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Bruce Henderson: no room for a Chargers stadium downtown
Downtown does not need an elementary school. Few if any school age children live downtown, and those who do likely go to private schools. The developers want the school district to build a school because they hope the school will attract buyers with children to clear the condo glut.— July 14, 2009 8:32 p.m.
Coronado Great for "Rich and Single," Says Money Magazine
I don't think many single professionals live in Corornado. Most of the young "professionals" in San Diego chose to blow their money on leased BMWs, expensive vacations, and expensive bars and restaurants. They are mostly interested in getting drunk and working out at the gym. Most of them have nothing in the bank, spend $500 per month on cell phones and text messaging, and live in luxury apartments with all the amenities. Many rack up credit card debts of $100,000 or more several years after moving here. Many will file bankruptcy before age 35, in addition to contracting herpes. Few of them could ever hope to accumulate enough cash to buy in Coronado. These losers tumble like ten pins in a bowling alley during recessions because they can't save money. I believe that a high proportion of Coronado homeowners are wealthy individuals from out of state who maintain vacation homes there.— July 13, 2009 7:40 p.m.
American Express Put Her $1 Million into Madoff; She Sues
It' not clear to me that Valladolid will ultimately wind up with a loss from her indirect investment with Madoff. First of all, the SIPC decided, probably under political pressure from a powerful group, to provide coverage to Madoff's victims even though accounts in his unregulated hedge fund were not eligible for SIPC protection, and his fund did not pay premiums for SIPC coverage. This is an outrage in itself. I believe that SIPC has no legal authority to pay Madoff's victims a dime. So Valladolid will receive from the SIPC at least $500,000 of her claimed $1,000,000 loss. She may receive more if the SIPC bows to political pressure and assumes liability for all losses beyond the $500,000 limit. She will likley receive a large percentage of the remaining loss from clawback funds after the bankruptcy closes.— July 11, 2009 9:26 a.m.
U-T Seeking to Rent Part of Headquarters Space
Response to post #31: I hadn't noticed that Sarah's looks are fading. That's because I seldom see politics on TV. You can't blame her for getting some lines on her face. She was the laughingstock of much of the nation in her VP campaign. Best, Don Bauder ========== Palin should shoot her nude portfolio now before her looks fade further and she winds up looking like Nancy Pelosi. Palin could pose naked wearing a coonskin cap with an 18" Buck knife between her teeth. If Palin's political career goes down the tubes several years from now, she'd be able to sell the portfolio to Playboy for several million.— July 9, 2009 11:38 p.m.
Ask Parsky about His Offshore Adventures
The numbers cited in the LA Times article are extremely low, and appear to be an outright distortion of the truth. "One of the governor's proposals would place a five-year limit on state welfare payments to the U.S.-citizen children of illegal immigrants. That would affect approximately 100,000 U.S.-born children in about 48,000 California households headed by illegal immigrants, who receive a monthly average of $472." Immigrant families in California have on average 5 children. The 48,000 families headed by illegal aliens should have at least 200,000 children, not 100,000 as the article falsely claims. There are more than 48,000 families in San Diego County headed by illegal aliens. There are probably at least 500,000 families in LA County alone that are headed by illegal aliens. The $472 average monthly welfare benefit figure is totally inconsistent with the figures I have seen. A family of six should receive a minimun welfare benefit, including WIC payments and food stamps, of between $2,000 and $3,000, depending on whether the family is enrolled in Section 8 housing. The article also claims there are only 2.7 million illegals in California. I believe there are between 6 million and 10 million illegals in California. This LA Times article is inaccurate and relies on suspect and biased data that the state legislature fabricated to support its political goals.— July 9, 2009 9:13 p.m.
Ask Parsky about His Offshore Adventures
The Federal government funds a program called Aid to Families With Dependent Children (AFDC). The AFDC program guarantees a monthly income of up to $3,800 per month for families with US born children, without regard to the residency status of the parents. For example, if a parent with four children earns only $1,800 per month, the AFDC program will pay the immigrant $2,000 per month, or whatever it takes, to reach the $3,800 per month minimum income level. The Federal government will only fund up to 5 years worth of AFDC payments for each recipient. After the 5 year Federal funding period is up, California steps into the breach (Calworks program) and pays the tab until each child in the family reaches age 18. This is why immigrants can support large families on minimum wage jobs. The AFDC/Calworks program is the major driver of San Diego's economy. It subsidizes businesses that employ minimum wage workers, and forces businesses with high paying jobs to leave the state due to high taxes. The program is in effect a massive subsidy to business owners who are flooding San Diego with shufflebutt jobs.— July 8, 2009 9:12 p.m.
Ask Parsky about His Offshore Adventures
There are many reasons why California is going broke. Lack of tax revenue is not one of them. Immigration is a major cause. Legal immigrants used to be able to collect social security benefits at age 50 through the Social Security Supplemental Income program even though they paid nothing into the system. When Newt Gingrich and his "Contract With America" changed the law and kicked the immigrants off SSI, California assumed the financial burden of funding a replacement program for SSI without federal funding. Since California is one of the only states who offer elderly immigrants free money, they all come here to feed off the system.— July 8, 2009 8:45 p.m.
U-T Seeking to Rent Part of Headquarters Space
Palin should cash in while she can. Her looks are fading fast.— July 5, 2009 8:48 p.m.
Watchdog Institute Puzzles Union-Tribune Staffers
SDSU's involvement with this institute would constitute a clear conflict of interest. Under Stephen Weber's leadership, SDSU has become a front for real estate interests who seek to use the university's power of eminent domain to raze residential areas for private commercial development.— July 2, 2009 9:22 p.m.
Watchdog Institute Puzzles Union-Tribune Staffers
Perhaps when Platinum purchased the U-T, it agreed as part of the sales terms, to keep certain favored U-T employees on the payroll until they were eligible to retire. This could be a ploy to limit Platinum's expenses. The salaries of the excess employees would be off-loaded on the institute, and Platinum would kick in enough cash to pay these employees only if the donations won't cover the tab. This whole deal makes no sense to me.— July 2, 2009 7:20 p.m.