| I'm not as hopeful for a solution in California. We cannot continue along these lines. We must change. When comparing taxes among various states, some states have high sales tax but low income tax. Others have high corporate tax but low property tax. California is either at the top or near the top of every kind of tax. Why is that? Do we have such superior services compared to the rest of the states? If so, can we afford them?
I don't know the details of all the pension agreements, but many employees get 3% per year for their last year of service. This means that if they begin working at age 20, they can retire at age 53 at full salary for the rest of their lives. In fact, if they continue working after 33 years of service I really don't know why. They are in essence working for free. They go out and get another job.
Is there some company that anyone knows about that offer this kind of pension? I think this is just the tip of the iceberg. Public employees have health benefits, overtime rules, job security provisions that are rather generous when you look at it in the context of the economic pain that's out there.
I know that people will ask me if I have no sympathy for the 219,000 working men and women of this state. The answer is that I have more sympathy for the 1.7 million Californians who are currently unemployed (and the many more who have given up).
We need real change and, frankly, I don't know where it's going to come from. Republicans make me want to puke and Democrats have no ability to stand up to their benefactors, public employee unions. So, I am not hopeful. |
