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Compared with Orange and L.A., San Diego Underspends on Firefighting
They probably still fail to understand that the money just isn't there to keep the gravy train going....and the districts are looking at fewer dollars each year than the year before. ============ And this is what public employees, and our State legislature fail to address. State employment has gone UP since the depression began, the state has continued to hire and continued to give raises, yet we had a $60 BILLION defict last year, we have a $20 BILLION deficit this year and we have a projected $30 BILLION deficit next year. Yet the legistalture has failed to address MEANINGFUL pension reform or salary reform. They keep hoping and praying tax revenue will INCREASE when taxes continue to decrease. That is ridiculous. The fact is the so called "pension reform" Arnold got from a handful of unions was not reform at all, because he gave out RAISES that not only offset any pension reform, but actually drove up the costs of the pensions over the longeterm b/c the raises are going to increase pension costs for the 30 year life of the pensions. BTW-please read what I wrote very carefully, state employees have been given RAISES, they are not capping wages at all, and certainly not giving back any wages.— September 3, 2010 11:26 a.m.
Compared with Orange and L.A., San Diego Underspends on Firefighting
Last i checked there was no leverage applied when these contracts were negotiated and signed ( police and fire can not strike or walk out )... =================== LOL...really....so all those campaign bribes...errrr..."donations" were not leverage????? HEy Pinnochio, your nose grew 50 feet with that whopper!!! . . .pensions in charter city's were approved by voters.... it's time to lay blame where it belongs... ======================= Pensions were NOT approved by voters-they were approved by elected officials....another lie shot down . . . police and fire have taken pay cuts and increased their share of employee contributions across the state in the recent budget crisisis, so again please check your facts before you spoon feed propaganda to the many who have rellied on your misinformation and obscured 1/2 truths...fair pay and benefits for a stressfull and dangerous days work.....if =============== Reallyyyyy....sorry but they have not taken cuts, SDPD just RECEIVED raises of over 11% in their last contract. Stop the lies, your nose cannot afford to get much bigger. The few that have given back gave back amounts so small as to be nominal. . . . fair pay and benefits for a stressfull and dangerous days work.....if you can do it, quit complaining and suit up!!!! or were you washed out or do not have the wherewithal to do a dangerous / challengings and demanding job... ================ Yes "fair pay" sounds good, about $60K plus benefits for a SEMI SKILLED MANUAL LABOR job is fair, $200K is a scam. You're not a brain surgeon or Johnny Cochrane-so stop acting like you deserve to be paid like them. The job is a GED job, no more demanding than any other semie skilled manual labor GED level job, as for doing it-have fun getting hired; The high paying gov jobs, like FF jobs, and to a lesser extent the PD jobs, are all "gifted" out to; 1- Family (Hi LAPD Chief Charlie Beck and 5 family members!! Hello El Cajon Police Chief Pat Sprecco and son Nick Sprecco!!!), 2- Friends, 3- Civil rights lawsuit consent decree hires for engaging in 1 & 2 above. (Hi LASD, and your female hiring requirement under the Bouman v. Baca Consent Decree!!!). 4- Military workfare hires- who are hired in extraordinary (and out of proportion) numbers. And if youre not in the one of the connecte dgroups your chances are about 10,000 to 1. I love shooting down these lies.— September 3, 2010 8:51 a.m.
Prop 8
It is not going to change people from voting with their religious beliefs unfortunately, but one can hold out hope that the higher courts will prevail in these instances, as they did with Prop 8. =================== Prop 8 is over. The AG's office is NOT going to appeal the District Court ruling, which leaves no party with an interest to file the appeal. Only the State has "standing" to appeal the District Court ruling, a legal insterest in the case. Not the Mormon church. So the case is not going to be heard by the 9th Circuit. Me, I wish the state would appeal, so the 9th could rule on the issue, and then off to the SCOTUS who have already intervened into this case at the trial court level-which is unheard of. I personally do NOT think the Prop 8 ruling from District Court would be over turned by either the 9th or the SCOTUS. This issue needs to be laid to rest once and for all, that is why the case needs to go up. The 9th has not ruled on whether they are going to take/not take the case-and have asked both sides to submit briefs on the issue of standing, but I know how they are going to rule-they are going to dismiss the appeal based on lack of standing, essentially taking a wimps way out-punting, keeping in full force and effect the District Court ruling striking Prop 8 down. In 24 months this will be a non issue, and I predict many other states will expressly allow gay marriage (of course all the western states in the 9th Circuit would be bound by the current ruling).— September 2, 2010 8:05 p.m.
