CA Revenue comes in 6.5% lower than expected (and some common sense solutions)

[Shadowfax]

[quote=Hobie]Deficits (spending) does not mean we are not taxed enough.

Repealing Prop13 is not the answer. Actually it will self repeal. As more homes resell the a new tax basis is established and there you are. Wha la, more taxes in the coffers.
[/quote]

Prop 13 self-repealing is not quite that simple. Many “sales” are exempted so that the Prop 13 tax rate is maintained. Exemptions are available for parent-child sales, moving ownership of a house from one form of ownership to another, and some others, all having the effect of siphoning off tax dollars from property that has multiplied in value over many years.

[Shadowfax]

[quote=patientrenter][quote=EconProf]I taught for 23 years, mostly at SDSU, while also investing in SD real estate, which eventually displaced teaching in my family’s priorities……. [/quote]

It is a little bit bizarre, you’ll have to admit, EconProf, that an advocate for sensible free markets happens to have made most of his living from a sheltered government job, and from an asset bubble – California real estate – that was stoked by government actions such as easy money policies from the Federal Reserve, government guarantees from the FHA and Fannie Mae etc, and a complete failure to enforce underwriting standards on the home loan industry. [/quote]

One word: hypocrite: a person who feigns some desirable or publicly approved attitude, especially one whose private life, opinions, or statements belie his or her public statements.

[DomoArigato]

[quote=EconProf]Got a small pension at 50 and free health care for family. Way too generous and no I’m not giving it back.[/quote]

So you’re an ‘I got mine to hell with everyone else’ type of person. Thanks for admitting that you’re a hypocrite. I’ll be sure to discount everything you say about pensions from now on.

I foresee a vote for that unprincipled flip-flopper and Obamacare architect Mat Romney in your future. You two appear to be a perfect match.

[DomoArigato]

[quote=Shadowfax][
One word: hypocrite: a person who feigns some desirable or publicly approved attitude, especially one whose private life, opinions, or statements belie his or her public statements.[/quote]

Paul Krugman had an article in his blog on this the other day. The right has redefined hypocrite to mean someone that advocates against their own interests while someone like Econprof who made his living off the government and is now retired on the taxpayer’s dime but who advocates against anyone else getting the same great deal he got is considered to have principles. Whatever it takes for a right-winger to be able to sleep at night I guess.

In my experience, the further to the right one is, the more likely they are to derive any money they make directly from the government.

[an]

To all who call EconProf a hypocrite, how many of you have 401(k)/IRA/etc., own a home, profited from the many bubbles/busts?

[EconProf]

Phew, lots of issues here, hopefully I can address a few. I was adjunct faculty, not full-time, which is a different world. Only teaching quality guaranteed rehiring each semester, not tenure, publishing, or schmoozing. Accordingly, it is a meritocracy far different from the incentives tenured faculty live in.
SDSU has always had a pretty good student evaluation system, polling students annonymously at the end of each semester about what they learned from their professor. A study I did found that, controlled for different courses and other variables, students on average learned far more from our stable of part-timers than the full-time faculty. Yet we were paid one-third, per course, as much as full timers teaching the same thing. And we often taught more students than full-timers. (BTW, that’s controlled for average grades handed out too). Yes, full-timers do some advising, administration, and research that part-timers don’t, but that does not fully explain the pay gap. So yes, that grates on you after a while. Add to that a foot in the private sector and one tends to switch from flaming liberal to libertarian lite, as I did. Anyway, to address the charge of hypocrisy, my pension of $540/month and health care I see as deferred compensation for years of relatively low pay.
Based on how our governor and legislature act, our state economy will continue to underperform our neighbors, and far more fiscal austerity is in store for us. That should include cuts in overly-generous state pensions, including mine.

[urbanrealtor]

Econprof’s descriptions of compensation for adjuncts is consistent with descriptions given by my friends in academia.

[bearishgurl]

Let me ask you Piggs calling EconProf a “hypocrite” if YOU would give back the benes you “earned” and not avail yourself of them if you were in his place. It appears he COULD have stayed longer and thus got way more pension but decided instead to get the fvck out and take early retirement.

I can tell you from personal experience that vocal employees working in government can be ostracized by the powers that be. It doesn’t matter if they’re “right” or not.

I, too am a “local” govm’t “retiree” but will never avail myself of their health benefits as, in my case, they are priced at (expensive) COBRA rates. Half of my health-plan offerings are higher than my monthly pension! Our “health care allowance” is between about $220 and $280 mo (about 1/3 to 1/4 of the mo premium). If you retired after 3/02 (I didn’t) under an “enhanced plan,” you are not eligible for the “health care allowance.”

It’s worthless to me, anyway.

Shadowfax, correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t you a Federal worker? I agree with you in that Prop 13 will NOT “repeal itself” due to all the reasons you mentioned. In CA, there is no reason whatsoever to let a “Prop 13” property slip out of family ownership unless there are no heirs or those heirs are now dead. It would be STUPID for even a group of heirs to not let at least one of them take title to the family home, get a mortgage and pay the rest of them their share. Property taxes can absolutely eat up most modest-retirees’ pensions and SS if not protected by Prop 13.

Unless partially or completely repealed by the legislature, we are stuck with Prop 13.

