The SAN DIEGO U-T story (below) concerning San Diego’s improving employment numbers (higher than just prior to the start of the 2007 national recession) offers good information to consider, but leaves some aspects unanswered — and some information appears to be outright misleading. Consider: 1. How many of our employed are part-time in 2014 vs. 2007? Remember, to be counted …
Many “permanent” minimum wage workers actually make $12-$30 an hour
What’s missed in the “minimum wage” brouhaha is that a large segment of those who stay at the minimum wage level actually make $12-$30+ an hour. That’s because — in states such as CA — a full minimum wage must be paid to ALL employees — including “tip” employees. Waiters, busboys, valets, hotel room cleaners, casino employees, etc. make much …
FEB 14 Great court ruling on concealed carry, but lousy U-T story — and lousy SD police chief
By now most have heard about the remarkable court ruling by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, declaring that the right of “self defense” is a sufficient reason to issue concealed weapon permits in San Diego County (assuming a person is otherwise eligible). Yes, the ruling could still be overturned (I’m not optimistic), but it DOES have the saving grace …
In stunning ruling, 9th Circuit affirms right to carry a firearm for self defense in San Diego County
In a stunning/seemingly bizarre ruling, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has decided to (for once) enforce the Constitution. The court actually ruled that one has the right to receive a gun (carry) permit for self defense in San Diego County (and potentially in all of California). AMAZING!!! Up until now, only retired judges and cops, some politicians and a …
San Diego loses Websense to Austin — 445 GOOD jobs are heading to Texas
San Diego is losing a(nother) good employer to Texas. Websense is leaving, moving to Austin. See the article below (and the many comments after — many of my comments are also posted on my Facebook copy blog on this). 445 San Diego jobs — GOOD jobs — are about to disappear into the Lone Star State. 445 of our local …
The California University Jewish and Asian Student Admission Quota Act
This Associated Press “story” about the California bill to overturn Prop 209 (the anti-“affirmative action” prop passed by the voters in 1996) is essentially the “cut and paste” version of the dishonest press release put out by proponents. The AP is no longer a press organization — it’s become largely a government “information” distribution channel. No fact checking allowed — …
Small Business Council again ranks California worst in the nation in its index
California wins yet another “superlative” from the business community. The 100,000 member national Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council) again ranked California the worst state in their Small Business Policy Index. I’m not sure how many years we’ve held our ground in this survey, but I know we were the same in 2012. We currently maintain a comfortable (though admittedly not …
Survey ranks CA the “worst run state” in America – 3rd year in a row
For the 3rd straight year, 24/7 WALL ST ranks California the “worst run state” in the U.S. The comparison uses a variety of criteria to measure how a well a state is managed, which results in some otherwise attractive states scoring low. Nevada, South Carolina and Arizona are also listed among the bottom ten states. Apparently the analysis does not …
1.5 million private CA cars have ticket-proof confidential licence plates?
Here’s a widespread California scandal that’s flown beneath the (police) radar for decades. An astonishing 1.5 million vehicles in California have “confidential” license plates — supposedly to keep the bad guys from knowing who the driver is. Initially the program proposed in 1978 was sold as necessary to protect primarily undercover police officers. But like any government program, this privileged group quickly metastasized and grew, as …
Does the CA high COL justify public employee excessive pay and pensions? Not hardly.
A common justification for California’s sky-high state and local public employee pay and pensions is our state’s high cost of living. This is a valid point — sorta. California DOES have a higher cost of living and higher pay, but it doesn’t come close to justifying most of the dramatic disparity between public and private total compensation. The real comparison …
Find out how much your city or state pays for police and firefighters. Compare.
What’s killing local California governments is the huge cost of overpaying and over-pensioning public employees. ESPECIALLY our public safety employees (mostly police and firefighters). Some cities have declared bankruptcy, with many others bankrupt but so far refusing to acknowledging their plight. I here offer two database tools. The first let’s you find out how your California town stacks up against …
Slow crawl to San Diego city hall jobs — average 280 day hiring process
Will Rogers delivered what is my favorite wry comment about government: “Thank God we don’t get all the government we pay for.” Certainly such is the case deep within our 13 story San Diego city hall. The U-T SAN DIEGO reports that the city needs an average of 280 days to fill a vacancy. That’s just over nine months to …
A Defense of Proposition 13 Property Tax Revenues — UPDATED: Sept 2013
by Richard Rider, Chairman, San Diego Tax Fighters Updated 1 September, 2013 Phone: 858-530-3027 Blog: www.RiderRants.BlogSpot.com When it comes to gathering sufficient property taxes, Prop 13 is no problem at all – except for profligate spenders. Look at the history of my San Diego County – a history which pretty much reflects the history of property taxes in the urban/suburban counties that hold over 85% of California’s …
Thanksgiving — the birth of the Democratic Party
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I’m giving the Democratic Party its due.
GOOD NEWS! Liberal Colorado voters reject state income tax increase by a 2-1 vote
Many are analyzing the surprisingly close Virginia gubernatorial race results, but I’m struck by a citizen vote in liberal Colorado that CRUSHED an increase in that state’s income tax. Well over $10 million (the equivalent of spending about $75 million on a CA proposition) was spent by the unions and wealthy liberals to pass Amendment 66. That campaign spending included a million …
Why our UCSD $100 million benefactor lives in South Dakota
Today there’s a good news story on the front page of the U-T San Diego about Denny Sanford, a philanthropist who just gave $100 MILLION to UCSD for medical research. A genuinely generous man with a vacation home in La Jolla, his avowed goal is to give away his billion+ dollar fortune during his lifetime. Such generosity is not at all uncommon …
Ten years after disastrous San Diego County “Cedar” brush fire, major reforms STILL not implemented
On 25 October I posted the following item on my blog: Ten years after disastrous San Diego County “Cedar” brush fire, major reforms STILL not implemented RICHARD RIDER COMMENT: Shortly after the disastrous 2007 “Witch” brush fire in (primarily) San Diego County, the LOS ANGELES TIMES paid me to debate fire issues with a local UCSD professor in print. What …
Does Nathan Fletcher oppose a public vote on Chargers stadium subsidies?
According to a couple people I talked to who actually watched the Monday evening mayoral debate (during the CHARGERS game — that’s just not RIGHT!), 3 of the 4 candidates pledged to put any Chargers stadium deal that involved taxpayer subsidies up for a public vote. But Nathan Fletcher did not — and apparently has not stated whether or not …
The U.S. LEAST affordable housing markets for the middle class? #’s 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 & 7 all are in California. San Diego #5.
For most individuals, California’s expensive home prices are a far bigger problem than our highly progressive tax structure. For the really well-to-do who carry most of the CA income tax load, housing costs are a secondary problem. But for the middle class, it can be a dream killer. Below is a link to a current, informative article comparing the affordability …
One significant fact omitted concerning Nathan Fletcher’s military service bio. Oversight??
San Diego Mayoral candidate Nathan Fletcher served honorably in the military. Of that there is no doubt. He deserves full credit for his military service. But what I find interesting is that his published bios seldom if ever mention his military rate or rank. If you read his Wikipedia bio (doubtless controlled by Nathan’s campaign handlers — the whole piece …
Recent Comments