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December 14, 2014 at 4:09 PM in reply to: How will unfunded “pensions” affect the local economy? #781082
CA renter
Participantphaster, EconProf has a habit of spreading lies and propaganda, just like you do (one might wonder who’s paying you, since this is all you’re focused on, too). Every single time he’s been asked for any data or proof, he disappears. He’s not a credible poster, and neither are you.
You might try including my responses to those posts, BTW, to be sure you get the context of those discussions. Neither of EconProf nor Joe know me, nor do they know anything about me that I haven’t shared on this site. I have NEVER done anything just because it’s in my best interest, and have often advocated for things that go directly against my own interests. How about you?
That trillion dollar figure DOES include municipal pensions, BTW. Even if you’re talking about the large state funds, most municipal governments contract with these funds for their employees’ retirement benefits. Having said that, I believe these numbers include both the state and municipal funds.
And Controller Chiang’s “bombshell” isn’t a bombshell; the numbers have been known for years in the pension community. This is why the pension funds have been addressing the issues and enacting plans to pay off these liabilities.
While you’re fighting for what’s right (in your mind), you might want to focus on the far greater unfunded liabilities in the Social Security or Medicare system. Or the bond measures that idiot voters pass when we have no money to pay for them (I’ve heard people claim that bonds don’t cost taxpayers any money because the bond investors are paying for them!!!). Or the private contractors who are well known to rip off the government at every turn (and who have far more politicians in their pockets than unions ever will).
BTW, who do you think is behind the attacks on public sector workers? There is a reason that this relatively unremarkable debt is being targeted over other types of debt and obligations. Could these people be your employers?
FYI, since you don’t read much here and only vomit the right-wing propaganda regarding the pension issue (useful idiot?) and your totally unsubstantiated claims regarding corruption in the planning department, I’ve long made it clear that I’ve always been opposed to the pension changes enacted during the stock market bubble, and have always opposed “pension holidays” where NO contributions were made to the pension plans — in some cases, it was years of this (funny how we never hear about this tax savings in the MSM, isn’t it?). And I have always been opposed to extreme risk-taking in the pension funds, which goes hand-in-hand with my opposition to the Fed’s manipulations which force pension funds (and others) into ever-riskier investments.
Participant[quote=scaredyclassic][quote=CA renter][quote=scaredyclassic]also, when they choke out a middle aged white lawyer when he refuses a citation for for a leaky sprinkler, it’ll take some of the gusto out of the race argument.
or some mouth white soccer mom having a bad day venting at a traffic cop and refusing some command or other. choke her out![/quote]
I think there have been some cases where mouthy white women were roughly treated by some cops. And then there were these cases, which I find every bit as disturbing as the Garner case:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiH4vFdpY_I
http://www.infowars.com/georgia-police-strip-search-drivers-during-minor-traffic-stops/
White mom in minivan gets tasered in front of her kids:
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2009/08/mom_in_minivan_tasered_in_traf.html%5B/quote%5D
tasered through winter clothing? Please. She needed to get shot if she were a big black dude in a winter coat which a teaser can’t poenetrate. At least a beatdown. Refusing direct police orders? Very dangerous….the taser did nothing under the circs.e[/quote]
The officer’s first attempt was thwarted a bit by her coat. He opened her coat when he tasered (tazed?) her a second time; at least, that’s how I read it. In front of her kids, too.
Lots of cops overstep their bounds, but you have to consider the number of interactions they have, too. The vast majority of calls/stops go rather smoothly, and some of those are very high-stress situations, too. We just don’t hear about them on the news.
Participant[quote=ltsdd][quote=CA renter]
And I also believe that race is not the issue in either of these cases. IMO, if you changed their race to white, but kept all other variables (size, behavior, etc.) the same, these cases would have ended the same way. [/quote]Pure speculation. Maybe if Eric Garner was white, the police would have patted him on the back for a job well done of helping breaking up a fight instead of killing him for selling loose cigarettes.
http://time.com/3016326/eric-garner-video-police-chokehold-death/%5B/quote%5D
Either way, it’s pure speculation. Believing that this was because he was black is 100% speculative (and, IMO, total nonsense). There’s no reason to believe they would have treated a white person any differently under the same circumstances.
His widow’s own words:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsQc45bZyaE
Again, I think these cops were in the wrong. Just saying that race probably wasn’t the issue here.
And if the cops were really harassing his family after this incident (specifically for the purpose of shutting them up or bullying them because of the incident), they need to lose their jobs, IMO.
