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November 11, 2012 at 3:00 PM in reply to: Big government and absurdly strong unions destroyed Greece and Spain. Expect no less for California. #754381November 11, 2012 at 1:36 PM in reply to: Big government and absurdly strong unions destroyed Greece and Spain. Expect no less for California. #754366
bearishgurl
Participant[quote=spdrun]…Re: Oklahoma – guess the great migration is reversing itself :)…[/quote]
LOL, OK is not the “dust bowl” of yesteryear anymore. In the early to mid-fifties, it started dredging its rivers and built several large beautiful man-made lakes … complete with dams and islands 🙂
Not ALL of the “bible belt” is in the middle of the plains or desert. The aerial view of Tulsa in the fall is gorgeous as it is heavily treed all throughout the city as well as around its beautiful surrounding lakes.
November 11, 2012 at 1:27 PM in reply to: Big government and absurdly strong unions destroyed Greece and Spain. Expect no less for California. #754365Participant[quote=spdrun]Speaking of the “bible-belt”, I know that TX didn’t have a bubble because they actually had stricter restrictions on mortgages and HELOCs than many of the “liberal” states. LTV is capped at 80%, only one HELOC is allowed, and HELOCs on primary residence were prohibited till the early 2000s.
Those restrictions date from the 1800s and aren’t recent…[/quote]
You would be correct, spdrun. You are referring to the TX “homestead exemption.” (Limited) HELOC lending has only been allowed there since 1998. See:
http://piggington.com/what_is_the_equivalent_home_in_san_diego_to_this_158k_home_in_au?page=1
November 11, 2012 at 1:00 PM in reply to: Big government and absurdly strong unions destroyed Greece and Spain. Expect no less for California. #754362Participant[quote=no_such_reality]I mean go look at the census fact finder and read the economic stats.
They look like OC.[/quote]
I’m not following you. Who is “they?”
November 11, 2012 at 12:58 PM in reply to: Big government and absurdly strong unions destroyed Greece and Spain. Expect no less for California. #754361ParticipantOh, and btw, CTR, I can tell you that the “bible belt” is full of multimillionaires. However, they go humbly about their business every day, driving their (made in USA) pickups over to meet their friends at the local coffee shop at 7 am to discuss biz and current events. And no, they don’t serve Starbucks there.
No matter what their age, the (rural AND city) multimillionaire dress code for males is Levis 501’s, a hat and boots.
It’s tiring and taxing checking on one’s petroleum production all day. By the end the day, they are exhausted and their levis are filthy.
Occasionally, they “splurge” and run their pickups through an automatic car wash :=]
Their favorite drink for the road is coke in a bottle with peanuts poured in :=D
Most of them regularly vacation with their families in Cancun and the Caribbean. And nearly ALL own lakefront houses and speed boats free and clear :=D
November 11, 2012 at 12:42 PM in reply to: Big government and absurdly strong unions destroyed Greece and Spain. Expect no less for California. #754358Participant[quote=ctr70] . . . I wrote in another post what I think of the whole red state/blue state color coded map issue and how it is over simplified. The fact is there are still a lot of fiscal conservatives in places like CA, Pac NW, and the Northeast U.S. Many are the wealthier higher educated people working in knowledge based industries (silicon valley, biotech, venture cap, etc). They are of course still much smaller in numbers than the Dems, but just looking at a color coded map of the U.S. red state vs. blue state generalizes this. It makes one believe everyone in a blue state is a raging liberal and everyone in a Red state listens to Rush Limbaugh daily. . . . [/quote]
ctr, I’m sure you’re aware that, contrary to popular belief, the “bible belt” is full of an eclectic mix of folks from ALL races, nationalities, religions and political persuasions. You might be surprised to learn that a LOT of people there don’t even know who Rush Limbaugh is (ESP the younger people). The only race there is less of there is Asians, which tend to reside around the universities and military bases. Yes, some “bible-belt” states look “red” on the CNN map but in reality, its population is largely moderate, like you stated. I think most of the voters there just had issues with Obama because of the bailouts. “Bible belt” culture teaches its residents to pay their own debts and live within their means. And since their residential RE never really skyrocketed in “value” (lol) to begin with, there was never a lot of HELOCing and cash-out refinancing going on anywhere there during the millenium-boom years. Most of the residents there have no sympathy for those residents of states with boom-bust RE cycles who lived off their primary residence for years (until they lost it) and/or bought more house than they could afford.
November 11, 2012 at 12:40 PM in reply to: Big government and absurdly strong unions destroyed Greece and Spain. Expect no less for California. #754359Participant[quote=no_such_reality]You all need to go read the census figures. They’ll debunk you SF makes more mantra.[/quote]
What do you mean by this?
