies with "California" in their title. It's pretty stunning. Just a scroll of it in a TV ad would be powerful -- the point being, get a load of all these never-heard-of wings of state government. Why can't lots be cut?<br /><br />Here goes:<br /><br />* 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 Chancellor's 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 Chancellor's Office, Junior Colleges * California Community Colleges Chancellor's 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 Criminalistic 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 Standard s * 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 *=2 0California 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 Governor's Committee for Employment of Disabled Persons * California Governor's Mentoring Partnership * California Governor's Office of Emergency Services * California Governor's Office of Homeland Security * California Governor's Office of Planning and Research * California Governor's 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=2 0History 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 Development 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 *=2 0California 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 Education20Division * 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 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 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 (TMAS) * 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 (CWEA) * California Water Resources Control Board * California Welfare to Work Division * California ! Wet lands 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) * Jobs with the State of California * Judicial Council of California * Learn California * Library of California * Lieutenant Governor's 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 * State Bar of California Veterans Home of California <br />Arnold is furloughing state employees. He should start permanently furloughing dozens of the 480-plus agencies listed above. This is ridiculous.<br />Thanks to reader Bob C. for passing that to me.<br />Posted by Chris Reed at July 13, 2009 12:05 PM <br /><br /><br /><br />11. Liberals love majority rule – except when it works against them<br />RIDER COMMENT: Recently Democrats have been decrying Prop 13’s 2/3 majority vote requirement, claiming that it’s undemocratic. Here’s an online riposte I wrote to counter such complaints:<br /> ---<br />Liberals' love of majority rule is pure hypocrisy. After all, it was a simple majority California citizen vote that IMPOSED the 2/3 majority rule on raising some taxes. <br /><br />IF you progressives are serious about bowing to the rule of the majority, we can settle this once and for all. Liberals, put a statewide prop on the ballot to repeal the 2/3 majority vote rule for new taxes -- returning to a simple majority vote requirement. <br /><br />If it passes by a simple majority vote, it becomes the law of the state. If not, gracefully accept defeat. <br /><br />Of course, you scheming hypocrites won't put such a measure on the ballot, because you know you'd lose -- AGAIN. <br /><br />And not by some close vote either. And not from a lack of spending -- your unions would spend over $100 million to support such a measure. You'd outspend opponents at least 20 to 1. All for naught.<br /><br />Be honest. You simply want to make it easier to raise taxes -- REGARDLESS of the will of the citizens.<br /><br /><br />12. The feminist “78 cents on a dollar” myth<br /><br />RIDER COMMENT: One oft-repeated claim by women is that for every dollar a man gets paid for doing a job, women get paid only 78 cents for the same work. Obama recently repeated this canard at a recent ceremony signing of more bad legislation (you don’t wanna know). But this claim assumes that business owners (all male, I guess) are more chauvinist than greedy – an odd position indeed, as explained below.<br /> ---<br />Columnist Ilana Mercer was not at the ceremony, but asked the kind of economically-informed question that rarely percolates up through discussions of pay equity: If women with the same skills as men were getting only 78 cents for every dollar a man earns, wouldn't men have long-since priced themselves out of the job market? The fact that men haven't done that might mean that different abilities and experiences are at work, Mercer guessed, "rather than a conspiracy to suppress women."<br /><br />13. Thomas Sowell: “You can usually only equalize downwards”<br /><br />RIDER COMMENT: Thomas Sowell probably offers more pithy insights on economics and society than anyone I know. Here’s a recent gem, followed by my online comment on the topic.<br /><br />http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2009/07/you-can-usually-only-equalize-downwards.html<br /><br />You Can Usually Only Equalize Downwards <br /><br /><br />The problem with trying to equalize is that you can usually only equalize downward.<br /><br />If you are going to try to equalize the chances of women getting jobs as firefighters then you are going to have to lower the physical requirements of height, weight and upper body strength. That means that you are going to have more firefighters who are not capable of carrying an unconscious person out of a burning building. <br /><br />If you are going to have these lower physical requirements be the same for both women and men, that means that you are not only going to have women who are not capable of carrying someone out of a burning building, you are also going to have men who are likewise incapable of carrying someone to safety.<br /><br />Most activities do not exist for the sake of equality. They exist to serve their own purposes-- and those purposes are undermined, sometimes fatally, when equality becomes the goal.<br /><br />~Thomas Sowell<br /><br />RIDER COMMENT: What is sometimes not appreciated is that too often the physically sub-par "worker" in strenuous jobs is a threat to their coworkers. <br /><br />For instance, it's not too important how fast (as in sprint speed) a military ground-pounder can run -- it's important how LONG and fast they can move with their full combat gear to advance or retreat. If a grunt is slow and/or weak, the others have to carry their load for them, or slow their movement as a unit to the least mobile grunt, or leave the laggards behind and have less firepower when conflict arises -- not good choices. <br /><br />Firefighters don't want a relative weakling as a coworker on a fire, but are often pressured not to say so. To complain about the "weaker sex" is to risk charges of sexism and sexual harassment. <br /><br />Not to say women can't do such jobs -- but the standards should be rigorous for whoever applies, regardless of gender. No double standard -- and no dropping of the standards for all to accommodate the unqualified.<br /><br /><br />14. Past (and many present) City Managers in San Diego County are the biggest crooks when it comes to the local pension debacles<br /><br />RIDER COMMENT: Recently the SD UNION-TRIBUNE and local TV stations publicized the names and pensions of CalPERS recipients in the county. Most local cities put their pension funds with CalPERS – the city of San Diego is the only one that doesn’t, as far as I know.<br /><br />As it turns out, some of the highest pensions in the county are for city managers who pushed for the retroactive pension increases for city workers -- including for themselves. How objective was their fiscal advice concerning the pensions to their gullible city councils? What do YOU think?<br /><br />Sometimes these senior city bureaucrats would push these retroactive pension increases through, and then retire within the year – before the magnitude of the disaster became apparent. The previous Vista city manager for one followed this path, if memory serves me.<br /><br />So just what does "retroactive" entail? Example:<br /><br />A city manager's pension is unilaterally raised from $100K to $150K. But the city manager has been paying only into a formula based on a $100K pension. If the city employee retires in a year, then they make only one year's contribution at the $150K level, but they get a lifetime $150K pension payout, plus annual (limited) COL increases. <br /><br />Assuming that as an employee these city managers even have to make ANY contribution to their pension. For instance, La Mesa and Chula Vista don’t charge their employees a DIME for their 90% of salary pensions for 30 years “service.” The hapless city taxpayers pay both the city and the employee CalPERS contribution. And I’m sure that’s due in large part to the “impartial” advice of their greedy city managers.<br /><br />Our city politicians are woefully inept when it comes to financial matters. In my experience, most quite literally could not balance their own checkbooks. So naturally they turn to “staff” for guidance in such fiscal matters. No one seemed to want to raise the issue of the HUGE conflict of interest facing “their” city managers. <br />From what I can see, a successful city manager’s most important skill is ingratiating himself or herself to the politicians – smoozing seems to be these bureaucrats’ greatest asset. <br /><br />Generally city managers are loved and revered by their city council critters. Councils too often generously boost their manager’s salary just before retirement to further bulk up the managers’ obscene pensions.<br /><br /><br />15. Man bites dog. Rider supports labor union proposition<br /><br />RIDER COMMENT: I support the unions' efforts to let the voters vote on term limits for San Diego County Supervisors.<br /><br />Indeed, to be more accurate, they now support MY efforts. We tried without success a few years ago to put term limits for the Sups on the ballot, but our funding fell through. I'd guess that today it would cost about $200K to gather the needed signatures to put the prop on the ballot.<br /><br />Not that it will be hard to GET the needed prop signatures. Such measures are popular with voters. If term limits makes it on the ballot, it will surely pass, even without union support. <br /><br />Judging from the reader comments posted for a SD U-T article detailing this effort, it appears that paradoxically the labor union support for this measure is the biggest reason it might fail. Over and over, readers say something to the effect that “normally I support term limits, but if the unions are pushing this measure, then I’m against it.” <br /><br />And I must sympathize with that viewpoint. Indeed, it’s great that unions’ support for ANY measure is now a big negative with the voters. Increasingly it seems that voters are looking to vote against the candidates the labor unions support – a welcome sea change.<br /><br />In this case, the Supervisors can rightly claim that the unions are striking back for the Sups not being not quite as subservient to union demands as in previous years. But all in all, I doubt the union involvement will keep voters from passing the initiative.<br /><br />Voters know that we've got an aristocracy ruling the county. With their $11 million annual slush fund explicitly designed to buy votes, our elected County Supervisors have become impossible to dislodge. It's time to end this DE FACTO reelection guarantee.<br /><br />Let's not forget that the current batch of Supervisors gratuitously raised the public employee pension benefits and then issued over a BILLION DOLLARS worth of muni bonds to pay for the increase. We are still paying for those bonds, and will be for many years. <br /><br />And note that these "pension obligation bonds" were issued without a vote of the electorate, thanks to friendly judicial rulings. But the ruling did not PROHIBIT such bonds from going to a vote of the citizens -- the Sups made that decision to avoid a public election (and public debate).<br /><br />Remember, our Sups get the same fabulous pensions that our county workers get. Gee, I wonder if that might have influenced their decision to vote for the unsustainable, retroactive pension increases. <br /><br />Ya think?<br /><br />Time to turn 'em out to pasture. PAST time, actually.<br /><br /><br />16. Over half the price of a ticket for international flight can be taxes <br />RIDER COMMENT: We’ve all seen domestic ticket fees and taxes rise after 9/11, but it’s the international flights where madness prevails. If you manage to score a well-discounted international ticket, then over half the price you pay can be for taxes.<br /><br />http://www.openmarket.org/2009/07/15/flying-is-a-taxable-event/<br /><br />Flying Is a Taxable Event<br /><br />Posted by Ryan Young on July 15, 2009 @ 5:18 pm <br /><br />The potential specter of federal carry-on bag size restrictions [1] has not deterred me from flying. But my jaw nearly hit the floor recently when I saw that I had paid more in taxes and fees than for actual airfare for an international flight. <br />Click here [2] to see a list of 17 taxes we pay for flying. The September 11th Fee. International Departure Tax. International Arrival Tax. And those are just the direct taxes. <br /><br />Indirect taxes are also legion. They’re harder to see. But they’re still there. And they, too, increase the price of flying. Airports have to pay an electricity tax to keep the lights on. Airlines have to pay a corporate tax on any profits. Pilots and crew have to pay income taxes. All these also affect the price of airfare. There is far more to taxation than meets the eye.<br />________________________________________<br />Article printed from OpenMarket.org: http://www.openmarket.org<br />URL to article: http://www.openmarket.org/2009/07/15/flying-is-a-taxable-event/<br />URLs in this post:<br />[1] restrictions: http://spectator.org/archives/2009/07/07/unnecessary-baggage<br />[2] here: http://www.airlines.org/economics/taxes/excisetaxes.htm<br /><br /><br /><br />17. Tech Corner – Offsite backup – DO IT! Easier and cheaper than ever.<br /><br />RIDER COMMENT: I’ve written before about this matter. This post is an update.<br /><br />Assuming you don’t keep all your computer files, address book, emails, photos, music, etc. online at a server such as Gmail, you need offsite backup. It’s gotten easier – and cheaper.<br /><br />Try to imagine what life would be like if today someone stole your computer – along with your backup external hard drive or memory stick. Or imagine a fire burned down your home or office with all your computer data. Or an earthquake swallowed it all up. Or a nuclear blast vaporized your computer (along with you, of course).<br /><br />Don’t dwell on the thought. Too depressing (at least for me!).<br /><br />Use an offsite backup service. It’s safe, heavily encrypted and usually backed up at more than one offsite location. And it can be quite reasonably priced.<br /><br />Some offsite services are free for small amounts – 1 to 5 gigs. For many people, that might be enough. And you can use more than one free service – maybe one for your docs, and another for your photos.<br /><br />But if your home or office computers need more, get more. The price is quite reasonable – especially for home/personal use.<br /><br />Not that you shouldn’t have ONSITE backup as well. It’s FAR easier and much faster to retrieve files from your external hard drive (or a networked computer, or a flash drive) than to download gigs of backup files via the Internet.<br /><br />In the past, I’ve used Mozy for online backup, but I think I’ve found a significantly better service – MemoPal. www.MemoPal.com<br /><br />Perhaps its best feature is that, for home use, you can sign up to 10 computers and have an aggregate 150 gigs of backup – for $50 a year. Mozy cost $60 annually and could be used by only one computer.<br /><br />MemoPal also provides real time incremental backup (backs up your file every time you save it WHEN you save it), has good backup software for selecting and maintaining your backup procedures. It’s highly rated by computer mavens, and rightly so, from what I can tell. <br /><br />If you have large files – a gig or more – it also can be very useful in sharing files with friends that you normally can’t send as attachments. You designate who you want to be able to access certain files, and they can download them online. <br /><br />With the proper codes, your backup files are accessible from any computer – while you are traveling, for instance.<br /><br />I should be selling this stuff!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />18. Financial tip: How to get extra discounts on online purchases<br /><br />RIDER COMMENT: Sometimes when one is buying something from a commercial vendor online, there’s a box to put in a “Promotion code.” What does that tell you? It tells you that some people may be getting the same item as you for less cost!<br /><br />“But,” you say, “I don’t HAVE a promotion code.” Probably not, but there’s a reasonable chance you can get one if it’s out there. For instance, for my purchase of the MemoPal backup service, I got an amazing 30% off the annual $50 price by using a promotion code. <br /><br />Like you, I didn’t have the code, but I figured I’d Google “MemoPal promotion code.” Bingo!<br /><br />Nothing ventured, nothing gained. And hardly a time consuming online exercise. <br /><br /><br /><br />19. Latest updates to my “California Breaking Bad” article<br /><br />RIDER COMMENT: As my veteran readers know, I keep updating my Breaking Bad article with the latest stats – comparing California with the other states. It’s also available as a Word file, which prints out as a fine two page flyer. Ask and ye shall receive. It’s a powerful sharing document, and to a degree has gone viral.<br />To make it easier for previous readers, I’m going to try to highlight the CHANGES from the last Rant version, so that you can quickly see what’s different, and what’s been added.<br /><br />Here are the changes first – with comments:<br /><br />A. Highest gasoline tax (averaging 64.5 cents/gallon) in the nation (July, 2009) – up from #2 in last report. When gas hits $3.00/gallon, we are numero uno – because unlike many states, we charge sales tax on gasoline purchases (built into the price). And boy, do we have a sales tax!<br />http://www.api.org/statistics/fueltaxes/<br /><br />B. Sixth highest unemployment rate in the nation. (June, 2009) 11.6%. National rate 9.5%. This is good news and bad news. The good news is that we’ve dropped from 4th to 6th worst, our best showing in some time. The bad news is that our unemployment rate STILL went up – it’s just that some other states are doing even worse.<br />http://www.bls.gov/news.release/laus.nr0.htm <br /><br />C. California has 12% of the nation’s population, but 36% of the country’s TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) welfare recipients – more than the next 7 states combined. Unlike other states, this “temporary” assistance becomes much more permanent in CA.<br />http://weblog.signonsandiego.com/weblogs/afb/archives/034662.html<br /><br /> ------<br />Breaking Bad: California vs. the Other States<br /><br />by Richard Rider, Chairman, San Diego Tax Fighters<br />Version 1.47 Revised 18 July, 2009<br /><br /><br />Here’s a depressing comparison of California taxes and economic climate with the rest of the states. The news is breaking bad, and getting worse (I keep updating this article):<br /><br />California has the 2nd highest state income tax in the nation. 9.55% at $48,000. 10.55% at $1,000,000<br /><br />By far the highest state sales tax in the nation. 8.25% (not counting local sales taxes)<br /><br />Highest state car tax in the nation – at least double any other state. 1.15% per year on value of vehicle.<br /><br />Corporate income tax rate is the highest in the West. 8.84%<br /><br />2009 Business Tax Climate ranks 48th in the nation.<br />http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/topic/15.html<br /><br />Fourth highest capital gains tax 9.55%<br />http://www.thereibrain.com/realestate-blog/capital-gains-tax-rates-state-by-state/109/<br /><br />Highest gasoline tax (averaging 64.5 cents/gallon) in the nation (July, 2009). When gas hits $3.00/gallon, we are numero uno – because unlike many states, we charge sales tax on gasoline purchases (built into the price).<br />http://www.api.org/statistics/fueltaxes/<br /><br />Sixth highest unemployment rate in the nation. (June, 2009) 11.6%. National rate 9.5%.<br />http://www.bls.gov/news.release/laus.nr0.htm <br /><br />California’s 2009 “Tax Freedom Day” (the day the average taxpayer stops working for government and start working for oneself) is again the 4th worst date in the nation – up from 28th worst in 1994. <br />http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/387.html<br /><br />To offset lower state revenues, 29 states are proposing 2009 state tax and fee increases totaling $24 billion. California, with 12% of the nation’s population, is proposing 47% of that increase (6/5/09).<br />http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/04/news/economy/states_budget_crises/index.htm<br /><br />1 in 5 in LA County receiving public aid. <br />http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-welfare22-2009feb22,0,4377048.story<br /><br />California has 12% of the nation’s population, but 36% of the country’s TANF welfare recipients – more than the next 7 states combined. Unlike other states, this “temporary” assistance becomes much more permanent in CA.<br />http://weblog.signonsandiego.com/weblogs/afb/archives/034662.html<br /><br />California prison guards highest paid in the nation.<br />http://www.caltax.org/caltaxletter/2008/101708_fraud1.htm<br /><br />California teachers easily the highest paid in the nation.<br />http://www.nea.org/home/29402.htm (CA has the second lowest student test scores)<br /><br />California now has the lowest bond ratings of any state, edging out Louisiana. <br />http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/19/BA7F16JLKH.DTL<br /><br /><br />California ranks 44th worst in “2008 lawsuit climate.”<br />http://www.instituteforlegalreform.com/component/ilr_featured_tools/29/item/LAI/19.html<br /><br />In 2005 (latest figures), for every dollar Californians sent to D.C. in taxes, we got back 78 cents – 43rd worst.<br />http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/show/22685.html<br /><br />America’s top CEO’s rank California “the worst place in which to do business” for the fourth straight year (3/2009). But here’s the interesting part – they think California is a great state to live (primarily for the great climate) – they just won’t bring their businesses here because of the oppressive tax and regulatory climate.<br />Consider this quote from the survey (a conclusion reflected in the rankings of the characteristics of the state): “California has huge advantages with its size, quality of work force, particularly in high tech, as well as the quality of life and climate advantages of the state. However, it is an absolute regulatory and tax disaster.”<br />http://tinyurl.com/cyvufy<br /><br />California, a destitute state, still gives away college education at fire sale prices. Our community college tuition is by far the lowest in the nation. How low? Nationwide, the average community college tuition is 4.5 times higher than California CC’s. This ridiculously low tuition devalues education to students – resulting in a 30+% drop rate for class completion. In addition, 2/3 of California CC students pay no tuition at all – filling out a simple unverified “hardship” form that exempts them from any tuition payment, or receiving grants and tax credits for their full tuition. <br />http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/capitolalertlatest/020722.html<br />http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/jun/29/1n29fees225829-two-year-colleges-fees-likely-rise-/<br /><br />On top of that, California offers thousands of absolutely free adult continuing education classes – a sop to the upper middle class. In San Diego, over 1,400 classes for everything from baking pastries to ballroom dancing are offered totally at taxpayer expense.<br />http://www.sdce.edu<br /><br />California residential electricity costs an average of 35.4% more than the national average. For industrial use, CA electricity is 56.2% higher than the national average (2007).<br />http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epa/fig7p5.html<br />http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/table5_6_a.html<br /><br />It costs 38% more to build solar panels in California than in Tennessee – which is why European corporations have invested $2.3 billion in two Tennessee manufacturing plants to build solar panels for our state.<br />http://www.foxandhoundsdaily.com/blog/jack-stewart/more-solar-companies-producing-elsewhere-sell-california<br /><br />Consider California’s net domestic migration (migration between states). From April, 2000 through June, 2008 (8 years, 2 months) California has lost a NET 1.4 million people. The departures slowed this past year only because people couldn’t sell their homes. <br />http://www.mdp.state.md.us/msdc/Pop_estimate/Estimate_08/table5.pdf<br />These are not welfare kings and queens departing. They are the young, the educated, the productive, the ambitious, the wealthy (such as Tiger Woods), and retirees seeking to make their pensions provide more bang for the buck. The irony is that a disproportionate number of these seniors are retired state and local government employees fleeing the state that provides them with their opulent pensions – in order to avoid the high taxes that these same employees pushed so hard through their unions.<br /><br />As taxes rise and jobs disappear, we lose our tax base, continuing California’s state and local fiscal death spiral. This spiral must stop NOW.<br /><br />NOTE: If you would like to receive my free periodic “Richard Rider Rant” e-newsletter with more of this type of information and analysis, just drop me an email at RRider@san.rr.com. To see the latest version of this “Breaking Bad” column, plus samples of my free “Richard Rider Rant” e-newsletter, go to my blog at http://www.RichardRiderRant.blogspot.com/.Richard Rider, Chair, San Diego Tax Fightershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259117224037487367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972576313341501285.post-30836514531469712062009-07-04T19:37:00.000-07:002009-07-05T18:41:30.965-07:00RICHARD RIDER RANT Fourth of July, 2009<br />“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, <br />deserve neither liberty nor safety.”<br />Benjamin Franklin<br /><br />1. My Baltic Sea cruise confirms that government employees are the New Aristocracy<br />2. Government spending has REVERSE “multiplier” effect<br />3. Congress covers up EPA study debunking global warming to approve cap and trade madness<br />4. High school graduates can’t pass basic U.S. citizenship test<br />5. To provide free Internet, subsidize Internet cafes, not libraries<br />6. An analysis of Supreme Court Ricci decision overturning firefighter affirmative action – and Sotomayer’s ruling<br />7. The climate change climate change – global warming scientist proponents are changing their minds<br />8. Media doing more data mining – great news for the public<br />9. Canooks come to U.S. for timely medical care – where will we be going for ours if ObamaCare passes? Plus comments on the bogus reports of high U.S. infant mortality rates.<br />10. Amid budget mess, CHP could get raise<br />11. Obama blowing hot air concerning California energy efficiency policies<br />12. Case study of a bloated pension -- complete with details<br />13. The NEW YORK TIMES bloviates on CA budget problems<br /><br /><br />1. My Baltic Sea cruise confirms that government employees are the New Aristocracy<br />RIDER COMMENT: Diane and I recently returned from a Baltic Sea cruise. We visited Copenhagen, Germany, Estonia, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Stockholm and back to Copenhagen. It’s our third cruise – previously we did Alaska and the Mediterranean. <br />This time there was too much rain, it was too cold, and I caught the plague, but otherwise an interesting two weeks. Boy, am I glad to be back! <br />Back from our future, apparently. Denmark had perhaps the worst taxes. In addition to a 26% VAT (sales) tax and extra taxes making cars and other luxuries cost triple what they cost here, they have what our tour guide described as a “progressive” income tax system. According to her, after an exemption, working people pay a 52% income tax. If you are rich, you go up into the 62% bracket. Gee, that sounds more like our vaunted “flat tax” to me!<br />But to my point. On my two previous cruises, I started to notice something rather odd, but didn’t look into it at the time. It seemed to me that many people we met on past cruises were government employees, or their spouses. <br />This trip I decided to be a bit more scientific in delving further into this tendency. We chose to do “open seating” dining, which means we usually had different dinner companions each evening – and new audiences for my one-liners. <br />When it seemed appropriate (and sometimes when it didn’t), I would ask my companions about their livelihood. Most were open with their replies. I got 22 responses from families or individuals.<br />Counting my retired teacher spouse and myself as one of the family units, I found that 15 of the 23 “groups” at our dinner table had one or two government employees – working or retired. Two were retired Canadian firefighters in their mid-fifties. One was a British bureaucrat. The rest of the government employees were All American.<br />Most folks would be surprised to find so many government employees on such a 5 star cruise. Most would have expected to find businesspeople and professionals composing the bulk of the patrons. Maybe in the past, but no more.<br />While this is admittedly a small sample size, the results are consistent with what I anecdotally found on my previous two cruises.<br />It’s like I’ve been saying – government employees are the new aristocracy.<br /><br /><br />2. Government spending has REVERSE “multiplier” effect<br />THE GOLDWATER INSTITUTE<br />The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco recently published an article summarizing research on economic multipliers. http://tinyurl.com/pwxbo2<br /><br />It turns out that a dollar of government spending results in 70 cents of job-creating activity after two years. A dollar in tax cuts results in $1.30 to $3 of job-creating activity after two years. Put another way, a $1 cut in spending cuts job-creating activity by 70 cents. A $1 increase in taxes cuts job-creating activity by as much as $3.<br /><br /><br />3. Congress covers up EPA study debunking global warming to approve cap and trade madness<br />RIDER COMMENT: This story has gotten belated play, but it ain’t over yet. The enviro-wacko juggernaut will be hard to reverse. If you can’t see the little graphic at the bottom of the article, go to the link to view it. It’s important.<br />http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=330911757213432#<br />INVESTORS BUSINESS DAILY<br />Carbongate<br />By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Friday, June 26, 2009 4:20 PM PT <br />Climate Change: A suppressed EPA study says old U.N. data ignore the decline in global temperatures and other inconvenient truths. Was the report kept under wraps to influence the vote on the cap-and-trade bill?<br />________________________________________<br />Read More: Global Warming <br /><br />________________________________________<br />This was supposed to be the most transparent administration ever. Yet as the House of Representatives prepared to vote on the Waxman-Markey bill, the largest tax increase in U.S. history on 100% of Americans, an attempt was made to suppress a study shredding supporters' arguments.<br />On Friday, the day of the vote, the Competitive Enterprise Institute said it was releasing "an internal study on climate science which was suppressed by the Environmental Protection Agency." <br />In the release, the institute's Richard Morrison said "internal EPA e-mail messages, released by CEI earlier in the week, indicate that the report was kept under wraps and its author silenced because of pressure to support the administration's agenda of regulating carbon dioxide."<br />Reading the report, available on the CEI Web site, we find this "endangerment analysis" contains such interesting items as: "Given the downward trend in temperatures since 1998 (which some think will continue until at least 2030), there is no particular reason to rush into decisions based on a scientific hypothesis that does not appear to explain most of the available data."<br />What the report says is that the EPA, by adopting the United Nations' 2007 "Fourth Assessment" report, is relying on outdated research by its Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The research, it says, is "at best three years out of date in a rapidly changing field" and ignores the latest scientific findings.<br />Besides noting the decline in temperatures as CO2 levels have increased, the draft report says the "consensus" on storm frequency and intensity is now "much more neutral."<br />Then there's one of Al Gore's grim fairy tales — the melting of the Greenland ice sheet and glaciers the size of Tennessee roaming the North Atlantic. "The idea that warming temperatures will cause Greenland to rapidly shed its ice has been greatly diminished by new results indicating little evidence for operations of such processes," the report says.<br />Little evidence? Outdated U.N. research? No reason to rush? This is not what the Obama administration and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were telling us when they were rushing to force a Friday vote on Waxman-Markey. We were given the impression that unless we passed this cap-and-tax fiasco, polar bears would be extinct by the Fourth of July.<br />We have noted frequently the significance of solar activity on earth's climate and history. This EPA draft report not only confirms our reporting but the brazen incompetence of those "experts" that have been prophesying planetary apocalypse. <br />"A new 2009 paper by Scafetta and West," the report says, "suggests that the IPCC used faulty solar data in dismissing the direct effect of solar variability on global temperatures. Their report suggests that solar variability could account for up to 68% of the increase in Earth's global temperatures."<br />The report was the product of Alan Carlin, senior operations research analyst at the EPA's National Center for Environmental Economics (NCEE). He's been with the EPA for 38 years but now has been taken off all climate-related work. He is convinced that actual climate observations do not match climate change theories and that only the politics, not the science, has been settled.<br />Thomas Fuller, environmental policy blogger with the San Francisco Examiner, wrote Thursday in a story developed in conjunction with Anthony Watts' Web site wattsupwiththat.com: "A source inside the Environmental Protection Agency confirmed many of the claims made by analyst Alan Carlin, the economist/physicist who yesterday went public with accusations that science was being ignored in evaluating the danger of CO2." <br />All this is particularly interesting because of the charges by Al Gore, NASA's James Hansen and others that the Bush administration and energy companies actively suppressed the truth about climate change. <br />One of the e-mails unearthed by CEI was dated March 12, from Al McGartland, office director at NCEE, forbidding Carlin from speaking to anyone outside NCEE on endangerment issues such as those in his suppressed report.<br />Carlin replied on March 16, requesting that his study be forwarded to EPA's Office of Air and Radiation, which directs EPA's climate change program. Carlin points out the peer-reviewed references in his study and points out that the new studies "explain much of the observational data that have been collected which cannot be explained by the IPCC models."<br />For saying the climate change emperors had no clothes, Carlin was told March 17: "The administrator and the administration have decided to move forward on endangerment, and your comments do not help the legal or policy case for this decision. . . . I can only see one impact of your comments given where we are in the process, and that would be a very negative impact on our office." <br />In other words, the administration and Congress had their collective minds made up and didn't want to be confused with the facts. They certainly didn't want any inconvenient truths coming out of their own Environmental Protection Agency, the one that wants to regulate everything from your lawn mower to bovine emissions and which says the product of your respiration and ours, carbon dioxide, is a dangerous pollutant and not the basis for all life on earth.<br />The problem the warm-mongers have is they now are in a position of telling the American people, who are you going to believe — us or your own lying eyes? Forget the snow in Malibu, the record cold winters. Forget that temperatures have dropped for a decade.<br />In April, President Obama declared that "the days of science taking a back seat to ideology are over." Apparently not, for as he spoke those very words his administration was suppressing science to advance a very pernicious ideology.<br /> <br /><br /><br />4. High school graduates can’t pass basic U.S. citizenship test<br />RIDER COMMENT: Only 3.5% of Arizona high school graduates can get just 60% of the basic civics questions right on the citizenship exam. Augghhhhh!<br />It is indeed important to remember just how uneducated today’s electorate is. Perhaps that was always true, but I think it has deteriorated since, well, since I graduated from high school in 1963 (the world revolves around me). The other bit if info to keep in mind is that all these folks’ votes count every bit as much as yours.<br />Previously I published another study showing that college graduates know even less about U.S. civics than high school graduates – college grads forget what little they learned in K-12, or are mistaught in college. Couple this second study with the survey described below, and that is VERY bad news.<br />GOLDWATER INSTITUTE<br />Why aren't Arizona high schools teaching civics? <br />by Matthew Ladner, Ph.D. <br /> <br />Just in time to celebrate Independence Day, the Goldwater Institute will release its new report, "Freedom from Responsibility: A Survey of Civic Knowledge Among Arizona High School Students." It reveals that only 3.5 percent of Arizona high school students have learned the basic history, government and geography necessary to pass the U.S. Citizenship test.<br />To conduct the survey, we hired a firm to interview 1,140 Arizona high school students and ask 10 questions drawn at random from the exam given to applicants for United States citizenship. Applicants for citizenship must get six out of 10 questions correct to pass. A recent trial found that 92.4 percent of citizenship applicants passed the test on the first try.<br /><br />Below are the survey questions, the correct answers, and in parentheses the percentage of public school students providing the correct answer for each question.<br /><br />1. What is the supreme law of the land? <br /><br />Answer: The Constitution (29.5%)<br /><br />2. What do we call the first 10 amendments to the Constitution?<br /><br />Answer: The Bill of Rights (25%) <br /><br />3. What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?<br /><br />Answer: Senate and House (23%) <br /><br />4. How many Justices are on the Supreme Court?<br /><br />Answer: Nine (9.4%)<br /><br />5. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?<br /><br />Answer: Jefferson (25.3%) <br /><br />6. What ocean is on the East Coast of the United States?<br /><br />Answer: Atlantic (58.8%)<br /><br />7. What are the two major political parties in the United States?<br /><br />Answer: Democratic and Republican (49.6%)<br /><br />8. We elect a U.S. Senator for how many years?<br /><br />Answer: Six (14.5%)<br /><br />9. Who was the first President of the United States?<br /><br />Answer: Washington (26.5%)<br /><br />10. Who is in charge of the Executive Branch?<br /><br />Answer: The President (26%)<br /><br />Only 3.5 percent of traditional public high school students passed the test. That's 40 students out of a sample of 1,134 district high school students.<br /><br />Arizona's 8th grade social studies standards require that students learn about everything from John Locke to the Mayflower Compact to the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution before high school. It isn't clear what, if anything, Arizona students are learning in these classes, but it is abundantly clear what they are not learning--U.S. civics, history and geography.<br /><br />In the report, I recommend that all Arizona high school students be required to pass a version of the U.S. Citizenship exam in order to graduate. Since then, one of our supporters came up with an even better idea: Make the exam a requirement for receiving a driver's license. Interesting thought...<br /> <br />Dr. Matthew Ladner is vice president for research at the Goldwater Institute.<br /><br /><br />5. To provide free Internet, subsidize Internet cafes, not libraries<br />RIDER COMMENT: One of the many rationales for a new monster central San Diego downtown library is more free computer access for the “poor” – and particularly the pungent homeless. The progressives won’t be happy until all folks not only have Internet access for free, but they must be using it regularly. If they are NOT using the Internet, then somehow that’s the taxpayers’ fault for not making it attractive/easy/accessible enough.<br />It’s just another in the ENDLESS subsidies liberals mandate from taxpayers. Redistribution is the name of the game – one small bite at the time.<br />That being said, IF we want taxpayers to pay for widespread free Internet access for the disadvantaged (in case it’s not obvious from my rants, I oppose this goal), then we should look to – of all places – the US Post Office for guidance. The post office contracts with local stores to serve as mini post offices, making such service far more convenient to the public. <br />Similarly the city could contract with cafes, coffee shops, etc. to provide such service -- paying maybe $15,000-$20,000 per year per location (including buying and maintaining perhaps 10 basic computers). These small struggling businesses benefit from the steady core revenue, plus the ancillary revenue from the computer users making other purchases. <br />The computers can be geographically positioned in the areas where such service is most needed -- not housed in a giant central library building that only relatively few can get to. <br />The results? FAR cheaper, and FAR better service. At $20K per coffee shop, a million dollars would provide 40 such locations. Furthermore, this business model would entail little in the way of operating costs or liabilities – unlike the library, where overpriced city employees are expected to help patrons navigate the Internet (or play games, view porn, or whatever).<br />The downside? No ribbon-cutting photo op for the politicians comparable to the grand opening of a quarter billion dollar library.<br /><br /><br />6. An analysis of Supreme Court Ricci decision overturning firefighter affirmative action – and Sotomayer’s ruling<br />RIDER COMMENT: The US Supreme Court’s Ricci decision that disparate racial results on firefighter written tests not being grounds for affirmative action bodes well for limiting further racial preferences (a.k.a. quota systems). Here’s a good article on the decision, and how Sotomayer’s overridden ruling can be viewed. <br />The article is prefaced by cogent comments from Thomas E. Wood, moderator of AADAP, a free email service on affirmative action. Wood is quite interesting, as he is a liberal opposed to affirmative action.<br /><br />It has been suggested that New Haven could have certified the test results and found "alternative ways to deal with these issues in the future." Does this mean that every test that does not achieve the desired demographic result should be tossed out?<br /> <br />At some point, in some cases, the liberal argument places diversity above the skill level of a workforce. It is exactly this thinking that contributes to the decades of distance between Democrats and working and middle class whites.<br /> <br />For Sotomayor in particular, her role in the Ricci case is hardly radical. She upheld precedent. So-called "judicial activism" is not a tool exclusive to the right or left. Sotomayor's view on affirmative action was in the mainstream of liberal thought. But on this policy, liberal thought is not in the mainstream.<br /> <br />A Quinnipiac University poll recently detailed the Ricci case and found that seven in ten Americans, including 53 percent of blacks, believed the Court should compel "the city to promote" the firefighters even if no blacks "scored high enough to qualify."<br /> <br />Blacks overwhelmingly support affirmative action. But when given a specific example of the negative side of the policy, even a majority of blacks changed their mind.<br /> <br />Yet the liberal justices hid from these moral issues. The minority opinion sought to stay within the safe confines of precedent. It focused on defending the city's effort to avoid a civil rights lawsuit. The deeper issues that liberal justices ache to confront on other occasions, questions of fairness and equality, went ignored.<br /> <br />The liberal justices sought sanctuary in the legalese of the case. They argued for the continued use of unequal actions to attain an equal outcome and thereby undercut the roots of liberalism, the right to equal opportunity. Those who once fought for equality, and stood on the shoulders of that fight, are reduced to justifying inequality to combat inequality. In this era of Obama, it's the measure of what remains unchanged that is sometimes most striking.