Your employer comes to you and tells you about how the company is going through hard times. He talks about the cutbacks that are going to have to happen around the company. He says he needs some money from you (a pay cut) to make things work and keep the company and all of your fellow employees on the team.
Understanding the situation, you agree. Then a month later the boss shows up with a new Mercedes. Wouldn’t you hit the ceiling?
That is exactly what is going on in the state of California, except they are asking us to give them more money to balance the budget. The budget that has been out of balance for well over a decade will magically be balanced if we impose new higher taxes on ourselves, but the truth is that will never happen because they are just finding new ways to spend money.
You may have heard about the big choo-choo train they want to send down the middle of the state and the state money they keep finding in secret accounts, but dollars to donuts you don’t know that the fine folks in Sacramento are also handing out new benefits to public employees. This not only will hit the state budget, but will impact each city and county in the state. Apparently, the news has not hit Sacramento that a couple of cities have already declared bankruptcy and others are trying to climb out of quicksand.
The Assembly passed AB 2451 by a vote of 69-4 to hand out this new benefit. It was sponsored by the Speaker, John Perez, and you can tell by the vote even Republicans (Paul Cook*) voted for this boondoggle. It now sits in the State Senate. This thing smells so bad even the Los Angeles Times came out against it as irresponsible after the Sacramento Bee did, but no one except us policy wonks read the Bee’s editorials.
So what is it that is so bad that this stinker does to us ordinary residents? Currently firefighters and peace officers receive a death benefit if they are killed on duty or die within four and one-half years of retirement from some ailment suffered while on duty. Not much argument there. This new bill provides a death benefit whenever these former employees die. They don’t have to have made any related health claims during their employment period; they just have to die to get the benefit. And this is not $10,000 they are handing out. It is valued at between $250,000 and $300,000 per.
So Officer Krupke retires at the age of 50 (we will not even get into a discussion of that). He has had no health claims. He lives to a nice ripe age of 84 and dies from a heart attack at the time. His family, and that definition is very loose in this bill, gets a free (for them – very costly for you) insurance benefit out of the generosity of the hearts of the people of California principally because we apparently are so flush with dough. Does that seem fair?
You can’t just die of anything and get this benefit. To be accurate it is limited to pneumonia, heart trouble, cancer, leukemia, tuberculosis, an infectious disease or a hernia (did not know you could die from a hernia.) That leaves out smallpox, polio, typhoid fever, the plague and a few other diseases that no one gets anymore. The way it looks, the stated diseases will cover 99.999999% of peace officers and firefighters. And nowhere does this bill say it changes any other benefits currently in existence, such as pension benefits.
It has been stated by someone (Ronald Reagan) that if you give more money to the government they will just spend it. Guv Brown is running around the state telling everyone the sky will fall if we don’t approve his proposition for $8.6 billion of new taxes. Let’s forget the fact that if passed he will never collect that much money, but please explain exactly what he needs this for?
In the past, the scoundrels have waited until after the taxes are raised to show what schnooks we are for giving these people more money. The usually wait to go off and spend our money frivolously on some new project they never spoke of until after the election. They now think we are so stupid they are not even waiting. The Senate Committee passed this 5-0 and soon the Senate will vote on the bill.
So it is time to show them we are not stupid. Tell them we cannot afford another handout to our overpaid public employees. Call your state senator and give him an earful, and then in November tell Guv Brown your family needs the money more than the public employee unions behind this bill and vote no on his tax heist.
via HERE THEY GO AGAIN THINKING WE ARE STUPID – FlashReport – Presented by Jon Fleischman.
*(Paul Cook*) was added to this article to let you know that Paul Cook was one of the Republicans who voted for this bad legislation. I seems that Branson Hunter is all upset because, I added that (Paul Cook*) item. He said it changed the whole article. Why it made the whole thing different. Well so as not to confuse Ben, I thought I should add this explanation so if by a remote chance any of you out their did not know that Cook was one of the Republicans spoken of in this article.
Here Cook goes again, thinking we are stupid - FlashReport ,
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Danny, nice job of changing the text of Bruce Bialosky store. Nowhere in Bialosky’s article did he mention Assembly Paul Cook (See paragraph #5 of the story you posted).
If you are going to constantly trash Assemblyman Paul Cook, at least show when you add text to an a professional journalist’s story.
I’m just saying be fair in your putting up articles.
The correct answer is, “Sorry, I’m be more careful next time.”
Seriously? Pointing out his voting record by placing his name in parenthesis is wrong?
Thanks for pointing that out for me….
