Recall time, anyone? Well, no. Not yet. Legally and politically, it’s premature to start the effort to remove the screwball we’ve elected mayor of San Diego. That being said, 2014 seems a reasonable year to look forward to. IF Filner continues to alienate folks with his bizarre behavior and awesome arrogance without bounds, HE will be the one making the …
More of those dismal California rankings
More dismal CA economic rankings – 48th worst credit card debt, 49th in home ownership, worst poverty rate in U.S. http://riderrants.blogspot.com/2013/02/more-dismal-california-economic-rankings.html RIDER COMMENT: Recently Jonathan Horn, the (apparently delusional) director of Jerry Brown’s Office of Business and Economic Development, had the gall to assert the following: “We’ve proven that you can have a successful economy and still preserve the environment and …
California now has 2nd highest capital gains tax in the WORLD
In 2013, the confluence of four major factors gives California investors the second highest capital gains tax in the WORLD. But, of course, that doesn’t matter. Only the weather matters. Only the weather matters. Only the weather matters. You are getting sleepy. So VERY sleepy . . . . http://riderrants.blogspot.com/2013/02/california-now-has-2nd-highest-capital.html
Chambers of commerce often are the enemies of taxpayers — and business
In the article below, my friend Joel Fox expresses disappointment (but NOT surprise) that the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce has voted to support yet another sales tax increase – in exchange for establishing a toothless commission to make government work better (and we all know how that’s gonna work out). Joel and I would have been surprised only if they had …
Phil Mickelson took one for the team
Here’s a paid column I wrote for City Journal on the Phil Mickelson brouhaha. Included is a short discussion of the harmful effects of Prop 30 on our California pro sports teams. Already one team is being relocated to a tax-free state. http://www.city-journal.org/2013/cjc0125rr.html RICHARD RIDER Taking One for the Team Phil Mickelson points the way for rich folks: get out of …
CA vs. the Other States — Revised 1/18/13
Breaking Bad: California vs. the Other States by Richard Rider – Chairman, San Diego Tax Fighters Revised: 18 January, 2013 Updated version online at: http://www.tinyurl.com/CA-vs-other-states Email: RRider92131@GMail.com Phone: 858-530-3027 Rider Blog: www.RiderRants.BlogSpot.com Facebook “blog” page: http://www.facebook.com/Richard.Rider Here’s a depressing but documented comparison of California taxes and economic climate with the rest of the states. The news is breaking bad, and …
California poverty rate now highest in the nation — by FAR
RIDER COMMENT: The story below has prompted me to add an unpleasant fact to my “California vs. the Other 49 States” fact sheet. As is my policy, I had to drop another telling fact, trying to keep the piece to two printed pages. The new fact is based on a more sophisticated measure of poverty, now used by the U.S. …
State legislature to consider giving government workers yet ANOTHER paid holiday
Allow me to summarize the article below. It exemplifies all too well the three stages of CA government thrift: 1. In the 2009 recession, CA state workers lost two holidays that no one honors in the private sector. 2. Shortly thereafter the state gave them back the two paid holidays, with the added benefit that they could use them anytime …
January 2013: 873 NEW CA state laws for you to trip over
It’s 2013! To celebrate, below is a list of 873 NEW California laws that (in most cases) took effect on 1 January. Good luck not violating any of these. According to one pundit, nationwide, in 2012 about 40,000 new state laws were put in place… http://investmentwatchblog.com/2012-new-laws-take-effect-40000-of-them/ Imagine you are a nationwide business — try to get your arms around that. …
Current CA “happy talk” based on wrong unemployment stat
NOTE: To read my other political posts, visit my blog at www.RiderRants.BlogSpot.com RIDER COMMENT: Below is an insightful column from my HJTA friend Jon Coupal. Two points stand out: 1. The recent happy talk about the recovering jobs picture in CA was based on the lower state unemployment percentage. But a closer look shows that this reduction is simply a …