<br /> <br />________________________________________<br /> <br />www.realclearpolitics.com/printpage/?url=http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/06/30/left_dodges_moral_debate_on_ricci_case.html<br /> <br />June 30, 2009<br /><br />Left Dodges Moral Debate on Ricci Case<br /><br />By David Paul Kuhn<br />It took the story of one firefighter to expose the tension between fairness and affirmative action.<br />The nation's four most prominent liberal justices ignored that tension Monday. By consequence, the liberal justices decided that equal outcome should trump equal opportunity, when the two values compete. And in that decision, supported by a chorus of liberal analysts, American liberalism continued decades of thinking that places diversity, not fairness, as its first principle.<br />The Supreme Court ruled Monday that white and Hispanic firefighters were unfairly discriminated against when the city of New Haven discarded a promotional exam because no blacks, or not enough minorities in the city’s view, earned a sufficient score to be promoted.<br />The ruling concludes one of the most widely debated discrimination cases of the past decade. Much of that attention is based on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's involvement in the case. Sotomayor, as an appellate judge, upheld the initial decision siding with New Haven.<br />In the end, the Court's conservative majority prevailed in yet another 5 to 4 vote. But it's the minority's dissent--a view supported by the Obama administration in its brief submitted to the Court--which stirs up liberalism's ongoing avoidance of affirmative action's "real-world" negative consequences.<br />The uniform liberal Court view on affirmative action takes on a heightened resonance today. Democrats hope President Obama marks the beginning of an enduring political majority. A primary aim of either party, when seeking sustained dominance, is to shift the Court to their side. Had today's Court been left leaning, liberals should be troubled to know, it would have almost certainly upheld a policy that denied a promotion based on the color of those promoted.<br />The Ricci case gets to the core of the American ideal of "the pursuit of happiness" as an "inalienable right." This right was most egregiously denied to blacks through slavery. It was not until the 1960s that the nation finally confronted and outlawed discriminatory practices. Affirmative action was instituted to correct past inequality.<br />Nearly a half-century later, liberalism faces new questions. In the time of the first black president, when white men's unemployment rate increases at twice the rate of black women in this recession, liberal thought has remained hinged to an earlier era.<br />Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibited discrimination based on disparate treatment or disparate impact. In 1960s and 1970s America the tension between the two principles was mitigated by the need to right history.<br />The liberal opinion, written by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on behalf of all four left-leaning justices, argued Monday that the "purpose" of Title VII's disparate-impact provision "is to ensure that individuals are hired and promoted based on qualifications manifestly necessary" and "do not screen out members of any race."<br />The liberal justices refused to reckon with the instances when the desire for "manifestly necessary" skills creates an unequal racial outcome, as was the case in New Haven.<br />The conservative majority addressed this tension Monday. It decided New Haven's actions amounted to disparate treatment, what the rest of us call overt discrimination.<br />An Illiberal Argument<br />Liberals now find themselves bunkered down beneath illiberal logic. Conventional affirmative action supporters effectively back discrimination for the sake of diversity. The driving role that class and culture play in endemic inequality is ignored. Affirmative action has become an entitlement supported despite consequence or context.<br />Whites overwhelmingly support a move toward class-based affirmative action that would still disproportionately aid minorities. But liberals remain seemingly vested in defending affirmative action as it was conceived, in a time far different than today.<br />The liberal opinion on the Ricci case upheld the city's effort to find any means to hold fast to conventional affirmative action. The city, after extended deliberation, decided that it was legal to discard the test results if no one was promoted.<br />Ginsburg echoed earlier decisions when she wrote that the city policy was "race-neutral in this sense" because "‘[A]ll the test results were discarded, no one was promoted, and firefighters of every race will have [the opportunity] to participate in another selection process to be considered for promotion.'"<br />The liberal argument feels like the cold legal judgment opposed by Barack Obama, in his criteria for nominating new liberal justices.<br />"She understands that upholding the rule of law means going beyond legal theory to ensure consistent, fair, common-sense application of the law to real-world facts," the White House wrote when Sotomayor was nominated.<br />Consider the well known details of the case's lead plaintiff, Frank Ricci. He gave up a second job and spent a third to half of his days studying over a period of months. He paid an acquaintance more than $1,000 to read textbooks onto audiotapes to overcome his dyslexia. He passed the test. Earned the promotion. But he was denied that promotion because diversity took precedent over qualification.<br />As I wrote in an earlier article on Ricci and concepts of "white male privilege," Ricci personifies the negative impact of so-called "positive discrimination." It's precisely this impact that liberalism must confront. The liberal argument ignored issues of harm, the loss of time or additional income suffered by Ricci and his fellow plaintiffs.<br />Ginsburg wrote that the majority opinion ignores firefighters' "long history of rank discrimination against African-Americans." It's an important consideration. But Ginsburg ignored the decades of distance from that history.<br />The liberal opinion goes on to write of the city's "unlikely" desire to exclude white firefighters from promotion because "a fair test"--fair, in this sense, meaning equal outcome--"would undoubtedly result in the addition of white firefighters to the officer ranks." This line of argument would have us believe that a “fair” system would promote some deserving white applicants while denying other white applicants. This illiberal liberal reasoning places disparate impact over disparate treatment. It argues, at best, that subtle discrimination is preferable over its more overt form. This is the inverse of our common hierarchy of justice. Common sense dictates that intentional harm is worse than accidental.<br />The test was created by a firm specializing in employment exams and met legal requirements, such as a review by independent experts. It was not the test but the color of those who passed it that led the nation’s top liberal legal minds to determine it was not "fair." This view defines quality by demographic result. It consequently upholds the outdated use of quotas.<br />The city claimed that it trashed the test only because it was afraid of being sued for discrimination by the minority applicants. But practical consequences also matter in law, as Obama has said.<br />Liberals continue to argue today that affirmative action is the result of employers impeding the progress of minorities. But the Ricci case captures how affirmative action improves the position of minorities often by impeding the progress of whites. And it's the most vulnerable whites who often pay the price of affirmative action, those men who lost blue-collar jobs and know nothing of privilege.<br />Mistaking Cure for Disease<br />Sotomayor has commendably acknowledged that affirmative action played a critical role in her admittance to Ivy League universities. And to be sure, diversity has its practical benefits. One needs Spanish speaking social workers or black police officers patrolling black neighborhoods. Whites can be ill served by a homogenous education. But when diversity is emphasized solely for its own sake, the cure becomes the cause rather than the true cause--curing the disease of discrimination.<br />It has been suggested that New Haven could have certified the test results and found "alternative ways to deal with these issues in the future." Does this mean that every test that does not achieve the desired demographic result should be tossed out?<br />At some point, in some cases, the liberal argument places diversity above the skill level of a workforce. It is exactly this thinking that contributes to the decades of distance between Democrats and working and middle class whites.<br />For Sotomayor in particular, her role in the Ricci case is hardly radical. She upheld precedent. So-called "judicial activism" is not a tool exclusive to the right or left. Sotomayor's view on affirmative action was in the mainstream of liberal thought. But on this policy, liberal thought is not in the mainstream.<br />A Quinnipiac University poll recently detailed the Ricci case and found that seven in ten Americans, including 53 percent of blacks, believed the Court should compel "the city to promote" the firefighters even if no blacks "scored high enough to qualify."<br />Blacks overwhelmingly support affirmative action. But when given a specific example of the negative side of the policy, even a majority of blacks changed their mind.<br />Yet the liberal justices hid from these moral issues. The minority opinion sought to stay within the safe confines of precedent. It focused on defending the city's effort to avoid a civil rights lawsuit. The deeper issues that liberal justices ache to confront on other occasions, questions of fairness and equality, went ignored.<br />Imagine the opposite of the Ricci case. A test is tossed out because not enough whites earned a promotion and too many blacks did. Would liberals support the city's action then?<br />"We are not unsympathetic to the plaintiffs' expression of frustration," Sotomayor and her fellow appellate justices wrote last year. The Supreme Court liberal justices wrote in their opinion that the firefighters denied a promotion "understandably attract this Court's sympathy."<br />Sympathy is exhibited not in words but actions. The liberal justices sought sanctuary in the legalese of the case. They argued for the continued use of unequal actions to attain an equal outcome and thereby undercut the roots of liberalism, the right to equal opportunity. Those who once fought for equality, and stood on the shoulders of that fight, are reduced to justifying inequality to combat inequality. In this era of Obama, it's the measure of what remains unchanged that is sometimes most striking.<br /><br /><br />7. The climate change climate change – global warming scientist proponents are changing their minds<br />http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124597505076157449.html#mod=rss_opinion_main<br /><br />• <br />• OPINION: POTOMAC WATCH<br />• JUNE 29, 2009<br />The Climate Change Climate Change <br />The number of skeptics is swelling everywhere.<br />• By KIMBERLEY A. STRASSEL<br />• Comments (537)<br />Steve Fielding recently asked the Obama administration to reassure him on the science of man-made global warming. When the administration proved unhelpful, Mr. Fielding decided to vote against climate-change legislation.<br />If you haven't heard of this politician, it's because he's a member of the Australian Senate. As the U.S. House of Representatives prepares to pass a climate-change bill, the Australian Parliament is preparing to kill its own country's carbon-emissions scheme. Why? A growing number of Australian politicians, scientists and citizens once again doubt the science of human-caused global warming.<br />Among the many reasons President Barack Obama and the Democratic majority are so intent on quickly jamming a cap-and-trade system through Congress is because the global warming tide is again shifting. It turns out Al Gore and the United Nations (with an assist from the media), did a little too vociferous a job smearing anyone who disagreed with them as "deniers." The backlash has brought the scientific debate roaring back to life in Australia, Europe, Japan and even, if less reported, the U.S.<br />In April, the Polish Academy of Sciences published a document challenging man-made global warming. In the Czech Republic, where President Vaclav Klaus remains a leading skeptic, today only 11% of the population believes humans play a role. In France, President Nicolas Sarkozy wants to tap Claude Allegre to lead the country's new ministry of industry and innovation. Twenty years ago Mr. Allegre was among the first to trill about man-made global warming, but the geochemist has since recanted. New Zealand last year elected a new government, which immediately suspended the country's weeks-old cap-and-trade program.<br />The number of skeptics, far from shrinking, is swelling. Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe now counts more than 700 scientists who disagree with the U.N. -- 13 times the number who authored the U.N.'s 2007 climate summary for policymakers. Joanne Simpson, the world's first woman to receive a Ph.D. in meteorology, expressed relief upon her retirement last year that she was finally free to speak "frankly" of her nonbelief. Dr. Kiminori Itoh, a Japanese environmental physical chemist who contributed to a U.N. climate report, dubs man-made warming "the worst scientific scandal in history." Norway's Ivar Giaever, Nobel Prize winner for physics, decries it as the "new religion." A group of 54 noted physicists, led by Princeton's Will Happer, is demanding the American Physical Society revise its position that the science is settled. (Both Nature and Science magazines have refused to run the physicists' open letter.)<br />The collapse of the "consensus" has been driven by reality. The inconvenient truth is that the earth's temperatures have flat-lined since 2001, despite growing concentrations of C02. Peer-reviewed research has debunked doomsday scenarios about the polar ice caps, hurricanes, malaria, extinctions, rising oceans. A global financial crisis has politicians taking a harder look at the science that would require them to hamstring their economies to rein in carbon.<br />Credit for Australia's own era of renewed enlightenment goes to Dr. Ian Plimer, a well-known Australian geologist. Earlier this year he published "Heaven and Earth," a damning critique of the "evidence" underpinning man-made global warming. The book is already in its fifth printing. So compelling is it that Paul Sheehan, a noted Australian columnist -- and ardent global warming believer -- in April humbly pronounced it "an evidence-based attack on conformity and orthodoxy, including my own, and a reminder to respect informed dissent and beware of ideology subverting evidence." Australian polls have shown a sharp uptick in public skepticism; the press is back to questioning scientific dogma; blogs are having a field day.<br />The rise in skepticism also came as Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, elected like Mr. Obama on promises to combat global warming, was attempting his own emissions-reduction scheme. His administration was forced to delay the implementation of the program until at least 2011, just to get the legislation through Australia's House. The Senate was not so easily swayed.<br />Mr. Fielding, a crucial vote on the bill, was so alarmed by the renewed science debate that he made a fact-finding trip to the U.S., attending the Heartland Institute's annual conference for climate skeptics. He also visited with Joseph Aldy, Mr. Obama's special assistant on energy and the environment, where he challenged the Obama team to address his doubts. They apparently didn't.<br />This week Mr. Fielding issued a statement: He would not be voting for the bill. He would not risk job losses on "unconvincing green science." The bill is set to founder as the Australian parliament breaks for the winter.<br />Republicans in the U.S. have, in recent years, turned ever more to the cost arguments against climate legislation. That's made sense in light of the economic crisis. If Speaker Nancy Pelosi fails to push through her bill, it will be because rural and Blue Dog Democrats fret about the economic ramifications. Yet if the rest of the world is any indication, now might be the time for U.S. politicians to re-engage on the science. One thing for sure: They won't be alone.<br />Write to kim@wsj.com <br />Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page A15<br /><br />8. Media doing more data mining – great news for the public<br />RIDER COMMENT: The SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE is spearheading the establishment of a nonprofit to do “data based investigative journalism.” See the article below. <br />As I’ve pointed out often in the past, most journalists are poorly prepared to do such analysis, so they avoid it, or get it wrong because they cannot analyze government propaganda releases. But I think that some of the media is discovering that this data area is a treasure trove waiting to be mined. <br />Media people are usually poorly armed when it comes to number crunching, but they are NOT stupid. They can learn, and some ARE back-learning about this neglected aspect of their liberal arts education. <br />Here are my comments to the U-T staff – an open letter praising the effort. <br />Perhaps more important, I present two potential areas for data mining. <br /><br />FROM: RICHARD RIDER<br />TO: SD U-T STAFF<br /> <br />Interesting new venture -- data based investigative journalism. Kudos to the U-T for spearheading this effort. <br />http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2009/06/30/this_just_in/053loriehearn062909.txt<br /> <br />GREAT IDEA! It's been the neglected area of reporting. It's often a daunting area in which to drill, but with Pulitzer Prize results awaiting the drillers.<br /> <br />Here's my suggestion for two difficult projects that can provide critical information the public desperately needs to understand. These projects are easy for me to suggest, but difficult to do -- especially the first suggestion.<br /> <br />A. Look at public vs. private sector pay.<br /> <br />The stereotype of public employment is that it's a tradeoff -- low pay and modest benefits in exchange for solid job security and a stately work pace. The public employee unions perpetuate this myth.<br /> <br />It might have been true 30-40 years ago, but not today. Most of today's public employees receive salaries considerably HIGHER than the equivalent jobs in the private sector. The benefits are literally unbelievable. Meanwhile the job security is as good as ever. The work pace comparison is harder to define.<br /> <br />What is missing in this data comparison is a current, accurate comparison of public vs. private sector salaries for the same work. NO ONE has yet done this work -- and it's a Herculean task. <br /> <br />Police and firefighters are hard to compare with the private sector, but most of the rest of government work is indeed comparable.<br /> <br />The trick is to compare NOT just with other government agencies. This is the public employee unions favorite gambit -- where every government jurisdiction is the opposite of Lake Woebegone -- every government's pay is below average.<br /> <br />Instead the comparisons should be with the local PRIVATE sector. And not just with the big rich corporations and utilities (the usual comparison by government bureaucrats). A full range of private firms should be surveyed, down to the small businesses which are be primary employers in San Diego. <br /> <br />I'll tell you what I'm confident that you'll find: The pink and blue collar government jobs (the vast majority of the public sector jobs) pay 25%-50% higher than the average private pay of sector workers doing the same tasks -- and that's not counting the opulent public employee benefits, health care and early retirement. The technical and professional jobs will be closer to parity, and in some specialty areas the private sector pays more -- while the companies are still in business.<br /> <br />Managerial jobs are not equivalent. Private sector managers are supposed to MAKE the company money. Public sector managers are tasked only with SPENDING taxpayer funds. It's a huge difference in responsibility and accountability.<br /> <br />B. Look at the percentage of government employees who take disability retirement. <br /> <br />One old study I recall noted that public employees become disabled 28 times more frequently than private sector employees. And no area is more prone to disability than police and firefighters. <br /> <br />It's not just the "chief's disease" scandal of recent years. For instance, many and perhaps most firefighters try to go out with some sort of disability, yet they are healthier than the general population of similar age. <br /> <br />The city of San Diego has made some effort to rein in this problem, but it's an area ripe for further investigation -- for the city, the county and the other cities in the county.<br /> <br /><br /><br />9. Canooks come to U.S. for timely medical care – where will we be going for ours if ObamaCare passes? Plus comments on the bogus reports of high U.S. infant mortality rates.<br />RIDER COMMENT: The following column describes where the Canadians go who need timely health care. They go South! <br />More and more, perhaps the same will be true for U.S. citizens if ObamaCare is implemented (and I think it will be). Maybe we won’t go South. Perhaps East – like to India. Indeed, this overseas treatment trend is already growing at a brisk clip.<br />One aspect of the story deserves more attention. It completely debunks one canard by the single payer plan supporters – the claim that the infant mortality rate in the U.S. is high compared to a lot of countries. But these are not apples to apples comparisons. Many other countries have decided that if a baby dies within 24 hours, it was never born. Not so in the U.S. However weak, premature or deformed a newborn is, if it dies, it’s a death on our records.<br />And there is another factor. Cuba ranks well in health care. But how do we acquire the stats from Cuba? Why, the Cuban government tells us! Simply put, they lie. <br />Cuba has a handful of showcase hospitals (“showcase” by THEIR standards), but the rest of the country’s medical care is appallingly bad. The health numbers they report are literally unbelievable, yet are taken as fact by the U.N. and socialized medicine supporters.<br />http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=331254362316405#<br />INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY<br />Canada's Single-Prayer Health Care<br />By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Tuesday, June 30, 2009 4:20 PM PT <br />Health Reform: A critically ill premature baby is moved to a U.S hospital to get the treatment she couldn't get in the system we're told we should emulate. Cost-effective care? In Canada, as elsewhere, you get what you pay for.<br />________________________________________<br />IBD Exclusive Series: Government-Run Healthcare: A Prescription For Failure <br />________________________________________<br />Ava Isabella Stinson was born last Thursday at St. Joseph's hospital in Hamilton, Ontario. Weighing only two pounds, she was born 13 weeks premature and needed some very special care. Unfortunately, there were no open neonatal intensive care beds for her at St. Joseph's — or anywhere else in the entire province of Ontario, it seems.<br />Canada's perfectly planned and cost-effective system had no room at the inn for Ava, who of necessity had to be sent across the border to a Buffalo, N.Y., hospital to suffer under our chaotic and costly system. She had no time to be put on a Canadian waiting list. She got the care she needed at an American hospital under a system President Obama has labeled "unsustainable." <br />Jim Hoft over at Gateway Pundit reports Ava's case is not unusual. He reports that Hamilton's neonatal intensive care unit is closed to new admissions half the time. Special-needs infants are sent elsewhere and usually to the U.S. <br />In 2007, a Canadian woman gave birth to extremely rare identical quadruplets — Autumn, Brooke, Calissa and Dahlia Jepps. They were born in the United States to Canadian parents because there was again no space available at any Canadian neonatal care unit. All they had was a wing and a prayer.<br />The Jepps, a nurse and a respiratory technician flew from Calgary, a city of a million people, 325 miles to Benefit Hospital in Great Falls, Mont., a city of 56,000. The girls are doing fine, thanks to our system where care still trumps cost and where being without insurance does not mean being without care. <br />Infant mortality rates are often cited as a reason socialized medicine and a single-payer system is supposed to be better than what we have here. But according to Dr. Linda Halderman, a policy adviser in the California State Senate, these comparisons are bogus.<br />As she points out, in the U.S., low birth-weight babies are still babies. In Canada, Germany and Austria, a premature baby weighing less than 500 grams is not considered a living child and is not counted in such statistics. They're considered "unsalvageable" and therefore never alive.<br />Norway boasts one of the lowest infant mortality rates in the world — until you factor in weight at birth, and then its rate is no better than in the U.S.<br />In other countries babies that survive less than 24 hours are also excluded and are classified as "stillborn." In the U.S. any infant that shows any sign of life for any length of time is considered a live birth. <br />A child born in Hong Kong or Japan that lives less than a day is reported as a "miscarriage" and not counted. In Switzerland and other parts of Europe, a baby is not counted as a baby if it is less than 30 centimeters in length.<br />In 2007, there were at least 40 mothers and their babies who were airlifted from British Columbia alone to the U.S. because Canadian hospitals didn't have room. It's worth noting that since 2000, 42 of the world's 52 surviving babies weighing less than 400g (0.9 pounds) were born in the U.S.<br />It must be embarrassing to Canada that a G-7 economy and a country of 30 million people can't offer the same level of health care as a town of just over 50,000 in rural Montana. Where will Canada send its preemies and other critical patients when we adopt their health care system? <br />As we have noted, in Canada roughly 900,000 patients of all ages are waiting for beds, according to the Fraser Institute. There are more than four times as many magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) units per capita in the U.S. as in Canada. We have twice as many CT scanners per capita. <br />Expensive? Wasteful. Just ask the Jepps or the parents of Ava Isabella Stinson.<br /><br /><br />10. Amid budget mess, CHP could get raise<br />RIDER COMMENT: Thank goodness the government keeps reminding us why tax increases are NOT needed. When the politicians and their labor unions refuse to control public employee cost but rather provide raises, that puts the dagger in the heart of liberal claims that tax increases are needed. Indeed, that gives new meaning to the term “bleeding heart liberals”!<br />http://tinyurl.com/lsz3hn<br /><br />The Buzz: Amid budget mess, CHP could get raise<br /><br />Published: Wednesday, Jul. 1, 2009 - 12:00 am | Page 3A <br />While rank-and-file state employees face as much as a 14 percent pay cut through furloughs, California Highway Patrol officers could well get a raise. The CHP contract adjusts pay based on salary levels at five local law enforcement agencies in the state. The results of this year's survey are expected out soon. <br /><br />11. Obama blowing hot air concerning California energy efficiency policies<br />RIDER COMMENT: The following is from the WS JOURNAL’s James Taranto 1 July blog http://online.wsj.com/article/best_of_the_web_today.html :<br />President Obama was touting California, with its decades-old "energy-efficiency policies," as an example to the nation. After all, the president noted, "Californians consume 40 percent less energy per person than the national average."<br />As Harvard's Edward Glaeser pointed out in an April New York Times blog post, the "primary reason" California's energy consumption is low is the weather:<br />January temperature does a terrific job of explaining carbon emissions from home heating and July temperature does almost as well at explaining electricity usage. California has the most temperate climate in the country and as a result, homes use less heat in the winter and less electricity in the summer. In hot, humid Houston or frigid Minneapolis, people use plenty of energy to artificially recreate what California has naturally.<br />Obama also claimed that California's paucity of power plants is evidence of its success. But California uses more electricity than it generates--some 53 terawatt-hours more in 2007, or just over 20% of total consumption, according to the federal Energy Information Administration--which means it has to import power from other states not subject to California's environmental restrictions.<br />Moreover, also according to the EIA, Californians pay an average of 14.42 cents a kilowatt-hour of electricity, the sixth-highest rate in the contiguous U.S. and more than the average of any region except New England. Obama, it seems, would like to make the rest of the country pay California prices for energy. It might be worth it if he could guarantee us California weather.<br /><br /><br />12. Case study of a bloated pension -- complete with details<br />RIDER COMMENT: This well researched article details how a 51 year old “public servant” making a paltry $221,000 can walk away with a $284,000 pension. Your blood should boil.<br />The details of this case may NOT apply to your specific local and county jurisdictions, but it’s only the details and degree of taxpayer largesse that change. ALL government employees have extra gains that factor into their pensions over and above just their “highest base salary” – and nowhere is the abuse more rampant than in the public safety jobs. <br />The one thing that is probably universal is that public safety employees are ALWAYS surprised and sometimes stunned at the total pension they end up receiving. <br />For instance, in many jurisdictions covered under CalPERS, the taxpayers pay part or all of the employee’s share of the pension contribution. Only when the pension is actually issued does the employee discover that the employer contributions boost their “salary” off which the pension is calculated. Locally cities such as La Mesa and Chula Vista pay the public employee’s 9% contribution. That means that instead of getting a “90% of salary” pension after 30 years, the employee gets 98.1% of salary. <br />Again, most employees do not know this, and it does not show up in their annual CalPERS statement about their pensions. ONLY when they retire does this come up – and the reckoning comes for the taxpayers footing the bill.<br />Remember, this unknown windfall is only one of many such windfalls for public employees – especially police and firefighters. Even the folks in the California State Controllers office are usually unaware of many of these giveaways.<br />Just to repeat my admonition – get a government job. Especially a local government job. And ideally a public safety job – firefighter is best. This is the most lucrative financial advice I can dispense.<br />http://www.contracostatimes.com/danielborenstein/ci_12265599<br />CONTRA COSTA TIMES<br />Daniel Borenstein: Guide to bad pension policy<br />By Daniel Borenstein<br />Staff columnist<br />Posted: 05/02/2009 10:00:00 PM PDT<br />Updated: 05/03/2009 10:23:02 PM PDT<br />CRAIG BOWEN'S SALARY during his final year as chief of the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District was about $221,000 a year. So how did he end up retiring in December with a tax-advantaged annual pension of $284,000?<br />The answer provides an amazing case study that highlights problems with public employee compensation and reveals tricks that allow workers to spike their pensions at the expense of their fellow employees and taxpayers.<br />The Bowen story has some similarities to the case I examined last month of Peter Nowicki, the chief of the Moraga Orinda Fire District who was able to turn his $185,000 annual salary into a $241,000 yearly pension. While each public agency has different rules that provide new ways to take advantage of retirement systems, many of the lessons can be applied across the board.<br />In Bowen's case, residents of the fire district serving Danville, San Ramon, Alamo, Blackhawk and Diablo should pay close attention because they got shafted. The San Ramon district's flawed compensation system and generous rules for pension calculations allowed Bowen to increase his starting pension from about $193,000 to $284,000 a year — a 47 percent increase. The pension will be increased in future years for inflation.<br />Bowen was only 51 years old when he retired at the end of 2008. If he or his wife lives another 30 years, that bump-up alone would add $2.7 million in today's dollars to his pension. His total retirement payout for the next 30 years would be worth about $8.5 million in today's dollars — far more than most taxpayers have in their 401(k)s when they hit the half-century mark.<br />Bowen is a beneficiary of a system that merits closer scrutiny. His devotion to the job is not at issue. By all accounts, he was a hardworking guy during his 29-year career. Indeed, it apparently took a toll on his health.<br />As he told a reporter in December, a medical condition influenced his decision to retire. In March, the board of the Contra Costa County Employees' Retirement Association, which administers the fire district's pension plan, approved Bowen's request for a service-connected disability.<br />As a result, under state and federal laws, much of his pension payment is exempt from income tax. Moreover, under state rules, if his wife survives him, she will be entitled to 100 percent of his pension for the rest of her life.<br />The spousal benefit is part of a public employee retirement system that creates pension payments unmatched in the private sector — a system that is financially unsustainable and is excessively sucking away dollars that could otherwise be used for providing public services.<br />With that in mind, let's look at the factors that make Bowen's pension so lucrative — and the changes that could be made locally to fix the system in the future.<br />The fire district, like most police and fire agencies across the state, has adopted the retirement calculation known as "3 percent at 50" — meaning that a worker can receive a pension starting at age 50 equal to 3 percent of his highest 12 months' salary multiplied by the number of years of employment. For example, someone who worked 30 years would be entitled to a pension equal to 90 percent of his salary.<br />While those pension benefits seemed like a good idea to some people in better fiscal times a decade ago when local governments across the state started implementing them, the time has come to reconsider whether taxpayers can afford to fund them.<br />There are two key variables in the "3 percent at 50" equation: the number of years worked and the highest 12 months' salary. Here are some of the factors that go into each and some rough estimates of how much they increase Bowen's pension annually:<br />Unused sick leave ($10,700 a year): In addition to work credit for his 29 years on the job, Bowen received credit for more than a year of unused sick leave. As a result, his pension was calculated as if he had worked 30.3 years. The difference means Bowen will receive an additional $10,700 in his annual pension.<br />The idea of receiving retirement credit for unused sick leave is generally peculiar to the public sector. It's a benefit public agencies could, and should, end. Sick leave is supposed to serve as insurance to provide compensation when a worker is ill; it shouldn't be a tool to bolster retirement.<br />Standby and management pay ($14,500 a year): In the San Ramon Valley district, managers don't just receive a salary. They have add-ons. There's "standby" pay that adds roughly 5 percent to the salary. This is extra compensation for carrying a pager and being available 24/7 for emergencies. Also, there's "management" pay that adds another 2 percent. This is for a manager to be ... well, to be a manager.<br />It seems odd that a fire chief would be paid extra to perform duties that are basic to his job. What makes it worse is that the extra money is added to the salary figure used for pension calculations. In other words, even after the chief retired, he continues to benefit from these perks. They live on for the rest of his, or his wife's, life, adding at the start roughly $14,500 a year to his pension.<br />Auto allowance ($7,600 a year): A couple of years ago, the fire district offered managers the option of a flat monthly stipend in lieu of a car for the job. Bowen chose the stipend, which was $700 a month when he retired. But the salary figure used to calculate Bowen's pension includes the auto allowance, which adds nearly the full amount to his actual retirement check. He received the auto allowance for only two years while on the job — and now he's going to get it in retirement for the rest of his and his wife's lives.<br />If the standby pay, management pay and auto allowance seem excessive, that's because they are. What makes them worse is that once the district offers them to employees, it must, under state law, include the amounts in the salary figure used for pension calculations. There is, however, a simple solution: Stop offering the benefits. Then they need not be factored into the retirement calculations.<br />Administrative leave ($17,000 a year): The chief, like other managers, was entitled to administrative leave — time off in exchange for having to work outside normal business hours. In other words, he was paid extra for the additional hours through standby and management pay, and then offered time off in exchange for them as well.<br />If the chief didn't use his administrative leave of 80 hours a year, he would receive cash payment for the hours at the start of the following year. Bowen, however, played the system well. In January 2008 he received payment for all 80 hours of administrative leave he didn't use in 2007. And then, when he retired on Dec. 31, 2008, he immediately received payment for nearly 80 hours of administrative leave he didn't use in 2008. In other words, he got two years' worth of administrative leave paid in the same 12-month period, the period that was used to calculate his salary for pension purposes.<br />Timing here was critical. By waiting until the last day of the year to retire, instead of, say, leaving during the summer, he added thousands of dollars to his annual pension payments. All told, by not taking administrative leave those two years and cashing it out instead, Bowen added about $17,000 annually to his pension.<br />Administrative leave is a costly and unjustified benefit to begin with, especially considering all the other compensation managers receive. In Bowen's case, doubling it up for the pension calculation just adds insult to the taxpayer's injury. Fire district directors should eliminate administrative leave. Then there will be no need to include it in the pension calculation.<br />Selling back vacation time ($17,000 a year): The fire district allows employees to sell back unused vacation time up to 80 hours a year. The new policy, implemented for the first time to apply to the 2007 calendar year, requires the sell-back to take place in December of each year.<br />But for the first year, because of delays implementing the contract, the sell-back took place in April 2008. Bowen sold 80 hours then, and 80 more in December 2008. The proceeds from those sales, in turn, were added to the salary used to compute his pension. Because he was able to sell back twice within the final 12 months of his employment, he doubled the effect on his pension. All told, the vacation sell-back boosted his pension by about $17,000 a year.<br />Vacation buyback is another unnecessary benefit that should be eliminated. Workers should be told to take their time off. Like in most of the private sector, limits should be set on the amount they can accrue. Once those limits are reached, the worker should, as is the case in most of the private sector, be blocked from accruing more vacation.<br />Cashing out vacation time upon retirement ($25,500 a year): Finally, there's the unused vacation Bowen had remaining when he took retirement. District policy allows employees to cash out up to a year's worth of unused vacation when they leave. That's what Bowen did. The extra income in his final 12 months had the effect of bumping up his annual pension by about $25,500.<br />This is the single biggest spike to Bowen's pension. It's also the easiest item to fix for future retirees. The state Court of Appeal has been clear that termination payments need not count toward pension calculations. Public agencies should stop giving away this money.<br />Let's be clear. Bowen deserves a pension. He worked hard and, by all accounts, he performed well. The question is how much is fair for him and the others who come behind him.<br />There's nothing the San Ramon fire district's board can do to reduce Bowen's pension now. But his case can serve as a road map for fire district directors, and board members of other agencies across the state, looking to end unjustified spiking and bring some sanity to the public pension system.<br /><br /><br />13. The NEW YORK TIMES bloviates on CA budget problems<br />RIDER COMMENT: The NEW YORK TIMES Magazine is running a numbing 8,000 word story on California government’s travails. <br />http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/05/magazine/05California-t.html?pagewanted=10&_r=1&ref=magazine<br />You need not read this tripe. I’ll summarize it for you. The writer’s conclusion is what you’d expect – in a state that consistently ranks in the top four highest tax rate states, California’s problem is that politicians are not easily able to raise taxes even higher and faster (as they can and just did in NY state where “simple majority” literally rules – and both taxes AND spending are now soaring). http://weblog.signonsandiego.com/weblogs/afb/archives/034073.html<br />Even more fascinating – in the entire 8,000 word article, there is not a SINGLE mention of our state and local public employee overcompensation, bloated pensions, or government labor union lock on the legislature. NOTHING!<br />The U-T’s Chris Reed covers this well in his blog:<br />http://weblog.signonsandiego.com/weblogs/afb/archives/034678.htmlRichard Rider, Chair, San Diego Tax Fightershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259117224037487367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972576313341501285.post-66175281668362226482009-07-04T09:37:00.000-07:002009-07-04T09:40:25.917-07:00<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CRICHAR%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><link rel="themeData" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CRICHAR%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx"><link rel="colorSchemeMapping" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CRICHAR%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml"><!--[if gte 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line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {mso-style-priority:99; color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; color:purple; mso-themecolor:followedhyperlink; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;">Breaking Bad:<span style=""> </span>California vs. the Other States</span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">by Richard Rider, Chairman, San Diego Tax Fighters<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Version 1.45<span style=""> </span>Revised 29 June, 2009<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;">Phone: 858-530-3027<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>RRider@san.rr.com<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><a name="_Hlk225602878"></a><a name="_Hlk225767259"><span style=""><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Here’s a depressing comparison of California taxes and economic climate with the rest of the states.<span style=""> </span>The news is breaking bad, and getting worse:</span></b></span></a><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">
<br />
<br /><a name="_Hlk225602954">California has the 2<u><sup>nd</sup></u> highest state income tax in the nation.<span style=""> </span>9.55% at $48,000.<span style=""> </span>10.55% at $1,000,000<o:p></o:p></a></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">By far the highest state sales tax in the nation.<span style=""> </span>8.25% (not counting local sales taxes)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Highest state car tax in the nation – at least <u>double</u> any other state. <span style=""> </span>1.15% per year on value of vehicle.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Corporate income tax rate is the highest in the West. <span style=""> </span>8.84%<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">2009 Business Tax Climate ranks 48<u><sup>th</sup></u> in the nation.