I surely wouldn’t want to be accused of broad brush stroking by the master.. LOL
Placing your text into a professional journalist’s story as though the journalist wrote it is careless or dishonest. Then attacking the messenger as a diversion is crass.
ATTENTION This is for Branson Hunter Only:
Be careful of the standards you set for others.
You are no longer allowed to post the articles of others. Only original articles and only articles with original investigative information…. no unapproved attributes, no quotes from other articles with out the express permission from the authors. no plagiarism.
Lets see how that does you.
All others as you were.
If that was enforced, you’d be out of the web business. A story here and there by Margo a couple from Cora…
Well there you go Terry and I agree…. the rule Branson has for himself is a tough nut to crack…. The rest of us know the difference. Hey he’s the one that wishes to be the high commissioner of blogging let Branson set the standard.
I’m tired of arguing with the guy.
*(Paul Cook*) was added to this article to let you know that Paul Cook was one of the Republicans who voted for this bad legislation. I seems that Branson Hunter is all upset because, I added the (Paul Cook*) item. He said it changed the whole article. Why it made the whole thing different. Well so as not to confuse Ben, I thought I should add this explanation so if by a remote chance any of you out their did not know that Cook was one of the Republicans spoken of in this article.
It would seem that Cook’s name was only one that needed to be pointed out, because he pertains to the basin, someone posting the story from elsewhere, would/could insert the name of their offending representative.
Just so the others don’t feel left out, I offer following for your perusal.
Full Roll Call
Yes Votes
Steven Bradford 51 Democratic
Jim Silva 67 Republican
Jeff Miller 71 Republican
Bob Wieckowski 20 Democratic
Curt Hagman 60 Republican
Mike Eng 49 Democratic
Jeff Gorell 37 Republican
Martin Garrick 74 Republican
Mike Davis 48 Democratic
Ricardo Lara 50 Democratic
Susan Bonilla 11 Democratic
Jerry Hill 19 Democratic
Brian Nestande 64 Republican
Roger Dickinson 9 Democratic
Betsy Butler 53 Democratic
Charles M Calderon 58 Democratic
Bill Berryhill 26 Republican
Julia Brownley 41 Democratic
Norma Torres 61 Democratic
Cameron Smyth 38 Republican
Brian Jones 77 Republican
Jim Nielsen 2 Republican
Das Williams 35 Democratic
Bonnie Lowenthal 54 Democratic
Lius Alejo 28 Democratic
Tony Mendoza 56 Democratic
Dan Logue 3 Republican
Mary Hayashi 18 Democratic
David Valadao 30 Republican
Nora Campos 23 Democratic
Richard Pan 5 Democratic
Sandré Swanson 16 Democratic
Bob Blumenfield 40 Democratic
Gilbert Cedillo 45 Democratic
Wesley Chesbro 1 Democratic
Isadore Hall 52 Democratic
Nancy Skinner 14 Democratic
Toni Atkins 76 Democratic
Cathleen Galgiani 17 Democratic
Fiona Ma 12 Democratic
Roger Hernández 57 Democratic
Mike Feuer 42 Democratic
Mike Gatto 43 Democratic
Paul J Cook 65 Republican
Jose Solorio 69 Democratic
Mariko Yamada 8 Democratic
Richard Gordon 21 Democratic
Felipe Fuentes 39 Democratic
Katcho Achadjian 33 Republican
Holly Mitchell 47 Democratic
Marty Block 78 Democratic
John Pérez 46 Democratic
Henry Perea 31 Democratic
William W Monning 27 Democratic
Wilmer Amina Carter 62 Democratic
Mike Morrell 63 Republican
Connie Conway 34 Republican
Paul Fong 22 Democratic
Alyson Huber 10 Democratic
Joan Buchanan 15 Democratic
Donald Wagner 70 Republican
Diane L Harkey 73 Republican
Jim Beall 24 Democratic
Anthony Portantino 44 Democratic
Beth Gaines 4 Republican
Michael Allen 7 Democratic
Tom Ammiano 13 Democratic
Jared William Huffman 6 Democratic
Ben Hueso 79 Democratic
No Votes
Shannon Grove 32 Republican
Chris Norby 72 Republican
Tim Donnelly 59 Republican
Allan Mansoor 68 Republican
Other
Linda Halderman 29 Republican
Steve Knight 36 Republican
Warren T Furutani 55 Democratic
Kristin Olsen 25 Republican
Nathan Fletcher 75 Independent
Kevin D Jeffries 66 Republican
V. Manuel Pérez 80 Democratic