GOP failure in California
Be it real or be it perception, the GOP’s perceived anti-immigrant (and especially anti-Hispanic) stance is losing (has lost) the minority vote in this state. The vociferous conservative element that puts essentially all blame for our problems on illegal immigrants projects itself as the GOP.
Some of the most popular right wing talk show hosts build their loyal (essentially all white) following with their Jihad against illegal Hispanics (mainly Mexicans).
Say what you will — this is PERCEIVED as anti-Hispanic. ALL Hispanics.
Here’s a test — if we decided to reduce our illegal immigrant problem by quadrupling the number of legal immigrants we allowed, would that placate the group that rails against the Hispanics currently breaking the law by illegally entering our country? After all, now they would be legal.
Jerry Brown May Make a Surprisingly Good Governor
Granted, Jerry Brown is crazy. But in this screwball state, he might be crazy in a good way.
Who knows what Governor Brown will do? I don’t. I doubt Jerry knows either. But, oddly enough, I predict that, from a fiscal conservative viewpoint, he’ll be far better than any of us imagined.
Not great. Perhaps not even good. Just better than conservatives expect — a lot better.
I would have preferred Meg Whitman as governor. But not by much. I viewed her as Arnold in a skirt. I ended up voting for the Libertarian Dale Ogden, and felt good about it afterwards.
Jerry Brown is an iconoclast who has reached the final office of his long political career. He was put back in the governorship by the Democrats — especially the labor unions. But there is no political reason for him to pander to his supporters.
Billboard comparing head San Diego city librarian’s pension with the 4-star general Commandant of the United States Marine Corps
You will want to watch this video!
This mobile billboard is showing up at each debate and gathering, and is driving around town the rest of the time. Prop D proponents are not pleased!
California Taxes vs. Other States
I spend a lot of time comparing California’s tax and regulatory climate with other states. The reason is simple —- people are reluctant to leave a country (especially the U.S.), but they will leave a state. And so will businesses.
The news is not good. Consider California has the:
— Third-worst state income tax in the nation.
— Highest state sales tax rate in the nation.
— Highest corporate income tax rate west of the Mississippi (our economic competitors) except for Alaska
— Fourth-highest capital gains tax.
Chula Vista Election Great News
On May 5th, a clear message was sent that voters will no longer obediently approve the politicians’ tax increases. And that’s great news!
Chula Vista city politicians held a special mail ballot election to raise the city sales tax an additional full 1% to 9.75%. In a dramatic turnaround from similar previous sales tax elections around San Diego County, the city politicos and public employee labor unions got their collective keisters kicked, losing the vote by a lopsided two-to-one margin.
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. But these are no longer normal times.
San Diego City Council Facing Reality
In a surprising move, the San Diego City Council unanimously voted to support Mayor Sanders’ call for imposing 6% salary cutbacks on city workers. Finally, some common sense at city hall!
Necessity is the mother of invention – and reform. In essence, in this economy, the city was rapidly running out of budget options – and the city council recognized this fact of life.
Yet, as good as the news is, it’s only a first step towards fiscal sanity. A good first step, but still only a first step.
The city’s retirement health care costs and funding deficit are continuing to grow. The city’s pension annual payment will rise dramatically in the next two years, barring an economic miracle. Indeed, San Diego is the only city with two fully funded pension plans – allowing 30-year city workers to retire with 140% pensions. Finally, most city employee salaries are still above comparable private sector wages – for no good reason.
San Diego’s Triple Pension Scandal
The problem of the San Diego city pension deficit is well known. But what is not understood is that many city workers are often entitled to three pensions, not just one.
Even with the new 2nd tier pension structure (a rather tepid improvement that marginally reduces taxpayer pension costs), all current San Diego employees are largely grandfathered under the lucrative plans discussed below.
The problem is deeper than the pension underfunding, or even the burgeoning unfunded liability that now exceeds two billion dollars. The problem is that city workers get a compensation package that’s far more generous than what the taxpayers receive, or what is necessary to hire city workers. It is fundamentally unfair to the employers of the city workers – the beleaguered taxpayers of San Diego.
Below is an example of what pensions a career “general” city employee (not police and firefighters) can receive. Police and firefighters get two pensions (assuming they participate in the DROP pension program), but general employees sometimes can receive three pensions.
Expand Our Firefighting Options
Higher taxes are not the answer to fight brush fires in San Diego County – we need to spend more of our existing funds protecting the public.
But just spending more money on public safety is not the only answer. Far from it.
Indeed, calls for spending hundreds of millions of dollars annually to expand the county professional firefighting forces to battle the next major wind-whipped brush fire – an event that happens once every 3 to 8 years – is madness. As it now stands, professional firefighters spend only 3-4% of their average shift actually fighting fires.
What will the hundreds of additional firefighters be doing 24/7, 365 days a year between those rare, huge brush fires? Besides getting paid, that is.
The Bogus County Funding Crisis
Recently local media has been reporting frightening, one-sided stories about San Diego County’s $78 million county budget shortfall, and the dire consequences we face.
For instance, a SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE article warned that this deficit “could force dramatic cuts in programs aimed at children and low-income families.” The next day, the U-T reported that this reduction “could force cuts in public safety . . . .”
The NORTH COUNTY TIMES reports that “The shortfall could lead to cuts in jobs and programs that serve the poor, children and senior citizens, officials said.” TV stories parroted the same lines, fed to them by county officials.
$78 million is indeed a lot of money. But compared to what? The total county budget is $5.2 billion. Do the math (no media story did). That’s a 1.5% drop in funding.
County Pension Drove Assessor Smith from Office
There’s been much speculation in the press about the sudden resignation of San Diego County Assessor Greg Smith. Theories abound.
But there’s no mystery why Assessor Smith is leaving and taking another job. The county pension plan drove Greg Smith out.
But not the way you’d think. Financially, he’d be a fool to stay. And Assessor Smith is no fool.
Greg is one of the sharpest, most responsive elected officials in the county. I’ve written a complimentary op-ed about him earlier this year, touting his efforts to ease the process of adjusting down one’s property taxes in a recession. I talked with Greg about his retirement, and he was quite open about his story.