<br /></span></span></span></span><a name="_Hlk225220158"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></a><a href="http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/topic/15.html"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/topic/15.html</span></span></span></span></span><span style=""></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Fourth highest capital gains tax<span style=""> </span>9.55%<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span><a href="http://www.thereibrain.com/realestate-blog/capital-gains-tax-rates-state-by-state/109/"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">http://www.thereibrain.com/realestate-blog/capital-gains-tax-rates-state-by-state/109/</span></span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Second highest gasoline tax (58.3 cents) in the nation (April, 2009).<span style=""> </span>When gas is $3.00+/gallon, we are surely numero uno – because unlike many states, we charge sales tax on gasoline purchases (built into the price).
<br /></span></span></span></span><a name="_Hlk225228093"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></a><a href="http://www.api.org/statistics/fueltaxes/"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">http://www.api.org/statistics/fueltaxes/</span></span></span></span></span><span style=""></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Fourth highest unemployment rate in the nation. <span style=""> </span>(May, 2009)<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>11.5%<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span><a href="http://www.bls.gov/news.release/laus.nr0.htm"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">http://www.bls.gov/news.release/laus.nr0.htm</span></span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style=""> </span></span></span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <span style=""></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><a name="_Hlk225603240"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">California’s 2009 “Tax Freedom Day” (the day the average taxpayer stops working for government and start working for oneself) is again the fourth worst date in the nation – up from 28<u><sup>th</sup></u> worst in 1994.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></a></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span><a href="http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/387.html"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/387.html</span></span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">To offset lower state revenues, 29 states are proposing 2009 state tax and fee increases totaling $24 billion.<span style=""> </span>California, with 12% of the nation’s population, is proposing 47% of that increase (6/5/09).<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <span style=""></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""></span></span><a href="http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/04/news/economy/states_budget_crises/index.htm"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/04/news/economy/states_budget_crises/index.htm</span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></a><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><a name="_Hlk225767372"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">1 in 5 in LA County receiving public aid.
<br /></span></a></span></span><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-welfare22-2009feb22,0,4377048.story"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-welfare22-2009feb22,0,4377048.story</span></span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">California prison guards highest paid in the nation.
<br /></span></span></span></span><a href="http://www.caltax.org/caltaxletter/2008/101708_fraud1.htm"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">http://www.caltax.org/caltaxletter/2008/101708_fraud1.htm</span></span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">
<br /></span></span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">California teachers easily the highest paid in the nation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span><a href="http://www.nea.org/home/29402.htm"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">http://www.nea.org/home/29402.htm</span></span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style=""> </span></span></span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">(CA has the second lowest student test scores)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <span style=""></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">California now has the lowest bond ratings of any state, edging out Louisiana.</span></span></span><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""></span><a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/19/BA7F16JLKH.DTL"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/19/BA7F16JLKH.DTL</span></span><span style=""></span></a><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">California ranks 44<u><sup>th</sup></u> worst in “2008 lawsuit climate.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""></span><a href="http://www.instituteforlegalreform.com/component/ilr_featured_tools/29/item/LAI/19.html"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">http://www.instituteforlegalreform.com/component/ilr_featured_tools/29/item/LAI/19.html</span></span><span style=""></span></a><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In 2005 (latest figures), for every dollar Californians sent to D.C. in taxes, we got back 78 cents – 43<u><sup>rd</sup></u> worst.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""></span><a href="http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/show/22685.html"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/show/22685.html</span></span><span style=""></span></a><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">America’s top CEO’s rank California “the worst place in which to do business” for the fourth straight year (3/2009).<span style=""> </span>But here’s the interesting part – they think California is a great state to live (primarily for the great climate) – they just won’t bring their businesses here because of the oppressive tax and regulatory climate.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Consider this quote from the survey (a conclusion reflected in the rankings of the characteristics of the state):<span style=""> </span><i style="">“California has huge advantages with its size, quality of work force, particularly in high tech, as well as the quality of life and climate advantages of the state. However, it is an absolute regulatory and tax disaster.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""></span><a href="http://tinyurl.com/cyvufy"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">http://tinyurl.com/cyvufy</span></span><span style=""></span></a><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><b><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">California, a destitute state, still gives away college education at fire sale prices.<span style=""> </span>Our community college tuition is by far the lowest in the nation.<span style=""> </span>How low?<span style=""> </span>Nationwide, the average community college tuition is 4.5 times higher than California CC’s.<span style=""> </span>This ridiculously low tuition devalues education to students – resulting in a 30+% drop rate for class completion.<span style=""> </span>In addition, 2/3 of California CC students pay no tuition at all – filling out a simple unverified “hardship” form that exempts them from any tuition payment, or receiving grants and tax credits for their full tuition.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""></span><a href="http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/capitolalertlatest/020722.html"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/capitolalertlatest/020722.html</span></span><span style=""></span></a><span style=""></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""></span><a href="http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/jun/29/1n29fees225829-two-year-colleges-fees-likely-rise-/"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/jun/29/1n29fees225829-two-year-colleges-fees-likely-rise-/</span></span><span style=""></span></a><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">On top of that, California offers thousands of absolutely free adult continuing education classes – a sop to the upper middle class.<span style=""> </span>In San Diego, over 1,400 classes for everything from baking pastries to ballroom dancing are offered totally at taxpayer expense.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""></span><a href="http://www.sdce.edu/"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">http://www.sdce.edu</span></span><span style=""></span></a><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">California residential electricity costs an average of 35.4% more than the national average. <span style=""> </span>For industrial use, CA electricity is 56.2% higher than the national average (2007).<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""></span><a href="http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epa/fig7p5.html"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epa/fig7p5.html</span></span><span style=""></span></a><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""></span><a href="http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/table5_6_a.html"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/table5_6_a.html</span></span><span style=""></span></a><span style=""></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><b><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">It costs 38% more to build solar panels in California than in Tennessee – which is why European corporations have invested $2.3 billion in two Tennessee manufacturing plants to build solar panels for our state.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""></span><a href="http://www.foxandhoundsdaily.com/blog/jack-stewart/more-solar-companies-producing-elsewhere-sell-california"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">http://www.foxandhoundsdaily.com/blog/jack-stewart/more-solar-companies-producing-elsewhere-sell-california</span></span><span style=""></span></a><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Consider California’s net <u>domestic</u> migration (migration between states).<span style=""> </span>From April, 2000 through June, 2008 (8 years, 2 months) California has <u>lost</u> a NET 1.4 million people.<span style=""> </span>The departures slowed this past year only because people couldn’t sell their homes.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""></span><a href="http://www.mdp.state.md.us/msdc/Pop_estimate/Estimate_08/table5.pdf"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">http://www.mdp.state.md.us/msdc/Pop_estimate/Estimate_08/table5.pdf</span></span><span style=""></span></a><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">These are not welfare kings and queens departing.<span style=""> </span>They are the young, the educated, the productive, the ambitious, the wealthy (such as Tiger Woods), and retirees seeking to make their pensions provide more bang for the buck. The irony is that a disproportionate number of these seniors are retired state and local government employees fleeing the state that provides them with their opulent pensions – in order to avoid the high taxes that these same employees pushed so hard through their unions.</span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">As taxes rise and jobs disappear, we lose our tax base, continuing California’s state and local fiscal death spiral.<span style=""> </span>This spiral must stop NOW.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">NOTE:<span style=""> </span>If you would like to receive my <u>free</u> periodic “Richard Rider Rant” e-newsletter with more of this type of information and analysis, just drop me an email at </span></i></b><a href="mailto:RRider@san.rr.com"><b><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">RRider@san.rr.com</span></i></b></a><b><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">.<span style=""> </span>To see the latest version of this “Breaking Bad” column, plus samples of my free “Richard Rider Rant” e-newsletter, go to my blog at </span></i></b><a href="http://www.richardriderrant.blogspot.com/"><b><i style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">http://www.RichardRiderRant.blogspot.com/</span></i></b></a><b><i style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">.</span></i></b><b><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p> Richard Rider, Chair, San Diego Tax Fightershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259117224037487367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972576313341501285.post-12336960423355169092009-06-09T21:54:00.000-07:002009-06-09T21:56:06.932-07:00<style></style><div><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span><p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:16;" >Richard Rider Rant<span style=""> </span>6/9/09<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 31.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style="">1.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" > </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" >Liberal bias and censorship in college classrooms?<span style=""> </span>Imagine that!<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 31.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style="">2.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" > </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" >Global warming is GOOD, not bad<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 31.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style="">3.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" > </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" >Interactive map of California Props 1A-1F May votes by county<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 31.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style="">4.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" > </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" >Prop 13 property tax revenue has soared above inflation and population growth – and doesn’t go down<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 31.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style="">5.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" > </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" >Tech Corner – Free cell phone text messaging from your computer<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 31.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style="">6.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" > </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" >Finally!<span style=""> </span>Police crack down on charity gambling for the needy.<span style=""> </span>America is saved.<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 31.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style="">7.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" > </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" >Our federal debt obligation jumps 12% in 2008<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 31.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style="">8.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" > </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" >CA proposes 47% of the total states’ tax/fee increases this year<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 31.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style="">9.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" > </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" >Government allocating water usage has failed California<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 31.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;" class="MsoNormal"><span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><strong><span style="">10.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></span></span>Ignore Big Business calls for higher taxes – even THEY don’t believe it’s a good idea<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 31.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style="">11.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" > </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style=""> </span>World is globally warming.<span style=""> </span>No . . . wait . . . .<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 31.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style="">12.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" > </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style=""> </span>Firefighters push local tax increases, but seldom have to pay them<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 31.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style="">13.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" > </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style=""> </span>Final proof that public employee pensions are too high – and the opposition knows it<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 31.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style="">14.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" > </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style=""> </span>Here’s my latest, updated “Breaking Bad” report on CA<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <h3 style="margin: 12pt 0in 3pt 31.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;">15.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" > </span></span></span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;">A perfect example of what would happen in California without two-thirds rule on taxes, budget<o:p></o:p></span></span></h3> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 31.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style="">16.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" > </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style=""> </span>Tax Foundation compares CA to national average from 1977 through 2008<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 31.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style="">17.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" > </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style=""> </span>Tipping, minimum wage and the resulting misallocation of resources<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 31.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style="">18.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" > </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style=""> </span>Solar electric finally makes sense – at taxpayer expense<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 31.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style="">19.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" > </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style=""> </span>Rider heading to Baltic Sea to save Europeans from themselves<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;color:-moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext;"> <p style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p></div> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 31.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style="">1.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" > </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" >Liberal bias and censorship in college classrooms?<span style=""> </span>Imagine that!<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>David Horowitz has written a lot about the liberal/statist bias in the collegiate classroom.<span style=""> </span>His latest book seems to carry that expose’ forward, with excellent examples.<span style=""> </span>The article (link below) lauding his book is a bit long for my rant, but I do recommend you give it a gander (not exactly sure what that term means).<span style=""> </span>Here’s the URL:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=34842"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">http://www.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=34842</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">Over the years speaking on San Diego area college campuses, I have found that, on this issue, Horowitz has it right.<span style=""> </span>As I mentioned in a recent rant, I recently was appalled by the list of the “seminars” at Grossmont Community College’s “Political Economy Week.”<span style=""> </span>I was the sole speaker from a limited government perspective.<span style=""> </span>Many of the other seminars sounded like the curriculum at a Cambodian Pol Pot re-education camp.<span style=""> </span>It is rare that I’m invited to speak on such campuses, even though I deliver a boffo speech filled with facts and references – delivered with wit and charm.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;color:-moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext;"> <p style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">BTW, modesty is not my strong point.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">That being said, will speak for food.<span style=""> </span>Keep that in mind when next looking for a titillating entertainer at an feeding event.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p></div> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 31.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style="">2.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" > </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" >Global warming is GOOD, not bad<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>Well, all things in moderation, of course.<span style=""> </span>We don’t want to fry or freeze.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">Still, given a choice, some global warming likely is a LOT better than some cooling.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not conceding that the earth is getting warmer.<span style=""> </span>It seems to have plateaued or cooled a bit these past ten years, but the debate will continue.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">Nor am I conceding that man’s activities on our planet are the primary, or even a significant factor in “climate change.”<span style=""> </span>Maybe yes, but likely no.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">It’s the third question that merits more consideration – Is global warming necessarily a bad thing?<span style=""> </span>Not if you live in Canada!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">At any rate, here’s a provocative article ruminating about this matter.<span style=""> </span>Food for thought.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/45953852.html"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-family:Calibri;" >http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/45953852.html</span></a><br /><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" > May. 24, 2009<br /><br /> </span><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" >If earth were warming, it would save a lot of lives</span></b><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><br /> VIN SUPRYNOWICZ<br /><br /> First, if the earth was warming at a rate of about 1 or even 2 degrees per century in recent decades, there are reasons to believe that's slowed or stopped. One of those reasons is that the "global warming" fanatics have abruptly shifted their rhetoric, adopting instead the new nonsense euphemism "climate change."<br /><br /> This is a clear attempt at inoculation: If it turns out the globe is indeed cooling again, they will merely take their same pre-set, ulterior agenda -- huge energy tax hikes to finance bigger government, cripple capitalism and destroy the freedom-giving automobile, instead forcing everyone to pile like lemmings into mass transit -- and declare that an identical agenda is now needed to fight "global cooling." And we dare not lose any time in debate! Hee-haw!<br /><br /> Furthermore, even if the earth did warm a bit in recent decades, there's no reason to believe man's activities played a substantial role. Carbon dioxide is not a particularly effective greenhouse gas, nor the most prevalent. (Water vapor is.) The amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide generated by man's activities is infinitesimal.<br /><br /> And third, even if the earth is warming and mankind somehow contributed to the process, no regulations promulgated by the U.S. government can have any useful impact, because the U.S. government has no authority over the activities of fast-industrializing India and China, where new coal-fired generators come on line weekly.<br /><br /> But let us, for the sake of argument, stipulate to all three flimsy links in this chain. Let us stipulate that the earth is warming noticeably and will continue to do so; carbon dioxide generated by mankind plays a dominant role in this process; and some set of expensive, Draconian regulations that can be promulgated and enforced by the EPA or a high-handed White House can end or substantially reduce global warming.<br /><br /> OK. We're still left with an important question: Should that be done? That is to say, is there any scientific reason to believe that moderate global warming will do more harm than good to the health and safety of mankind?<br /><br /> And the answer is ... no.<br /><br /> "The maximal increase in atmospheric CO2 from combustion of hydrocarbon fuels cannot harm human health directly," points out Howard Maccabee, Ph.D., M.D., in the November 2008 newsletter of the group he heads, the Tucson-based Doctors for Disaster Preparedness. Rather, the "hypothetical mechanism of harm" now being used to justify EPA intervention under the Clean Air Act is through global warming.<br /><br /> "Many scientists dispute the predictions from the U.N. IPCC computer models," Dr. Maccabee notes. However -- here's the killer -- "even if the models are correct, warming would be a net benefit to human health. Hence the EPA has no legitimate authority to regulate CO2 emissions."<br /><br /> The doctor then proceeds to spell that out.<br /><br /> The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (a political organization) gives an average temperature increase of 4.5 Centigrade as a worst-case scenario. There is historical precedent for increases of this magnitude, Dr. Maccabee points out. Stalagmite proxies in South Africa indicate increases of up to 4 C in the Medieval Warm Period (formerly called the Medieval Climate Optimum). Because of the urban heat island effect, large cities have shown temperature increases as much as 3 C (e.g. Tokyo 1876-2004) to 4 C (New York City 1822-2000). We thus have data to evaluate<br />the health effects of climate change.<br /><br /> In 1995, Thomas Gale Moore published the first of his pioneering efforts, "Why Global Warming Would be Good for You," and in 1998, "Health and Amenity Effects of Global Warming." He estimated that a temperature increase of 2.5 C in the United States would cause a drop of 40,000 deaths per year from respiratory and circulatory disease, based on U.S. mortality statistics as a function of monthly climate change. Two other studies, one by the Eurowinter Group in 1997 and one in 2000 by the British Medical Journal -- hardly a fringe of flaky publication -- examined mortality as a function of mean daily temperature.<br /><br /> In 2006, A.J. McMichael et al. assume, in "Climate Change and Human Health: Present and Future Risks," that the maximum daily mortality in higher temperature periods will be equal to or greater than the maximum mortality in cold periods, resulting in heat-related deaths increasing far more than the lives saved by warming of the cold periods. But "this hypothesis is inconsistent with U.S. data showing that mortality due to<br />cardiac, vascular and respiratory disease in winter is seven times greater than in summer," Dr. Maccabee and Doctors for Disaster Preparedness now report. "This ratio is about nine to 10 in Europe, from the data of Keatinge, et al."<br /><br /> In early 2008, a United Kingdom Department of Health study found that there was no increase in heat-related deaths from 1971 to 2002, despite warming in summers, suggesting that the UK population is adapting to warmer conditions. But cold-related mortality fell by more than a third in all regions. The overall trend in mortality for the warming from 1971 to 2002 was beneficial.<br /><br /> "The data from the Eurowinter Group (Lancet 1997) on mortality versus temperature can be used for a quantitative estimate of mortality benefits from warming," Doctors for Disaster Preparedness conclude. "This would lead to an estimated 25,000 to 50,000 fewer deaths in the U.S. per year for a 1-degree C temperature rise. This can be compared to 30,000 deaths per year from breast cancer, 30,000 for prostate cancer, or about 40,000 from motor vehicle accidents."<br /><br /> Global warming (if it were happening) would save lives – lots of them. The "climate change" we should really worry about is the next Ice Age, which could see everything north of Columbus, Ohio, covered by an ice shelf a mile thick.<br /><br /> Do the global warming fanatics think we can prevent that by burning lots of coal and putting lots of miles on our SUVs? If so, shouldn't we start right now, just in case?<br /><br /> Meantime, can someone explain again why Barack Obama gets to play commander in chief of the auto industry, wave his magic wand, and declare that an industry already in bankruptcy will have to charge an extra $1,500 per vehicle to limit carbon dioxide emissions to "fight global warming" ... when it turns out global warming would save human lives?<br /><br /> The full text of Dr. Maccabee's comments, together with figures and references, are posted at <a href="http://www.ddponline.org/"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">www.ddponline.org</span></a>.<br /><br /> Vin Suprynowicz is assistant editorial page editor of the Review-Journal and author of the books "Send in the Waco Killers" and "The Black Arrow." See <a href="http://www.vinsuprynowicz.com/"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">www.vinsuprynowicz.com/</span></a> and <a href="http://www.lvrj.com/blogs/vin/"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">http://www.lvrj.com/blogs/vin/</span></a><br /><br /> © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2009<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;color:-moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext;"> <p style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p></div> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 31.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style="">3.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" > </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" >Interactive map of California Props 1A-1F May votes by county<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>I like this interactive map of the votes in the May special election.<span style=""> </span>Try it, you’ll find it illuminating – and impressively presented.<span style=""> </span>The LA TIMES did something right!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">The facts are interesting.<span style=""> </span>ALL counties voted down Prop 1A.<span style=""> </span>Even San Francisco, which really should be a country unto itself.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://projects.latimes.com/elections/2009-05-19/california-propositions/results/map/"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">http://projects.latimes.com/elections/2009-05-19/california-propositions/results/map/</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;color:-moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext;"> <p style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p></div> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 31.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style="">4.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" > </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" >Prop 13 property tax revenue has soared above inflation and population growth – and doesn’t go down<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>Below are two succinct comments I’ve put together to “copy and paste” into any discussion of Prop 13.<span style=""> </span>I can go online where an article has run, and quickly post up these two insights inside a couple minutes.<span style=""> </span>I’m terrorizing newspapers throughout the state with this.<span style=""> </span>Feel free to do the same on websites, stop signs and other posting locations.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><i style=""><span style=";font-family:'Times New Roman','serif';font-size:12;" >Prop 13 is no problem at all -- except for profligate spenders. <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><i style=""><span style=";font-family:'Times New Roman','serif';font-size:12;" >Take my San Diego County. <span style=""> </span>Please. <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><i style=""><span style=";font-family:'Times New Roman','serif';font-size:12;" >According to the SD County Tax Assessor, in 1977 -- the year BEFORE Prop 13 took effect -- our countywide property tax revenue was about $639 million. For this 30 June concluding 2008-2009 fiscal year, our county assessor is projecting revenues of $4.656 BILLION. For every property tax dollar collected in 1977, the county today collects $7.29. <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><i style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Times New Roman','serif';font-size:12;" >During that time frame, our county population has grown about 83%, and inflation has gone up about 260%. Hence property tax revenues today are <u>substantially</u> higher than the bloated PRE-Prop 13 year, even after adjusting for inflation and population growth.</span></i><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;">***<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><i style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Times New Roman','serif';font-size:12;" >It turns out that property tax revenue is FAR more stable than our other forms of tax revenue. <span style=""> </span>Income tax revenue is plunging, and sales tax revenue is dropping.<br /><br />But property tax revenue seldom goes down AT ALL. <span style=""> </span>Since Prop 13, San Diego County property tax revenue has ALWAYS gone up – <u>every</u> year.<br /><br />Even this year. The SD County Assessor reports that total property tax revenue for this fiscal year ending June 30 is UP 0.9%. If you look at just the pure real estate property tax revenue (ignoring the “supplemental property tax” revenue which is not subject to Prop 13 limitations), real estate property tax revenue this year is up 4.1%.<span style=""> </span>Not one person in a thousand knows this – the press has not (yet) covered this amazing fact.<br /><br />Revenue is up because the structure or Prop 13 has the little-known added benefit of smoothing out real estate property tax revenue from year to year. <span style=""> </span>Most properties this year (generally those purchased prior to 2003) had their property tax go up 2%. <span style=""> </span>Add to that the resales, property improvements and new structures (which establish new tax assessment levels), and the revenue grew in spite of the downturn.<br /><br />Next year, in this real estate collapse, a mild drop in the order of 2%-4% in total property tax revenue is projected by our county assessor. Given our dramatic economic decline, this is an incredibly small drop, coming in the fourth year of a real estate meltdown.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;color:-moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext;"> <p style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p></div> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 31.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style="">5.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" > </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" >Tech Corner – Free cell phone text messaging from your computer<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>I’m not a real cell phone user.<span style=""> </span>I have one, and carry it once in a while when appropriate.<span style=""> </span>Old dogs, new tricks, etc. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><i style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" >[An unimportant aside – I use an OLD cell phone that may not even text (don’t know).<span style=""> </span>But I have a GREAT phone plan that is no longer offered, though it is grandfathered for me.<span style=""> </span>NO MONTHLY FEE, but a very high 35 cents a minute usage (first minute free on incoming).<span style=""> </span>As a nonuser, I’ve saved many thousands of dollars vs. monthly plans.<span style=""> </span>Sprint offered it many years ago in only six cities to celebrate their entry into the cell phone business, and I grabbed it.<span style=""> </span>For most cell phone users, it’s a lousy plan – but perfect for me.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><i style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" >If you use a cell phone as seldom as I do, consider getting a prepaid phone.<span style=""> </span>Not perfect (prepaid minutes expire after a couple months), but far cheaper than the conventional cell phone plans.]<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">But I digress.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">In this day and age, the cell phone is the fastest, most reliable way of reaching many people – especially essentially <u>all</u> younger people.<span style=""> </span>Yet even those who do use cell phones often find texting a challenge.<span style=""> </span>Young people can easily send text messages while having sex in the shower, but for the older generation, this is not something we do well (text messaging).<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">What most people don’t know is that they can send text messages to cell phones from their computer – for free.<span style=""> </span>I know you use a computer – otherwise, you couldn’t read this!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">Here’s the deal – each cell phone company has a format for receiving email text messages for their phone customers via email.<span style=""> </span>They then instantly forward them to their customer as a phone text message.<span style=""> </span>Each cell phone number is the basis for the email text address.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">For instance, to send to AT&T cell phone users, the format is:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><strong><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Calibri','sans-serif';font-size:10;" >AT&T (formerly Cingular)</span></strong><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:10;" ><br />[10-digit phone number]@txt.att.net<br />[10-digit phone number]@mms.att.net (MMS)<br />[10-digit phone number]@cingularme.com<br />Example: 1234567890@txt.att.net</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">For a rather complete list of cell phone companies and their email text messaging formats, go to:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:8;" ><a href="http://tinyurl.com/7ozcc7"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-family:Calibri;" >http://tinyurl.com/7ozcc7</span></a></span><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""> </span>or<span style=""> </span></span></b><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><a href="http://www.emailtextmessages.com/"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">http://www.emailtextmessages.com/</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">For repetitive use, just enter a person’s proper email text address in your address book.<span style=""> </span>Then text away.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">Remember the 160 character limitation on text messages – you might want to delete your “signature” off the bottom of your email in such circumstances.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">Two other advantages of “texting” from the computer:</span></span><span style=";font-family:'Times New Roman','serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">A. You have a copy of your text message retained in your “sent” folder.<span style=""> </span>That can be helpful from time to time.</span></span><span style=";font-family:'Times New Roman','serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">B. You can easily address a message to both a person's computer email and text email address. That enhances the probability it will be read in a timely fashion. Warning – overuse of multiple addresses ticks off recipients.</span></span><span style=";font-family:'Times New Roman','serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">See, if you dig deep down into my rants, you’ll find a nugget once in a while.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;color:-moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext;"> <p style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p></div> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 31.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style="">6.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" > </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" >Finally!<span style=""> </span>Police crack down on charity gambling for the needy.<span style=""> </span>America is saved.<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;">RIDER COMMENT: Government protects us all from such organized crime activities. Beware – you degenerate criminal types – including you Friday night poker players hiding in your homes. You know who you are.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:8;" ><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span><a href="http://www.wmtw.com/news/19607069/detail.html"><span style="font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">http://www.wmtw.com/news/19607069/detail.html</span></span></a></span></b><br /><br /><span style="font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';">May 29, 2009<br /><br /></span><strong><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:16;" >Charity Poker Game Raided By Police</span></strong><span style="font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';"><br /></span><strong><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:13;" >Money Seized At Event</span></strong><span style="font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';"><br /><br />BUXTON, Maine -- Buxton police raided a building where people were trying to raise money to give free food to the needy.<br /><br />It happened at the Narragansett Pythian Sisters Temple on Route 22 where people were playing the card game Texas Hold'em to benefit the Buxton Community Food Co-op.<br /><br />But state police said the game was illegal.<br /><br />That's because whenever a gambling tournament is held to raise money for a group and takes place at its headquarters, a permit is needed and the co-op didn't have one.<br /><br />So, state police seized cards, poker chips and $500 in cash -- money the food co-op desperately needed.<br /><br />A member of the co-op, Joann Grader, said she is very, very sad about what happened.<br /><br />"We've had a lot of people who come here -- people who are out of work, people who have cancer. We have a lot of people," said Groder.<br /><br />But state police are standing by what was done.<br /><br />"In this particular case they weren't licensed, and they knew they weren't and they knew they needed one," said Lt. David Bowler of the Maine State Police.<br /><br />The money from the co-op's card game is currently being held as evidence while the investigation continues.<br /><br />Groder now plans to hold a pot roast dinner to raise money for the co-op.<br /><br />Copyright 2009 by WMTW</span></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;color:-moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext;"> <p style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p></div> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 31.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style="">7.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" > </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" >Our federal debt obligation jumps 12% in 2008<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>Below is an update on our average household increase in debt for the year 2008, due to federal commitments.<span style=""> </span>Note that this does NOT include much of the massive increase in “stimulus” deficit spending under Bush, nor any of the even BIGGER deficit spending in 2009 by Obama.<span style=""> </span>And, of course, it does not include state and local debts from unfunded and underfunded employee benefit obligations, plus other <u>de facto</u> debt obligations opposed by California politicians.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">We are leaving our children a shameful legacy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">NCPA Summary:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=18026"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=18026</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">(from)<span style=""> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:18;" >USA TODAY</span></b><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <h2 style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">LEAP IN U.S. DEBT HITS TAXPAYERS WITH 12%<span style=""> </span>MORE RED INK</span></span></h2> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Taxpayers are on the hook for an extra $55,000 a household to cover rising federal commitments made just in the past year for retirement benefits, the national debt and other government promises, a USA Today analysis shows.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Social Security:</span></span></p> <ul type="disc"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><li style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Social Security will grow by 1 million to 2 million beneficiaries a year from 2008 through 2032, up from 500,000 a year in the 1990s, its actuaries say. </span> </li><li style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Average benefit: $12,089 in 2008.</span></li></span></ul> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Medicare:</span></span></p> <ul type="disc"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><li style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">More than 1 million a year will enroll starting in 2011 when the first Baby Boomer turns 65. </span> </li><li style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Average 2008 benefit: $11,018.</span></li></span></ul> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Retirement programs:</span></span></p> <ul type="disc"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><li style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Congress has not set aside money to pay military and civil servant pensions or health care for retirees. </span> </li><li style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">These unfunded obligations have increased an average of $300 billion a year since 2003 and now stand at $5.3 trillion.</span></li></span></ul> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">The 12 percent rise in red ink in 2008 stems from an explosion of federal borrowing during the recession, plus an aging population driving up the costs of Medicare and Social Security. That's the biggest leap in the long-term burden on taxpayers since a Medicare prescription drug benefit was added in 2003. The latest increase raises federal obligations to a record $546,668 per household in 2008. That's quadruple what the average U.S. household owes for all mortgages, car loans, credit cards and other debt combined.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">"We have a huge implicit mortgage on every household in America -- except, unlike a real mortgage, it's not backed up by a house," says David Walker, former U.S. comptroller general, the government's top auditor.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Source: Dennis Cauchon, "Leap in U.S. debt hits taxpayers with 12% more red ink," USA Today, May 29, 2009.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">For full text of article:</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:8;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-05-28-debt_N.htm"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-family:Times New Roman;" >http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-05-28-debt_N.htm</span></a><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;color:-moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext;"> <p style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p></div> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 31.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style="">8.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" > </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" >CA proposes 47% of the total states’ tax/fee increases this year<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;">RIDER COMMENT: New unpleasant factoid for my continuously updated "Breaking Bad" document.<span style=""> </span>You’ll find my updated article, suitable for framing (or forwarding), later in this rant.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><i style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10;" >To offset lower state revenues, 29 states are proposing 2009 state tax and fee increases totaling $24 billion.<span style=""> </span>California, with 12% of the nation’s population, is proposing 47% of that increase (6/5/09).<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/04/news/economy/states_budget_crises/index.htm"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:7;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/04/news/economy/states_budget_crises/index.htm</span></span></a></span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;color:-moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext;"> <p style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p></div> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 31.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style="">9.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" > </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" >Government allocating water usage has failed California<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>Our California water “shortage” is really a water MISALLOCATION problem, caused by a commodity doled out by POLITICAL criteria rather than economic criteria.<span style=""> </span>Central planning doesn’t work.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">It results in the madness of growing rice in the Sacramento Delta.<span style=""> </span>We grow the wrong crops in CA (such as alfalfa) due to artificially low water prices to farmers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">Sacramento homes STILL don’t pay for water usage by volume – they have been paying a low flat fee, and then are free to use as much water as they want. <span style=""> </span>Madness!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">In the early 1990’s the state passed a law that homes were REQURED to have water meters installed.<span style=""> </span>Sacramento homeowners and their water district followed the law to the letter – installing the required meters. <span style=""> </span>But they never ACTIVATED the meters – they still pay a flat rate for water (last time I checked).<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">Here’s a synopsis of an article about private water allocation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.ncpa.org/pub/ba659"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">http://www.ncpa.org/pub/ba659</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;color:-moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext;"> <p style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p></div> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 31.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style="">10.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" > </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" >Ignore Big Business calls for higher taxes – even THEY don’t believe it’s a good idea<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>For taxpayers, Big Business is too often our second biggest taxpayer opponent – after the public employee labor unions.<span style=""> </span>Sad but true.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">But MOST businesses benefit from lower taxes.<span style=""> </span>Sadly, big business lobbying groups such as the California Taxpayers Association too frequently are playing footsie with the politicians, trying to curry favor to curb business regulation. <span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">Bottom line:<span style=""> </span>Ignore any call by Big Business for tax increases.<span style=""> </span>Even THEY know it’s a bad idea (except for the government contracting firms who profit mightily from such spending increases).<span style=""> </span>Here’s a good article discussing this:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.flashreport.org/featured-columns-library0b.php?faID=2009060110504906"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">http://www.flashreport.org/featured-columns-library0b.php?faID=2009060110504906</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <h3 style="margin: 12pt 0in 3pt;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Cambria;">DEFEAT OF PROP 1A IS A WIN FOR BUSINESS</span></span></h3> <h4 style="margin: 12pt 0in 3pt;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style=";font-family:Calibri;font-size:180%;" >Jon Coupal, President, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association</span></span></h4> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">June 1, 2009</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><br /><span style="font-family:Calibri;">The phrase “feeding the alligators” is a metaphor about the dangers of appeasement. One may be able to buy temporary peace by feeding a threatening alligator, but the problem is that the alligator will, sooner or later, get hungry again. And because it was previously fed, it is now larger and more dangerous. <br /><br />Regrettably, the California business community has often chosen to feed the ever growing alligator of government when it comes to important political battles. Thirty-one years ago, California business interests were united in their opposition to Proposition 13 due to fear that if homeowners received tax relief, the Legislature would try to make up the difference by raising levies on them. For short term protection for themselves, business was willing to feed average taxpayers and homeowners to the alligator.<br /><br />The more things change, the more they remain the same. More than three decades after the passage of Proposition 13, these same interests were donating millions of dollars to the campaign to pass Proposition 1A, which would have meant a tax increase of $16 billion of mostly regressive taxation falling on regular folks. Why? Gary Toebben, chief executive of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, summed it up best. “We’re concerned that if this doesn’t pass, the Legislature will come back and pass taxes that are more targeted toward business,” he told the <i>Los Angeles Business Journal</i>.<br /><br />One notable business exception in the battle over Proposition 1A was the National Federation of Independent Business, which was strongly opposed. But then this organization represents thousands of smaller businesses that are more in touch with the concerns of most California taxpayers.<br /><br />The divergence between grassroots taxpayer interests and business interests over Proposition 1A is ironic in that, logically, ordinary taxpayers and business should be marching in the same direction. Unlike the labor interests, taxpayers recognize that business provides jobs and income to most in our state. When business succeeds, the state prospers and, as an additional bonus, more tax revenue pours into state coffers to provide essential services.