ParticipantBummer. It sounds like such a good soap. There’s always a trade-off, isn’t there?
December 14, 2014 at 2:11 AM in reply to: If you are going to write a letter asking to buy people’s home….. #781072ParticipantGreat song. The 70s had such great music. Why can’t they make good music these days…or am I just getting old?
Participant[quote=no_such_reality][quote=scaredyclassic]how does your body smell?[/quote]
Low grade morning after campfire smell
Second shower with it after cleaning the gutters wasn’t as strong but still very noticeable
My eyes know it though. They feel like I’ve been sitting around a fire.[/quote]
How would you classify this smell: good or bad? Does it smell toxic, burning chemical-strong, or just woodsy-campfire strong? The soap sounds intriguing, but the harshness of the smell might keep us from buying it.
Participant[quote=flu]I don’t know things have been going pretty well….
1. My W2 total comp is at peak. My company might be teetering back and forth, but I’m use to it now (sort of)…
2. My rental income is providing good backup source of income….
3. My fixed rate debt obligations are rock bottom and my outstanding good debt (is any debt really good? 🙂 is going down…
4. Stocks are near high, and though I might not be having the best returns right now, it’s still beating that 1% CD for the past few years…
5. Job market hasn’t been terrible for nerds and geeks.I wish the local markets had better rental properties that could cash flow…I know if I tried a lot harder and look elsewhere, there probably can be more rental properties outside of SD. But I don’t think I’m ready to be a full time landlord all over the place (if ever)…I don’t think the rental market is topped out, and folks seriously want to do this full time probably can do it even today if they are more flexible in where they buy rentals (not in SD for example)…. I’m not ready for that yet….My own fault and limitation.
The only thing that isn’t getting better is my driving. My car is setup just fine, and everyone that drives it is surprised how well it’s setup…But every month my driving gets worse….
And no, we didn’t see that average 30-35%+ plunge in home prices in Carmel Valley or Del Mar that people were expecting to see..And no, we didn’t see all that pent up shadow inventory in this area that supposedly existed too.[/quote]
You’re part of a relatively small group of people (techies) who are doing quite well in this upswing. Most other people are not earning peak wages, even nominally, and if you look at real wages, it gets even uglier.
That being said, I’m very happy for you and others in your situation, and hope that your luck continues for many more years. It’s good to know that at least some people who work for a living are doing well.
Participant[quote=scaredyclassic]also, when they choke out a middle aged white lawyer when he refuses a citation for for a leaky sprinkler, it’ll take some of the gusto out of the race argument.
or some mouth white soccer mom having a bad day venting at a traffic cop and refusing some command or other. choke her out![/quote]
I think there have been some cases where mouthy white women were roughly treated by some cops. And then there were these cases, which I find every bit as disturbing as the Garner case:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiH4vFdpY_I
http://www.infowars.com/georgia-police-strip-search-drivers-during-minor-traffic-stops/
White mom in minivan gets tasered in front of her kids:
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2009/08/mom_in_minivan_tasered_in_traf.html
Participant[quote=spdrun]Depends which criminal and which cop. I don’t consider selling loose cigarettes a real crime, more of a minor infraction on the level of speeding or jaywalking.
Any cop who arrests someone for this sort of thing is a blithering idiot who every taxpayer should hate. We’re talking about maybe a $10 loss of revenue for the state vs $150 per night to keep him in jail until he sees a judge in a few days.
As far as cops vs criminals: really depends which cop and which criminal. A cop might be worth more to society than Charles Manson. But likely worth less than (say) a jaywalking doctor, even if the doctor is resisting arrest.
Enforcement SHOULD be discretionary and as minimal as possible unless someone is actually being harmed. It’s not only a question of over-militarization. It’s an issue of zero tolerance equaling zero brain.[/quote]
Agreed. And, as I’ve said before, how they treated Eric Garner is unjustifiable, IMO. Not defending the cops in that case. If the choke-hold is against policy, then that cop needs to suffer the consequences, and a manslaughter charge would seem rather reasonable, at least to me.
Participant[quote=harvey][quote=CA renter]Sorry, but the life of a criminal does not trump the life of a cop.[/quote]
There’s that reading comprehension problem again.
Try once more to read the title of the thread.[/quote]
You keep proving my point. Carry on.
