California « The Irate Nation

Do states that have higher taxes provide better services?

"The Big-Spending, High-Taxing, Lousy-Services Paradigm," William Vogeli - re: California, from the article: Take entitlements and public-employee pensions, which are, Watkins says, “the real source of the state’s fiscal distress.” A 2005 study by the Legislative Analyst’s Office (California’s version of the Congressional Budget Office) found that pensions for California’s government employees “surpassed the other states—often significantly—at all retirement ages.” California government workers retiring at age 55 received larger pensions than their counterparts in any other state (leaving aside the many states where retirement as early as 55 isn’t even possible). The California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility periodically posts a list of retired city managers, state administrators, public university deans, and police chiefs who receive pensions of at least $100,000 per year. The latest report shows 5,115 lucky members in this six-figure club. The state’s annual bill for polishing their gold watches is $610 million.

The article above seems to contend that they just find newer ways of wasting money: it's not a terribly long read, and most of you are familiar with the argument, but the numbers are still shocking.

Off-topic: William Blake, "The Tyger" - one of the reasons I started writing on poetry is that political news tends to be the same thing, over and over again. California's budget crisis has been documented for years upon years now.

“The Madness of Queen Nancy” and other links

"The Madness of Queen Nancy," John Fund - fta: Indeed, the Speaker's take on Tuesday's off-year elections struck some of her own members as delusive "happy talk." "From our perspective, we won last night," a cheerful Ms. Pelosi told reporters, citing her party's pick-up of a single House seat in a New York special election and retention of another strongly Democratic seat in California.
"Jesuit Message Drives Detroit's Last Catholic School," Amy Sullivan - the statistics on Detroit in this article are shocking.
"Parents of student beaten to death on campus billed for resuscitation efforts" - a stunning but perhaps accurate example of how institutions of higher education regard those in their charge, those paying their bills. Yes, it was a mistake - that makes it all the more telling in a way.
From my blog: "Does the Earth belong to the living?"

Tagged as: Amy Sullivan, California, catholic school, Detroit, fta, Fund, happy talk, institutions of higher education, jesuit, John, madness, Mistake, Ms. Pelosi, nancy john, New York, pelosi, perspective, Queen Nancy, regard, resuscitation efforts, seat, Speaker, take, talk, Tuesday No Comments

Street legal bumper cars or GM protoypes?

Save a Prius ride a bumper car. LMAO I have to get one of these. Whats next Merry-go-round horses?

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from automotto

Harshpaul Bumper cars are good, and they are much better when they are street legal. These vintage bumper car bodies move with Honda or Kawasaki engines powering their souls. Initially, these cars belonged to the Long Beach Pike amusement park, and were ultimately consigned to garbage heaps. And there they would have rot had Tom Wright not come to their rescue.