<br /><br />Thinking taxpayers don’t want to see additional burdens on California businesses. They know that increased business costs are eventually passed along to consumers or result in lower wages and benefits. Average taxpayers are usually sympathetic to the “job killer” arguments frequently advanced by California business organizations.<br /><br />Several recent surveys rate California is 47th out of 50 – or lower – in business climate. We understand that most business must compete nationally and even internationally, and increases in taxes on business will only accelerate the exodus of business that have come to the conclusion that they must find a more tax friendly environment or close their doors. Any doubts that this threat is genuine are dispelled by almost daily news reports. For example, the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. has been advertising in California touting the tax advantages of moving to their state. Already Hewlett-Packard has agreed to build a $260 million dollar data center in Colorado, as the company prepares to shut down its Palo Alto customer support office that employs 800 people.<br /><br />Despite the usual lack of reciprocity, taxpayers have long history of defending business. When in past years radical tax raisers have pushed splitting the property tax roll so that owners of commercial property would pay higher tax rates, most taxpayers said no.<br /><br />But here is the real irony. Had Proposition 1A passed, the left of center labor interests would have argued compellingly that Californians don’t mind additional taxes. And, like a larger and hungrier alligator, these powerful interests would be back with a serious push for a split roll, an oil severance tax, a nickel a drink tax and a myriad of business targeted taxes, fees, charges and assessments.<br /><br />Make no mistake, these labor interests will still make a push for these proposals, but their internal political calculus has been severely altered. Like Governor Schwarzenegger, they too have come to understand that any tax or fee increase is radioactive.<br /><br />It is the hope of conservatives and grassroots taxpayer advocates that the business community has learned something from this. It is time that all those who believe in free enterprise and limited government stand shoulder to shoulder and stare down the alligator. <span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;color:-moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext;"> <p style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p></div> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 31.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style="">11.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" > </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" >World is globally warming.<span style=""> </span>No . . . wait . . . .<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>Here’s my global warming skeptic selection for this rant.<span style=""> </span>Remain skeptical. And remember, follow the money.<span style=""> </span>Grants go to those who foresee the biggest global “climate change” calamities.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.ocregister.com/articles/temperature-stations-global-2433763-heat-watts#slComments"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">http://www.ocregister.com/articles/temperature-stations-global-2433763-heat-watts#slComments</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:16;" >ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Monday, June 1, 2009</span></span></p> <h1 style="margin: 12pt 0in 3pt;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style=";font-family:Cambria;font-size:180%;" >Editorial: Cooling down with global-warming data</span></span></h1> <h2 style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">U.S. and world temperature records are compromised by monitoring station errors.</span></span></h2> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="font-family:Calibri;">An Orange County Register editorial<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">If fighting global warming may cost the economy $9.6 trillion and more than 1 million lost jobs by 2035, as the Heritage Foundation forecasts, it'd be a good idea to be sure there's a sound basis before making such a massive sacrifice.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">We've noted before that climate change is occurring as it always has, but the claim that man-made greenhouse gases will cause catastrophic temperature increases is based on questionable science and projections. Man's contribution to greenhouse gases is minuscule. There are some theories but no convincing proof that increased emissions cause increased temperature.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Now another serious doubt has been raised concerning how much of the 1-degree centigrade increase over the past century allegedly caused by escalating emissions has even occurred.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">"We can't know for sure if global warming is a problem if we can't trust the data," said Anthony Watts, veteran broadcast meteorologist, who for three years organized an extensive review of official ground temperature monitoring stations, in conjunction with Dr. Roger Pielke Sr., senior research scientist at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences and professor emeritus of the Department of Atmospheric Science at the University of Colorado.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">The study, recently published by the free-market Heartland Institute, inspected 860 of the 1,221 U.S. ground stations that gauge temperature changes. The findings were alarming.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">They found 89 percent of stations "fail to meet the National Weather Service's own siting requirements" that say stations must be located at least 100 feet from artificial heat sources.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">"We found stations located next to the exhaust fans of air conditioning units, surrounded by asphalt parking lots and roads, on blistering hot rooftops and near sidewalks and buildings that absorb and radiate heat," Mr. Watts reported.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Many stations also had added more sensitive measuring devices, heat-generating radio transmission devices and even latex paint to replace original whitewash, resulting in greater heat retention and reflection.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">At one location, Mr. Watts said when he "stood next to the temperature sensor, I could feel warm exhaust air from the nearby cell phone tower equipment sheds blowing past me! I realized this official thermometer was recording the temperature of a hot zone . . . and other biasing influences including buildings, air conditioner vents and masonry."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">These influences produce readings higher than actual ambient temperatures, Mr. Watts said. Moreover, the research revealed "major gaps in the data record that were filled in with data from nearby sites, a practice that propagates and compounds errors."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">These inflated, error-prone, tinkered-with temperature recordings are one of several measurements cited by the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as evidence man-made global warming is a threat. But the Heartland study concluded, "The U.S. temperature record is unreliable. And since the U.S. record is thought to be 'the best in the world,' it follows that the global database is likely similarly compromised and unreliable."</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Before devastating the economy to fix a problem that may not exist, we ought to get the numbers right.</span></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;color:-moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext;"> <p style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p></div> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 31.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style="">12.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" > </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" >Firefighters push local tax increases, but seldom have to pay them<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>One factor seldom mentioned is that most firefighters don't LIVE in the city that employs them.<span style=""> </span>That's because swapped shifts (working two-three days in a row) they commute to work only 5-8 times a month.<span style=""> </span>Hence they can afford to live a LOT further away from their job than most people, getting more bang for their mortgage with bigger homes in more rural areas.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">Not only do most San Diego urban union firefighters not live in the TOWN that employs them -- many do not live in the same COUNTY.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">Why is that important?<span style=""> </span>Three reasons come to mind:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">A. Firefighters campaign relentlessly for tax increases to pay them higher salaries and bigger pensions.<span style=""> </span>But they and their families often don't PAY the taxes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">B.<span style=""> </span>Their salaries and pensions depart the paying jurisdiction to be spent elsewhere -- made all the more worse if you use the economists' pet "multiplier" effect as a negative impact.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">C.<span style=""> </span>By living further away from their employer, off-duty firefighter response times to emergency recalls are too often abysmal.<span style=""> </span>In our two brush fires this decade, sometimes a four man truck could not deploy in a timely manner -- waiting until the last of the four firefighters showed up.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">I’m told that the majority of Poway firefighters don’t live in the COUNTY.<span style=""> </span>In La Mesa and National City where sales tax increases were successfully pushed by firefighters, over 85% of those cities’ firefighters live outside the city.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">Many San Diego area firefighters live in Temecula and other locations in counties north of us.<span style=""> </span>If there is a fire or earthquake disaster and I-5 and/or I-15 are closed, the delayed recall of these firefighters could have disastrous consequences.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;color:-moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext;"> <p style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p></div> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 31.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style="">13.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" > </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" >Final proof that public employee pensions are too high – and the opposition knows it<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>How do you know that California pensions are too high?<span style=""> </span>I mean really, REALLY too high?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">Answer:<span style=""> </span>When the SACRAMENTO BEE – a liberal paper that toadies up to the mass of government employees in its readership market – finally puts out an editorial ripping politicians for the fabulous pensions paid to government employees. <span style=""> </span>And when other SAC BEE columnists, long accustomed to defending Big Government, change their tune and seriously question the government employee compensation packages.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;">There’s been some excellent SAC BEE pieces on this, if I do say so.<span style=""> </span>Way too late, of course, but let’s not be overly critical here.<span style=""> </span>Unfortunately I can’t find them for you to view, but the truth is, by now you’ve heard it all before.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">For me, the most interesting aspect is the “comments” section where readers respond.<span style=""> </span>When an article is even mildly critical or even skeptical about government worker whining, within 24-36 hours there are 400 to 700 comments.<span style=""> </span>It’s an amazing, MASSIVE response.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">But when you read the responses, it quickly becomes clear that over 80% of the commenters are state government workers.<span style=""> </span>They bury the pro-taxpayer responders in insults, lies and general whining.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">Obviously the state employees have developed an electronic call to arms that goes out to their troops.<span style=""> </span>It is DEFINITELY orchestrated.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">Even more interesting is WHEN these government workers get on the Internet and blog away with their comments.<span style=""> </span>You guessed it – most do it from work doing the day.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">Oddly enough, when I comment – pointing out this fact that I’m paying for their commenting – <span style=""> </span>the excitement level rises on the other side.<span style=""> </span>Then I point out that we can indeed cut legions of government employees, since so many have nothing better to do than surf the Internet while on the clock.<span style=""> </span>THAT sure doesn’t go over well!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">With luck, my inflammatory posts are bringing the state bureaucracy to a near standstill, as the drones rage online in response.<span style=""> </span>Method in my madness, there is.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;color:-moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext;"> <p style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p></div> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 31.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style="">14.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" > </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" >Here’s my latest, updated “Breaking Bad” report<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>Share this with other Californians.<span style=""> </span>Often.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">Remember, I try to keep the latest version posted on my blog site:<span style=""> </span></span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.richardriderrant.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">www.RichardRiderRant.blogspot.com</span></a></span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:20;" >Breaking Bad:<span style=""> </span>California vs. the Other States</span></b><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:14;" ><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:14;" ><span style="font-family:Calibri;">by Richard Rider, Chairman, San Diego Tax Fighters<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:10;" ><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Version 1.43<span style=""> </span>Revised 5 June, 2009<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Phone: 858-530-3027<span style=""> </span>RRider@san.rr.com<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:14;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a name="_Hlk225602878"></a><a name="_Hlk225767259"><span style=""><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" >Here’s a depressing comparison of California taxes and economic climate with the rest of the states.<span style=""> </span>The news is breaking bad, and getting worse:</span></b></span></a><span style=""><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10;" ><br /><br /><a name="_Hlk225602954">California has the 2<u><sup>nd</sup></u> highest state income tax in the nation.<span style=""> </span>9.55% at $48,000.<span style=""> </span>10.55% at $1,000,000<o:p></o:p></a></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">By far the highest state sales tax in the nation.<span style=""> </span>8.25% (not counting local sales taxes)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">Highest state car tax in the nation – at least <u>double</u> any other state.<span style=""> </span>1.15% per year on value of vehicle.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">Corporate income tax rate is the highest in the West.<span style=""> </span>8.84%<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">2009 Business Tax Climate ranks 48<u><sup>th</sup></u> in the nation.<br /></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a name="_Hlk225220158"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></a><a href="http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/topic/15.html"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" >http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/topic/15.html</span></span></span></span></span><span style=""></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style=";font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style=";font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">Fourth highest capital gains tax<span style=""> </span>9.55%<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.thereibrain.com/realestate-blog/capital-gains-tax-rates-state-by-state/109/"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style=";font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" >http://www.thereibrain.com/realestate-blog/capital-gains-tax-rates-state-by-state/109/</span></span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style=";font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">Second highest gasoline tax (58.3 cents) in the nation (April, 2009).<span style=""> </span>When gas is $3.00+/gallon, we are numero uno – because unlike many states, we charge sales tax on gasoline purchases (built into the price).<br /></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a name="_Hlk225228093"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></a><a href="http://www.api.org/statistics/fueltaxes/"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" >http://www.api.org/statistics/fueltaxes/</span></span></span></span></span><span style=""></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">Fifth highest unemployment rate in the nation.<span style=""> </span>(April, 2009)<span style=""> </span>11.0%<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.bls.gov/news.release/laus.nr0.htm"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" >http://www.bls.gov/news.release/laus.nr0.htm</span></span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style=""> </span></span></span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></span></span></span></p><span style=""></span> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a name="_Hlk225603240"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10;" >California’s 2009 “Tax Freedom Day” (the day the average taxpayer stops working for government and start working for oneself) is again the fourth worst date in the nation – up from 28<u><sup>th</sup></u> worst in 1994.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></a></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/387.html"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" >http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/387.html</span></span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></span></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">To offset lower state revenues, 29 states are proposing 2009 state tax and fee increases totaling $24 billion.<span style=""> </span>California, with 12% of the nation’s population, is proposing 47% of that increase (6/5/09).<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></p><span style=""></span> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style=""></span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/04/news/economy/states_budget_crises/index.htm"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" >http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/04/news/economy/states_budget_crises/index.htm</span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a name="_Hlk225767372"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10;" >1 in 5 in LA County receiving public aid.<br /></span></a></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-welfare22-2009feb22,0,4377048.story"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" >http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-welfare22-2009feb22,0,4377048.story</span></span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">California prison guards highest paid in the nation.<br /></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.caltax.org/caltaxletter/2008/101708_fraud1.htm"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" >http://www.caltax.org/caltaxletter/2008/101708_fraud1.htm</span></span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">California teachers easily the highest paid in the nation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.nea.org/home/29402.htm"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" >http://www.nea.org/home/29402.htm</span></span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style=""> </span></span></span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10;" >(CA has the second lowest student test scores)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></span></span></span></p><span style=""></span> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">California now has the lowest bond ratings of any state, edging out Louisiana.</span></span></span></span><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10;" ><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/19/BA7F16JLKH.DTL"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" >http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/19/BA7F16JLKH.DTL</span></span><span style=""></span></span></a><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">California ranks 44<u><sup>th</sup></u> worst in “2008 lawsuit climate.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.instituteforlegalreform.com/component/ilr_featured_tools/29/item/LAI/19.html"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" >http://www.instituteforlegalreform.com/component/ilr_featured_tools/29/item/LAI/19.html</span></span><span style=""></span></span></a><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">In 2005 (latest figures), for every dollar Californians sent to D.C. in taxes, we got back 78 cents – 43<u><sup>rd</sup></u> worst.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/show/22685.html"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" >http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/show/22685.html</span></span><span style=""></span></span></a><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">America’s top CEO’s rank California “the worst place in which to do business” for the fourth straight year (3/2009).<span style=""> </span>But here’s the interesting part – they think California is a great state to live (primarily for the great climate) – they just won’t bring their businesses here because of the oppressive tax and regulatory climate.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">Consider this quote from the survey (a conclusion reflected in the rankings of the characteristics of the state):<span style=""> </span><i style="">“California has huge advantages with its size, quality of work force, particularly in high tech, as well as the quality of life and climate advantages of the state. However, it is an absolute regulatory and tax disaster.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://tinyurl.com/cyvufy"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" >http://tinyurl.com/cyvufy</span></span><span style=""></span></span></a><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">California, a destitute state, still gives away college education at fire sale prices.<span style=""> </span>Our community college tuition is by far the lowest in the nation.<span style=""> </span>How low?<span style=""> </span>Nationwide, the average community college tuition is 4.5 times higher than California CC’s.<span style=""> </span>This ridiculously low tuition devalues education to students – resulting in a 30+% drop rate for class completion.<span style=""> </span>In addition, many California CC students fill out a simple form that exempts them from ANY tuition payment at all.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/capitolalertlatest/020722.html"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" >http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/capitolalertlatest/020722.html</span></span><span style=""></span></span></a><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">On top of that, California offers thousands of absolutely free adult continuing education classes – a sop to the upper middle class.<span style=""> </span>In San Diego, over 1,400 classes for everything from baking pastries to ballroom dancing are offered totally at taxpayer expense.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.sdce.edu/"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" >http://www.sdce.edu</span></span><span style=""></span></span></a><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">California residential electricity costs an average of 28.7% more than the national average.<span style=""> </span>For industrial use, CA electricity is 48.6% higher than the national average (11/08).<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/table5_6_a.html"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" >http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/table5_6_a.html</span></span><span style=""></span></span></a><span style=""></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">It costs 38% more to build solar panels in California than in Tennessee – which is why European corporations have invested $2.3 billion in two Tennessee manufacturing plants to build solar panels for our state.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.foxandhoundsdaily.com/blog/jack-stewart/more-solar-companies-producing-elsewhere-sell-california"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" >http://www.foxandhoundsdaily.com/blog/jack-stewart/more-solar-companies-producing-elsewhere-sell-california</span></span><span style=""></span></span></a><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">Consider California’s net <u>domestic</u> migration (migration between states).<span style=""> </span>From April, 2000 through June, 2008 (8 years, 2 months) California has <u>lost</u> a NET 1.4 million people.<span style=""> </span>The departures slowed this past year only because people couldn’t sell their homes.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.mdp.state.md.us/msdc/Pop_estimate/Estimate_08/table5.pdf"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" >http://www.mdp.state.md.us/msdc/Pop_estimate/Estimate_08/table5.pdf</span></span><span style=""></span></span></a><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">These are not welfare kings and queens departing.<span style=""> </span>They are the young, the educated, the productive, the ambitious, the wealthy (such as Tiger Woods), and retirees seeking to make their pensions provide more bang for the buck. The irony is that a disproportionate number of these seniors are retired state and local government employees fleeing the state that provides them with their opulent pensions – in order to avoid the high taxes that these same employees pushed so hard through their unions.</span></span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" >As taxes rise and jobs disappear, we lose our tax base, continuing California’s state and local fiscal death spiral.<span style=""> </span>This spiral must stop NOW.<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b><span style="font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b><i style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10;" >NOTE:<span style=""> </span>If you would like to receive my <u>free</u> periodic “Richard Rider Rant” e-newsletter with more of this type of information and analysis, just drop me an email at </span></i></b><a href="mailto:RRider@san.rr.com"><b><i style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">RRider@san.rr.com</span></span></i></b></a><b><i style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10;" >.<span style=""> </span>To see the latest version of this “Breaking Bad” column, plus samples of my free “Richard Rider Rant” e-newsletter, go to my blog at </span></i></b><a href="http://www.richardriderrant.blogspot.com/"><b><i style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">http://www.RichardRiderRant.blogspot.com/</span></span></i></b></a><b><i style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" >.</span></i></b><b><i style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10;" ><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;color:-moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext;"> <p style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p></div> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <h3 style="margin: 12pt 0in 3pt 31.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;">15.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" > </span></span></span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">A perfect example of what would happen in California without two-thirds rule on taxes, budget<o:p></o:p></span></span></h3> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></span></o:p></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>The U-T’s Chris Reed has done it again.<span style=""> </span>Here’s a wonderful (well, horrible) example of how our liberal sister state New York fares – with no 2/3 vote restrictions on raising taxes and spending money.<br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://weblog.signonsandiego.com/weblogs/afb/archives/034073.html"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">http://weblog.signonsandiego.com/weblogs/afb/archives/034073.html</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Imagine there was another high-tax large state with a majority Democratic Legislature in which heavily gerrymandered election districts kept incumbents in power no matter how poorly the state was run and where the gerrymander ensured disproportionate influence for public employee unions. This state, like California, also had highly volatile revenue because of a reliance on income and capital gains taxes and a habit of spending the windfall in boom years. In this state, however, unlike California, taxes and budgets could be approved on a simple majority vote.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">You don't have to imagine this state. It's real. It's New York. And guess how N.Y. lawmakers dealt with their budget crisis for their 2009-10 fiscal year, which started April 1?</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.budget.state.ny.us/budgetFP/0910summary/0910enacted_summary2.html" target="new"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-family:Times New Roman;" >They increased spending by $10 billion</span></a><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">! By 8 percent! How did they fund this? Partly with federal aid, but mostly with $8.3 billion from two dozen increases in taxes, fees, surcharges and assessments.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Income taxes were raised on the rich. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">A popular state program providing rebates of $200 to $900 to homeowners on their school property taxes was eliminated. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">An extra 1 percent tax was added on utility bills.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">New taxes were imposed on HMOs and health and auto insurance.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">The fee the state charges retailers to sell tobacco was increased by ten-fold or more, depending on the size of the business.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">The excise tax on beer and wine went from 11 cents to 14 cents per gallon.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">A 5-cent-per-bottle deposit was put on plastic water bottles.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Fees to register cars and boats and to get a driver's, hunting or fishing license all went up.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">There are more, but the point is obvious. Taxes and taxes disguised as fees were raised with reckless zest -- even in the middle of a deep recession. Even as state unemployment soared. Even as budget analysts decried gimmicks, unaddressed structural problems and such outrages as including $170 million for lawmakers' pork earmarks. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">But what a minute -- didn't Gov. David Paterson describe the budget as a tough spending plan that made difficult choices and required "shared sacrifice"? Sure he did. That's why he announced plans for 8,500 layoffs in March. How many state employees has he actually laid off nearly three months later? Zero.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Here's the analysis of George J. Marlin, a veteran New York journalist and author of two books about the state's politics:</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><em><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">The governor's claim that there is "shared sacrifice" is ludicrous. While public employees in California, Ohio, Vermont, Delaware and other states are accepting wage cuts, raise freezes and furloughs, no such sacrifices are being made by New York state employees. Paterson not only gave large raises to his staff, there's a $145 million reserve in the budget to pay retroactive salary increases to unionized workers negotiating contracts with the state. Medicaid - which funds the health care unions and costs more per capita than the combined expenditures of America's three largest states, California, Texas and Florida - is slated to grow 7 percent to $48 billion, a $3 billion increase. Most state employees and their departments are not affected by this fiscal crisis. In fact, most will see increased spending.</span></em></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">And THIS is what "good government" groups want California to become by eliminating the two-thirds hurdle on tax hikes and budget approval? That's truly, utterly, completely mind-boggling. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Thank God for the two-thirds rule. Or thank Buddha. Or Oprah. Or Kobe. Whomever you worship. The two-thirds rule is the thin blue line protecting California from ruination.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a name="more"></a><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span class="posted">Posted by <b>Chris Reed</b> at June 4, 2009 11:48 AM</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;color:-moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext;"> <p style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p></div> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 31.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style="">16.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" > </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" >Tax Foundation compares CA to national average from 1977 through 2008<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>Here’s an excellent chart comparing the historical state and local taxation of Californians from 1977 (the year BEFORE Prop 13 took effect) through 2008.<span style=""> </span>It compares us with the national average in both income and taxation.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">By every standard, we are a high tax state, and have moved back up the list since Prop 13 passed – providing temporary relief.<span style=""> </span>While Californians’ income is above the national average, our percent paid for taxes is even higher, as a percent of income.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:8;" ><a href="http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/printer/443.html"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/printer/443.html</span></a></span></b><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;color:-moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext;"> <p style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p></div> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 31.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style="">17.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" > </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style=""> </span>Tipping, minimum wage and the resulting misallocation of resources<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <h1 style="margin: 12pt 0in 3pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-weight: normal;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>In my ongoing effort to eventually piss off everybody, here’s my outing of the tipping racquet in California.</span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p></o:p></span></h1> <h1 style="margin: 12pt 0in 3pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-weight: normal;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE columnist Michael Stetz writes well, with insight and humor – even when I disagree with him.<span style=""> </span>Recently he had a pretty good column on tipping – </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">“</span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Cambria;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" >Here's a tip, or maybe not – it all depends.”<span style=""> </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%; font-weight: normal;font-size:12;" ><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></h1> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:8;" ><a href="http://tinyurl.com/q4k2dr"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-family:Calibri;" >http://tinyurl.com/q4k2dr</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">I was inspired to waste some time posting three comments online with his article.<span style=""> </span>Realizing my mistake, I did some “cut and paste” below to waste YOUR time.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">Still, you might find my ruminations interesting.<span style=""> </span>And yes, is it partly political.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;">***<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Times New Roman','serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">RIDER:<span style=""> </span>The story includes an error common in such stories about tipping in California. Stetz asserts in passing that "waiters and waitresses . . . work below the traditional minimum wage because tips are an assumed supplement."<br /><br />True in many states, which have lower minimum wage for such tip-oriented jobs. Not true in CA.<br /><br />Waiters, valets and indeed any hourly employee in CA is paid at least the full CA $8 minimum wage -- plus tips (if any). This results in CA having some of the brightest, most over-educated waiters in the world.<br /><br />It is very common for such workers to make a total of $15-$20 an hour -- and more. Plus they "get paid" daily, and they usually forget to report the full amount of the tips for tax purposes.<br /><br />Our ill-advised minimum wage policy results in what economists coldly call a "misallocation of resources." Educated, intelligent people are performing menial work, wasting their talents doing work best left to less over-qualified workers (who indeed need the work just as badly). The productivity of America suffers as a result.<br /><br />I've seen young dentists forgo starting their profession to remain as bartenders -- making hundreds of dollars per night. [Why a dentist would prefer serving drinks over working inside people’s mouths – inflicting pain and earning hatred – is a mystery to me.]<span style=""> </span>Throughout CA, there are talented people wasting their abilities waiting on tables, parking cars and doing other work best left to others.<br /><br />Few of us have the courage to tip really low to reflect this economic windfall -- and to encourage our talented tipees to find more productive work. But at the very least, don't over-tip.<br /><br />Note to restaurant workers – ignore my comment’s accompanying photo. <span style=""> </span>I'll be in disguise when next I eat out.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""> </span>***<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Times New Roman','serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">A couple other points:<br /><br /><span style=""> </span>- 1. Watch your bill. Some restaurants do not highlight the included gratuity when charged. Too many people tip on an already tipped bill. And the waiters too often fail to point out the duplication.<br /><br /><span style=""> </span>- 2. Don’t tip on the full bill – the part called “sales tax.” The sales tax has nothing to do with the restaurant’s product or service. With the sales tax, we are being “serviced” by the state – like cows being serviced by the local bull.<br /><br />We’ve actually put waiters, waitresses and busboys in a position where they profit from higher sales taxes – which results in higher tips from most patrons. We’ve already got all the government workers voting for higher sales taxes – let’s not add the legions of restaurant staff to the “raise taxes” side.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;">***<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:'Times New Roman','serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">One other thought (just in case I haven't yet made an enemy out of ALL food service people).<br /><br />The generous state of California provides a full minimum wage floor for folks who normally make their living off of tips. Naturally that wage is cranked into the price of the meal. Then we pay a tip on that inflated meal price. In essence, we pay a tip on the hidden extra wage.<br /><br />'Vat a country!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;color:-moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext;"> <p style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; padding: 0in; line-height: normal;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:'Times New Roman','serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p></div> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:'Times New Roman','serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 31.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style="">18.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" > </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" >Solar electric finally makes sense – at taxpayer expense<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>I’ll have more on this later, but thought I should get the word out quickly since the state tax rebate will drop to a lower level in a month or less.<span style=""> </span>Bottom line:<span style=""> </span>If you are looking for a good investment with a great after tax return, look closely at residential solar.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">Between the federal and state governments’ ill-advised rebates, the cost of such a system is cut almost in half (at this point in time).<span style=""> </span>Solar electricity can make marginal sense without the rebates in a few instances, but is a terrific deal for many with the rebates.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">Now, let’s be clear.<span style=""> </span>The government should not offer the rebates.<span style=""> </span>Even if they do offer rebates, they should not offer the AMOUNT of these piggybacking rebates, which are far in excess of the amount needed to make solar make economic sense.<span style=""> </span>That said (wearing my financial planner hat), as a consumer and taxpayer, you might profit mightily from this giveaway.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">But solar electricity definitely is not right for everyone.<span style=""> </span>Most important is your electrical bill. If you don’t run a big bill, it doesn’t make sense.<span style=""> </span>By that I mean that you don’t (under SDG&E’s rate structure) go much over “tier 1” and “tier 2” pricing, don’t consider solar.<span style=""> </span>But if you are up in tier 3 and tier 4 usage, it makes sense. <span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">Tier 1 and 2 total pricing (not easy to figure from the bill) runs about 15 cents per KwH.<span style=""> </span>Tier 3 an 4 pricing has shot up to about 33 cents per KwH.<span style=""> </span>The trick is to put in a big enough system to slice off those two upper tiers, while still paying the modest tier 1 and 2 bill.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">You need a space to mount the solar panels (usually the roof).<span style=""> </span>It must be unshaded almost all the time to make sense.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">BTW, solar makes little sense for most condo owners.<span style=""> </span>Condos don’t generate the electric bills of detached homes.<span style=""> </span>Each condo gets its own cheap tier 1 and tier 2 pricing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">The other thing is you need to be a significant federal taxpayer.<span style=""> </span>The state rebate comes directly to you in the form of a lower system price, while the federal rebate must come off your income tax bill.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">I’m a big electric user and generous, grateful taxpayer, so the math works for me.<span style=""> </span>Looks like I’m going to put in a system, if all goes well. <span style=""> </span>Indeed, I hope to sign the papers today before I leave for . . . <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;color:-moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext;"> <p style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p></div> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 31.5pt; text-indent: -0.25in;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" ><span style="">19.<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:7;" > </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:14;" >Rider heading to Baltic Sea to save Europeans from themselves<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family:Arial;">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>Actually, that’s a lost cause.<span style=""> </span>So I’ll just cruise around the Baltic with all the other American public servant retirees enjoying our pensions (in my case, my wife’s teacher pension), visiting ports, observing the decline of Western civilization, and perhaps glimpsing our future.<span style=""> </span>Back on June 23<sup>rd</sup>.<span style=""> </span>My son and his friend will man the home fort, but are totally unresponsive to political queries.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span></div> <div><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span> </div>Richard Rider, Chair, San Diego Tax Fightershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259117224037487367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972576313341501285.post-65154413965696425622009-05-24T13:54:00.000-07:002009-05-24T13:56:17.559-07:00Richard Rider Rant 5/23/09<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><link rel="File-List" 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5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";} </style> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:shapedefaults ext="edit" spidmax="1026"> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:shapelayout ext="edit"> <o:idmap ext="edit" data="1"> </o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">RICHARD RIDER RANT<span style=""> </span>5/23/09<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><i style="">“I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.”</i></b>
<br />—Winston Churchill</p> <ol style="margin-top: 0in;" start="1" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Rider radio guest gigs now on Internet</span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt;">High state/local taxes = low economic growth</span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Chula Vista sales tax defeat foretold Prop 1A-1E result<o:p></o:p></span></b></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Gringos gunrunning for Mexican Mafia?<o:p></o:p></span></b></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Actuaries perhaps biggest crooks in America</span><o:p></o:p></b></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; color: black;">The economy is so bad...</span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Some state government mandates price health insurance out of reach</span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">California public college tuition is FAR too low<o:p></o:p></span></b></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Latest “Breaking Bad” article on California vs. other states<o:p></o:p></span></b></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>John Murtha Airport a stunning monument to earmark waste<o:p></o:p></span></b></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style=""> </span></span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Cohen cons complicit comrades in media</span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></li></ol> <p style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style="">12.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style=""> </span>Rider interviews lurk on KUSI TV news website<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style="">13.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style=""> </span>More Rider lurking on KUSI<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style="">14.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style=""> </span>Soak the rich, lose the rich<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style="">15.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style=""> </span>Rich team owner flees his state – verifies he left because of high taxes<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style="">16.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style=""> </span>Proof that Prop 13 did not erode California property tax revenue<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style="">17.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style=""> </span>You SHOULD have invested in rich credit card companies – or not</span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <ol style="margin-top: 0in;" start="1" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style=""><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>Rider radio guest gigs now on Internet<o:p></o:p></span></b></li></ol> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>As you may recall, I’ve subbed a couple times on KCBQ for talk show hosts Rick Amato and Jesse Lipscomb.<span style=""> </span>Always a kick to do so.<span style=""> </span>Many thanks to both hosts for the gigs.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">If you want to listen to a show, the links below can be used.<span style=""> </span>Once you click the link, you’ll have to scroll down to the date to find the specific show.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">RICK AMATO SHOW<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.amatotalk.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=0&Itemid=138">http://www.amatotalk.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=0&Itemid=138</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; display: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <table class="MsoNormalTable" style="width: 100%;" border="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr style=""> <td colspan="3" style="padding: 0.75pt;" valign="top"> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Monday, 04 May 2009 <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td colspan="3" style="padding: 0.75pt;" valign="top"> <p><i style=""><a href="http://www.amatotalk.com/podcasts/AMATO-05-04-09-HR1.mp3">Listen Now!</a> <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p><i style="">Hour 1: <u>Guest Host</u> - <strong>Richard Rider</strong>, <u>Guest</u> - Former San Diego City Councilman <strong>Fred Schnaubelt</strong>.<span style=""> </span>Range of issues discussed.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="padding: 0in; width: 98.74%;" valign="top" width="98%"> <table class="MsoNormalTable" style="" border="0" cellpadding="0"> <tbody><tr style=""> <td style="padding: 0.75pt; width: 100%;" width="100%"></td> <td style="padding: 0.75pt; width: 100%;" width="100%"></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; display: none;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p> <table class="MsoNormalTable" style="" border="0" cellpadding="0"> <tbody><tr style=""> <td style="padding: 0.75pt;" valign="top"> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Monday, 04 May 2009 <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> </td> </tr> <tr style=""> <td style="padding: 0.75pt;" valign="top"> <p><i style=""><a href="http://www.amatotalk.com/podcasts/AMATO-05-04-09-HR2.mp3">Listen Now!</a> <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p><i style="">Hour 2: <u>Guest Host</u> - <b>Richard Rider</b>, <u>Guest</u> - <b>Vicki Murrey</b> Ph.D from the Pacific Research Institute. <span style=""> </span>Education is the topic of the hour.<o:p></o:p></i></p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <!--[if !supportMisalignedColumns]--> <tr height="0"> <td style="border: medium none ;" width="3"></td> <td style="border: medium none ;" width="742"></td> <td style="border: medium none ;" width="3"></td> </tr> <!--[endif]--> </tbody></table> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> </div> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ol style="margin-top: 0in;" start="2" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style=""><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>High state/local taxes = low economic growth<o:p></o:p></span></b></li></ol> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>Aside from high taxes being bad for one’s health, it also has a detrimental effect on the economy.<span style=""> </span>But it’s good to actually document that fact.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Here’s a great study that clearly demonstrates the INVERSE correlation between high taxes and economic prosperity.<span style=""> </span>If you can’t see the chart, go to the link.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><a href="http://tinyurl.com/d2n9xc">http://tinyurl.com/d2n9xc</a><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" spt="75" preferrelative="t" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"> </v:formulas> <v:path extrusionok="f" gradientshapeok="t" connecttype="rect"> <o:lock ext="edit" aspectratio="t"> </v:shapetype><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_1" spid="_x0000_i1025" type="#_x0000_t75" style="'width:468pt;height:312.75pt;visibility:visible'"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\RICHAR~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.png" title=""> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><img src="file:///C:/Users/RICHAR%7E1/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image002.jpg" shapes="Picture_x0020_1" border="0" width="624" height="417" /><!--[endif]--></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b><span style="font-size: 20pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: rgb(0, 32, 96);">Clear Negative Relationship Between Local/State Tax Burden and Economic Growth<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book","sans-serif"; color: rgb(0, 32, 96);">Arlington, VA - <i>U.S. metropolitan areas with lower taxes exhibit higher employment growth, faster population growth, and greater increases in real personal income than areas with a higher tax burden, concludes a new study released today by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), an Arlington, Va.-based policy research group. The study, “Higher Taxes, Less Growth,” found that areas with higher taxes had lower employment growth, smaller personal income gains and slower growth of population.