Participant[quote=no_such_reality]Yes I do. I grew up guns. I’ve known since I was six that you KNOW what you are shooting at before you shoot. Mistakes happen. Pulling the trigger fifteen times is not a mistake.
Their job is tough isn’t an excuse to kill people because they are over their heads.
I know it’s a sh*t job. Go watch the video of Ramos spoiling to beat Kelly Thomas.
Quit making excuses for excessive behavior.
What you are saying is when a cop stops me because he think I did a rolling stop late a night, I need to fear for my life because he deals with shit and is justified to have a hair trigger that he assumes I’m a deadly threat to him.
Not acceptable.
Even more dangerous is your attitude only cops can judge cops.
The attitude you display is the attitude that has tolerated the escalating militarization of our police forcec. The civilian public is the enemy.
I know most of the cops are good people. That truely want to help the community. Doing a sh*t job.
But the tolerance for the police training and relying on the overwhelming force is dangerous for our Republic and the population at large.[/quote]
You must have missed all my posts where I rail against the militarization of police departments. And you must have missed where I’ve said that police abuse and unreasonable force does exist, and that we need to take steps to eliminate it whenever and wherever possible.
That being said, owning a gun is nothing at all like being in the position that cops find themselves in when dealing with violent criminals who have proven to be armed and very dangerous.
Do we need to demilitarize police departments? Yes!!! (Funny how they don’t have money for pensions or capital improvements, but there is plenty of money for this militarization, no? Even if it’s federal money, the money seems to find its way into the coffers when the PTB want it there.) Do we need to train cops to better respect people’s civil rights? Yes!!!
Do we also need to explain to criminals that if you don’t obey a police officer’s command, bad things might happen? Yes to that, as well.
Sorry, but the life of a criminal does not trump the life of a cop.
FWIW, I’m not the biggest fan of a lot of cops. I think too many of them have power trips and feel as though they are above everyone else. I dislike these cops rather intensely, but I also respect their right to defend themselves against violent criminals.
Participant[quote=FlyerInHi][quote=CA renter]
We can wish all we want, but if you look at the numbers, it doesn’t look good, IMO.[/quote]If you’re so sure, what are you doing to prepare?
Talking about speculation in commodities, higher prices of oil did lead to new technologies — more oil production, more alternative energy. We are now reaping the benefits.
GDP is total value of goods and services produced(not asset prices). There’s nothing fake about that. Why would you ever want GDP to go down? If something is not produced for lack of liquidity, that thing/service is lost forever (unless you’re talking about a finite resource such as oil). But human labor/productivity is infinite.[/quote]
Asset prices can affect GDP numbers, too. The prices of raw commodities is priced into things that we buy.
Additionally, when asset/commodity prices are artificially inflated, it causes a misallocation of resources. You’ve noted energy, so let’s use that as an example. If prices are being driven up by speculation, it will cause people in the energy industry to commit more resources to drilling for oil, or building massive solar or wind farms, etc. That’s good IF the prices are based on real supply and demand (not speculators of any sort). If the prices increases were caused by speculation or other market manipulations, then the boom will eventually go bust, and all of those direct and indirect jobs will be lost, the equipment will be sidelined (possibly only working a fraction of its intended lifespan), the environment will be damaged (and the companies responsible for the damage might go BK, leaving the mess for taxpayers to clean up) and the economy will be decimated, especially in the regions where all of this work was happening.
This is just one example. Market manipulations have a ripple effect on the economy, and if booms are allowed to grow to bubble proportions, they can take down whole sectors of the economy for a prolonged period of time.
And I doubt that a “lack of liquidity” will exist for very long. If the economy is that dicey, it will usually collapse, then the money from elsewhere comes rushing in during the vulture stage. Of course, I favor a public bank, so in my theoretically ideal world, there would almost always be liquidity in the system, especially if the boom-bust cycle was damped as speculators are prevented from controlling or greatly affecting the market.
ParticipantKinda sad that he has no friends or relatives there. I hope he can find a friend in you.
Participant[quote=FlyerInHi][quote=CA renter]
Some of us like to get outside and be a part of the “real” world. You know…actually talk to flesh-and-blood people.[/quote]
My new friend, the retired capitol cop, complained that he’s really lonely in Vegas. Relatives are back East and nobody has time or money to visit.
When he was a cop he talked to people all day. If I need company, a quick lunch buffet or something, I can always count on him.[/quote]You’re lucky to have him, and he’s lucky to have you, too. 🙂
Why doesn’t he move back east? What drew him to Las Vegas?
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