Pete Wilson on Reforms
Former governor Pete Wilson doesn’t think many of the governance reforms circulating from commissions, think tanks and good government groups are necessary if the legislature would just follow the law.
While opposing the idea of a constitutional convention at an Orange County town hall meeting Wednesday, Wilson argued that the constitution requires that the legislature provide a balanced budget. If legislators don’t comply, the former governor argues a writ of mandamus issued by a court would bring a wayward legislature into line. A writ of mandamus allows a court to demand a government officer or agency to perform a mandatory or purely ministerial duties correctly.
Wilson declared deficit spending must be averted at all costs. He explained to avoid deficit spending he went along with the legislative Democrats to raise taxes during the first year of his governorship when Republican legislators would not support his effort to cut education, the largest portion of the budget.
About Those Banks . . .
Last week we learned that, of
America’s 8,195 banks, 416 are in trouble right now. The FDIC calls them "problem banks." That means the FDIC is watching those
416 banks like the proverbial hawk.
If any, or all, of those 416 banks have reserve numbers which dip below
the fail-safe levels established by the FDIC, those banks will fail, just like
the 81 banks which have already crashed and burned so far this year, 45 in the
second quarter of this year alone.
Banks lost $3.7 Billion in the second quarter – loans that went south
are the reason.
No
problemo, you say – that’s what the FDIC is for – the FDIC which proudly
says that not one single dollar of deposits insured by the FDIC has ever gone
unpaid. Why, Congress last Fall,
during that blizzard of financial meltdowns that scared us all so profoundly,
even went another step and raised the FDIC’s level of insured deposits from the
old $100,000 per account to a new $250,000 threshold. Not to worry, right?
Not so fast.
Losing Lunch
Those of us who work on the Miracle Mile in Los Angeles have enjoyed a lunchtime treat in recent months.
Dining trucks have been showing up. Some days, so many of them line up on Wilshire Boulevard that you can have your choice of barbecue, organic sandwiches, two or three kinds of Korean fare or Mexican food from a traditional taco truck. A dessert truck also shows up occasionally.
The trucks, most of them anyway, serve good food at a reasonable price. And it’s kind of fun to line up on the sidewalk and exchange a little banter with others who work in your office tower or in the building next door. I dare say, a little community gets formed in those lines.
But, alas, the trucks were scant last week. In fact, one day at noon I walked out to see which food trucks were at the curb, but nary a one was to be seen.