<br /></i>
<br /><i>“These findings are particularly relevant at a time when many states and cities are proposing to raise taxes to address short and long-term budget problems,” said Stuart Anderson, Executive Director of NFAP.</i><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book","sans-serif"; color: rgb(0, 32, 96);">
<br /><i>1. Employment growth between 2000-2006 was 54% higher in the 50 metropolitan areas with the lowest tax burden than in the 50 highest-tax metro areas (measuring the tax burden as state and local taxes as a percent of personal income in 1997 for all 381 metropolitan areas).</i><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book","sans-serif"; color: rgb(0, 32, 96);">
<br /><i>2. Real personal income growth was 80% higher between 2000 and 2006 in the 50 areas with the lowest state and local tax burden (as a percent of personal income in 1997) than in the 50 highest-tax metro areas (see chart above).</i><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book","sans-serif"; color: rgb(0, 32, 96);">
<br /><i>3. In the 50 lowest-tax areas, population growth at 8.6% (between 2000 and 2007) was more than three times higher than in high-tax metro areas (2.6%).</i><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book","sans-serif"; color: rgb(0, 32, 96);">
<br /><b>Conclusion:</b> The results suggest a clear negative relationship between state and local tax burdens and local economic growth.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book","sans-serif"; color: rgb(0, 32, 96);"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book","sans-serif"; color: rgb(0, 32, 96);">HT: Carpe Diem<o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><i><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book","sans-serif"; color: rgb(0, 32, 96);"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p> </div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book","sans-serif"; color: rgb(0, 32, 96);"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book","sans-serif"; color: rgb(0, 32, 96);"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ol style="margin-top: 0in;" start="3" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style=""> </span>Chula Vista sales tax defeat foretold Prop 1A-1E result<o:p></o:p></span></b></li></ol> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; color: rgb(0, 32, 96);"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>The article below ran as a column in the SAN DIEGO DAILY TRANSCRIPT and some online blog services.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book","sans-serif"; color: rgb(0, 32, 96);"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">Chula Vista Sales Tax Defeat Is Great News<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">by Richard Rider<span style=""> </span>Phone 858-530-3027<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">On 5 May, a clear message was sent that voters will no longer obediently approve the politicians’ tax increases.<span style=""> </span>And that’s great news!<span style=""> </span>And indeed, it foretold the outcome of the later statewide special election for the legislators’ props.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Chula Vista city politicians held a special mail ballot election to raise the city sales tax an additional full 1% to 9.75%.<span style=""> </span>In a dramatic turnaround from similar previous city sales tax elections around the county, the Chula Vista city politicos and employee labor unions got their collective keisters kicked, losing the vote by a lopsided two-to-one margin.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">This defeat in the county’s second largest city is all the more impressive because the other side had the public employee manpower and money to win easily – in normal times.<span style=""> </span>But these are no longer normal times.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Many factors came into play:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Perhaps the most important factor was the California statewide “temporary” sales tax increase.<span style=""> </span>Currently the lowest sales tax rate in the county is 8.75%, up 1% from 2 months ago.<span style=""> </span>Contrary to the dismissive “pennies per day” argument from elitist politicians, this super high sales tax is affecting everyone adversely in the teeth of a deep recession.<span style=""> </span>Further sales tax increases are unacceptable to voters.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In a special election, voter turnout will be low.<span style=""> </span>And that’s not necessarily a bad thing when it comes to getting a knowledgeable vote on matters.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Even better, there were no candidates in this election.<span style=""> </span>Many people go to the polls to vote for “their” candidate based on looks, race, gender, political party, religion, “aura,” or whatever turns them on.<span style=""> </span>Then, as an afterthought, such “cheerleader voters” vote on props about which they know little and care less.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">This was a mail ballot election, further reducing the casual voters – but not necessarily reducing voter “turnout.”<span style=""> </span>Over 27% of the electorate voted in this single issue election, which is probably higher than if they had had held the far more expensive precinct poll special election.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The people who voted in this election were interested only in the tax issue (not in candidate horse races) – and were far better informed than those who didn’t vote.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Unlike many such elections, there was significant though underfunded organized opposition.<span style=""> </span>Local taxpayer activist Larry Breitfelder led the grassroots opposition, with some support from timid dissident city councilmember John McCann.<span style=""> </span>In addition, the San Diego Lincoln Club joined with the San Diego County Taxpayers Association to mail out a superb opposition piece to 21,000 high propensity voting households.<span style=""> </span>Finally, the San Diego Union-Tribune came out strongly against the tax.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">The initial churlish response to voters from Mayor Cheryl Cox was to cut services – including police.<span style=""> </span>Not considered were more meaningful fiscal reforms – renegotiating the city’s opulent labor contracts, new lower pension plans for new hires, requiring employee pension contributions to their pensions, or contracting out city operations.<span style=""> </span>For now, the city is still run for the benefit of employees (and for the politicians), rather than for the citizens.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">But times have changed.<span style=""> </span>Politicians need to understand the voters’ clear message to control spending with existing taxes.<span style=""> </span>Or else.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">--30--<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">For more info on why the Chula Vista sales tax increase was a bad idea, see the San Diego County Taxpayers Association insightful analysis of Chula Vista’s profligate spending madness:</p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.sdcta.org/Uploads/Documents/CV%20Analysis.1.26.09_2.pdf">www.sdcta.org/Uploads/Documents/CV%20Analysis.1.26.09_2.pdf</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> </div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book","sans-serif"; color: rgb(0, 32, 96);"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ol style="margin-top: 0in;" start="4" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style=""> </span>Gringos gunrunning for Mexican Mafia?<o:p></o:p></span></b></li></ol> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book","sans-serif"; color: rgb(0, 32, 96);"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 32, 96);">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>Remember the recent media stories that gangster guns in Mexico are 90% from the U.S. (presumably illegally purchased)?<span style=""> </span>This factoid has been used to lobby for more gun control in the U.S.<span style=""> </span>But a closer look challenges this 90% assertion.<span style=""> </span>While the press bought it without investigating, it appears that this percentage is a cooked up figure based on false assumptions.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 32, 96);"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 32, 96);"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><a href="http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/44667772.html">http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/44667772.html</a>
<br />
<br />May. 10, 2009
<br />
<br /><b style=""><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Obama 'bitterly clinging' to his fake gun numbers</span></b>
<br />VIN SUPRYNOWICZ
<br />
<br />American gun owners, en masse, are "casting their ballots" on how much they
<br />believe Barack Obama's campaign-trail promise to "not take away your guns."
<br />
<br />They're driving the price of ammo through the roof, swarming gun shows,
<br />hauling away cases on hand trucks, leaving the floors of the ammo suppliers'
<br />booths as naked as a wheat field after the locusts pass through.
<br />
<br />Glen Parshall at Bargain Pawn in North Las Vegas reports "I got 20,000
<br />(rounds of) .223 on Saturday and by Tuesday it was more than half gone. And
<br />that's only because I limit customers to a thousand rounds per day,
<br />otherwise I'd be out already."
<br />
<br />And are the shortages just in the popular light rifle-calibers -- .223 and
<br />7.62X39?
<br />
<br />"No," Glen reports. "The shortage is total."
<br />
<br />Industry newsletters report that should demand drop to normal, it would
<br />still take a full year or more to bring inventory levels up to normal in
<br />local gun stores.
<br />
<br />The hoplophobes -- now nearing a veto-proof majority in Congress with the
<br />defection of Arlen "Magic Bullet" Specter -- don't have to "take away our
<br />guns" if they can ratify some kind of international treaty (bypassing and
<br />overruling U.S. statute) that bans ammunition reloading as "manufacturing
<br />without a license" and then drives the price of ammunition through the roof
<br />by requiring every bullet and brass cartridge to bear some kind of "unique
<br />identifying number," supposedly for the use of police in tracking "weapons
<br />used in crimes."
<br />
<br />(Naw, no bad guy would ever simply use stolen rounds, the way they use
<br />stolen cars with stolen license plates as getaway cars.)
<br />
<br />Larry Pratt, head of Gun Owners of America, asks "Remember candidate Barack
<br />Obama? The guy who 'wasn't going to take away our guns'? Well, guess what?
<br />... A week ago, Obama went to Mexico, whined about the United States (and
<br />bemoaned before the whole world) the fact that he didn't have the political
<br />power to take away our semi-automatics. Nevertheless, that didn't keep him
<br />from pushing additional restrictions on American gun owners.
<br />
<br />"It's called the Inter-American Convention Against Illicit Manufacturing of
<br />and Trafficking in Firearms. ... This imponderable title masks a really
<br />nasty piece of work.
<br />
<br />"First of all, when the treaty purports to ban the 'illicit manufacture of
<br />firearms,' what does that mean?" asks Pratt in a late April GOA release.
<br />
<br />"Illicit manufacturing" of firearms is defined as "assembly of firearms [or]
<br />ammunition ... without a license ... " "Hence, reloading ammunition -- or
<br />putting together a lawful firearm from a kit -- is clearly 'illicit
<br />manufacturing.' "
<br />
<br />Article VI of the treaty requires "appropriate markings" on firearms. "It is
<br />not inconceivable that this provision could be used to require
<br />micro-stamping of firearms and/or ammunition -- a requirement which is
<br />clearly intended to impose specifications which are not technologically
<br />possible or which are possible only at a prohibitively expensive cost," says
<br />GOA.
<br />
<br />And Article XI of the treaty requires the maintenance of any records, for a
<br />"reasonable time," that the government determines to be necessary to trace
<br />firearms. "This provision would almost certainly repeal portions of
<br />McClure-Volkmer and could arguably be used to require a national registry or
<br />database" -- gun registration, the GOA warns.
<br />
<br />Meantime, the Libertarian Party points out even the statistics used by Mr.
<br />Obama to supposedly justify his "emergency need" to "block the flow of arms
<br />to Mexico" are bogus.
<br />
<br />"Is Barack Obama 'bitterly clinging to falsified numbers' in his bid to push
<br />his anti-gun treaty?" asked the Libertarian Party in an April news release.
<br />
<br />"This war is being waged with guns purchased not here, but in the United
<br />States. More than 90 percent of the guns recovered in Mexico come from the
<br />United States," Mr. Obama said in a face-to-face April meeting with Mexican
<br />President Felipe Calderon in Mexico City.
<br />
<br />But that claim, the LP points out, "is blatantly false. According to
<br />information supplied by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
<br />Explosives the real number is closer to only 17 percent.
<br />
<br />"There is a reason Obama is intentionally spreading false information about
<br />American firearm businesses," says Donny Ferguson, Libertarian National
<br />Committee Communications Director. "He ... promised anti-gun groups he would
<br />enact gun bans and is hoping to scare people into voting away their own
<br />rights. ...
<br />
<br />"ATF Special Agent William Newell tells Fox News that between 2007 and 2008,
<br />around 11,000 guns used in Mexican crimes appeared to come from the United
<br />States and were submitted to the ATF for tracing. Of those, only 6,000 could
<br />be successfully traced. Of those, only 5,114, according to testimony in
<br />Congress by William Hoover, were found to have come from the United States.
<br />
<br />"Obama's '90 percent' number refers, not to the percentage of 'guns
<br />recovered in Mexico,' as Obama claims, but to the 'percent of the traced
<br />firearms' according to an ATF spokeswoman.
<br />
<br />"Mexican authorities report that in those two years, a total of 29,000 guns
<br />were recovered at 'crime scenes.' That means 68 percent of the guns
<br />recovered by Mexican police did not even appear to come from the United
<br />States. That means only 5,114 out of 29,000 guns used in Mexican crimes were
<br />found to have come from the United States," the Libertarians conclude. "That
<br />figure would be 17 percent, not the 90 percent repeated by Obama.
<br />
<br />During his term in the Senate, Obama earned an "F" rating from Gun Owners of
<br />America, as well as from the National Rifle Association. In an April 11,
<br />2008, campaign speech in San Francisco, Obama claimed gun owners are simply
<br />"bitter," racist people who "cling to guns or religion or antipathy to
<br />people who aren't like them."
<br />
<br />"Obama is 'bitterly clinging' to falsified numbers, hoping he can take away
<br />the constitutional rights of 'people who aren't like' him," The Libertarian
<br />Party concludes.
<br />
<br />Vin Suprynowicz is assistant editorial page editor of the daily Las Vegas
<br />Review-Journal, and author of "Send in the Waco Killers" and the novel
<br />"The Black Arrow." See <a href="http://www.vinsuprynowicz.com/">www.vinsuprynowicz.com/</a>
<br />
<br />© Las Vegas Review-Journal
<br /> <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]-->
<br /> <!--[endif]--></p> </div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <ol style="margin-top: 0in;" start="5" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style=""> </span>Actuaries perhaps biggest crooks in America<o:p></o:p></span></b></li></ol> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>One seldom understood part of the systemic “defined benefit” pension scandal now crushing most state and local governments is the rampant dishonesty of the pension actuaries.<span style=""> </span>This applies to both in-house government actuaries and the “hired guns” from the outside which supposedly are providing objective information. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;">The adage to remember is “follow the money.”<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;">The government actuaries’ conflict of interest is obvious – they get the same pensions that they oversee.<span style=""> </span>Unrealistically optimistic actuarial assumptions result in them getting higher pensions and paying less into the pension fund as employees.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;">Less obvious is the huge conflict of interest of outside actuary consultants.<span style=""> </span>To quote another trite but true cliché, “He who pays the piper, calls the tune.”<span style=""> </span>Such consultants are usually hired by senior government staffers who want their pensions as high as possible.<span style=""> </span>The consultants who get such contracts fully understand that they are expected to provide Pollyannish analysis to justify increasing pensions while underfunding the pension funds.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;">Stated differently – If an actuarial consultant does indeed provide accurate, objective, cautionary advice on pensions, it is unlikely that they will be retained as a consultant, or indeed that they will ever win another government consulting contract.<span style=""> </span>Over time, the most dishonest actuaries win most of the government pension contracts.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;">And I’m talking about the top actuarial firms in the nation.<span style=""> </span>This is quite similar to the accounting dishonesty that brought down Author Anderson and other respected accounting firms.<span style=""> </span>But in the arcane world of pension accounting, the level of dishonesty is harder to detect than regular corporate accounting, and hence more widespread.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;">One dissident actuary, John Bury, has been pointing out this industrywide conflict of interest – and the magnitude of the consequences.<span style=""> </span>Consider this latest article from this fellow concerning the “Soprano” pensions and healthcare of New Jersey employees.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><a href="http://blog.nj.com/njv_johnbury/2009/05/real_number_on_nj_health_care.html">http://blog.nj.com/njv_johnbury/2009/05/real_number_on_nj_health_care.html</a></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: red;">EXCERPTS:<span style=""> </span></span><i style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: red;">When the 2008 pension reports came out they placed New Jersey's
<br />unfunded liability at $34.4 billion. I place it at $133 billion now.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: red;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: red;">State unfunded healthcare is projected at $59.7 billion.<span style=""> </span>I figure it’s around $150 billion</span></i><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Not exactly chump change!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book","sans-serif"; color: rgb(0, 32, 96);"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> </div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book","sans-serif"; color: rgb(0, 32, 96);"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book","sans-serif"; color: rgb(0, 32, 96);"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ol style="margin-top: 0in;" start="6" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style=""> </span>The economy is so bad...</span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">
<br />
<br /> </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> CEO's are now playing miniature golf.
<br />
<br /> Even people who have nothing to do with the Obama administration
<br /> aren't paying their taxes.
<br />
<br /> Hotwheels and Matchbox stocks are trading higher than GM.
<br />
<br /> Obama met with small businesses to discuss the Stimulus Package: GE,
<br /> Pfizer and Citigroup.
<br />
<br /> McDonalds is selling the 1/4 ouncer
<br />
<br /> Parents in Beverly Hills fired their nannies and learned their
<br /> children's names
<br />
<br /> A truckload of Americans got caught sneaking into Mexico
<br />
<br /> The most highly-paid job is now jury duty
<br />
<br /> Dick Cheney took his stockbroker hunting
<br />
<br /> People in Africa are donating money to Americans
<br />
<br /> Mothers in Ethiopia are telling their kids, "finish your plate, do
<br /> you know how many kids are starving in the US?"
<br />
<br /> Motel Six won't leave the light on
<br />
<br /> The Mafia is laying off judges
<br />
<br /> And finally...
<br /> Congress says they are looking into this Bernard Madoff scandal.
<br /> Hey, neat...the guy who made $50 billion disappear is being
<br /> investigated by the people who made $750 billion disappear. <o:p></o:p></span></li></ol> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in; margin-bottom: 5pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> </div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book","sans-serif"; color: rgb(0, 32, 96);"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ol style="margin-top: 0in;" start="7" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style=""> </span>Some state government mandates price health insurance out of reach<o:p></o:p></span></b></li></ol> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book","sans-serif"; color: rgb(0, 32, 96);"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; color: green;">D o w n s i z e r - D i s p a t c h</span></strong> </p> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"> <hr align="center" size="2" width="100%"> </div> <p><strong><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Quote of the Day:</span></strong><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> "If Obama screws up health care where will the Canadians go?" -- sign seen at a protest event</span></p> <p><strong><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Subject: NEW CAMPAIGN! The dirty secret about expensive health insurance</span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Do you need health insurance coverage for . . . </span></p> <ul type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Maternity care, if you're a single male</span> </li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Infertility, if you don't want a family</span> </li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Alcoholism, if you don't drink</span> </li></ul> <p><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">If you live in New York state, then you (or your employer) must pay for all these things, by law, or go without health insurance. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">It's even worse in New Jersey, where the law only permits four basic health insurance plans, each with its own cluster of mandatory coverages. As a result, family premiums run from $2,631.41 to $6,467.58, <em><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">per month</span></em>. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Americas-Health-Care-Crisis-Solved/dp/0470275723/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242214589&sr=1-1">(Source: "America's Health Care Crisis Solved" by J. Patrick Rooney and Dan Perrin, page 113).</a> </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">People who can't afford those premiums (and few can) must go without health insurance. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Similar situations exist in other states . . .</span></p> <ul type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In 2008 <a href="http://www.cahi.org/cahi_contents/resources/pdf/TrendsEndsMandatedBenefits2008.pdf">The Council for Affordable Health Insurance found 1,961 examples of state mandated coverage</a> </span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">And there's <a href="http://www.cato.org/pubs/handbook/hb111/index.html">an excellent list of some of the worst cases in Chapter 16 of The Cato Institute's "Handbook for Policy Makers."</a> </span></li></ul> <p><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Health insurance is too expensive because the politicians have made it that way. They've bowed to lobbyists who want to use the coercive power of government to mandate coverage for . . .</span></p> <ul type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The medical equivalent of oil changes and tire rotations</span> </li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Or things like maternity care for single males, infertility treatments for people who don't want families, and alcoholism therapy for people who don't drink.</span> </li></ul> <p><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">These laws corrupt the very nature of insurance. Insurance is supposed to cover unlikely but expensive procedures, NOT simple blood tests, or massages, or acupuncture, or chiropractic adjustments, or anything else we could afford to pay out of pocket, if <em><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">only</span></em> so many of us weren't being gouged by legally inflated insurance premiums. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Now the politicians want to redesign the entire American health care system from the top down, in one giant step, to supposedly fix a problem <em><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">they created in the first place</span></em>. But, instead of enacting a "grand plan" that will impact, and potentially harm, everyone, and that we may never get rid of once it's in place, the politicians should start by taking a few simple steps to clean up the mess they've made.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Fortunately, not all states have mandatory coverage laws as bad as New York and New Jersey. True major medical coverage is still available in many states, but only if you happen to live in one of those places. Congress can fix this problem very easily. They should pass a law permitting you or your employer to buy insurance regulated by other states. This would . . .</span></p> <ul type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Enable you or your employer to shop for better deals across state lines</span> </li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Put pressure on state governments to liberalize their insurance regulations</span> </li></ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book","sans-serif"; color: rgb(0, 32, 96);">. . .<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book","sans-serif"; color: rgb(0, 32, 96);"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p><a href="http://www.downsizedc.org/">http://www.DownsizeDC.org</a> is sponsored by DownsizeDC.org, Inc. -- a non-profit educational organization promoting the ideas of individual liberty, personal responsibility, free markets, and small government. Operations office: 1931 15th St. Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44223, 202.521.1200</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">To subscribe to our free e-newsletter Downsizer-Dispatch, go to </span><a href="http://www.downsizedc.org/page/newsletter">http://www.downsizedc.org/page/newsletter</a> </p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book","sans-serif"; color: rgb(0, 32, 96);"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ol style="margin-top: 0in;" start="8" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">California public college tuition is FAR too low<o:p></o:p></span></b></li></ol> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>I added the following to my ongoing “Breaking Bad”article comparing CA with the other states.<span style=""> </span>I’ve included the latest updated version of my article in this edition of this rant. <span style=""> </span>Keep in mind that you can read recent Rider Rants, plus the latest version of my Breaking Bad article online at </span><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.richardriderrant.blogspot.com/">http://www.RichardRiderRant.BlogSpot.com</a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">California – a destitute state threatening to let citizens die if we don’t pay ever higher taxes – still gives away college educations at fire sale prices.<span style=""> </span>Our community college tuition is by far the lowest in the nation.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">How low?<span style=""> </span><u>The average community college tuition in other states is 4.5 times higher than California CC’s</u>.<span style=""> </span>This ridiculously low tuition results in a 30+% drop rate for class completion.<span style=""> </span>In addition, many California CC students fill out a simple form that exempts them from ANY tuition payment at all.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/capitolalertlatest/020722.html">http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/capitolalertlatest/020722.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">On top of that, California offers absolutely free adult continuing education classes – a sop to the upper middle class who can well afford to pay tuition.<span style=""> </span><u>In San Diego, over 1,400 classes for everything from baking pastries to ballroom dancing are offered totally at taxpayer expense</u>.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.sdce.edu/">http://www.sdce.edu</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Franklin Gothic Book","sans-serif"; color: rgb(0, 32, 96);"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> </div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ol style="margin-top: 0in;" start="9" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style=""> </span>Latest “Breaking Bad” article on California vs. other states<o:p></o:p></span></b></li></ol> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;">Breaking Bad:<span style=""> </span>California vs. the Other States</span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">by Richard Rider, Chairman, San Diego Tax Fighters<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Version 1.41<span style=""> </span>Revised 22 May, 2009<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;">Phone: 858-530-3027<span style=""> </span>RRider@san.rr.com<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><a name="_Hlk225602878"></a><a name="_Hlk225767259"><span style=""><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Here’s a depressing comparison of California taxes and economic climate with the rest of the states.<span style=""> </span>The news is breaking bad, and getting worse:</span></b></span></a><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">
<br />
<br /><a name="_Hlk225602954">California has the 2<u><sup>nd</sup></u> highest state income tax in the nation.<span style=""> </span>9.55% at $48,000.<span style=""> </span>10.55% at $1,000,000<o:p></o:p></a></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">By far the highest state sales tax in the nation.<span style=""> </span>8.25% (not counting local sales taxes)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Highest state car tax in the nation – at least <u>double</u> any other state.<span style=""> </span>1.15% per year on value of vehicle.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Corporate income tax rate is the highest in the West.<span style=""> </span>8.84%<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">2009 Business Tax Climate ranks 48<u><sup>th</sup></u> in the nation.
<br /></span></span></span></span><a name="_Hlk225220158"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></a><a href="http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/topic/15.html"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/topic/15.html</span></span></span></span></span><span style=""></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fourth highest capital gains tax<span style=""> </span>9.55%<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span><a href="http://www.thereibrain.com/realestate-blog/capital-gains-tax-rates-state-by-state/109/"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt;">http://www.thereibrain.com/realestate-blog/capital-gains-tax-rates-state-by-state/109/</span></span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Second highest gasoline tax (58.3 cents) in the nation (April, 2009).<span style=""> </span>When gas is $3.00+/gallon, we are numero uno.
<br /></span></span></span></span><a name="_Hlk225228093"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></a><a href="http://www.api.org/statistics/fueltaxes/"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.api.org/statistics/fueltaxes/</span></span></span></span></span><span style=""></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Fifth highest unemployment rate in the nation.<span style=""> </span>(April, 2009)<span style=""> </span>11.0%<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span><a href="http://www.bls.gov/news.release/laus.nr0.htm"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.bls.gov/news.release/laus.nr0.htm</span></span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""> </span></span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <span style=""></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><a name="_Hlk225603240"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">California’s 2009 “Tax Freedom Day” (the day the average taxpayer stops working for government and start working for oneself) is again the fourth worst date in the nation – up from 28<u><sup>th</sup></u> worst in 1994.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></a></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span><a href="http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/387.html"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/387.html</span></span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <span style=""></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><a name="_Hlk225767372"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">1 in 5 in LA County receiving public aid.
<br /></span></a></span></span><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-welfare22-2009feb22,0,4377048.story"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-welfare22-2009feb22,0,4377048.story</span></span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">California prison guards highest paid in the nation.
<br /></span></span></span></span><a href="http://www.caltax.org/caltaxletter/2008/101708_fraud1.htm"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.caltax.org/caltaxletter/2008/101708_fraud1.htm</span></span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">
<br /></span></span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">California teachers easily the highest paid in the nation. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span><a href="http://www.nea.org/home/29402.htm"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.nea.org/home/29402.htm</span></span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <span style=""></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">California now has the lowest bond ratings of any state, edging out Louisiana.</span></span></span><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""></span><a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/19/BA7F16JLKH.DTL"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/19/BA7F16JLKH.DTL</span></span><span style=""></span></a><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">California ranks 44<u><sup>th</sup></u> worst in “2008 lawsuit climate.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""></span><a href="http://www.instituteforlegalreform.com/component/ilr_featured_tools/29/item/LAI/19.html"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.instituteforlegalreform.com/component/ilr_featured_tools/29/item/LAI/19.html</span></span><span style=""></span></a><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">In 2005 (latest figures), for every dollar Californians sent to D.C. in taxes, we got back 78 cents – 43<u><sup>rd</sup></u> worst.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""></span><a href="http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/show/22685.html"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/show/22685.html</span></span><span style=""></span></a><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">America’s top CEO’s rank California “the worst place in which to do business” for the fourth straight year (3/2009).<span style=""> </span>But here’s the interesting part – they think California is a great state to live (primarily for the great climate) – they just won’t bring their businesses here because of the oppressive tax and regulatory climate.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Consider this quote from the survey (a conclusion reflected in the rankings of the characteristics of the state):<span style=""> </span><i style="">“</i></span></span><span style=""><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">California has huge advantages with its size, quality of work force, particularly in high tech, as well as the quality of life and climate advantages of the state. However, it is an absolute regulatory and tax disaster.”</span></i></span><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""></span><a href="http://tinyurl.com/cyvufy"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">http://tinyurl.com/cyvufy</span></span><span style=""></span></a><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><b><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=""><a name="_Hlk226094495"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">With 12.1% of the nation’s population [36,756,666 divided by 303,824,640], in February, 2009 California was responsible for 20.9% of the newly unemployed.<span style=""> </span>To state it differently, in February <i style="">California’s percentage <u>growth</u> in UNemployment was 72.7% above the national average.</i><o:p></o:p></span></a></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=""><span style=""></span></span><a href="http://www.bls.gov/news.release/mmls.htm"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt;">http://www.bls.gov/news.release/mmls.htm</span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></a><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <span style=""></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">California, a destitute state, still gives away college education at fire sale prices.<span style=""> </span>Our community college tuition is by far the lowest in the nation.<span style=""> </span>How low?<span style=""> </span>Nationwide, the average community college tuition is 4.5 times higher than California CC’s.<span style=""> </span>This ridiculously low tuition devalues education to students – resulting in a 30+% drop rate for class completion. <span style=""> </span>In addition, many California CC students fill out a simple form that exempts them from ANY tuition payment at all.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""></span><a href="http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/capitolalertlatest/020722.html"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/capitolalertlatest/020722.html</span></span><span style=""></span></a><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">On top of that, California offers thousands of absolutely free adult continuing education classes – a sop to the upper middle class.<span style=""> </span>In San Diego, over 1,400 classes for everything from baking pastries to ballroom dancing are offered totally at taxpayer expense.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""></span><a href="http://www.sdce.edu/"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.sdce.edu</span></span><span style=""></span></a><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">California residential electricity costs an average of 28.7% more than the national average.<span style=""> </span>For industrial use, CA electricity is 48.6% higher than the national average (11/08).<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""></span><a href="http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/table5_6_a.html"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/table5_6_a.html</span></span><span style=""></span></a><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><b><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">It costs 38% more to build solar panels in California than in Tennessee – which is why European corporations have invested $2.3 billion in two Tennessee manufacturing plants to build solar panels for our state.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""></span><a href="http://www.foxandhoundsdaily.com/blog/jack-stewart/more-solar-companies-producing-elsewhere-sell-california"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.foxandhoundsdaily.com/blog/jack-stewart/more-solar-companies-producing-elsewhere-sell-california</span></span><span style=""></span></a><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Consider California’s net <u>domestic</u> migration (migration between states).<span style=""> </span>From April, 2000 through June, 2008 (8 years, 2 months) California has <u>lost</u> a NET 1.4 million people.<span style=""> </span>The departures slowed this past year only because people couldn’t sell their homes.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""></span><a href="http://www.mdp.state.md.us/msdc/Pop_estimate/Estimate_08/table5.pdf"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.mdp.state.md.us/msdc/Pop_estimate/Estimate_08/table5.pdf</span></span><span style=""></span></a><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">These are not welfare kings and queens departing.<span style=""> </span>They are the young, the educated, the productive, the ambitious, the wealthy (such as Tiger Woods), and retirees seeking to make their pensions provide more bang for the buck. The irony is that a disproportionate number of these seniors are retired state and local government employees fleeing the state that provides them with their opulent pensions – in order to avoid the high taxes that these same employees pushed so hard through their unions.</span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As taxes rise and jobs disappear, we lose our tax base, continuing California’s state and local fiscal death spiral.<span style=""> </span>This spiral must stop NOW.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">NOTE:<span style=""> </span>If you would like to receive my <u>free</u> periodic “Richard Rider Rant” e-newsletter with more of this type of information and analysis, just drop me an email at </span></i></b><a href="mailto:RRider@san.rr.com"><b><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">RRider@san.rr.com</span></i></b></a><b><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">.<span style=""> </span>To see the latest version of this “Breaking Bad” column, plus samples of my free “Richard Rider Rant” e-newsletter, go to my blog at </span></i></b><a href="http://www.richardriderrant.blogspot.com/"><b><i style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.RichardRiderRant.blogspot.com/</span></i></b></a><b><i style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">.</span></i></b><b><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> </div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <ol style="margin-top: 0in;" start="10" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>John Murtha Airport a stunning monument to earmark waste<o:p></o:p></span></b></li></ol> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>One of the best (well, worst) examples of earmarks gone goofy is the John Murtha Airport in Pennsylvania.<span style=""> </span>Even the liberal media marvel at the level of arrogant waste this project represents.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">John Murtha is a powerful Democrat Congressman.<span style=""> </span>Naturally the people in his district love him for all the pork he brings home.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This is the fundamental flaw in district elections.<span style=""> </span>In such governmental bodies, the primary loyalty of a representative is to his or her district – the hell with everyone else.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Murtha Airport makes the “bridge to nowhere” look like frugal spending.<span style=""> </span>Hundreds of millions have been spent on this lavish airport that last year averaged 20 passengers a day – split among its three “sewer pipe” flights to Washington, DC.<span style=""> </span>In addition, sweetheart government contracts have been given to Murtha friends and even to his son – without competitive bidding.<span style=""> </span>And yes, Obama has approved giving $800,000 in additional stimulus money to the airport.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">For a good quick video telling the tale, check out this ABC News story:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?cl=13140642">http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?cl=13140642</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">For more detailed info, read this WASHINGTON POST article:</span><b><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/18/AR2009041802128_2.html?sid=ST2009041802146">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/18/AR2009041802128_2.html?sid=ST2009041802146</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> </div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ol style="margin-top: 0in;" start="11" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>Cohen cons complicit comrades in media<o:p></o:p></span></b></li></ol> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>Periodically San Diego media publishes articles or quotes by Donald Cohen with the local Center for Policy Initiatives.<span style=""> </span>Here’s his latest piece – an attack on Prop 13.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://tinyurl.com/o85qpo">http://tinyurl.com/o85qpo</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Aside from Donald Cohen being fundamentally wrong on just about everything, the real problem I have with Cohen, CPI AND the media is the lack of disclosure as to just what this outfit is, and who funds it.<span style=""> </span>Here’s the comment I wrote online in response to his article:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><i style="">Let’s have a little full disclosure here. Donald Cohen is a career labor union official who now runs the union-progressive financed Center for Policy Initiatives. This outfit is not a “think tank” — it’s a labor union propaganda mill. <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p><i style="">Cohen has never seen a tax or government bond he didn’t like. NEVER. And he would never support a spending cap (as Prop 1A pretends it is) unless he knew (as do I) that it is filled with loopholes.<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p><i style="">Now, there’s nothing wrong with being biased in one’s viewpoint. Lord knows I am! <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p><i style="">But the difference is that when a conservative/free market/limited government/libertarian think tank (propaganda mill, if you prefer) is quoted, it is identified as to its bias — as well it should be. <o:p></o:p></i></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><i style="">Unfortunately, there are bogus “think tanks” in CA that (though nondisclosure) are not properly identified by the media as to their ideology. The CPI is one of these outfits.<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> </div> <p style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style="">12.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style=""> </span>Rider interviews lurk on KUSI TV news website<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>Among a number of recent media interviews, I did a quick Sunday AM debate on Prop 1A with my friendly opponent Fire Chief Augie Ghio. To watch the debate, go to:<span style=""> </span><a href="http://www.sandiego6.com/content/special_election/default.aspx">http://www.sandiego6.com/content/special_election/default.aspx</a> and then find my "show."<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Oddly enough, the video does not run on MY computer (either Firefox or Internet Explorer), but runs fine on my wife's less powerful computer.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> <p style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style="">13.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style=""> </span>More Rider lurking on KUSI<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p>RIDER COMMENT: I’ve taped a half hour KUSI show on San Diego People.<span style=""> </span>It will run tomorrow (Sunday, 24 May) at 10AM on KUSI TV (channel 9).<span style=""> </span>It’s about the just completed special proposition election, the California budget problems, and what needs to be done.</p> <p>It was filmed in three segments within the half hour:</p> <p style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The interviewer and me.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The interviewer and Ruben Barrales, CEO of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The three of us together discussing matters.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p>I think it went well, and the show will likely be posted up on their website by Monday or Tuesday.</p> <p>You’ll be amused and probably puzzled by Mr. Barrales’ primary solution – “Call and write your state legislators and governor, telling them what you don’t want cut.” <span style=""> </span>Yeah, THAT’LL solve California’s budget problems!<span style=""> </span>Fortunately I had more concrete proposal to deal with the issue. </p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> <p style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style="">14.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style=""> </span>Soak the rich, lose the rich<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>Below is a terrific <u>Wall St. Journal</u> article by Arthur Laffer and Stephen Moore , detailing an issue I’ve been raising and reraising.<span style=""> </span>Raise taxes – especially state and local taxes – and watch your area’s tax base erode.<span style=""> </span>Nice to have actual studies documenting this logical cause and effect, and such broad dissemination as the Journal.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><o:p> </o:p></p> <p><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124260067214828295.html#">http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124260067214828295.html#</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><o:p> </o:p></p> <ul type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1027" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Need a Real Sponsor here" style="'width:149.25pt;height:23.25pt'"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\RICHAR~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image003.gif" href="http://online.wsj.com/img/wsj_print.gif"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><img src="file:///C:/Users/RICHAR%7E1/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image003.gif" alt="Need a Real Sponsor here" shapes="_x0000_i1027" border="0" width="199" height="31" /><!--[endif]--></li></ul> <ul type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><a href="http://online.wsj.com/public/search?article-doc-type=%7BCommentary+%28U.S.%29%7D&HEADER_TEXT=commentary+%28u.s.">OPINION</a></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">MAY 18, 2009</span></li></ul> <h1>Soak the Rich, Lose the Rich </h1> <h2>Americans know how to use the moving van to escape high taxes.</h2> <h3>By <a href="http://online.wsj.com/search/search_center.html?KEYWORDS=ARTHUR+LAFFER&ARTICLESEARCHQUERY_PARSER=bylineAND">ARTHUR LAFFER</a> and <a href="http://online.wsj.com/search/search_center.html?KEYWORDS=STEPHEN+MOORE&ARTICLESEARCHQUERY_PARSER=bylineAND">STEPHEN MOORE</a> </h3> <p>With states facing nearly $100 billion in combined budget deficits this year, we're seeing more governors than ever proposing the Barack Obama solution to balancing the budget: Soak the rich. Lawmakers in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York and Oregon want to raise income tax rates on the top 1% or 2% or 5% of their citizens. New Illinois Gov. Patrick Quinn wants a 50% increase in the income tax rate on the wealthy because this is the "fair" way to close his state's gaping deficit.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1028" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="[Commentary]" style="'width:269.25pt;height:179.25pt'"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\RICHAR~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image004.jpg" href="http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/ED-AJ507A_laffe_E_20090517174001.jpg"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><img src="file:///C:/Users/RICHAR%7E1/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image004.jpg" alt="[Commentary]" shapes="_x0000_i1028" border="0" width="359" height="239" /><!--[endif]--><cite><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Chad Crowe</span></cite> </p> <p>Mr. Quinn and other tax-raising governors have been emboldened by recent studies by left-wing groups like the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities that suggest that "tax increases, particularly tax increases on higher-income families, may be the best available option." A recent letter to New York Gov. David Paterson signed by 100 economists advises the Empire State to "raise tax rates for high income families right away."</p> <p>Here's the problem for states that want to pry more money out of the wallets of rich people. It never works because people, investment capital and businesses are mobile: They can leave tax-unfriendly states and move to tax-friendly states.</p> <p>And the evidence that we discovered in our new study for the American Legislative Exchange Council, "Rich States, Poor States," published in March, shows that Americans are more sensitive to high taxes than ever before. The tax differential between low-tax and high-tax states is widening, meaning that a relocation from high-tax California or Ohio, to no-income tax Texas or Tennessee, is all the more financially profitable both in terms of lower tax bills and more job opportunities.</p> <p>Updating some research from Richard Vedder of Ohio University, we found that from 1998 to 2007, more than 1,100 people every day including Sundays and holidays moved from the nine highest income-tax states such as California, New Jersey, New York and Ohio and relocated mostly to the nine tax-haven states with no income tax, including Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire and Texas. We also found that over these same years the no-income tax states created 89% more jobs and had 32% faster personal income growth than their high-tax counterparts.</p> <p>Did the greater prosperity in low-tax states happen by chance? Is it coincidence that the two highest tax-rate states in the nation, California and New York, have the biggest fiscal holes to repair? No. Dozens of academic studies -- old and new -- have found clear and irrefutable statistical evidence that high state and local taxes repel jobs and businesses.</p> <p>Martin Feldstein, Harvard economist and former president of the National Bureau of Economic Research, co-authored a famous study in 1998 called "Can State Taxes Redistribute Income?" This should be required reading for today's state legislators. It concludes: "Since individuals can avoid unfavorable taxes by migrating to jurisdictions that offer more favorable tax conditions, a relatively unfavorable tax will cause gross wages to adjust. . . . A more progressive tax thus induces firms to hire fewer high skilled employees and to hire more low skilled employees."</p> <p>More recently, Barry W. Poulson of the University of Colorado last year examined many factors that explain why some states grew richer than others from 1964 to 2004 and found "a significant negative impact of higher marginal tax rates on state economic growth." In other words, soaking the rich doesn't work. To the contrary, middle-class workers end up taking the hit.</p> <p>Finally, there is the issue of whether high-income people move away from states that have high income-tax rates. Examining IRS tax return data by state, E.J. McMahon, a fiscal expert at the Manhattan Institute, measured the impact of large income-tax rate increases on the rich ($200,000 income or more) in Connecticut, which raised its tax rate in 2003 to 5% from 4.5%; in New Jersey, which raised its rate in 2004 to 8.97% from 6.35%; and in New York, which raised its tax rate in 2003 to 7.7% from 6.85%. Over the period 2002-2005, in each of these states the "soak the rich" tax hike was followed by a significant reduction in the number of rich people paying taxes in these states relative to the national average. Amazingly, these three states ranked 46th, 49th and 50th among all states in the percentage increase in wealthy tax filers in the years after they tried to soak the rich.</p> <p>This result was all the more remarkable given that these were years when the stock market boomed and Wall Street gains were in the trillions of dollars. Examining data from a 2008 Princeton study on the New Jersey tax hike on the wealthy, we found that there were 4,000 missing half-millionaires in New Jersey after that tax took effect. New Jersey now has one of the largest budget deficits in the nation.</p> <p>We believe there are three unintended consequences from states raising tax rates on the rich. First, some rich residents sell their homes and leave the state; second, those who stay in the state report less taxable income on their tax returns; and third, some rich people choose not to locate in a high-tax state. Since many rich people also tend to be successful business owners, jobs leave with them or they never arrive in the first place. This is why high income-tax states have such a tough time creating net new jobs for low-income residents and college graduates.</p> <p>Those who disapprove of tax competition complain that lower state taxes only create a zero-sum competition where states "race to the bottom" and cut services to the poor as taxes fall to zero. They say that tax cutting inevitably means lower quality schools and police protection as lower tax rates mean starvation of public services.</p> <p>They're wrong, and New Hampshire is our favorite illustration. The Live Free or Die State has no income or sales tax, yet it has high-quality schools and excellent public services. Students in New Hampshire public schools achieve the fourth-highest test scores in the nation -- even though the state spends about $1,000 a year less per resident on state and local government than the average state and, incredibly, $5,000 less per person than New York. And on the other side of the ledger, California in 2007 had the highest-paid classroom teachers in the nation, and yet the Golden State had the second-lowest test scores.</p> <p>Or consider the fiasco of New Jersey. In the early 1960s, the state had no state income tax and no state sales tax. It was a rapidly growing state attracting people from everywhere and running budget surpluses. Today its income and sales taxes are among the highest in the nation yet it suffers from perpetual deficits and its schools rank among the worst in the nation -- much worse than those in New Hampshire. Most of the massive infusion of tax dollars over the past 40 years has simply enriched the public-employee unions in the Garden State. People are fleeing the state in droves.</p> <p>One last point: States aren't simply competing with each other. As Texas Gov. Rick Perry recently told us, "Our state is competing with Germany, France, Japan and China for business. We'd better have a pro-growth tax system or those American jobs will be out-sourced." Gov. Perry and Texas have the jobs and prosperity model exactly right. Texas created more new jobs in 2008 than all other 49 states combined. And Texas is the only state other than Georgia and North Dakota that is cutting taxes this year.</p> <p>The Texas economic model makes a whole lot more sense than the New Jersey model, and we hope the politicians in California, Delaware, Illinois, Minnesota and New York realize this before it's too late.</p> <p><strong>Mr. Laffer is president of Laffer Associates. Mr. Moore is senior economics writer for the Wall Street Journal. They are co-authors of "Rich States, Poor States" (American Legislative Exchange Council, 2009). </strong></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> <p style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style="">15.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style=""> </span>Rich team owner flees his state – verifies he left because of high taxes<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p>RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>The migration of rich California taxpayers to income tax-free states is sometimes called “the Tiger Woods effect.”<span style=""> </span>Tiger USED to be a California resident.<span style=""> </span>But years ago – after gaining star power success as a golfer and endorser – he moved to Florida, saving millions annually in taxes, while California loses the benefit of his earning power and spending.<span style=""> </span></p> <p>Here’s a more recent example of a wealthy tax refugee leaving a state.<span style=""> </span>NY has just added a <i style="">temporary</i> “millionaire tax” which brings wealthy New York residents to about 9% (and raises NYC residents to over 12%!). Apparently it’s enough to drive out some rich people – even NY state residents not paying the oppressive NYC combined income tax.</p> <p>Recently Tom Golisano, owner of the Buffalo Sabres, founder of Paychex, and one of the wealthiest men in New York, told a Rochester lunchtime audience he was changing his residence from NY to FL because the NY Legislature passed the Millionaire's Tax, raising the New York personal income tax rate from about 7% to 9%. His personal income disclosure was revealing. </p> <p><i style="">“I’m not happy about it by any means. But we have a state that continues to be run like this and you compare the state of Florida and seven or eight other states — Florida has no income tax at all, 6 percent sales tax versus 8 percent (NY) sales tax and 1 percent of property tax to market value compared to an average of 3.5 percent in upstate New York. <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p><i style="">“I don’t expect anyone to feel sorry for me, but a number of friends close to me said I should say this.<span style=""> </span>My tax savings just on income tax will be $13,800 per day.<span style=""> </span><u>Per day</u>.<span style=""> </span>Now if it has this kind of effect on me imagine the effect on a lot of New Yorkers and what’s going to happen to our state as long as we keep allowing this to happen year after year after year . . . .” <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p>Had he remained in NY, his personal income tax bill would have risen by about $1M per year - from $3.5M to $4.5M. <span style=""> </span>By relocating to Florida, that income tax goes to zero.
