Wringing Bell
Citizens of the City of Bell responded vociferously to the Los Angeles Times article revealing that top city officials pocketed outrageous salaries. The Times is not letting up on the story. Not only was there a follow-up story on the most recent city hall meeting on Wednesday, but two columns, one by Steve Lopez and one by James Rainey, on the Bell situation ran the same day.
Now comes the news that I touched on in my column on Bell last week: what Robert Rizzo, the nearly $800,000 a year Bell city manager, pockets to head out the door. According to the Times, Rizzo would command a minimum pension of $600,000 the first year (increasing dramatically over time) for the rest of his life.
Other estimates have Rizzo bringing in over $1 million a year in pension a decade from now.
The Other Trickle Down Theory
Has anyone else noticed how progressives, when they’re defending big pensions for public workers, sound almost exactly like conservatives who are defending tax cuts for the rich?
There are two trickle-down theories, and here’s one thing they have in common: the belief that if you simply put money in the hands of the right people, benefits will somehow flow to the rest of us.
Here’s another thing both theories have in common: an absence of evidence that they work.
The Steinbrenner Connection: Sports & Politics
As the world of baseball mourned the death and celebrated
the life of legendary New York Yankees owner and manager George Steinbrenner
last week, I couldn’t help but think of the strong connection that exists
between sports and politics.
Especially in Steinbrenner’s case.
Some baseball fans may not know that George Steinbrenner was
a lifelong Republican. He contributed generously to the campaigns of Rudy
Giuliani, George W. Bush, Richard Nixon, and George H.W. Bush over his
lifetime.
San Diego’s Economic Recovery Must Begin With Small Businesses: An Action Plan
As a businessman I know firsthand the stress and hardships of owning your own business. Making a small business successful is hard work in itself, but being forced to deal with multitudes of red-tape from a local bureaucracy can make running a business nearly impossible.
Small businesses are the backbone of our local economy comprising 92% of businesses in the City of San Diego and supporting small businesses is critically important.
More importantly economic experts will tell you that economic recoveries start with the small business sector. They are the first to do the hiring; they are also the first to make the capital purchases and new investments.