Time to kill off San Diego’s planned Mid-Coast trolley line
Today the U-T reports that the San Diego proposed 11 mile long “Mid-Coast” trolley line is going to run a bit over its projections. Instead of costing “only” $1.24 billion (over $110 million PER MILE), it’s now projected to cost $1.7 billion — a $460 million increase from two years ago. Among things omitted from the original projection were such …
CA appeals court overturns “soak businesses” parcel tax
I hate being a Cassandra, always reporting bad news. Well, I’m SUPPOSED to hate being a Cassandra. I’m a little weird about it, actually. But no matter. Today I have a bit of GOOD news for California taxpayers. In a significant 3-0 ruling by a California appeals court, a wrongly structured Alameda school district parcel tax was struck down, and …
Feds spend $368 million for FEWER San Diego courtrooms
Here’s a story suitable for the Bizarro comic strip. The U.S. government has spent $368 million on a lavish new federal courthouse addition in San Diego, largely to increase the number of courtrooms to handle the increasing workload. But the geniuses in DC decided that the spending was too lavish (it was), so they deduced that the solution was to require FEWER …
First CA “cap-and-trade” auction a dismal failure — and racist to boot!
RIDER COMMENT: California’s first AB32 “Cap-and-trade” auction raised only a fraction of the revenue Democrats projected the auction would bring in for the state (see SAC BEE article below). This story didn’t make any waves. It should have. The billions that CA Democrats hope to gain from cap-and-trade auctions are largely illusionary dollars. This “disappointing” auction result is a classic …
Average CA city employee compensation over $140,000/year!
Okay, my headline may not be a true average for all California cities. But for the three cities that have been analyzed in detail below, it IS true. Yet if you believe our state’s highly respected (respected by the MSM, at least) elected Controller, Democrat John Chiang, you’d think many public employees are one paycheck away from going Dempsey Dumpster diving. That …
Put “paycheck protection” prop on EVERY ballot — EVERY election
http://riderrants.blogspot.com/2012/11/put-paycheck-protection-prop-on-every.html One lesson from the election I HOPE “my side” now understands and should support — we need to CONTINUE to use the proposition system against the labor unions and the left. Hit ’em with propositions they must fight, or else these unions risk dying from the passage of such reform measures. After all, the left doesn’t hesitate to hit …
Post-election update of Rider “CA vs. other states” fact sheet
Salient excerpt from my post-election CA fact sheet: Prior to Prop 30 passing, CA already had the second worst state income tax in the nation. Currently our 9.3% tax bracket starts at $48,029 for people filing as individuals. Now our “millionaires’ tax” rate is 13.3% – including capital gains. Increased taxes now start at $250K. CA now has by far the …
2009 Rider PR – “California’s bogus think tanks – and media bias”
San Diego Tax Fighters 10969 Red Cedar Dr. San Diego, CA 92131 Voice: (858) 530-3027 Email: RRider@san.rr.com Monday, 6 April, 2009 Press Release – Authored by Richard Rider California’s bogus think tanks – and media bias I guess I retain a special place in my heart for San Diego Union-Tribune reporter/columnist Dean Calbreath. His poorly reasoned and misleadingly referenced liberal …
Finally! CA NOT in worst 4 states in fiscal study (pension obligations)! Yea! — However…
Recently I’ve been reporting more studies that rank CA the 2nd, 3rd or 4th worst in various fiscal comparisons with other states. I imagine you are as sick of this dreary drumbeat as I am. Good news! Finally I found a study where California is not ranked in the top four – as in worst four. . . . Ya …
New study verifies CA residents overtaxed — who knew?
RIDER COMMENT: The Tax Foundation study below summarized by George Runner included the state and local taxes paid by state residents both in-state AND to OTHER states. This inclusion arguable skewed the results. Not surprisingly, New York was found to the worst tax state. New Jersey and Connecticut are both listed as worse than CA. But, high as NJ and CT taxes …
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