<br />
<br />Because he had been a severe critic of NY tax policy over the years, his move to Florida was barely remarked upon outside of Upstate NY, and the few downstate comments were in the nature of "good riddance". But his disclosure created quite a stir, and a lot of conversation Upstate. There has been a lot more discussion about how long it will make sense to remain a NY taxpayer before following our children to the states less under the influence of the public employee and health care unions and their pension obligations.</p> <p><a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2009/05/11/daily53.html">http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2009/05/11/daily53.html</a></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> <p style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style="">16.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style=""> </span>Concrete proof that Prop 13 did not erode California property tax revenue<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>After the dramatic rejection by California voters of Props 1A-1E, we are again hearing from Big Government fans claiming that our problem is primarily Prop 13, which somehow “cheated” government out of its rightful tax dollars.<span style=""> </span>Typical was a short critique by Loren Kaye, a lobbyist for the California Chamber of Commerce, a big business outfit that favors most tax and bond measures as long as businesses get their subsidies, and are not the primary taxpayers of the measures.<span style=""> </span></span><span style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://www.foxandhoundsdaily.com/blog/loren-kaye/mini-prop-13#comment-1033"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">http://www.foxandhoundsdaily.com/blog/loren-kaye/mini-prop-13#comment-1033</span></a></span><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Below is a slightly fleshed out version of what I wrote in response.<span style=""> </span>With all due immodesty, I consider my response to be devastating -- crushing the canard that our budget problems are somehow all Prop 13's part. <span style=""> </span>My reposte is succinct and easy to grasp, so share it with others.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I suggest the stats I referenced for San Diego County needs to be gathered locally by taxpayer activists throughout the state, and used to discredit the nonsense emanating from our opponents.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">BTW, Loren Kaye is a paid CA Chamber of Commerce lobbyist (well, he works for the CA C of C’s bogus “think tank” that pushes for higher taxes and the repeal of Prop 13).<span style=""> </span>Kaye vigorously campaigned across the state in favor of Prop 1A-1E, which is in character with his past positions favoring higher taxes, more bonds and bigger government.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Indeed, Kaye was flown into San Diego for our SD UNION-TRIBUNE editorial board meeting on these props.<span style=""> </span>We kicked his butt, but then, his butt didn’t have a leg to stand on (don’t dwell on that thought).<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">
<br />RIDER COMMENT ON LOREN ARTICLE: <span style=""> </span><i style="">Note that Loren includes not a single data point to make his case against Prop 13. <span style=""> </span>Wise decision on his part. <o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Because if one looks at the history of property tax REVENUES (not rates), you find that Prop 13 is no problem at all -- except for profligate spenders. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Take my San Diego County. <span style=""> </span>Please. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">According to the SD County Tax Assessor, in 1977 -- the year BEFORE Prop 13 took effect -- our countywide property tax revenue was about $639 million. For this 30 June concluding 2008-2009 fiscal year, our county assessor is projecting revenues of $4.656 BILLION. For every property tax dollar collected in 1977, the county today collects $7.29. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">During that time frame, our county population has grown about 83%, and inflation has gone up about 260%. Hence property tax revenues today are <u>substantially</u> higher than the bloated PRE-Prop 13 year, even after adjusting for inflation and population growth. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Loren demonstrates the typical multipartisan big government apologist mentality -- blame it all on Prop 13 -- without ever looking at the actual HISTORY of what happened after Prop 13 was passed.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> <p><o:p> </o:p></p> <p style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style="">17.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style=""> </span>You SHOULD have invested in rich credit card companies – or not<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p>RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>President Obama is running for reelection – as is the habit of all first term Presidents.<span style=""> </span>Naturally he wants to support popular policies – as long as such policies also advance the size and power of central government.</p> <p>One easy target is credit card companies.<span style=""> </span>EVERYONE hates credit card companies.<span style=""> </span></p> <p>So Obama has decided to meddle in that industry.<span style=""> </span>Using the wisdom of Solomon on meth, he’s decided to make good credit risks pay for bad credit risks.<span style=""> </span>Now THAT will foster more personal responsibility, right?<span style=""> </span>But of course, the more people who are dependent on government for “protection,” the more likely such folks are to vote for their perceived Protector.<span style=""> </span></p> <p>Good politics.<span style=""> </span>Dreadful economics.<span style=""> </span></p> <p>And fundamentally unfair to the prudent folks controlling their family budgets.</p> <p>But at least we know that for decades the rapacious credit card companies have been cleaning up.<span style=""> </span>The greedy bastards have been screwing us all for years, right?<span style=""> </span>These wealthy corporations and their fat cat shareholders can well afford to take a hit, in the interest of social justice (however “social justice” is currently defined).</p> <p>Would that we had all been smart enough to have INVESTED in such companies.<span style=""> </span>After all, deep down we all want to be fat cats.<span style=""> </span>But of course, hindsight is 20-20. </p> <p>Only thing is, no one actually LOOKS back to see what they could have made.<span style=""> </span>It’s just assumed that the profits would have been substantial.</p> <p>I decided to look at Capital One Corporation (symbol COF), since its main business seems to be credit cards.<span style=""> </span>It’s well known, and aggressive in its marketing. </p> <p>Ten years ago, COF was priced at about $58.<span style=""> </span>Now it’s priced at $23.<span style=""> </span>It reached a peak price of about $87 in the giddy days of 2006, and then tumbled to a low of $15 last December.<span style=""> </span><b><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><a href="http://tinyurl.com/q2ouy5">http://tinyurl.com/q2ouy5</a></span><o:p></o:p></b></p> <p>COF pays an annual $1.50 dividend – a current 6.5% yield.<span style=""> </span>While the dividend percentage is very good, that payout would not have made up for the abysmal stock price decline.<span style=""> </span>Bottom line:<span style=""> </span>COF would have made a lousy investment.</p> <p>How can this be? Every simple KNOWS that the credit card companies make money hand over fist.<span style=""> </span>Annual fees, late fees, high interest, merchant fees – how can it not be a booming business with huge profit margins?</p> <p>Answer:<span style=""> </span>Unrecoverable bad debt.<span style=""> </span>Credit card providers have to eat a LOT of bad debt – even in good times.<span style=""> </span>Our court system lets people file bankruptcy far too easily, discharging their debt obligations. </p> <p>Add credit card fraud.<span style=""> </span>Companies eat such losses – not the person whose card (or card info) was stolen.</p> <p>Then there’s that annoying open market restriction on big profits – damnable competition.<span style=""> </span>And this is a competitive business.</p> <p>The credit card business is NOT an industry with guaranteed profits, or even high profits.<span style=""> </span>If it were, the stock would have done a heck of a lot better than history shows us was the case.</p> <p>So here is Obama <u>et al</u> telling the credit card companies that they can’t charge the full cost of bad debt to the high propensity bad debtors.<span style=""> </span>Instead, the companies have to charge the GOOD DEBT customers.<span style=""> </span>Is anyone surprised?</p> <p>Obama will run the credit card companies with the same consummate skill he’s demonstrated wasting billions on the Big Three auto companies.<span style=""> </span>The top priority in the Detroit fiasco was the labor unions – not the shareholders, or bondholders, or the future viability of the companies.<span style=""> </span>That’s S.O.P. for the Obama administration.</p> <p>But, to be fair, Obama never promised to improve the business climate – only that he would make things “fair” – providing “change.”<span style=""> </span>For Obama, narrowing the gap between rich and poor is far more important than economic progress and the financial health of the economy.<span style=""> </span></p> <p>As long as we are all going downhill together, that’s just fine with Obama and his core supporters.<span style=""> </span>Hey, it works for Castro’s Cuba!</p> Richard Rider, Chair, San Diego Tax Fightershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259117224037487367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972576313341501285.post-52918369243467976862009-05-17T11:18:00.001-07:002009-05-17T11:18:49.157-07:00Richard Rider bioBiography of Richard Rider<br />(Updated May, 2009)<br /> 10969 Red Cedar Dr.<br /> San Diego, CA 92131<br /><br />Phone: (858) 530-3027 E-mail: Rrider@san.rr.com<br /><br /><br />AGE: 63<br /><br />EDUCATION: B.A. Economics, University of North Carolina, 1968 <br /> <br />MILITARY SERVICE: Commander, Supply Corps, U. S. Naval Reserve, retired after 26 years (four years active, the rest in the reserve). Vietnam veteran.<br /><br />OCCUPATION: Retired stockbroker and financial planner. Lifetime member of the International Associa-tion of Financial Planners. Owns and runs Economy Telcom, brokering telecommunication services.<br /><br /> AFFILIATION:<br />• Chairman, San Diego Tax Fighters<br />• National Taxpayers Union<br />• Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association<br />• San Diego County Taxpayers Association<br />• Libertarian Party<br /> <br />POLITICAL ACTIVITIES: <br />• Successfully sued the county of San Diego (Rider vs. County of San Diego) to force a rollback of an il-legal 1/2-cent jails sales tax, a precedent that is saving California taxpayers over fourteen billion dollars, including $3.5 billion for San Diego taxpayers.<br />• Actively supported a variety of tax-cutting ballot initiatives including Proposition 13. Has written ballot arguments against numerous county and state tax increase initiatives.<br />• County co-chair of both California term limit initiatives (Prop 140 and Prop 164).<br />• Libertarian Party candidate for Congress in 1986 and 1988. LP candidate for governor in 1994.<br />• Candidate for the 3rd District County Supervisor in 1992 (third place among six candidates with about 20% of the vote).<br />• 1993 – appointed to (and then elected chair of) the San Diego County Social Services Advisory Board.<br />• 1996 – appointed as a Commissioner on the California Constitution Revision Commission by state As-sembly Speaker Kurt Pringle. <br />• Has been involved in legal actions against City of San Diego to force a public vote on issuing bonds for Qualcomm stadium expansion, convention center, baseball ballpark and other projects.<br />• 2005 – Unsuccessful candidate for Mayor of San Diego, though his reform ideas have since taken hold.<br />• 2007 – Columnist for NORTH COUNTY TIMES and SAN DIEGO DAILY TRANSCRIPT<br /> <br />FAMILY: Married. Wife, Diane, is a retired public high school teacher. Two sons, ages 30 and 25.Richard Rider, Chair, San Diego Tax Fightershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259117224037487367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972576313341501285.post-71212336461542872322009-05-09T19:45:00.000-07:002009-05-09T20:35:48.723-07:00To understand the Prop 1A scam, revisit Props 57-58<span style="font-weight:bold;">San Diego Tax Fighters</span><br />San Diego, CA <br />Voice: (858) 530-3027<br />Email: RRider@san.rr.com<br />Friday, 8 May, 2009<br />Press Release - Authored by Richard Rider<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">To understand the Prop 1A scam, revisit Props 57-58</span><br /><br />In today’s SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, there are “pro and con” op-eds concerning the propositions in the upcoming 19 May election. Steve Poizner is spot on with his analysis, pointing out that Prop 1A is simply a repeat of the 2004 Prop 57-58 con job. It's the same deal (complete with a $16 billion tax increase), with the same proponents, and will provide the same failed result at huge expense. I had a hand in opposing Prop 58, and the parallel is eerie.<br /><br />At the request of then-state legislator Tom McClintock, in 2004 I wrote the ballot argument against Prop 58, the California "Balanced Budget Act." That last word in the title should have tipped off the voters, but didn't. <br /><br />Prop 58 was indeed an act – a magic act. Complete with disappearing promises and illusionary savings. No budget was balanced, and no spending was reined in by the measure. <br /><br />All we taxpayers got was a $15 billion state bond that built absolutely nothing (it was all spent on state budget operating costs) – a bond which – with interest – translated into a huge annual outlay for 30 years.<br /><br />BACKGROUND: Governor Schwarzenegger wanted $15 billion worth of state municipal bonds issued to pay California’s state OPERATING expenses -- largely inflated public employee salaries and pensions. This was Prop 57. <br /><br />The pitch was, “give us the money, and we’ll solve California’s budget problems through reforms.” The problem for Schwarzenegger was that this use of tax free municipal bonds was prohibited by the CA Constitution – bond proceeds were limited to infrastructure spending.<br /><br />Hence Prop 58 was needed to overturn this longstanding taxpayer protection. To make this palatable, the governor claimed he arranged a trade-off – the $15 billion in exchange for new, supposedly solid budget reforms included in Prop 58. <br /> <br />In our opposition arguments, we made clear that there were loopholes galore in Prop 58 – that this would NOT solve our budget woes. Opponents castigated us for our concerns, and assured all that this was the real deal. As it turned out, we were absolutely clairvoyant, and the proponents were dead wrong.<br /><br />It’s worth going back to read the actual Prop 58 ballot arguments – and to see who signed them. To see all four arguments, go to: <br />http://primary2004.sos.ca.gov/propositions/prop58-arguments.html<br /><br />The most interesting of the four arguments is the rebuttal by Prop 58 proponents to our opposition argument. Here is that argument by the proponents:<br /><br /> ---<span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />REBUTTAL to Argument against Proposition 58</span><br /><br />Don't be fooled by the opponents. The California Taxpayers Association supports the California Balanced Budget Act. <br /><br />Proposition 58 WILL REQUIRE A BALANCED BUDGET for the first time. State government spending in California is out of control. Over the past three years, state spending has significantly exceeded state revenues. <br /><br />Under Proposition 58, the Governor and the California State Legislature must ENACT a BALANCED BUDGET. It will CLOSE A LOOPHOLE that was used to create the huge deficit. <br /><br />Governor Schwarzenegger's California Economic Recovery Plan includes both Propositions 57 and 58. Combined, the two measures will allow California to refinance its debt and prevent such a situation from EVER HAPPENING AGAIN. We should not be allowed to SPEND MORE MONEY THAN WE HAVE. <br /><br />Proposition 58 requires the Legislature to enact a balanced budget and if circumstances change after they pass the budget, the Governor is required to call them into special session to make mid-year changes to the budget, so that we end the year with A BALANCED BUDGET. And Proposition 58 prohibits the Legislature from acting on any new legislation until the budget is balanced again. <br /><br />Proposition 58 does not change the Gann Spending Limit. It is still the law, the BALANCED BUDGET ACT provides a new tool in the fight against overspending. <br /><br />Proposition 58 prohibits borrowing for future deficits. Proposition 58 requires building a reserve of at least $8 billion. Please support the California Recovery Plan and vote YES ON PROPOSITIONS 57 and 58. <br /> ---<br /><br /><br />RIDER COMMENT: It’s really stunning to read just how ignorant, misinformed and perhaps dishonest these proponents were. At the very least, their credibility is ruined.<br /><br />Now, note who signed this rebuttal. These are ostensibly all Republicans, I believe. And note particularly the third signer.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, Governor<br />State of California <br /><br />BILL HAUCK, Chairman<br />California Constitution Revision Commission <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />ALLAN ZAREMBERG, Chairman<br />California Chamber of Commerce</span> </span><br /><br />The California Chamber of Commerce – and indeed, the California Taxpayers Association – have been wrong far more than they’ve been right on taxes and bonds. Contrary to what people would expect, they FAVOR most bonds and tax increases – as long as big business is not heavily hammered by such taxes. And the Prop 1A tax increases are strikingly REgressive in nature – which the fat cats love. <br /><br />The CA Chamber of Commerce is a Big Government proponent, intent on currying favor with politicians for special interest legislation and government construction contracts. Based on the above dishonest/inaccurate/condescending ballot argument, this outfit is not to be trusted in such fiscal matters.<br /><br />The parallels between Prop 57-58 and Prop 1A are obvious. Both entail empty, loophole-filled promises at the cost of many billions of dollars.Richard Rider, Chair, San Diego Tax Fightershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259117224037487367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972576313341501285.post-61287327252017384542009-04-27T09:22:00.000-07:002009-04-27T09:27:00.960-07:00RICHARD RIDER RANT 4/27/09<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CRICHAR%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><link rel="Edit-Time-Data" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CRICHAR%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_editdata.mso"><!--[if !mso]> <style> v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} .shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);} </style> 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@list l3:level2 {mso-level-start-at:15; mso-level-tab-stop:none; mso-level-number-position:left; margin-left:74.25pt; text-indent:-20.25pt;} ol {margin-bottom:0in;} ul {margin-bottom:0in;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;">RICHARD RIDER RANT<span style=""> </span>4/27/09</span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Cambria","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Cambria","serif";"><span style="">1.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Cambria","serif";">San Diego Tax Fighters’ position on upcoming 19 May CA state props<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Cambria","serif";"><span style="">2.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Rider radio shows online for listening<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Cambria","serif";"><span style="">3.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Rider Rant now also a blog – hopefully<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Cambria","serif";"><span style="">4.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Our latest recession is really a “mancession”<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Cambria","serif";"><span style="">5.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Night of the Living Death Tax</span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Cambria","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Cambria","serif";"><span style="">6.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Cambria","serif";">California’s bogus think tanks – and media bias<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Cambria","serif";"><span style="">7.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Fiscal Child Abuse<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Cambria","serif";"><span style="">8.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Cambria","serif";"><span style=""> </span>Modern technology finally reaches CalTrans<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Cambria","serif";"><span style="">9.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Cambria","serif";">NRA is giving free memberships<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Cambria","serif";"><span style="">10.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Cambria","serif";"><span style=""> </span>Obama’s huge new debt on the unborn and our children is staggering<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Cambria","serif";"><span style="">11.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Liberal columnist’s pathetic attempt to justify Prop 1A</span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Cambria","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Cambria","serif";"><span style="">12.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Cambria","serif";">Tax-free Internet shopping may be at an end</span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Cambria","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Cambria","serif";"><span style="">13.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Cambria","serif";"><span style=""> </span>Government warnings about “Rightwing extremists” is bogus – and frightening<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Cambria","serif";"><span style="">14.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Cambria","serif";"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>President Obama as Dr. Evil: He wants to cut federal spending by $100 mill-yun dollars<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Cambria","serif";"><span style="">15.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Cambria","serif";"><span style=""> </span>1970 Earth Day predictions are must reading – total bunk<span style=""></span></span></b><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Cambria","serif";">
<br /></span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Cambria","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="">1.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>San Diego Tax Fighters’ position on upcoming 19 May CA state props<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>At San Diego Tax Fighters, we've taken a divergent position from most taxpayer groups on a couple props, but frankly it doesn't matter on these two (1D and 1E). Actually, we don’t really much care about these two revenue shifting props.<span style=""> </span>The money is being misused now, and will be misused if it is shifted. <span style=""> </span>The outcome is not important either way.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">What IS important are props are 1A through 1C, and mostly 1A.<span style=""> </span>Indeed, 1B fails to take effect if 1A is defeated.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Here's our memory aid for how to vote:</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> <a name="_Hlk225672406">There are six props on the ballot.<span style=""> </span>Here’s our position, with our enthusiasm for our position noted by the number of exclamation marks.</a></span><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">1A<span style=""> </span>NO!!!!!!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">2A<span style=""> </span>NO!!!!!!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">3A<span style=""> </span>NO!!!!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">4A<span style=""> </span>YES<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">5A<span style=""> </span>YES<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">6A<span style=""> </span>YES!!!!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Hmmm.<span style=""> </span>Taken together in sequence, that will be easy to remember.<span style=""> </span>Add your own fantasy to make it work for you.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">If you are a California voter, doubtless you have your ballot booklet by now.<span style=""> </span>If you vote by mail, you should have your physical ballot to fill out and mail back (the only way to vote, IMNSHO).<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">If you lack the book and you’d like to read online the official info on the six California state props on the May ballot – including the summary, LAO analysis and arguments, you can do so now online:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""></span><a href="http://www.voterguide.sos.ca.gov/"><span style=""><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">http://www.voterguide.sos.ca.gov/</span></span><span style=""></span></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="">2.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>Rider radio shows online for listening<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>As some of you know, I sat in for Rick Amato on his KCBQ radio last week.<span style=""> </span>It was two hours of spellbinding insights.<span style=""> </span>Well, not really.<span style=""> </span>But I had good guests, and, more important, it’s online for listening.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Now let me be clear – I am NOT recommending you listen.<span style=""> </span>Each “tape” is an hour long (though you can skip the commercials).<span style=""> </span>But if you are so inclined, I’m presenting the show links as an option in your life.<span style=""> </span>Good for multi-taskers, mainly.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Rider with Gary Gonsalves and Vince Vasquez:<span style=""> </span><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><a href="http://www.amatotalk.com/podcasts/AMATO-04-21-09-HR1.mp3">http://www.amatotalk.com/podcasts/AMATO-04-21-09-HR1.mp3</a></span><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Rider with Tom Aaron (from Carl DeMaio’s office<span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">):<span style=""> </span></span><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><a href="http://www.amatotalk.com/podcasts/AMATO-04-21-09-HR2.mp3">http://www.amatotalk.com/podcasts/AMATO-04-21-09-HR2.mp3</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">BTW, I also did a half hour TV show on KUSI with host Paul Bloom on San Diego city budget problems.<span style=""> </span>My other panelists were Mike Aguirre and April Boling.<span style=""> </span>It aired 4/26 on “San Diego People.”<span style=""> </span>Unfortunately it does not seem to be put up on their website.<span style=""> </span>Just as well, I suspect.<span style=""> </span>You’ve heard it all before.</p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="">3.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Rider Rant now also a blog – hopefully<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>I’m rushing to join the 21<sup>st</sup> century, providing my rants as a blog as well as a “push” e-newsletter.<span style=""> </span>It’s still in the experimental stage, but so far, so good -- mostly.<span style=""> </span>Here’s the <u>temporary</u> link:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><a href="http://richardriderrant.blogspot.com/">http://RichardRiderRant.blogspot.com/</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">For most, the e-newsletter will work better, as I’m having problems posting graphics up on the blog site.<span style=""> </span>I’ll have to use URL links for that, if available.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Time permitting, I’ll start posting up past rants, and perhaps other stuff.<span style=""> </span>It may not all be pretty, but hopefully it is searchable.<span style=""> </span>As I said, I’m still experimenting.<span style=""> </span>I may later switch my blog provider.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="">4.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>Our latest recession is really a “mancession”<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>This recession is bad, but for men, it’s REALLY bad.<span style=""> </span>According to US NEWS & WORLD REPORTS (May, 2009), “<b style=""><i style="">Men account for nearly 80% of the jobs lost since February 2008</i></b>.”<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">There are higher job losses in manufacturing and construction, where far more men than women are employed.<span style=""> </span>This recession is the opposite of what has been seen in past recessions, where women have often lost more jobs than men.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Men too often rely on muscle rather than brains to make a living.<span style=""> </span>As a result, most college students today are women.<span style=""> </span>According to a USA TODAY 2005 article, 57% of college students are female.<span style=""> </span><b><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://tinyurl.com/acxkn">http://tinyurl.com/acxkn</a><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="">Clearly, most professional positions in the future will be “manned” by women.<span style=""> </span>More and more, guys are becoming stud muffins and trophy husbands, but not breadwinners.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Oddly enough, there are still affirmative action policies favoring women at many universities.<span style=""> </span>Others have started affirmative action for male applicants.<span style=""> </span>At least employment in affirmative action programs is still one area where the economic downturn has had zero effect.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Not that these programs produce anything but unfair discrimination, mind you.<span style=""> </span>But hey, employment is good, regardless of productivity!<span style=""> </span>Right?</p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="">5.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>Night of the Living Death Tax<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>Contrary to what the Obama administration is claiming (no new taxes for the next couple of years), they plan to dramatically boost the death tax a.k.a. “estate tax.”<span style=""> </span>Not really a surprise, but they are trying to deny it.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Most of you needn’t worry.<span style=""> </span>With the recession, your personal wealth is now low enough to avoid such taxes.<span style=""> </span>However, it will hurt job formation (as the article details), further bumping up unemployment in coming years.<span style=""> </span>Fortunately we can all work for the government.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123846422014872229.html#mod=djemEditorialPage"><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123846422014872229.html#mod=djemEditorialPag</span>e</a></p> <ul type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" spt="75" preferrelative="t" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"> </v:formulas> <v:path extrusionok="f" gradientshapeok="t" connecttype="rect"> <o:lock ext="edit" aspectratio="t"> </v:shapetype><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_1" spid="_x0000_i1025" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Need a Real Sponsor here" style="'width:149.25pt;height:23.25pt;"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\RICHAR~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.gif" title="Need a Real Sponsor here"> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><img src="file:///C:/Users/RICHAR%7E1/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.gif" alt="Need a Real Sponsor here" shapes="Picture_x0020_1" width="199" border="0" height="31" /><!--[endif]--></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></li></ul> <ul type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><a href="http://online.wsj.com/public/search?article-doc-type=%7BReview+%26+Outlook+%28U.S.%29%7D&HEADER_TEXT=review+%26+outlook+%28u.s."><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">REVIEW & OUTLOOK</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">MARCH 31, 2009</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></li></ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b><span style="font-size: 24pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Night of the Living Death Tax <o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Obama's budget quietly resurrects it in 2010.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Lawrence Summers, President Obama's chief economic adviser, declared recently that "Let's be very clear: There are no, no tax increases this year. There are no, no tax increases next year." Oh yes, yes, there are. The President's budget calls for the largest increase in the death tax in U.S. history in 2010.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The announcement of this tax increase is buried in footnote 1 on page 127 of the President's budget. That note reads: "The estate tax is maintained at its 2009 parameters." This means the death tax won't fall to zero next year as scheduled under current law, but estates will be taxed instead at up to 45%, with an exemption level of $3.5 million (or $7 million for a couple). Better not plan on dying next year after all.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">This controversy dates back to George W. Bush's first tax cut in 2001 that phased down the estate tax from 55% to 45% this year and then to zero next year. Although that 10-year tax law was to expire in 2011, meaning that the death tax rate would go all the way back to 55%, the political expectation was that once the estate tax was gone for even one year, it would never return.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">And that is no doubt why the Obama Administration wants to make sure it never hits zero. It doesn't seem to matter that the vast majority of the money in an estate was already taxed when the money was earned. Liberals counter that the estate tax is "fair" because it is only paid by the richest 2% of American families. This ignores that much of the long-term saving and small business investment in America is motivated by the ability to pass on wealth to the next generation.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The importance of intergenerational wealth transfers was first measured in a National Bureau of Economic Research study in 1980. That study looked at wealth and savings over the first three-quarters of the 20th century and found that "intergenerational transfers account for the vast majority of aggregate U.S. capital formation." The co-author of that study was . . . Lawrence Summers.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Many economists had previously believed in "the life-cycle theory" of savings, which postulates that workers are motivated to save with a goal of spending it down to zero in retirement. Mr. Summers and coauthor Laurence Kotlikoff showed that patterns of savings don't validate that model; they found that between 41% and 66% of capital stock was transferred either by bequests at death or through trusts and lifetime gifts. A major motivation for saving and building businesses is to pass assets on so children and grandchildren have a better life.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">What all this means is that the higher the estate tax, the lower the incentive to reinvest in family businesses. Former Congressional Budget Office director Douglas Holtz-Eakin recently used the Summers study as a springboard to compare the economic cost of a 45% estate tax versus a zero rate. He finds that the long-term impact of eliminating the death tax would be to increase small business capital investment by $1.6 trillion. This additional investment would create 1.5 million new jobs.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">In other words, by raising the estate tax in the name of fairness, Mr. Obama won't merely bring back from the dead one of the most despised of all federal taxes, and not merely splinter many family-owned enterprises. He will also forfeit half the jobs he hopes to gain from his $787 billion stimulus bill. Maybe that's why the news of this unwise tax increase was hidden in a footnote.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><a name="_Hlk226784280"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="">6.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>California’s bogus think tanks – and media bias<o:p></o:p></span></b></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">RIDER COMMENT (sent earlier to some insiders):<span style=""> </span>I guess I retain a special place in my heart for SD U-T reporter/columnist Dean Calbreath.<span style=""> </span>His poorly reasoned and badly referenced liberal “business” commentaries seem to set me off – I guess because he’s perhaps the most prominent local big government columnist (with apologies to all the OTHER local big government columnists).<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">His recent commentary got me going again.<span style=""> </span></span></span><a href="http://tinyurl.com/cybsk9"><span style=""><b>http://tinyurl.com/cybsk9</b></span><span style=""></span></a><span style=""><b><span style=""> </span></b></span><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>I’ve posted several rebuttal comments to his column online (at the same link), but much is a rehash of stuff I’ve distributed previously.<span style=""> </span>However, here’s some fresh material:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="">To refute claims “by some business leaders” that California’s high tax and heavy regulatory policies are really not a problem, Calbreath in this column turns to Steven Levy, the head of the Center for the Continuing Study of the California Economy (CCSCE). Google this outfit, and you'll find it's a firmly left-of-center "think tank" that consistently favors ever higher taxes and fees. Levy and presumably CCSCE are at least partially funded by the San Francisco Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation, two liberal funding sources.