November 11, 2012 at 12:14 PM in reply to: Big government and absurdly strong unions destroyed Greece and Spain. Expect no less for California. #754356Participant[quote=AN]The funny part is, w/in CA, people who live in SF gets paid the most for the same amount of work, since their cost of living is so high, so it’s much more likely to make >$250k in SF. So, they’re voting for taxes on themselves. Since cost of living in SD is much lower, we also get paid much lower. Which means it’s that much hard to make over $250k here than SF. So, they get to pay for CA’s spending. They’re happy to do it, since they voted for it, so I’m happy too. Maybe, once they need more money, they’ll propose higher taxes on family making more than $150k. After all, it’s still only a small percentage of CA’s population.[/quote]
AN, I maintain that the avg salary in SF is 40% higher that the exact same position pays in SD County. This includes the counties of SF, SM, SC, Alameda, Contra Costa and Marin. Housing is NOT 40% higher in SF (or any of the abovementioned surrounding counties) than SD County. It is between 0 and 25% higher, depending upon the micro-area there and its comparable micro-area here.
Salaries are higher there because they don’t have a captive audience of thousands of employees (Americans incl) living cheaply in MX and crossing the border everyday to work in the US. And the weather in the SF Bay area isn’t as consistent as it is here. Periodically, the wind is very high in SF and SM counties. And commuting traffic can be much worse than here for residents of SC, Alameda and Contra Costa Counties (and beyond).
I understand you grew up here and your family still lives here but I feel that the SF Bay area has MUCH more opportunity for a “worker-bee,” ESP a Gen-Y worker, even in light of a so-called “affordable housing shortage” in the areas of the best jobs. I also feel it is entirely worth it for a young San Diegan college grad to relocate there for work, even one with a family. Most of the public schools there are better than here, as well.
November 11, 2012 at 11:55 AM in reply to: Big government and absurdly strong unions destroyed Greece and Spain. Expect no less for California. #754353Participantctr, have you ever considered relocating to (biz-friendly) Tulsa (OK)? Lots of people from CA already have. There’s so much traffic there now in the middle of the biz day, I thought I was trying to turn left onto Figueroa St (in LA) in a recent “visit” for the day (to get my car repaired). With all the drivers of (still) CA-plated vehicles to contend with, it took me over four stoplight changes to get thru one traffic light there and more than five mins to safely turn left out of a gas station :=0
After noticing my license plate, the service writer asked where I was from and I told him “San Diego.” It turned out that he, the owner and their chief mechanic were all from SD County, having relocated there in the last few years :=0
You could reside in a “red state” with nice large cheap brick homes on large lots and feel right at home with an abundance of “escaped Californians” all around you :=]
Participant[quote=flu]…There was a reason why I put on the “fat_lazy_union_worker” handle before. It was my experience when I was an intern at then wonderful tech company with a “M “in Schaumburg, Illinois…. We had two move two desktop computers and a few equipement down two offices to finish a project deadline for china…[/quote]
flu, was this the same “M” plant that manufactured the processors for those fabulously-heavy built-like-a-tank-in-the-USA “Macintosh” machines that you and I enjoyed immensely “back in the day?”
Alas, they are now too slow to go on today’s “internet.” :=[
And some of the new “Crapple” laptops/notebook computers (made in China now) I was investigating this last weekend for an X-mas gift (for a certain 16 yo, lol) were too thin and lightweight to even have a DVD player or HD! What’s the purpose of having a computer then? And how is it that these “Macbook Air” (light as air) POS’s are (presumably) worth ~$1000?
Why not just have an iphone or ipad instead?
Participant[quote=spdrun]Handouts. Military-industrial-parasite spending has increased massively since 2001 without tax increases to support it. Problem is that the handouts are not going to the average American, but being pocketed by defense contractor companies who are sitting on quite a lot of money. And/or being squandered in the Middle East….[/quote]
Absolutely true, spdrun. But the avg “uneducated” Joe 6P has also benefited greatly from the “Military Industrial Complex” (MIC). This country has hundreds of thousands of GED-holder enlistees (no college) making bank in the way of COLAs, special combat pay, special war zone pay, free housing, free utilities, “free” college education for themselves and (and now spouse) and later, college fee/tuition assistance for their children (if they are discharged with even a 5% military-connected “disability”). See:
http://www.calvet.ca.gov/vetservices/education.aspx
http://law.onecle.com/california/education/66025.3.html
And said military-contractor “Halliburton” is another HUGE beneficiary of our MIC largesse. More than half of the VERY high-paying positions they offer are ALSO occupied by GED holders (with no college).
I’m not saying here that military retirees didn’t “earn” their benefits. And I’m not saying that the conditions many of our soldiers and sailors work in every day aren’t dangerous. Nor am I saying that these often isolated, boring laborer jobs which Halliburton offers GED holders are for everyone. What I am saying here is that practically speaking, a CA vet who was discharged within 2-4 years of enlisting with a 5-25% disability could feasibly get a university fee waiver for ALL of his children. I’ve seen this in practice with vets with 3-5 children, ALL UC graduates! If this same vet was deemed 100% “disabled” by a VA doctor (yes, even ~20 years after his/her discharge), his/her children not only would receive CSU/UC fee waivers but they would each receive approx $831 per month from the VA’s “Chapter 30” program to assist them with living expenses for up to 44 months in their respective college towns.
