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San Diego tourism weakens
Imagine being the host city of the next Google, or being the birthplace of yet another groundbreaking cure. ============================= So true. Qualcomm comes to mind, but there could be so many more.— October 23, 2008 2:15 p.m.
Mea Culpas by Greenspan, Cox Are Historic; Derivatives Regulation Will Help, but Will Be No Panacea
Good article.— October 23, 2008 2:12 p.m.
City Pension Portfolio Plunges Below $4 Billion; That's Lower Than Level of Mid-2006
This pension mess is serious business. Calpers has lost so much money that they are going to REQUIRE MORE money from the local muni's. You thought we had cash flow problems before the financial meltdown, now we really have them.— October 23, 2008 12:45 p.m.
Good News: SDCERS Discussing Lowering Interest Rate on DROP Account
I have heard reference to a huge health care liability hanging over the city's head, but I really know nothing of what the city's responsibility is for providing health care to retirees. ================================= Read this, it might put the retiree healthcare costs into perspective; BENEFITS BEAT A Taxpayers' Benefits Bill of Rights October 2008 By GIRARD MILLER Evaluating retiree medical benefits from the citizens' perspective. Meanwhile, a controversial issue is smoldering in almost every city hall, school board office, state capital, and county courthouse: the cost and level of retiree medical benefits. The new battleground for benefits-plan reforms will likely be retiree medical benefits, also called OPEB (for "other post-employment benefits"). The costs to taxpayers of mismanaged OPEB plans may be far greater than well-publicized pension abuses. After decades of providing retirement medical benefits without funding them actuarially like a pension plan, public employers have run up a virtually unfunded $1.5 trillion tab for benefits promised to state and local government employees. http://www.governing.com/articles/0810gmillera.htm— October 23, 2008 11:43 a.m.
Good News: SDCERS Discussing Lowering Interest Rate on DROP Account
PS, I too do not smoke. But I think it is morally wrong to target a legal product for this type of "sin" tax. Same goes for alcohol (I don't drink either).— October 23, 2008 8:33 a.m.
Good News: SDCERS Discussing Lowering Interest Rate on DROP Account
That study didn't get much play here where the claims of increased health care costs have led to draconian cigarette taxes. (full disclosure: I have never smoked and can't stand to be near somebody smoking.) ================ ==== Paul, It is funny you mention the tobacco tax. If you recall, it started out in 1988 to fund an anti smoking and tobacco use initiative. It raised the prices on a pack of smokes .50 cents. That money then fueled the biggest anti smoking and chew campaign in the nation’s history, and CA’s smoking rate dropped to the lowest in the nation. It was incredibly successful. But smoking was not eliminated or even brought under 10%, so it still had some work to go. Well, after 4 or 5 years all the radio and TV commercials disappeared and they have never come back, yet that huge tax on those products is still there. My guess is that tax has been hijacked into the State’s general fund and is being used for everything BUT what it is supposed to be used for, such as funding excessive pay and pensions for the government employees. This is basically what has happened to the gas tax. The gas tax is fairly large (last stats= .65 cents per gallon) and is there to keep the roadways and highways maintained, except for “emergencies” when the fund can be raided. Well, guess what? There are “emergencies” virtually every single year. That dedicated tax is raided so much it is now considered part of the general fund. Then we get HUGE bond measures proposed by the State because the roadways and highways are falling apart. OK-this was off topic, but this is the kind of vicious cycle that happens when there is run away gov spending-and excessive pay and pensions are a major cause.— October 23, 2008 8:31 a.m.
Good News: SDCERS Discussing Lowering Interest Rate on DROP Account
Incidentally, 75% is also what the military retires at ... ======================================= 1- Military retirement is 50% after 20 years, and there is talk of RAISING that to age 57 before anyone gets a pension. And that is 50% of pverty wages-not $200K per year. 2- The military pays $1,000 a month, which is poverty, SDFD pays $200K with OT and pension benefits. Big difference. Oh, and you don't get shot and killed at SDFD either-or get stuck in a foreign land for 15 months away from your family. JF, your scam is up. Deal with it. get over it. Take it like a man (which I know is asking a lot from you). As for your assertions that the average age of a FF or cop coming in is 27-I will call BS again. Why have a retirement at age 50 if no one is taking it??? Because there are plenty of FF's and cops getting out at age 50, 51, 52-that's why.— October 22, 2008 11:52 p.m.
Good News: SDCERS Discussing Lowering Interest Rate on DROP Account
I have yet to see a study that shows that firefighters in general have a shorter life span, though there are several studies showing that they have much greater incidence of cancer and heart disease. That's a damn good reason to retire them early -- so that they city doesn't become liable for work related cancer and heart disease. ============================================= Another welfare queen whopper. Liablity for work related cancer????? Heart disease??????? Are you for real JF???? Please show me one, JUST ONE CASE ANYWHERE IN AMERICA where a government employer has been held liable for either to a FF. Your nose just grew 3 feet with that whopper Pinocchio.— October 22, 2008 11:40 p.m.
Good News: SDCERS Discussing Lowering Interest Rate on DROP Account
I meant to add that if you calculate your numbers to age 68 instead of 78 (to account for projected shorter life span) you end up with $1,148,400 (no DROP) vs $1289687 (DROP) which is a not unsubstantial 12.3% increase. I just looked up stats that claimed 74.4 for American males and 66 for police officers with more than 10 years experience. Those numbers would make the DROP cost even higher. ====================================== FF's are living 2 years longer than the average person as proven up by a 50 year longitudinal study. I am sure cops are living much longer than normal also-I have never seen a study, a LEGITIMATE STUDY, where cops lived shorter life spans than the average person. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fc…— October 22, 2008 11:35 p.m.
Good News: SDCERS Discussing Lowering Interest Rate on DROP Account
To me, the fact that police and fire are well compensated in their salary in the first place, get tons of paid overtime and can retire at age 50 with up to 90% of their salary is a real problem. I don't care what other agencies make, because they are all broke as well. That rate is not sustainable, and has crippled our city. In my opinion, the multipliers for all categories should be dropped 0.5% across the board, and the retirement age for police and fire should be raised 5 years. ================================== Me and Don have been saying this word for word for the last 5 years-glad you agree Paul. I would raise the reitrement of PD to age 62, MINIMUM. I will find something for the older guys to do if they claim they are not capable of physically fighting fires after age 50-which is another whopper in and of itself.— October 22, 2008 11:32 p.m.