<br />
<br />Of course, Calbreath – true to form – never mentions the liberal bias of CCSCE. We are supposed to conclude that this is an objective source of information. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="">It's not. <span style=""> </span>Not even close.
<br />
<br />Here’s more evidence of CCSCE’s bias.<span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="">Levy <u>et al</u> put together the clever but totally bogus online California Budget Challenge, in conjunction with "Next 10," a far left outfit. Take the challenge propaganda test:
<br /></span><a href="http://www.nextten.org/budgettool/site/thesim/flashcheck.html"><span style="">http://www.nextten.org/budgettool/site/thesim/f...</span><span style=""></span></a><span style="">
<br />Now go a few pages in to vote your preference on the six May statewide props. Look at the pop up window summarizing Prop 1A.<span style=""> </span>This supposedly objective summary <u>does NOT mention the $16 BILLION tax increase tied to Prop 1A!</u> That's standard Democratic Party strategy -- blatant deceit through omission of facts. Clearly Next 10 and CCSCE are owned by the Dems, and have zero credibility.
<br />
<br />If you punch through the rest of the California Budget Challenge, you'll find the state budget survey choices are
<br /><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>A. Cut services.
<br /><span style=""> </span>B. Change nothing.
<br />
<br />There is no option to reduce runaway government employee compensation, nor to privatize government services. All innovative solutions are off the table in an effort to force people to conclude that the only option is to raise taxes.
<br />
<br />CCSCE puts out detailed "analysis" of the state economy that totally ignores the adverse effects of our high taxes and crushing regulatory climate. Indeed, CCSCE is pushing for repeal of Prop 13, and the 2/3 voter approval requirement for passing new taxes.
<br /></span><a href="http://www.ccsce.com/pdf/Californias_Future_Economy_and_Population.pdf"><span style="">http://www.ccsce.com/pdf/Californias_Future_Eco...</span><span style=""></span></a><span style="">
<br />
<br />Levy is up front about his preference for higher tax solutions. See his August 2008 article "A Tax Increase Will Help the California Economy." </span><a href="http://www.ccsce.com/pdf/A_Tax_Increase_Wil_Help_the_California_Economy.pdf"><span style="">http://www.ccsce.com/pdf/A_Tax_Increase_Wil_Hel...</span><span style=""></span></a><span style=""> .
<br />Go back and look at previous CCSCE materials, and you'll find that they are ALWAYS pushing for more taxes and fees.
<br />
<br />Levy and Calbreath confuse the health of the California state and local GOVERNMENTS with the health of the California state ECONOMY. Obviously they are not the same <a name="_Hlk226784142">– </a>indeed, the case can be made that bigger (healthier by Levy's benchmark) these governments are, the less healthy is the economy.
<br />
<br />My bottom line question is: Why do the U-T business page editors allow Calbreath (and reporters) to quote such biased liberal sources without insisting on full disclosure of the source's bias? Let me assure you that, if Heritage, or Cato, or Reason, or any other low tax, limited government source were quoted, the bias of that source would be included – as it rightfully should be.
<br />
<br />U-T editors, let's have a little parity here.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style=""> </span>***</span></p> <span style=""></span> <p class="MsoNormal"><a name="_Hlk226782931"></a><a href="http://tinyurl.com/cybsk9"><span style=""><b><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">http://tinyurl.com/cybsk9</span></b></span><span style=""></span></a><span style=""><b><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <span style=""></span> <h3>DEAN CALBREATH</h3> <h1>S. California can be center of universe – if stars align</h1> <p class="date">2:00 a.m. April 5, 2009</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Etc.</p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="">7.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>Fiscal Child Abuse<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2009/04/fiscal-child-abuse.html">http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2009/04/fiscal-child-abuse.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="">8.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>Modern technology finally reaches CalTrans<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Looks like CalTrans is going to lay off another 9000 workers.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Turns out the Japanese have invented a shovel that stands up by itself.<span style=""> </span>(rimshot)<o:p></o:p></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="">9.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>NRA is giving free memberships<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>The NRA is giving FREE 1-yr memberships to everyone that wants to join. <span style=""> </span>Please join and pass it around, they are trying to build up their membership to fight pending legislation that impacts our right to bear arms.<span style=""> </span>The outfit is far from perfect, but it is the most effective national gun rights organization we have.
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<br /></span><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><a href="http://www.nrahq.org/nrabonus/accept-membership.asp" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">http://www.nrahq. org/nrabonus/ accept-membershi p.asp</span></a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="">10.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>Obama’s huge new debt on the unborn and our children is staggering<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">RIDER COMMENT: </span><span style=""> </span>Everyone is vaguely uneasy about the massive deficits Obama will be running – all in the name of “stimulus.”<span style=""> </span>Well, personally, I DO find it stimulating – like a root canal is stimulating.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The amount of debt being imposed on us all is a crushing burden.<span style=""> </span>Sadly, it’s the perfect debt to impose, because the people who will ultimately carry the load are too young to vote, or not even born yet.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>Even the young adults who so ardently voted for charismatic Obama don’t yet grasp what is happening, or who will pay for it.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">But let’s get to specifics.<span style=""> </span>This from an independent, indeed liberal paper quoting a staid, objective source.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2009/03/21/GR2009032100104.html?sid=ST2009032100105"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Washington Post</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 5pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">In the first independent analysis, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office concluded that President Obama's budget would rack up massive deficits even after the economy recovers, forcing the nation to borrow nearly $9.3 trillion over the next decade.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1027" type="#_x0000_t75" style="'width:300.75pt;height:247.5pt'"> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\RICHAR~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image004.png" title=""> </v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]-->
<br /><!--[endif]--></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="">11.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>Liberal columnist’s pathetic attempt to justify Prop 1A<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>A few weeks back I met with the editorial board of the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE to represent (along with Assemblyman Chuck DeVore) the opposition against Prop 1A.<span style=""> </span>Five Prop 1A representatives were present.<span style=""> </span>Fortunately reason prevailed, and the U-T has since published an excellent editorial castigating Prop 1A in a formal opposition statement.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">It’s really something to listen to Prop 1A proponents dance and sing, trying without success to avoid the fundamental dishonesty of the unreported and undebated built-in $16 billion tax increase.<span style=""> </span>U-T opinion writer Chris Reed was there, and writes about that meeting in his blog below, plus dissecting an amazing column by liberal LA TIMES apologist George Skelton.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://weblog.signonsandiego.com/weblogs/afb/archives/032942.html">http://weblog.signonsandiego.com/weblogs/afb/archives/032942.html</a></p> <h3>George Skelton's biggest whopper yet: 'Nothing sneaky' about Prop. 1A</h3> <p class="MsoNormal">
<br />So the ballot language and TV ads for Proposition 1A carefully omit the fact that it extends huge tax hikes for two years. So the advocates for 1A who met with the Union-Tribune editorial board, including Joel Fox, admitted they were troubled by the deceptiveness of the 1A campaign. So on their <a href="http://calbuzzer.blogspot.com/2009/04/were-just-sayin-who-does-cta-think.html">calbuzz blog</a>, veteran state government watchers Jerry Roberts and Phil Trounstine -- no flame-throwing John and Ken acolytes -- are mocking CTA ads for 1A as being grossly misleading. And what does LAT columnist George Skelton, voice of the Sacramento political-media establishment, do? Write a simply bizarre column asserting that up is down, left is right, right is wrong. Here is his headline:</p> <p><em>"There's nothing sneaky about Proposition 1A"</em></p> <p>In it, he quotes Assembly GOP leader Mike Villines as saying the following:</p> <p><em>"We're not trying to trick anybody ... . This never has been an attempt to be sneaky."</em></p> <p>Yo, George, yo, Mike -- if 1A is all so pure, why isn't the ballot language much more straightforward (and accurate)? Then why do 1A proponents almost always gloss over the two-year extension of tax hikes that 1A includes?</p> <p>What's particularly dishonest about Skelton's column is that he knows full well that the only reason Karen Bass and Darrell Steinberg went along with creating a rainy-day fund that diverts revenue is that 1A is not a hard spending cap at all. It doesn't preclude raising taxes. And Bass has said over and over again -- ON THE RECORD -- that she wants to expand what products and services are taxed in California. I predict with 100 percent confidence that Bass will hijack the pending report from Gerry Parsky's tax reform commission on the day it is released as part of an effort to sharply raise state revenue, i.e., taxes.</p> <p>Skelton has to know this. So why won't he write a column that explains the real narrative of what's going on behind the scenes? Here's why: He is the voice of the California media-political establishment, and this establishment knows the public would recoil if it understood what the establishment was up to.</p> <p>I'll give Roberts and Trounstine the final word by noting that what they say about the CTA's ad applies to Skelton and the Sacramento establishment in general:</p> <p><em>Just wonderin' how stupid the California Teachers Association thinks we are, given their new "Yes on Propositions 1A and 1B" TV ad and the matching mailer that arrived on Wednesday.</em></p> <p><em>Here's the essence of their argument:</em></p> <p><em>"Prop 1A will control state spending and create long-term reserve funds to protect against more cuts to our schools, our children's health care programs and funding for police and fire.</em></p> <p><em>"Prop 1B will begin paying back some of the devastating cuts to our public schools and community colleges -- when the economy improves."</em></p> <p><em>Yo! CTA! What about the $16 billion in tax increases that 1A extends in order to keep the budget afloat? Not important enough to mention? Are we too dense to possibly understand why this might actually be a good idea? Or are you just too weasley to actually try to make the policy case for taxes ?</em></p> <p><em>"Repay and Protect Our Schools" is a swell slogan -- but it lies by omission. And when voters figure it out, which they will, given that thousands of people are screaming about the tax hikes at rallies around the state, fuggedaboutit.</em></p> <p>How stupid do you think we all are, George Skelton?</p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;">Extremely stupid, evidently.</p> <p style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="">12.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>Tax-free Internet shopping may be at an end<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>One bad aspect of the current downturn is that politicians are desperate to collect “their” revenue from the hapless population.<span style=""> </span>It looks like a major push is on at the federal level to require out-of-state vendors to collect sales tax from buyers.<span style=""> </span>Fortunately y’all can afford it – and politicians assure us it’s a FAR better option than actually reining in runaway government spending.<span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10220649-38.html"><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10220649-38.html</span></a></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="">13.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>Government warnings about “Rightwing extremists” is bogus – and frightening<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>First there was the right wing terrorist profiling report from Missouri law enforcement, and now the Department of Homeland Security puts out pretty much the same blathering nonsense.<span style=""> </span>Laughable, until you think about where this mindset can lead totalitarian authorities – to MY doorstep, among other places.<span style=""> </span>See the story below.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">A side comment in the article deserves special note – the part about how TV and movies love right wing conspiracies and terrorists – ignoring real terrorist threats from other sources, and ignoring that such organized right wing (often evil business bosses) terrorist threats seldom happen.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I love “24,” the series on intrepid torturer Jack Bauer beating back one terrorist threat after another.<span style=""> </span>I use the tension to ride my stationary bike to nowhere.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In the series – which has run for 6-7 years, all the terrorist are right wingers, or Muslims funded by shadowy right wing manipulators.<span style=""> </span>Seldom if ever does a movie or TV terrorist thriller present as villains the REAL terrorists of the world – left wing groups and Islamic faithful.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Such pounding by Hollywood takes its toll on the audience’s understanding of what to fear.<span style=""> </span>This drumbeat IS intentional, rest assured.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Here’s an excellent article, followed by a cartoon that sums it up nicely.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.lewrockwell.com/suprynowicz/suprynowicz127.html">http://www.lewrockwell.com/suprynowicz/suprynowicz127.html</a>
<br />
<br /> April 20, 2009
<br />
<br /> <b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">'Rightwing Extremists' Are Concerned About 'Restrictions
<br /> on Firearms Ownership and Use'</span></b>
<br /> by Vin Suprynowicz, <a href="mailto:vsuprynowicz@reviewjournal.com">vsuprynowicz@reviewjournal.com</a>
<br />
<br /> Back in March, an unnamed Missouri police officer leaked to the press a report issued by the Missouri Information Analysis Center (MIAC) - part of the law enforcement "fusion" effort now being organized by the
<br />Department of Homeland Security around the country - titled "The Modern Militia Movement" and dated Feb. 20, 2009.
<br />
<br /> The MIAC report specifically described supporters of presidential candidates Ron Paul, Chuck Baldwin, and Bob Barr as "militia" influenced terrorists and instructed the Missouri police to be on the lookout for supporters displaying bumper stickers and other paraphernalia associated with the Constitutional, Campaign for Liberty, and Libertarian parties.
<br />
<br /> Just a fluke, all taken out of context, apologists explained at the time - when the document received any coverage, at all.
<br />
<br /> But now comes a new, April 7 assessment from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, titled "Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment," obtained by Reuters and other news media on April 14.
<br />
<br /> Actually, what the document finds is just the opposite of what its overblown title suggests: "The DHS/Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) has no specific information that domestic rightwing terrorists are
<br />currently planning acts of violence," the report admits at the outset.
<br />
<br /> Nonetheless, such characters need to be watched, the boys in Washington now advise.
<br />
<br /> After all, "Rightwing extremists may be gaining new recruits by playing on their fears about several emergent issues. The economic downturn and the election of the first African American president present unique drivers for rightwing radicalization and recruitment," the report continues.
<br />
<br /> Got that? Although your government can't find any actual EVIDENCE that any "rightwing extremists" are planning any violent or criminal acts, government agents are now advised to keep a close eye on them.<span style=""> </span>Just in case.
<br />
<br /> The report warns that military veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with combat skills could be recruitment targets, especially those having trouble finding jobs or fitting back into civilian society.
<br />
<br /> Also worth keeping an eye on, the report warns, are "those that are mainly anti-government, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority."
<br />
<br /> Good heavens! Does anyone still harbor such a dangerous notion, in 21st century America? Why, if folks like Tom Jefferson and James Madison were here today, they'd be arrested, apparently.
<br />
<br /> "These assessments are done all the time, this is nothing unusual," DHS spokeswoman Sara Kuban insists.
<br />
<br /> Some domestic commentary has been right on target.<span style=""> </span>Constitutional attorney John Whitehead, for instance writes a cogent piece asking "Are we all enemies of the state?"
<br />
<br /> But since it offers the advantage of some geographic perspective, I particularly enjoyed the analysis of James Delingpole.
<br />
<br /> "Such is the latest wheeze dreamed up by the Obama administration to distract us from the fact that roughly half America now realises the man's New Deal II project is a slow-motion car crash from which in four agonized years time the US will be lucky to escape even half-way recognisable," Mr. Delingpole commented on Wednesday.
<br />
<br /> "Today - Tax Day - many of these ordinary, decent, Obama-fearing folk have gathered at Tea Party events in 500 locations across the US to protest against rising taxes and the ever increasing role of Big Government in their lives.
<br />
<br /> "How has the Obama machine responded? Well, funnily enough, in a manner which would surely meet the approval of its Socialist counterparts on this side of the pond: by smearing the opposition."
<br />
<br /> The Homeland Security directive is designed "to help police spot the tell-tale signs indicating potentially dangerous right wing extremism," Mr. Delingpole points out. "They include: Being unimpressed by America's
<br />first 'African-American' president; Objecting to tax hikes; Disliking big government; Talking concernedly about the state of the economy and job loss, especially in the manufacturing and construction sectors," (and) Opposition to abortion, gay marriage and gun control.
<br />
<br /> "No really, I'm not making this up. Here's a representative paragraph:
<br />
<br /> "Many rightwing extremists are antagonistic toward the new presidential administration and its perceived stance on a range of issues, including immigration and citizenship, the expansion of social programs to minorities, and restrictions on firearms ownership and use. Rightwing extremists are increasingly galvanized by these concerns and leverage them as drivers for recruitment. .
<br />
<br /> "Sound familiar?," Mr. Delingpole asks. "Well it should do to anyone who has watched a TV thriller in the last two decades. Have you noticed how the bad guys in these series hardly ever to belong to any of the
<br />terrorist organisations which pose a genuine threat (animal rights; Islamists; etc) but almost invariably to some sinister extreme right terror group we've never heard of before?
<br />
<br /> "Leftie screenwriters, bien-pensant ecclesiastical bloggers, ghastly lefties generally, just love the idea that the greatest danger to the world comes from the extreme right.<span style=""> </span>And it just doesn't.<span style=""> </span>Right-wing extremism is a mythical left-liberal bogeyman, nothing more," Mr. Delingpole concludes.
<br />
<br /> "Burgeoning Liberal Fascism, on the other hand: now there's something we should worry about very much indeed."
<br />
<br /> <i style="">Vin Suprynowicz is assistant editorial page editor of the daily Las Vegas Review-Journal and author of The Black Arrow.</i>
<br />
<br /> © 2009 Vin Suprynowicz</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">This cartoon sums it up nicely.<span style=""> </span>If you can’t see it, it’s at this web page (the cartoon about profiling).</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.redstate.com/dia0420/">http://www.redstate.com/dia0420/</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <o:p>
<br /></o:p><div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> </div> <h3><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">14. <span style=""> </span>President Obama as Dr. Evil: He wants to cut federal spending by $100 mill-yun dollars</span></h3>
<br />
<br /> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>You'll want to read this Chris Reed blog on Obama's spending cut initiative and play the short classic video. Trust me.</span> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://weblog.signonsandiego.com/weblogs/afb/archives/033041.html"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">http://weblog.signonsandiego.com/weblogs/afb/archives/033041.html</span></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p>We're running a deficit of $6.4 billion a day this month -- $192 billion divided by 30 -- and the Obama administration seeks headlines by <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5isOFwdbq0tsqatW6vJpkDRTI1gMgD97M9S4O0">announcing an initiative</a> to cut the grand total of $100 million out of the immense federal budget:</p> <p><em>WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama convened his first formal Cabinet meeting, and the White House said he would challenge department and agency chiefs to look for ways to cut $100 million out of the federal budget.</em></p> <p><em>Back from his fence-mending trip to Latin America and the Caribbean, Obama planned to remind the panel that American families are having to make tough financial decisions and need to know the government is spending their money wisely, too, a senior administration official said. The official discussed Topic A for the session on grounds of anonymity because it was to be behind closed doors.</em></p> <p>This is beyond Onionesque. No wonder the official announced this anonymously. To be on the record would be to guarantee a lifetime of ridicule.</p> <p><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">UPDATE:</span></strong><b style=""> A friend asked me to put this in context of family income. Reducing a $2.3 trillion annual deficit by $100 million is akin to reducing a $23,000 credit card debt by $1.<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p>That's right.</p> <p>One dollar.</p> <p><span style=""> </span>……</p> <p>Or maybe this depiction from the Heritage Foundation will help:</p> <p><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><a href="http://author.heritage.org/Press/ALAChart/alachart-detail.cfm?customel_datapageid_244663=317720">http://author.heritage.org/Press/ALAChart/alachart-detail.cfm?customel_datapageid_244663=317720</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p> </div> <p style="margin-left: 74.25pt; text-indent: -20.25pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="">15.</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style=""> </span>1970 Earth Day predictions are must reading – total bunk<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>Dire predictions of earth’s ecological demise are found almost daily in the paper – mostly from people who make their living making dire predictions.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Scary stuff.<span style=""> </span>But reliable predictions?<span style=""> </span>Based on past performance, not likely.<span style=""> </span>At the very least, they are highly suspect, with much evidence countering their doomsday assertions.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">That’s what makes a reread of the 1070 headlined predictions worth reviewing.<span style=""> </span>The first Earth Day got the ball rolling, but was based on flawed science and bogus projections.<span style=""> </span>Downright funny stuff, if it weren’t still taken so seriously by the media and the public.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><b><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><a href="http://tinyurl.com/d66xdt">http://tinyurl.com/d66xdt</a><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p> </div> <p style="margin-left: 74.25pt; text-indent: -20.25pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style=""></span></span></b></p>
<br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">NOTE:<span style=""> </span>If you would like to receive my <u>free</u> periodic “Richard Rider Rant” e-newsletter with more of this type of information and analysis, just drop me an email at </span></b><a href="mailto:RRider@san.rr.com"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">RRider@san.rr.com</span></a><b><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">.</span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> Richard Rider, Chair, San Diego Tax Fightershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259117224037487367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972576313341501285.post-62016086966645922202009-04-21T09:32:00.001-07:002009-04-21T09:32:59.752-07:00<style></style><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 24pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">RICHARD RIDER RANT<span style=""> </span>3/30/09<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(49, 132, 155); line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Rockwell','serif';">Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else.</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(49, 132, 155); line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(49, 132, 155); line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Rockwell','serif';">-- Frederic Bastiat, French Economist (1801-1850)</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 45pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">“California vs. Other States” comparison to be regular Rider Rant feature [since updated]</span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 45pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">U.S. keeps high corporate tax rates – our competitors don’t<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 45pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Let the feds “invest” your social security contributions?<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 45pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Calibri;">4.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Bang-bang stimulus policy in D.C.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 45pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Calibri;">5.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">CA unemployment growth rate 73% higher than national average<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 45pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Calibri;">6.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Scripps Ranch firemen often are like Maytag repairmen<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 45pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Calibri;">7.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Unfortunately, you are the star in this cartoon<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 45pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Calibri;">8.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">San Diego Tax Fighters’ position on upcoming CA state props<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 45pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Calibri;">9.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Prop 1A – the something for nothing gambit<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 45pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Calibri;">10.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""> </span>Conservative British MEP gives “what for” to liberal Prime Minister<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 45pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Calibri;">11.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""> </span>The new medical savings plan – trips to Mexico<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 45pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Calibri;">12.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""> </span>Have prop speech, will travel<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 45pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Calibri;">13.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""> </span>Why should teachers be a protected class?</span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 45pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Calibri;">14.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""> </span>To understand the Prop 1A scam, revisit Props 57-58<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 45pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Calibri;">15.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""> </span>Anyone can afford a home – in Detroit<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 45pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Calibri;">16.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""> </span>Rising sea levels?<span style=""> </span>Not on <u>this</u> planet<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 45pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Calibri;">17.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""> </span>CA budget con job dissembled by <u><em>Ray Haynes<o:p></o:p></em></u></span></span></b></span></span></p> <p class="blogbody" style="margin: auto 0in auto 45pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"><span style="">18.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"><span style=""> </span>Consensus on global warming?<span style=""> </span>Oh really?</span></b></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p></div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 45pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""> </span>“California vs. Other States” comparison to be regular Rant feature<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">RIDER<span style=""> </span>COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>In my previous rant, I “published” a comparison of CA vs. the other states on several economic indicators.<span style=""> </span>I’ve decided to make this a dynamic document that I will continuously expand, update and republish in my rant.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Here’s the latest expanded version.<span style=""> </span>Before you read this, consider first ingesting your preferred drug of choice.<span style=""> </span>And, as we say in these chain letters – send this to everyone you know!<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;">California vs. the Other States</span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> (a work in progress)<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">by Richard Rider, Chairman, San Diego Tax Fighters<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Phone: 858-530-3027<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a name="_Hlk225602878"></a><a name="_Hlk225767259"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Here’s a startling comparison of California taxes and economic climate with the rest of the states.<span style=""> </span></span></span></a></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">I suspect this comparison is an advance screening of an ad we’ll be seeing in our surviving CA papers, courtesy of the business development departments of neighboring states.<span style=""> </span></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></span></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">These ads will also include California’s high utility costs, our inability to secure a reliable supply of water, and massive new “Green” energy regulatory costs.<span style=""> </span>Only an insane CEO would bring a business to CA, and many already here (except for retail businesses dependent on local customers) must be looking outside the CA border for future expansion, or even to move.</span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><u><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></span></o:p></span></u></b></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><u><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">And here’s the kicker</span></span></u></b></span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">:<span style=""> </span>These ratings below are the facts BEFORE the new CA taxes take effect!!!<span style=""> </span>Our car tax is almost DOUBLING, we are adding another full 1% sales tax on 1 April and our income tax surcharge (and loss of the child tax credit) will gouge us as well.<span style=""> </span>Furthermore, there are scores of tax hike and new spending bills now in the state legislature – including local option income taxes, and sales taxes on services.</span></b><br /><br /></span><a name="_Hlk225602954"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">California has the highest State income tax in the Nation.<span style=""> </span>9.3% at $45,000. 10.3% at $1,000.000</span></a></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></span></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Highest State sales tax in the Nation.<span style=""> </span>7.25% (not counting local taxes)</span></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></span></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Highest State car tax in the Nation.<span style=""> </span>0.65% per year on value of vehicle.</span></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></span></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Corporate income tax rate is the highest in the West.<span style=""> </span>8.84%</span></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></span></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">2009 Business Tax Climate Ranks 48th in the Nation.<br /></span><a name="_Hlk225220158"></a></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/topic/15.html"><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">www.taxfoundation.org/research/topic/15.html</span></span></span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style=""></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></span></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="">Fourth highest capital gains tax<span style=""> </span>9.3%</span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.thereibrain.com/realestate-blog/capital-gains-tax-rates-state-by-state/109/"><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt;">http://www.thereibrain.com/realestate-blog/capital-gains-tax-rates-state-by-state/109/</span></span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></span></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Third highest gas and diesel tax in the Nation (at $2.00 a gallon).<span style=""> </span>At $3.00 a gallon, we are numero uno.<br /></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a name="_Hlk225228093"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></a><a href="http://www.api.org/statistics/fueltaxes/"><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">www.api.org/statistics/fueltaxes/</span></span></span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style=""></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></span></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Fourth highest unemployment rate in the Nation.<span style=""> </span>(January, 2009)<span style=""> </span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.bls.gov/news.release/laus.nr0.htm"><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">www.bls.gov/news.release/laus.nr0.htm</span></span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></span></o:p></span></span></span></span></p><span style=""></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a name="_Hlk225603240"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">California’s 2008 “Tax Freedom Day” (the day you stop working for government and start working for yourself) is the fourth worst date in the nation – up from 28<sup>th</sup> worst in 1994.<span style=""> </span></span></a></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/387.html"><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/387.html</span></span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></p><span style=""></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></span></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a name="_Hlk225767372"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">1 in 5 in LA County receiving public aid. <br /></span></a></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-welfare22-2009feb22,0,4377048.story"><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-welfare22-2009feb22,0,4377048.story</span></span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></span></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">California Prison Guards highest paid in the Nation.<br /></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.caltax.org/caltaxletter/2008/101708_fraud1.htm"><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">www.caltax.org/caltaxletter/2008/101708_fraud1.htm</span></span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><br /><span style="font-family:Calibri;">California Teachers highest paid in the Nation.</span></span></span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/001737.html"><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/001737.html</span></span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> and </span></span></span></span><a href="http://www.nea.org/"><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">www.nea.org</span></span></span></span><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style=""><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></span></o:p></span></span></span></p><span style=""></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""><span style="">By a unanimous bond rating agency vote, California now has the lowest bond ratings of any state, edging out Louisiana.</span></span><span style=""><span style=""> </span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/19/BA7F16JLKH.DTL"><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/19/BA7F16JLKH.DTL</span></span><span style=""></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></span></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">America’s top CEO’s rank California “the worst place in which to do business” for the fourth straight year (3/2009).<span style=""> </span>But here’s the interesting part – they think California is a great state to live in (primarily for the great climate) – they just won’t bring their businesses here because of the oppressive tax and regulatory climate.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Consider this quote from the survey (a conclusion reflected in the rankings of the characteristics of the state):<span style=""> </span>“</span></span></span></span><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;">California has huge advantages with its size, quality of work force, particularly in high tech, as well as the quality of life and climate advantages of the state. However, it is an absolute regulatory and tax disaster.”</span></span></span><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://tinyurl.com/cyvufy"><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">http://tinyurl.com/cyvufy</span></span><span style=""></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></b></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">With 12.1% of the nation’s population [36,756,666 divided by 303,824,640], in February, 2009 California was responsible for 20.9% of the newly unemployed.<span style=""> </span>To state it differently, in February California’s growth in the newly unemployed was 72.7% above the national average.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=""></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.bls.gov/news.release/mmls.htm"><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt;">http://www.bls.gov/news.release/mmls.htm</span></span><span style=""></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></b></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">California residential electricity costs an average of 28.7% more than the national average.<span style=""> </span>For industrial use, CA electricity is 48.6% higher than the national average (11/08).<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/table5_6_a.html"><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/table5_6_a.html</span></span><span style=""></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></b></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Consider California’s net domestic migration (migration between states).<span style=""> </span>From April, 2000 through June, 2008 (8 years, 2 months) California has lost a NET 1.4 million people.<span style=""> </span>The departures slowed this past year only because people couldn’t sell their homes.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=""></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.mdp.state.md.us/msdc/Pop_estimate/Estimate_08/table5.pdf"><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.mdp.state.md.us/msdc/Pop_estimate/Estimate_08/table5.pdf</span></span><span style=""></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">These are not welfare kings and queens departing.<span style=""> </span>They are the young, the productive, the ambitious, the wealthy (such as Tiger Woods), and retirees seeking to make their pensions provide more bang for the buck. The irony is that a disproportionate number of these seniors are retired state and local government employees fleeing the state that provides them with their opulent pensions – in order to avoid the high taxes that these same employees pushed so hard through their unions.</span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As taxes rise and jobs disappear, we lose our tax base, continuing California’s state and local fiscal death spiral.<span style=""> </span>This must stop this spiral NOW.</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p></div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 45pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a name="_Hlk226189420"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">U.S. keeps high corporate tax rates – our competitors don’t<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></a></span></p><span style=""></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>Of course, our nation’s tax problems are not limited to California. Consider our country’s oppressive corporate tax rate.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">The U.S. business levy<span style=""> </span>is especially heavy because we tax corporations on both the federal and state level – most other countries have only a single tax.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Aside from driving up the cost of domestic corporate goods, this also makes our businesses less competitive compared to other countries.<span style=""> </span>And the difference is steadily getting worse – not so much because we are raising our corporate taxes, but rather because the rest of the industrial nations are cutting theirs.<span style=""> </span>Currently U.S. corporate tax rates are almost 50% higher than the same tax in other OCED countries (above 50% in high tax California).<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://tinyurl.com/d6c7vl"><b><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:#0000ff;">http://tinyurl.com/d6c7vl</span></b></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><img src="cid:A19C91CB12664E15ACE637F0C54EDA24@RichardRiderPC" shapes="Picture_x0020_7" width="400" border="0" height="611" /></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Georgia','serif';">"<span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">Entrepreneurs are among America's greatest resources. These individuals try to change the status quo because they expect to use resources to create higher value than those resources are currently producing. This takes investments, and investments are risky. The return to these investments is the economic growth that they create, which is profit. Yet the government often taxes these profits twice, once at the business level and then again when the profits are distributed to individuals.</span></span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-family: 'Georgia','serif';">This double taxation not only dampens the incentive to invest, but also obscures who actually bears the burden of these taxes. Corporations are often personified and demonized, but a corporation is a legal entity, not an actual person. Because a corporation is made up of a group of individuals but is not actually an individual, corporate taxes are really taxes on the stakeholders in the corporation. In a U.S. Treasury report, William Gentry points out that empirical studies show that employees and consumers really bear the cost of corporate and investment taxes.</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-family: 'Georgia','serif';">Simulation results show that repealing the corporate income tax alone, which would cost approximately $300 billion in annual tax revenue, would produce by 2012:</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <ul type="disc"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-family: 'Georgia','serif';">2 million more jobs than the baseline scenario;</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <o:p></o:p></span> </li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-family: 'Georgia','serif';">$280 billion more in real GDP);</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <o:p></o:p></span> </li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-family: 'Georgia','serif';">$4,000 more in real disposable income for a family of four;</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <o:p></o:p></span> </li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-family: 'Georgia','serif';">$707 billion more in household net wealth—the base of economic strength and stability.</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <o:p></o:p></span></li></span></ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-family: 'Georgia','serif';">Repealing the corporate income tax would accomplish President Barack Obama's stated goals of increasing investment and ushering in an era of responsibility and economic growth, all at a lower cost than the recently passed stimulus bill. </span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-family: 'Georgia','serif';">Repealing the corporate income tax is a relatively low-cost way to implement the President's stated goals. At a time when U.S. employees are seeing jobs leave the country, a tax plan that increases the competitiveness of the U.S. business environment and encourages saving and investment by individuals would allow entrepreneurs to implement their ideas for dealing with the challenges of the 21st century. It would also encourage job-creating businesses to locate in the U.S. It is important that this country's leaders signal that the United States is still the land of opportunity.</span></i><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Georgia','serif';">"</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Georgia','serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">~Heritage Foundation, "</span></span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.heritage.org/Research/Taxes/bg2248.cfm"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-family: 'Georgia','serif';">Time for a Real Change: Repeal the Corporate Income Tax</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-family: 'Georgia','serif';">"</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Georgia','serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">HT: </span></span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=17746"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-family: 'Georgia','serif';">NCPA</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-family: 'Georgia','serif';"> via Carpe Diem</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p></div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 45pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a name="_Hlk226189456"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Let the feds “invest” your social security contributions?<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></a></span></p><span style=""></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>Opponents of privatizing and earmarking our social security contributions like to bring up “Wall St. greed” – intoning that undeserving financial institutions would love to have such funds directed their way.<span style=""> </span>I guess this is supposedly different from our greedy Congress and Presidents who for generations have used social security funds to pay the OPERATING costs of the federal government, giving back to the fund I.O.U.’s in exchange.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">One big difference between the current SS “plan” and privatizing the system is that the greedy gnomes of Wall St. would still have to win our business.<span style=""> </span>As it now stands, the thugs in D.C. take our money using force twice – once to extract the money from us, and then again by extracting the money from the social security system for their political purposes (and reelection).<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">You BET private capital would like to get hold of our social security funds. But there are no funds to get hold of. <span style=""> </span>Not from past contributions, at least.<br /><br />All that money has been paid out, or loaned to Congress to pay for operating expenses. <span style=""> </span>At this point, our SS "fund" is a shoebox full of I.O.U.'s from the beleaguered taxpayers of America. <span style=""> </span>No one knows how in the world we will pay off these loans. <span style=""> </span>Estimates of the combined unfunded liability of SS and Medicare now exceed an absolutely unimaginable FORTY TO ONE HUNDRED TRILLION DOLLARS – depending on who you want to believe.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style=""> </span>40 T:<span style=""> </span></span><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><a href="http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Next+to+Madoff,+Social+Security+and+Medicare+Are+Real+Ponzi+Schemes-a01611779449"><span style="color:#0000ff;">http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Next+to+Madoff,+Social+Security+and+Medicare+Are+Real+Ponzi+Schemes-a01611779449</span></a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">100 T: <span style=""> </span></span><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><a href="http://www.ncpa.org/pub/ba616"><span style="color:#0000ff;">http://www.ncpa.org/pub/ba616</span></a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><br /><span style="font-family:Calibri;">I see three possibilities for these unfunded liabilities:<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">A.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Massive tax increases on a scale heretofore unimaginable except during world wars.<span style=""> </span>I don’t think that option will fly, but the voting public has disappointed me numerous times.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">B.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">The Weimar Republic gambit: Print money until it is damn near worthless, then use that paper to "pay off" the debt and SS recipients.<span style=""> </span>The problem with that is that Congress gives cost of living increases (NOT required) to recipients, so that likely would be a cycle that would solve nothing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">C.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">When it comes to the SS obligation, simply don't pay it out.<span style=""> </span>Renege on the “social contract.” <span style=""> </span>That means punitive taxes on SS distributions, later retirement ages (both already happening in incremental steps) and ultimately mean-tested SS payments. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">If you save and invest, have a pension or IRA, inherit from family, etc. – you lose most or all of your SS benefits.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">I'd rather put my SS "contributions" with the private sector – warts and all. <span style=""> </span>At least my account would be earmarked – and that's a GOOD earmark.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></span></o:p></p></div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 45pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Calibri;">4.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""> </span>Bang Bang Stimulus Policy in D.C.