The military industrial complex is the gift that keeps on giving, even long after the death of the member/sponsor. So much so, that the sponsor’s family members often don’t feel a need to make their own way, as they’ve come to rely on military benefits provided for life.
I just think the current pay/bene structure for E-3 and up is now inordinately high compared to what it used to be. It has the effect of causing young uneducated enlistees to marry and have children very young for the sole purpose of availing themselves of HUGE housing allowances or “free” mil quarters with all utils pd. It also causes them to start their families while still a teen and continue to have children where if they were working civilian jobs and paying for their housing/medical premiums, they would think twice about having families that young and about having that many kids.
When they end up discharged in 4-6 years (due to disability or drawdown activities), these young former mil families often have several kids to support and very often neither parent has even started college yet! That’s when they are moved (by the military) back to their hometowns (to live with parents) and often end up going on public assistance.
Due to the tremendous mil drawdown currently underway, I just see a LOT of these former mil families in dire straights in the coming years. In the last 15 years, the military’s “family first” policies have created their own “welfare state” amongst its jr enlisted personnel.
ParticipantThe central valley is a war zone right now. I can’t tell you how many piles of trash and burned out cars, how many street lights and farm pumps have been pillaged for copper. The coast turns a blind eye to the valley, but it is a swath of destruction to rival any area of michigan.[/quote]
Incredible moving graph, jstoez! It’s also very telling as to age group. The unemployment rate for the 55 – 64 age group dramatically rises in 2005 and after in the several counties of the three states I “spot-checked” (incl CA). This group is the most experienced worker of all groups with a tremendous work ethic … yet employers don’t seem to want them (in favor of texting and tweeting Gen Y’s) :-0
But surprisingly, the “rural” counties I checked (with ~20K populations) had 5-6% unemployment rates for this group. Could it be that the Gen Ys who grew up in these areas went away to college and never came back??
Time to think about “retiring” in a “rural area” so I can easily land a (PT) gig to keep myself busy :=]
ParticipantIf Cal State wants students to graduate on time, they need to offer 300 and 400 level classes for ALL fields of major they offer every semester. And not at 2:00 pm. They need to offer them in the mornings and evenings, so these upperclassmens’ day won’t be broken up for 1-2 straggling class(es) they need. Many of these students are stuck in their respective college towns for 1-3 extra years working PT or FT due to CSU’s last 12 “recent” fee hikes and so they won’t have to take out any (or any more) student loans.
A “fee” isn’t going to help these students graduate any faster if their campuses don’t offer the needed classes to graduate every single semester. It’s as simple as that.
Participant[quote=enron_by_the_sea][quote=CA renter]
Government workers aren’t asking for any kind of special tax treatment (they’re often the ones paying a higher tax rate than the speculators), nor do they think they’re better than anyone else.
[/quote]CAR:
Here is one special Romney tax treatment that was recently uncovered but people missed it,
. . . The current investing strategy favors the Romneys over the charity because they get a guaranteed payout, said Michael Arlein, a trusts and estates lawyer at Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP.
“The Romneys get theirs off the top and the charity gets what’s left,” he said. “So by definition, if it’s not performing as well, the charity gets harmed more.”
The trustee for Romney’s CRUT is R. Bradford Malt, chairman of the law firm Ropes & Gray LLP, and manager for Romney’s various family trusts as well as his personal attorney. Ropes & Gray has also been for years the main outside counsel for Bain Capital.
If the CRUT maintains the same investing strategy, assets will continue to shrink, said Jerome M. Hesch, a tax and estate planning attorney at the law firm Carlton Fields. The trustee acted prudently in protecting against losses during a stock market decline, he said.
Nevertheless, “what’s going to go to charity is probably close to nothing,” Hesch said.
(emphasis mine)
Sounds like a good excuse for Romney to appear (to the public) as if he is actually a “philanthropist,” LOL!
Participant[quote=Oni Koroshi]I’m in favor of the death penalty but I never knew that the death penalty was such a financial burden on the state for such an ineffective task.
California has spent $4 billion since ’78 to execute 14 people. I think a majority of people wrongly believe that the death penalty is cheaper than keeping people in jail for life. I wish the proponents of this bill would have addressed the financial affects more.[/quote]
Oni, if this is true, then it actually cost the state $285,714,285.71 for each death row inmate who was executed in the last 35 years. Does this include the cost of his/her “solitary” cell (w/around-the-clock private or “semi-private” CDC vested-employee-guard?) and also weekly psychiatric sessions … as well as their “sometimes attorney” in another county working “diligently” on their appeal)?
Even if the expense is somewhat less than this for the duration of the life of each incarcerated DR inmate, I can see here that CA voters didn’t “do the math” before casting their votes. They cast them “emotionally” because they felt it was “the right thing to do.”
There’s nothing precluding this issue be brought back before CA voters in ~2 years with (simple) emphasis on the actual FISCAL impact to the state. I believe discussing the actual NUMBERS will sway voters to abolish it. The “death penalty” one of the biggest scam-money-pits this state has ever engaged in (and there are others).
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