Why should we assume EconProf didn’t buy his “investment properties” with 20%+ down with a mtg of a MUCH higher interest rate than is available today? Properties didn’t start really skyrocketing in value until the “easy lending stds” were common (around 2004). I’m sure Econprof just held on and collected rents even when the values of his properties dipped (1983, 1993, etc). He probably never even thought about “short sale!” Why should we automatically think EconProf was a “bubble purchaser” or “bubble seller.” If you ask him, he might tell you he sat out the “millenium bubble,” lol.

Why don’t some of you non-govm’t employees take a few days off work and “shadow” a govm’t employee for those days? You have no idea what they go thru on a daily basis under the “framework of supervision” and “working conditions” that they are subject to until you see it for yourself.

If you find after your “shadowing experience” that you think you can “hang with the program” long-term, then go for it! Put in a lengthy application, sign releases for your (very thorough) background checks and go on interviews! Serve your (often lengthy) “probationary period” and your first 10 years or so to “get vested” in that “cushy pension.” And for each promotion, you will serve probation all over again!

Everything looks incredibly easy to an “outsider” looking in … :=0

[bearishgurl]

[quote=EconProf]…Anyway, to address the charge of hypocrisy, my pension of $540/month and health care I see as deferred compensation for years of relatively low pay…[/quote]

Lol, EconProf, thanks for sharing. I can now see that we’re both able to run and jump over our monthly pensions on a bright sunny day! That and your good looks will pay your winter SDGE bill, sewer and water bill combined!

Anyone here can see why you decided early on to depend upon rental income in retirement, lol …

[DomoArigato]

[quote=bearishgurl]Let me ask you Piggs calling EconProf a “hypocrite” if YOU would give back the benes you “earned” and not avail yourself of them if you were in his place.[/quote]

I have no problem with EconProf taking his pension. I do have a problem with him taking the monthly pension and then trying to prevent others from getting the same benefit that he gets. Such action is the very definition of a hypocrite.

If EconProf would reject his pension and advocate against other government employees getting a pension, then I could at least respect his view. I would still disagree with his viewpoint but at least his actions would be consistent with his words. As it is now, his words are nothing but hot air because he is practicing the exact opposite of what he preaches.

[DomoArigato]

[quote=AN]To all who call EconProf a hypocrite, how many of you have 401(k)/IRA/etc., own a home, profited from the many bubbles/busts?[/quote]

I have a 401(k). What is your point?

[DomoArigato]

[quote=EconProf] Anyway, to address the charge of hypocrisy, my pension of $540/month and health care I see as deferred compensation for years of relatively low pay.[/quote]

[Sarcasm]That makes you so different from every other government employee.[/Sarcasm]

[SK in CV]

[quote=bearishgurl]
I, too am a “local” govm’t “retiree” but will never avail myself of their health benefits as, in my case, they are priced at (expensive) COBRA rates. [/quote]

I don’t want to take this too far off topic, but this is the 2nd time recently that I’ve seen COBRA rates described as expensive. They are, but health insurance is expensive. Premiums are limited to 102% of what the employer was/is paying. So there is no substantial COBRA insurance premium over other medical insurance rates. If the emplyer got a good deal, the separated employee does too. (Provided the plan is age rated. If not, i.e., the employer paid flat rates regardless of the employees age, then younger separated employees would pay more, older separated employees would pay less.)

[an]

[quote=DomoArigato][quote=AN]To all who call EconProf a hypocrite, how many of you have 401(k)/IRA/etc., own a home, profited from the many bubbles/busts?[/quote]

I have a 401(k). What is your point?[/quote]
Do you hate the financial industry? Why aren’t you working for the government and get those pensions?

[bearishgurl]

[quote=SK in CV][quote=bearishgurl]
I, too am a “local” govm’t “retiree” but will never avail myself of their health benefits as, in my case, they are priced at (expensive) COBRA rates. [/quote]

I don’t want to take this too far off topic, but this is the 2nd time recently that I’ve seen COBRA rates described as expensive. They are, but health insurance is expensive. Premiums are limited to 102% of what the employer was/is paying. So there is no substantial COBRA insurance premium over other medical insurance rates. If the emplyer got a good deal, the separated employee does too. (Provided the plan is age rated. If not, i.e., the employer paid flat rates regardless of the employees age, then younger separated employees would pay more, older separated employees would pay less.)[/quote]

SK, below are the 2012 offerings for SDCERA retirees:

see pg 2 of: http://www.sdcera.org/PDF/HIPlans_factsheet_2012.pdf

I completely understand if the retiree (ineligible for Medicare) has pre-existing conditions and so has no choice but to continue on with their plan they had while employed. But for the “healthy retiree” such as myself (knock on wood), the individual market offers more freedom for MUCH less money. Also, many retirees are afraid of HDHP’s because they are so used to paying small copays and don’t or can’t budget for a large hospital copay/coinsurance.

My HDHP has excellent preventative-care benefits. Along with my usual annual exams this past Sept, I rec’d a $397 “bone scan” from Sharp Memorial Hospital for free! I was shocked when I recently rec’d a small “reading physician” bill for $9, which was my cost-share for the entire procedure!

IMHO, SDCERA has ridiculous premiums for what you get (even with the $200+ “allowance” thrown in). I am fortunate in that I have choices that many other retirees don’t, due to my continuing good health (which has not been without effort in that regard) :=]

[Author]

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