<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>A good take on the AIG bad bailout policy, followed by more bad policy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 12pt 0in 2.25pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://thinkmarkets.wordpress.com/2009/03/20/bang-bang-policy/"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="color:#0000ff;">Bang Bang Policy</span></span></a><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 6.75pt 0in 2.25pt; line-height: 140%;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); line-height: 140%; font-family: 'Georgia','serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Posted: 19 Mar 2009 10:09 PM PDT<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: 140%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">by Roger Koppl</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black; line-height: 140%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: 140%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">In the mathematics of “optimal control theory” you can sometimes get a system to slam violently between two extremes. You alternate between stepping on the gas as hard as you can and slamming the brakes on full. Mathematicians call such violent swings a “bang bang solution.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: 140%;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">With today’s bill to tax the AIG bonuses at 90%, Congress is making bang bang policy. Bang! Take this money. Bang! Give it back. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">When even the government’s <em><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">fiscal</span></em> policy is subject to such discretionary change, we’re in trouble. When the government uses its discretion to influence the market, it acts as a “Big Player.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Bang bang policy is an extreme example of such discretion. Congress has become a Big Player jacked up on methamphetamine. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">The trouble with Big Players is that you never know where they’re headed. Instead of paying attention to supply and demand in your corner of the market economy, you have to pay attention to the psychological twists and turns of the Big Player. After all, today’s supply and demand conditions don’t mean much when the Big Player can override them on a whim. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">But the twists and turns of Big Player psychology are inherently impossible to predict. Thus entrepreneurs are less able to plan and more eager to curry favor with the Big Player. Economic efficiency, relative scarcity, and product innovation grow increasingly irrelevant to business success. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style="color: black;">Bang bang policy is no way to “stimulate” a weak economy. It’s a pretty good way to increase the arbitrary power of the state, however.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></b></span></p></div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 45pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a name="_Hlk226189924"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Calibri;">5.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""> </span>CA unemployment growth rate 73% higher than national average<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></a></span></p><span style=""></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>In the competition with other states, California is continuing as top contender in the race to the bottom – seemingly in every category except weather.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a name="_Hlk226094359"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">With 12.1% of the nation’s population [36,756,666 divided by 303,824,640], this February California was responsible for 20.9% of the newly unemployed.<span style=""> </span>To state it differently, in February California’s growth in new UNemployment was 72.7% above the national average.<o:p></o:p></span></span></a></span></p><span style=""></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Fortunately the massive state tax increases that take effect 1 April will provide the economic stimulus so desperately needed by our state – well, needed by our state government workers so their pay and pensions remain undisturbed by the economic meltdown.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Raising CA taxes sure will help our unemployment problem, right?<span style=""> </span>Right?<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a name="_Hlk226094404"></a><a href="http://www.bls.gov/news.release/mmls.htm"><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.bls.gov/news.release/mmls.htm</span></span><span style=""></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><span style=""></span> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p></div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 45pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a name="_Hlk226189960"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Calibri;">6.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>Scripps Ranch firemen often are like Maytag repairmen<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></a></span></p><span style=""></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>From time to time I review the monthly responses at my local San Diego fire station (published in our Scripps Ranch association periodical).<span style=""> </span>This latest sample is no exception to what I’ve seen in previous months.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">In the recent <u>two</u> month period, our firefighters responded to a total of 140 calls – about 2.3 calls per 24 hour period.<span style=""> </span>I suspect they made more runs to Starbucks than to “customers.”<span style=""> </span>Here’s the breakdown.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 23.25pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">A.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""> </span>82 <span style=""> </span>medical responses – this is the primary role of firefighters today.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 23.25pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">B.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">14 <span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>fires – including one vehicle fire. <span style=""> </span>That’s fewer than 2 per week.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 23.25pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">C.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">12 <span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>traffic accidents that were not vehicle fires.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 23.25pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">D.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">10 <span style=""> </span>“investigate hazard” calls – none of which was much of a hazard.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 23.25pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">E.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""> </span>3 <span style=""> </span>“special services” – all vehicle lock ins.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 23.25pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">F.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">14 <span style=""> </span>false alarms<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Okay, let’s be fair.<span style=""> </span>The average number of responses citywide for San Diego fire stations is over 6 times per 24 hour period – the Scripps Ranch firehouse is a sleepy station. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">But here’s the kicker:<span style=""> </span>My previous city council critter (Brian </span><a name="_Hlk225402407"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Maienschein</span></a><span style="font-family:Calibri;">) was loved by the locals – he “worked hard” (funny how often politicians use that phrase to describe their efforts) to get us a SECOND Scripps Ranch fire station.<span style=""> </span>Indeed, earlier this decade he thought it was a done deal.<span style=""> </span>Clearly, only funding limitations precluded this idiotic redundancy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></b></span></p></div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 45pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a name="_Hlk226190014"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Calibri;">7.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>Unfortunately, you are the star in this cartoon<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></a></span></p><span style=""></span> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><img src="cid:117E4B9605EC4A3387FDD5D588D1740A@RichardRiderPC" shapes="_x0000_i1026" width="625" border="0" height="474" /></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p></div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 45pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a name="_Hlk226190052"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Calibri;">8.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>San Diego Tax Fighters’ position on upcoming CA state props<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></a></span></p><span style=""></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a name="_Hlk225672406"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>There are six props on the ballot.<span style=""> </span>Here’s our position, with our enthusiasm for our position noted by the number of exclamation marks.<o:p></o:p></span></span></a></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">1A<span style=""> </span>NO!!!!!!<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">2A<span style=""> </span>NO!!!!!!<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">3A<span style=""> </span>NO!!!!<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">4A<span style=""> </span>YES<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">5A<span style=""> </span>YES<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">6A<span style=""> </span>YES!!!!<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Hmmm.<span style=""> </span>Taken together in sequence, that will be easy to remember.<span style=""> </span>Add your own fantasy to make it work for you.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">If you’d like to look over the official info on the six California state props on the May ballot – including the summary, LAO analysis and arguments, you can do so now online:<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.voterguide.sos.ca.gov/"><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.voterguide.sos.ca.gov/</span></span><span style=""></span></span></span></a><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></span></o:p></span></span></p></div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></b></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 45pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a name="_Hlk226190084"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Calibri;">9.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""> </span>Prop 1A scam – the something for nothing gambit<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></a></span></span></p><span style=""></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Prop 1A is being touted as a compromise – tax increases in exchange for a spending cap.<span style=""> </span>Well, at least you DO get the tax increases!<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Let’s ignore for the moment the astonishing effort by the Democrat legislature to hide the $16 billion tax increase – leaving any mention of that out of the “Title and Summary” which is supposed to be an objective presentation of the measure.<span style=""> </span>And let’s ignore the fact that the Democrats picked their OWN Democrat groups to write the opposition ballot argument so that the tax increase is NOT MENTIONED ONCE in the arguments and rebuttals.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Wait, I take that back. Such egregious dishonesty is more than enough justification to vote against this measure.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Nevertheless, even some Republicans are favoring Prop 1A because they think there’s some spending cap.<span style=""> </span>And here’s where we got to the something (higher taxes) for nothing (a fake spending cap).<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Prop 1A has HUGE loopholes. The biggest one is that if taxes are increased, the cap goes up as well.<span style=""> </span>That’s no spending cap at all.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a name="_Hlk225669739"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Here’s what I wrote to a Republican supporting Prop 1A.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></a></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""> </span>I disagree. The Prop 1A limits are not limits. It does nothing to rein in tax increases. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">You claim that tax increases are not much of a threat.<span style=""> </span>Oh really?<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">It's true that, looking back, taxes have not risen THAT often.<span style=""> </span>But look to the future.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">California is more blue state than ever. <span style=""> </span>Progressives rule.<span style=""> </span>The GOP has lost strength in the legislature, and courage (and common sense) in the governor's office.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Furthermore, when we pass the redistricting and "top two" props, you'll see more Democrats elected, along with more wuss Republicans.<span style=""> </span>Increasing taxes and "fees" will be easier than any time in California's history.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">It takes only three seats to change from Republican to Dem in each house to give Democrats their cherished 2/3 majorities – which will give them total control over both taxes and spending.<span style=""> </span>Not that they need that level of control, as the Republican "moderate" pink elephants are going to be easy to cull out of the GOP herd.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">One other variation on this pathetic viewpoint revolves around the idea that ANY spending limitation is better than no spending limitation, no matter how big the accompanying tax increases.<span style=""> </span>I would argue it’s better to have NO spending limit than a fake spending limit.<span style=""> </span>With this measure in place, all efforts at controlling spending and establishing a “hard” spending limit will die.<span style=""> </span>The pitch will be “well, let’s wait a few years to see how this works.”<span style=""> </span>Bad, bad, idea.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Bottom line:<span style=""> </span>If Prop 1A passes, we're screwed.<span style=""> </span>And Prop 1A raises our taxes while offering false hope.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></p><span style=""></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""> </span>---<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a name="_Hlk225672640"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Bill Leonard is a former GOP state legislator, and currently is an elected member of the California Board of Equalization.<span style=""> </span>Here's a quote from his "Leonard Letter" on Prop 1A:<o:p></o:p></span></span></a></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></span></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">***Prop. 1A: LAO Update***<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">The more I scrutinize the mega Budget deal coming before voters on May 19, the worse it looks. When I first heard about it I hoped the spending cap component would take us back to the original Gann limit and I was assured by some that it would. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">The language on the cap is so vague I asked the Legislative Analyst’s Office to calculate what the spending cap in 1A would be for 2009-’10, assuming the cap is in place now. The Analyst’s rough calculation is the cap for the next Budget would be around $108 billion on revenues of only $97 billion. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></p><span style=""></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">It is clear the formula generates a cap far above what we are likely to have, so it will not control spending for many years absent a huge and unexpected spike in revenue. Proposition 1A is a massive tax increase that pretends to control spending. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">It only does the former.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p><span style=""></span> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p></div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 45pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a name="_Hlk226190120"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Calibri;">10.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""> </span>Conservative British MEP gives “what for” to liberal Prime Minister<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></a></span></p><span style=""></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a name="_Hlk225831520"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>This mesmerizing 3.5 minute speech by a Conservative British MEP demonstrates a rhetorical skill we desperately need in this country, yet sadly lack. It’s a masterful speech and spot-on in content. I'm in awe.<o:p></o:p></span></a></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;">We Colonials need to import this guy to Congress.<span style=""> </span>He'd be so far superior to our current lot of losers, he’d would constitute a welcome embarrassment.</span></span></span><span style=""><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Essentially everything he says in his speech applies to Obama, Schwarzenegger and the other dolts running our country into the ground. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><i style=""><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">England’s Prime Minister Brown being given what for.</span></i><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94lW6Y4tBXs"><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style="">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94lW6Y4tBXs</span><span style=""></span></span></span></a><span style=""></span></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></span></o:p></p></div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 45pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a name="_Hlk226190180"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Calibri;">11.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""> </span>The new medical savings plan – trips to Mexico<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></a></span></p><span style=""></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span><a name="_Hlk225845418">In the San Diego area, visits to Tijuana, Mexico for dental work are become more common every year.<span style=""> </span>Savings run from 70% to 85% over U.S. dentists.<span style=""> </span>To a lesser extent, people are looking south of the border for other medical treatment.<o:p></o:p></a></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;">TJ is an awful place, with kidnappings, crooked cops and occasional drug war shootouts.<span style=""> </span>But the savings are so great that many people weigh risk vs. return (savings), and still chose to go.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;">The chance of actually getting kidnapped or shot are rather small.<span style=""> </span>But it’s sad that our tort-plagued medical system has become so expensive that people are choosing to take their chances in TJ for the substantial savings.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;">I think a somewhat more interesting approach would be to combine a vacation into one of the safer resorts in Mexico (or elsewhere), and combine that visit with dental work. Or plastic surgery.<span style=""> </span>Or both!<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;">After we institute national health care, this foreign medical vacation option will probably grow by leaps and bounds.<span style=""> </span>Oh joy!<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><span style=""></span> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p></div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 45pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a name="_Hlk226190212"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="">12.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Have Prop Speech, Will Travel<o:p></o:p></span></b></a></span></p><span style=""></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>I’m the San Diego area designated hitter opposing Prop 1A (and B and C), according to the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.<span style=""> </span>Recently I did the San Diego Chamber of Commerce. <span style=""> </span>We lost that debate, but more on that later.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;">The important thing to note is that, if you are aware of any talks, discussions, forums, etc. concerning these props, let’s get me in the event.<span style=""> </span>All too often the well financed Big Government advocates are calling groups and getting to make presentations about these state props, without any opposing point of view.<span style=""> </span>Whenever possible, we need to rectify that imbalance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p></div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 45pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a name="_Hlk226190272"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="">13.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style=""> </span></span></b></a><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Why should teachers be a protected class?</span></b></span><span style=""><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></span></span></p><span style=""></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>Are education unions about good education, or good job security?<span style=""> </span>Silly question.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-sand26-2009mar26,0,4955376.story"><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:#0000ff;">http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-sand26-2009mar26,0,4955376.story</span></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;">Los Angeles Times</span></b><br />March 26, 2009<br /><br /></span><a name="_Hlk226188764"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Why should teachers be a protected class?</span></span></b></a><b style=""><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b><br /><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Their unions are whipping up hysteria about possible layoffs, but<br />they don't seem to care about getting rid of bad educators.</span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Calibri;">By Larry Sand<br /><br />Earlier this month, United Teachers Los Angeles President A.J. Duffy purposely disrupted a school board meeting to dramatize his plea to save teachers' jobs. Only a few days later, teachers, parents and students participated in more than 100 events across the state aimed at protesting teacher layoffs. Now it's time to step back from all this hysteria over possible layoffs and take a realistic look at where things stand.<br /><br />First, a little background: By March 15, school districts in California were required to send out reduction-in-force notices (RIFs) to any employee whose job might be in jeopardy come fall. The unions are referring to these notices as "pink slips." Now, everyone knows that a pink slip means "You're fired." But it is very clear that these RIFs are nothing more than an alert to a possible layoff -- sort of the difference between a bullet to the head and a warning shot. Still, the California Teachers Assn. went so far as to have a day dedicated to alerting the general populace about the RIFs, calling Friday, March 13 "Pink Slip Friday" -- once again leading all concerned to believe that all teachers receiving RIFs would be shown the door.<br /><br />The simple truth is that no one knows what will happen because there are just too many wild cards in the deck. As Los Angeles Unified School District Supt. Ramon C. Cortines pointed out in an e-mail sent to all teachers, the ultimate fate of the state budget will not be known until budget initiatives are voted on during the May 19 election. Also, there is still no hard information on when federal stimulus money will rain down on L.A. Then there is an early-retirement incentive package that could induce many highly paid veteran teachers to retire, thus allowing newer, lower-paid teachers to keep their jobs.<br /><br />In all honesty, it is certainly possible that some teachers will have to be let go. Although no one would diminish the seriousness of a job loss, we must be realistic. Our state is in dire financial straits -- why should teachers be a protected class? This is especially true in light of the following inconvenient fact: In 2003-04, the LAUSD had 747,009 students in its system, and those students were taught by 36,180 teachers. By 2007-08, the student population had shrunk 7%, to 693,680, but the teaching force had decreased only about 1%, to 35,785. In 2003-04, the student/teacher ratio was 20.64 students per teacher. In 2007-08, it was 19.38 students per teacher. If we went back to the 20.64 ratio of 2003-04, we would need only 33,597 teachers -- 2,000 fewer teachers than we have now. (Unions hate the thought of fewer teachers -- it means<br />less money in the form of dues for them).<br /><br />A very troubling aspect of the layoff scenario is that if teachers are let go, it will be done by seniority. This means that an ineffective teacher on the job for three years gets to keep his or her job over a wonderful teacher who has been on the job for two years. This would be damaging to kids and devastating to the laid-off teachers, many of whom would seek out new professions. But the unions don't seem to care about teacher quality as much as longevity.<br /><br />This archaic system is exacerbated by the tenure or "permanence" scheme insisted on by the unions. Under this set-up, once a teacher has been in a school for two years, he is essentially given a job for life. Getting rid of bad teachers is almost impossible. If we could dismiss poor teachers instead of being forced to keep them, the system would improve greatly. The next time a union official starts talking about "the children," please ask why the union insists on this system, which clearly does not benefit children.<br /><br />In Los Angeles, we have some of the highest-paid teachers in the U.S. -- most of whom have a world-class health plan in a state whose economy is falling apart, where the unemployment rate tops 10% and whose citizens are already among the most taxed in the country -- whining about the possibility that a few jobs may be lost.<br /><br />It is unfair to paint all teachers with the union brush. But it would behoove those who dissent from the UTLA and CTA party line to let their union know how they feel, and perhaps seek alternatives.<br /><br /><br /></span><i style=""><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Larry Sand, a Los Angeles teacher for more than 27 years, is the<br />president of the California Teachers Empowerment Network.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></span></p></div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><i style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 45pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a name="_Hlk226190360"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Calibri;">14.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><span style=""> </span>To understand the Prop 1A con job, revisit Props 57-58<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></a></span></p><span style=""></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a name="_Hlk225935444"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">At the request of then-state legislator Tom McClintock, in 2004 I wrote the ballot argument against Prop 58, the California "Balanced Budget Act."<span style=""> </span>That last word in the title should have tipped off the voters, but didn't. <span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></a></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Prop 58 was indeed an act – a magic act.<span style=""> </span>Complete with disappearing promises and illusionary savings.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;">BACKGROUND:<span style=""> </span>The governor wanted $15 billion worth of bonds issued to pay California’s state OPERATING expenses -- largely inflated salaries and pensions.<span style=""> </span>This was Prop 57.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;">The pitch was, “give us the money (and pay interest on it for 30 years), and we’ll solve California’s budget problems through reforms.”<span style=""> </span>The problem for Schwarzenegger was that this use of muni bonds was prohibited by the CA Constitution – such bond proceeds were limited to infrastructure spending.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Hence Prop 58 was needed to overturn this longstanding taxpayer protection.<span style=""> </span>To make this palatable, the governor supposedly arranged a trade-off – the $15 billion in exchange for new, solid budget reforms included in Prop 58.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;">In our opposition arguments to Prop 58, we made clear that there were loopholes galore in the measure – that this would NOT solve our budget woes.<span style=""> </span>Opponents castigated us for our concerns, and assured all that this was the real deal.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;">It’s worth going back to read the actual Prop 58 ballot arguments – and to see who signed them.<span style=""> </span>To see all four arguments, go to: <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://primary2004.sos.ca.gov/propositions/prop58-arguments.html"><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">http://primary2004.sos.ca.gov/propositions/prop58-arguments.html</span></span><span style=""></span></span></a><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;">The most interesting of the four arguments is the rebuttal by Prop 58 proponents to our opposition argument.<span style=""> </span>Here it is:<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b><span style="font-size: 18pt; color: red; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">REBUTTAL to Argument against Proposition 58<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: red; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Don't be fooled by the opponents. The California Taxpayers Association supports the California Balanced Budget Act. <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: red; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Proposition 58 WILL REQUIRE A BALANCED BUDGET for the first time. State government spending in California is out of control. Over the past three years, state spending has significantly exceeded state revenues. <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: red; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Under Proposition 58, the Governor and the California State Legislature must ENACT a BALANCED BUDGET. It will CLOSE A LOOPHOLE that was used to create the huge deficit. <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: red; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Governor Schwarzenegger's California Economic Recovery Plan includes both Propositions 57 and 58. Combined, the two measures will allow California to refinance its debt and prevent such a situation from EVER HAPPENING AGAIN. We should not be allowed to SPEND MORE MONEY THAN WE HAVE. <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: red; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Proposition 58 requires the Legislature to enact a balanced budget and if circumstances change after they pass the budget, the Governor is required to call them into special session to make mid-year changes to the budget, so that we end the year with A BALANCED BUDGET. And Proposition 58 prohibits the Legislature from acting on any new legislation until the budget is balanced again. <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: red; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Proposition 58 does not change the Gann Spending Limit. It is still the law, the BALANCED BUDGET ACT provides a new tool in the fight against overspending. <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: red; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Proposition 58 prohibits borrowing for future deficits. Proposition 58 requires building a reserve of at least $8 billion. Please support the California Recovery Plan and vote YES ON PROPOSITIONS 57 and 58.</span></b></span></span><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>It’s really stunning to read just how ignorant, misinformed and perhaps dishonest these proponents were.<span style=""> </span>At the very least, their credibility is ruined.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Now, note who signed this rebuttal.<span style=""> </span>These are ostensibly all Republicans, I believe.<span style=""> </span>And note particularly the third signer.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;">ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, <i>Governor<br />State of California</i> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;">BILL HAUCK, <i>Chairman<br />California Constitution Revision Commission </i><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: red; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">ALLAN ZAREMBERG, <i>Chairman<br />California Chamber of Commerce </i><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;">The California Chamber of Commerce has been wrong far more than it’s been right on taxes and bonds.<span style=""> </span>Contrary to what people would expect, they FAVOR most bonds and tax increases – as long as big business is not heavily hammered by such taxes.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;">The CA Chamber of Commerce is a Big Government proponent, intent on currying favor with politicians for special interest legislation and government construction contracts.<span style=""> </span>Based on this dishonest/inaccurate/condescending ballot argument, this outfit is not to be trusted in such fiscal matters.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Which brings me to Loren Kaye.<span style=""> </span>This fellow runs the Chamber’s “think tank.”<span style=""> </span>Mr. Kaye is currently working full-time, attacking any opponents of Prop 1A while glossing over the huge tax increases in the prop. <span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;">The parallels between Prop 57-58 and Prop 1A are obvious – almost eerie.<span style=""> </span>Both are empty promises at the cost of many billions.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;">The bottom line:<span style=""> </span>The CA C of C and Kaye have come out for Prop 1A and the massive tax increases.<span style=""> </span>Given the Chamber’s abysmal decision to actively support Prop 57-58, it seems to me that in such matters of government finance, their advice should tell the voters how NOT to vote.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></span></p></div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 45pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style=""></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 45pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a name="_Hlk226190406"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="">15.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style=""> </span>Anyone Can Afford a Home – in Detroit<o:p></o:p></span></b></a></span></span></p><span style=""></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>Even in this depressed economy, a San Diego area home can be swapped for at least <u>20</u> average homes in Detroit.<span style=""> </span>You can buy your own subdivision!<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;">And 100 years from now, if Al Gore is right, global warming will make that area a paradise, while our San Diego homes will be under water.<span style=""> </span>Plan ahead!<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></span></p> <h3 style="margin: 10pt 0in 0pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="color:#4f81bd;"><span style="font-family:Cambria;">Average Home Price in Detroit Falls to $13,638 <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></span></h3> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><img src="cid:494902B5FC3B4436A2A5FE51ED6E349D@RichardRiderPC" shapes="Picture_x0020_1" width="400" border="0" height="317" /></span></span></span><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><span style=""></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;">According to the Michigan Association of Realtors (</span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://208.176.52.77/content/upload/AssetMgmt/Site/HOUSING/Jan09stats.pdf"><span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';"><span style="color:#0000ff;">data here</span></span></a><span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';">), the average sales price of a Detroit home fell to $13,638 in January, a 42.6% decline from the $23,755 average home price in January 2008, and a 25% decline from last year's average price of $18,128. Unit sales increased in Detroit by +37% in January 2009 to 1,007 homes, compared to 736 home sold last January. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';">At the state level, the average home sales price fell by 37% in January to $84,832, compared to last January's average price of $134,721.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';"><span style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></span><span style="font-family:Arial;">***<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Based on sales, the median price of San Diego homes is about $290,000, down from about $605K at the peak.</span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p></div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 45pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a name="_Hlk226190439"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="">16.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style=""> </span>Rising sea levels?<span style=""> </span>Not on <u>this</u> planet<o:p></o:p></span></b></a></span></p><span style=""></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://tinyurl.com/d4zayx"><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:#0000ff;">http://tinyurl.com/d4zayx</span></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Last Updated: 6:31PM GMT 28 Mar 2009<br /><br /><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Rise of sea levels is 'the greatest lie ever told'</span></b><br /></span><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><i style="">The uncompromising verdict of Dr Mörner is that all this talk about the sea<br />rising is nothing but a colossal scare story, writes Christopher Booker.</i><br /><br />If one thing more than any other is used to justify proposals that the world<br />must spend tens of trillions of dollars on combating global warming, it is<br />the belief that we face a disastrous rise in sea levels. The Antarctic and<br />Greenland ice caps will melt, we are told, warming oceans will expand, and<br />the result will be catastrophe.<br /><br />Although the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) only<br />predicts a sea level rise of 59cm (17 inches) by 2100, Al Gore in his<br />Oscar-winning film An Inconvenient Truth went much further, talking of 20<br />feet, and showing computer graphics of cities such as Shanghai and San<br />Francisco half under water. We all know the graphic showing central London<br />in similar plight. As for tiny island nations such as the Maldives and<br />Tuvalu, as Prince Charles likes to tell us and the Archbishop of Canterbury<br />was again parroting last week, they are due to vanish.<br /><br />But if there is one scientist who knows more about sea levels than anyone<br />else in the world it is the Swedish geologist and physicist Nils-Axel<br />Mörner, formerly chairman of the INQUA International Commission on Sea Level<br />Change. And the uncompromising verdict of Dr Mörner, who for 35 years has<br />been using every known scientific method to study sea levels all over the<br />globe, is that all this talk about the sea rising is nothing but a colossal<br />scare story.<br /><br />Despite fluctuations down as well as up, "the sea is not rising," he says.<br />"It hasn't risen in 50 years." If there is any rise this century it will<br />"not be more than 10cm (four inches), with an uncertainty of plus or minus<br />10cm". And quite apart from examining the hard evidence, he says, the<br />elementary laws of physics (latent heat needed to melt ice) tell us that the<br />apocalypse conjured up by Al Gore and Co could not possibly come about.<br /><br />The reason why Dr Mörner, formerly a Stockholm professor, is so certain that<br />these claims about sea level rise are 100 per cent wrong is that they are<br />all based on computer model predictions, whereas his findings are based on<br />"going into the field to observe what is actually happening in the real<br />world".<br /><br />When running the International Commission on Sea Level Change, he launched a<br />special project on the Maldives, whose leaders have for 20 years been<br />calling for vast sums of international aid to stave off disaster. Six times<br />he and his expert team visited the islands, to confirm that the sea has not<br />risen for half a century.<span style=""> </span>Before announcing his findings, he offered to show<br />the inhabitants a film explaining why they had nothing to worry about. The<br />government refused to let it be shown.<br /><br />Similarly in Tuvalu, where local leaders have been calling for the<br />inhabitants to be evacuated for 20 years, the sea has if anything dropped in<br />recent decades. The only evidence the scaremongers can cite is based on the<br />fact that extracting groundwater for pineapple growing has allowed seawater<br />to seep in to replace it. Meanwhile, Venice has been sinking rather than the<br />Adriatic rising, says Dr Mörner.<br /><br />One of his most shocking discoveries was why the IPCC has been able to show<br />sea levels rising by 2.3mm a year. Until 2003, even its own satellite-based<br />evidence showed no upward trend. But suddenly the graph tilted upwards<br />because the IPCC's favoured experts had drawn on the finding of a single<br />tide-gauge in Hong Kong harbour showing a 2.3mm rise. The entire global<br />sea-level projection was then adjusted upwards by a "corrective factor" of<br />2.3mm, because, as the IPCC scientists admitted, they "needed to show a<br />trend".<br /><br />When I spoke to Dr Mörner last week, he expressed his continuing dismay at<br />how the IPCC has fed the scare on this crucial issue. When asked to act as<br />an "expert reviewer" on the IPCC's last two reports, he was "astonished to<br />find that not one of their 22 contributing authors on sea levels was a sea<br />level specialist: not one". Yet the results of all this "deliberate<br />ignorance" and reliance on rigged computer models have become the most<br />powerful single driver of the entire warmist hysteria.<br /><br />.For more information, see Dr Mörner on YouTube (Google Mörner, Maldives and<br />YouTube); or read on the net his 2007 EIR interview "Claim that sea level is<br />rising is a total fraud"; or email him - </span><a href="mailto:morner@pog.nu"><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:#0000ff;">morner@pog.nu</span></a><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> - to buy a copy of<br />his booklet 'The Greatest Lie Ever Told'<br /><br />. . .</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Blown away</span></b><br /><br />The Climate Change Secretary, Ed Miliband, timed his jibe impeccably last<br />week when he said that opposing wind farms is as "socially unacceptable" as<br />"not wearing a seatbelt". Britain's largest windfarm companies are pulling<br />out of wind as fast as they can. Despite 100 per cent subsidies, the credit<br />crunch and technical problems spell an end to Gordon Brown's £100 billion<br />dream of meeting our EU target to derive 35 per cent of our electricity from<br />"renewables" by 2020.<br /><br />Meanwhile the Government gives the go-ahead for three new 1,000 megawatt<br />gas-fired power stations in Wales. Each of them will generate more than the<br />combined average output (700 megawatts) of all the 2,400 wind turbines so<br />far built. The days of the "great wind fantasy" will soon be over.<br /><br />© Telegraph Media Group Limited 2009<br /><br /></span><a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/liberty_outlook"><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:#0000ff;">http://groups.yahoo.com/group/liberty_outlook</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p></div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 45pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a name="_Hlk226190482"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="">17.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style=""> </span>CA budget con job dissembled<o:p></o:p></span></b></a></span></p><span style=""></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>One termed out, fiscally frugal legislator we sorely miss is Ray Haynes.<span style=""> </span>At least he’s still writing.<span style=""> </span>Here’s his explanation of the CA budget games.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.flashreport.org/blog0a.php?postID=2009032903401335&scen=1#comm_2009033015254783"><span style="color:#0000ff;">http://www.flashreport.org/blog0a.php?postID=2009032903401335&scen=1#comm_2009033015254783</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <h3 style="margin: 10pt 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a href="http://www.flashreport.org/blog0a.php?postID=2009032903401335&authID=2006111815095457"><span style="font-family:Cambria;color:#0000ff;">I'm So Confused</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></span></h3> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 1pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <h4 style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">by </span><a href="http://www.flashreport.org/blog0a.php?authID=2006111815095457"><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:#0000ff;">Ray Haynes</span></a><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> - State Capitol </span><a href="http://www.flashreport.org/blog0b.php?authID=2006111815095457"><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:#0000ff;">(bio)</span></a><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> </span><a href="mailto:Ray@flashreport.org"><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:#0000ff;">(email)</span></a><a title="print" href="http://www.flashreport.org/blog0a.php?postID=2009032903401335&authID=2006111815095457&printMe=1" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:#0000ff;">(print)</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></span></h4> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> <span class="blogdate">3-29-2009 12:40 am</span> </span></span></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; border-color: -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext; border-width: medium medium 1pt; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;"> <p class="blogbody" style="border: medium none ; margin: auto 0in; padding: 0in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Ok, so.......where exactly are the cuts in this new budget?<br /><br />I only asked because I am a little confused. If you read the LAO's analysis in the voter pamphlet about the "budget solutions" that are leading to the need for the May election, it says that the budget solutions included (1) $15 billion in spending reductions; (2) $12.5 billion in tax increases; (3) $8 billion in federal funds; and (4) $5 billion in borrowing from the lottery. We also know that another $1 billion is coming from redirecting funds from health programs and the First Five program, all to solve an approximately $40 billion difference between the baseline spending (what the state wanted to spend) and projected revenue (what the state expected to collect in taxes).<br /><br />Now, we know that tax increases, borrowing, redirecting money from other accounts and federal funds are all designed to avoid having to cut the base of any program. These are "revenue enhancements" specifically designed to avoid "deep and painful cuts in essential state services," like free health care and education to illegals and free abortions to teenagers, and six figure salaries to life tenured bureaucrats (as well as extraordinarily large retirements), things that, of course, the people of the state of California cannot live without, and, if they were actually cut or reduced, would cause the death of senior citizens and young children throughout California. I can see how we wouldn't want to cut these things, but leaders just have to make tough decisions. If we reduce a $150,000 a year bureaucrat's lavish pension, and some senior citizen dies because of that, sometimes that's just what happens in the real world. It's tough, but it has to be done.<br /><br />But wait. We don't have to do that. Obama has come to the rescue. The state has scored $17.5 billion in federal welfare in the most recent stimulus package. $17.5 billion is $9.5 billion more than they thought they were going to receive when they asked the people of the state of California to reach deep into their pockets for a $12.5 billion tax increase. After reading the stories on this windfall, however, I now find out this federal bailout is just not enough to defer any of the requested tax increases. OH NO!!!! Those cheap feds just didn't want to bail out the state's tax payers. I was so upset. Obama just didn't do enough to help out all those Californians who voted for him who must now pay higher taxes.<br /><br />But wait again. Now I am confused. The proposed budget shortfall is $39.5 billion. With the $17.5 billion in federal bailout money, the proposed solutions are now $49 billion, and we know that taxes are not going to be reduced because this extra $9.5 billion is just not enough to defer any tax increase at all. I know I Iearned math in public schools, but that was before the teacher's union took it over, and turned our children into their own private cash cow. $49 billion is $9.5 billion more than $39.5 billion, and if the legislature and the Governor don't reduce our taxes, just what is going to happen to that extra money?<br /><br />That's right. No more cuts in spending. The final part of the budget scam is now complete. By the time this is all over, the entire $15 billion in alleged cuts will be covered by the feds, the state will have a whole lot more in new taxes. Proposition 1A, if it really is enacted, will provide about as much of a fig leaf to the business end of the state's rape of the taxpayers as the emperor's new clothes did to his. No spending cuts, no spending cap, and $12.5 billion in new taxes. I have to admit, I am now really impressed with the negotiating ability of the Republicans who voted for this budget deal. They really helped us out.</span></span></p> <p class="blogbody" style="border: medium none ; margin: auto 0in; padding: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"> </span></span></o:p></p></div> <p class="blogbody" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"> </span></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="blogbody" style="margin: auto 0in auto 45pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><a name="_Hlk226190503"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="">18.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style=""> </span>Consensus on global warming?<span style=""> </span>Oh really?<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></a></span></p><span style=""></span> <p class="blogbody" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family:Arial;">RIDER COMMENT:<span style=""> </span>Below is a note from the libertarian Cato Institute about the lack of consensus on global warming.<span style=""> </span>I strongly encourage you to click on the link to the full page advertisement they ran in major national newspapers.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="blogbody" style="margin: auto 0in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">FROM:<span style=""> </span>Cato Institute</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;">Thought you might enjoy seeing this </span><a title="http://http//www.cato.org/special/climatechange/cato_climate.pdf" href="http://www.uptilt.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=77z,15rxp,2oul,c5t,4joj,ky1,jjqb"><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:#0000ff;">ad</span></a><span style="font-family:Calibri;"> we ran as a full page in today’s <em><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">New York Times</span></em>, <em><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">Washington Post</span></em>, <em><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">Washington Times</span></em>, <em><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">Chicago Tribune</span></em> and <em><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">Los Angeles Times</span></em>. Looks familiar, doesn’t it? The idea behind the “With all due respect Mr. President, that is not true.” headline is to point out that on major issues – economic “stimulus” and climate change -- President Obama seems to try to avoid debate by pretending there is no debate. The 120 or so top experts on climate change, including MIT’s Richard Lindzen, make it clear there is plenty of debate going on over global warming. Coincidentally, the <em><span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">New York Times Magazine</span></em> ran a cover story yesterday on Freeman Dyson, one of the most brilliant scientists of our time, focusing on his skepticism about the threat of global warming. Anyway, we wanted to bring this latest ad to your attention. </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;"><img src="cid:1834798461874C4F919A95D5F9020F55@RichardRiderPC" shapes="_x0000_i1028" nosend="1" width="1" border="0" height="1" />Cato Institute<br />1000 Massachusetts Avenue NW<br />Washington, DC 20001</span></span></p><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span>Richard Rider, Chair, San Diego Tax Fightershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03259117224037487367noreply@blogger.com1