Plenty of Officeholders, but Few Politicians
What California needs are a few politicians.
Oh, the state’s got plenty of people who are in politics, holding office, casting votes, giving speeches and collecting their per diems in the Legislature. What we’re short of, though, are real politicians, men and women who pride themselves not so much on getting elected, but on getting things done, things they believe will leave California a better place.
There are plenty of names out there, mostly drawn from years gone by: Democrats like Jesse Unruh, Willie Brown and, more recently, Darrell Steinberg. Or Republicans like Bill Campbell, Ken Maddy and Jim Brulte. Any Sacramento veteran could probably come up with another dozen names or more.
This isn’t some misty walk down Memory Lane, yearning for some Golden Age of bipartisanship – or post-partisanship — that never was and never should be. No, the best politicians are strong partisans who aren’t afraid to work with strong partisans on the other side, each looking to make the absolute best deal for their side.
California’s Budget – A View from Los Angeles
So
much for campaign promises and listening to the voting public!
We’re
now almost three months into Governor Jerry Brown’s reign as the state’s chief
problem solver. The Democrats control
both houses of the Legislature and it now takes a simple majority to pass a
budget. Yet, gridlock remains. The status quo, meaning the annual budget
stalemate and finger-pointing war between Republicans and Democrats, is uglier
than ever…and it’s not even summer in Sacramento.
Gov.
Brown, who optimistically boasted of his experience to get things done last
fall, has taken to YouTube to plead his case with
California voters…his latest, filmed after the Governor called a halt to
negotiations, clearly shows a frustrated state chief executive. Lately, Gov. Brown has pledged to take his
budget frustration show on the road to venues throughout the state, as if a few
rallies attended by his supporters or press conferences railing against
Republicans will convince GOP legislators to change their minds. What’s interesting is that in his
"frustrated" YouTube video, and news reports following the budget collapse, Gov.
Brown drops any pretense of accommodation and adopts a hard-core Democrat Party
line – basically, accept his plan; a failure to do so is not democratic.
We Need Legislators to Focus on Growing Jobs, Not Anti-Job Legislation
At the California Retailers Association, we believe the first step to economic recovery is creating a positive environment for businesses. In this economic crisis, we need our legislators to focus on ways to encourage businesses to move to California and to expand and grow in this state.
Today legislation by Senator Juan Vargas (Senate Bill 469) will be heard in the Senate Governance and Finance Committee that will severely hamper businesses that generate thousands of jobs across the state. This legislation is bad for our state and bad for business.
First, our state is facing a massive fiscal crisis with an over 12 percent unemployment rate and an estimated $24.5 billion deficit. So we all need to be working together to create economic opportunity and new jobs which will then lead to increased revenues for the state. We do not need legislation that will actually discourage businesses from expanding in our state and adding jobs. Just one new large store opening leads to hundreds of local jobs and more sales tax revenues. That’s exactly what our state needs right now.
A Call for Pension Transparency
About 200 local agencies in California have
increased pension benefits this year, as noted in pensiontsunami.com.
How these benefits are eventually paid is a concern to California voters.
As an actuary who has worked on pension formulas for forty years, I know that
actuaries are the key figures in making that decision.
The pension plan advisors and actuaries should be
held to a higher standard than in the past. Responsible public
disclosure from actuaries should indicate (in advance) the financial consequences
on public pension plans for decisions made on benefit changes. Lack of such
transparency has put our current pension system in jeopardy.
Here are three ideas for change:
1. Employers
should be held to a standard that promises (benefits) must be paid for (funded)
during the period that employees provide services.