Prop 8
The Civil Rights Movement and same sex marriage are different issues. Most people can distinguish a person's racial ethnic background by sight. That's not possible with homosexuals. ===================== It is exactly a civil rights issue, and I cannot believe you make this claim- that race is different, because b/c you can tell someone’s race by looking at them (not true-but I see your drift), as compared to sexual orientation, where it is not readily identifiable. You cannot tell someone’s religious beliefs by sight either-but it is STILL a civil rights violation to discriminate against someone based on religious beliefs. Look, I was against same sex marriage a few years ago too, like many people, and thought that “civil unions” were fine, but the fact is this, if some gay person wants to get married, good for them-it makes NO change in MY lifestyle, or anyone else’s. Who really cares-some Morons in Utah?? My view is pretty simple, as long as what you do is not illegal and not hurting others then it should be allowed. Simple. Prop 8 was overturned on the equal protection clause, even though sexual orientation does not receive the same strong protections that race, ethnicity, alienage, gender or illegitimacy receives, but the Prop 8 case essentially elevates sexual orientation to the same level as these other areas. Life is not going to end, and in fact in 2-3 years all the Prop 8 supporters will look back and say the same thing ( I think so anyway). If some hard hard like me can look at the issue and come to a switch in his or her views, then anyone can.— September 2, 2010 7:53 p.m.
Politics Afire
Gloria, Hueso, Vargas, and their donors: BAD people! How can we get rid of them? Their involvement in politics needs to be stopped. And now, Hueso's brother? Please, voters, make these really bad people go away. ==================== Hueso is dirty, and yes he needs to go.— September 2, 2010 7:40 p.m.
Compared with Orange and L.A., San Diego Underspends on Firefighting
SP, will you post your license plate number on this blog? And then will you tell us how long it takes to get a speeding or parking ticket? ======================= LOL...there was someone named "sunami" slamming the cop and ff pensions on the UT website today and one of the local cops "Retired SDPD" started to claim it was that infamous poster "JohnnyVegas" under a new name..........!!! But I know JV and it wasn't him. JV was banned from the UT's site at least 5 times.........— September 2, 2010 7:38 p.m.
Compared with Orange and L.A., San Diego Underspends on Firefighting
One thing police have going for them is that they are the heroes of the TV shows and movies. ============== Cop shows are the BEST, especially the older ones. As a kid I loved Jack Webb and "Dragnet", and "The F.B.I." which aired on Friday nights. And of course you had shows lots of cool cop shows like "McCloud" "Starsky and Hutch".... and don't leave out the PI shows like "Mannix" ""Rockford Files" and "Simon and Simon". Too many good cop and PI shows to list....... I hate it though when these cops and FF's complain about things. They are being comped better than ANYONE in America on an education/skills to compensation ratio and they still gripe. They flat out refuse to take any pay or benefit cuts even as they are being comped so much more than everyone else. They have essentially bullet proof job security-with civil service and union job protections while everyone in the real world is an "at will" employee with virtually NO job protections-yet they still complain. I said before the can has been kicked down the road until we ran out of road to kick it-there is no more road to kick the can down......either we CAP all employee salary levels for at leats 5-10 years, or we cut the benefits, or a combo of both. But when the public safety employees are making 4-5 times more than the average taxpayer in their city, there is not going to be many people voting for tax increases to cover their ultra rich employment deals.— September 2, 2010 7:36 p.m.
Compared with Orange and L.A., San Diego Underspends on Firefighting
i do not know to many entry level cops or firefighters earning 200K... =========== Then you don't know any cops in CA, they are all COMPING around $200K, some much more. You do know what comp means don't you??? Salary + Benefits= total job cost. . . . last i checked entry positions are around 40k 75k depending on the area... ================= LOL..there is nto a PD or FD in the state, or the nation, that comps an entry level cop or ff at $40K. Here is a typical cop job comp schedule-add it up-$161K plus at least another $161K in benefits, total comp= $320K; http://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/DocumentView.aspx?DI… . . . or produce a job postiong for 200k in pay and benefits...dont be a hater..... =================== See above, and if you want me to smack you and your BS talking points around some more-please feel free to post up more of your bogus public union "talking points".— September 2, 2010 3:57 p.m.
Compared with Orange and L.A., San Diego Underspends on Firefighting
during robust economic times never a word is said about pay or benefits ================ Wake up-these scams have been in the cross hairs for at least 5 years now-that was "during robust economic times", and even if it wasn't, who the heck cares, times have changed. . . everyone wants the best, firefighter and police as it is a difficult, demanding, and stressfull occupation ================ It is a semi-skilled, manual labor, GED educated job, nothing more. It is not anymore demanding, difficult or stressful than any other manual labor job. . . . wake up people you have no idea what you receive from these highly skill and trained individulas... ================== Newsflash to our hero here, we know EXACTLY what we receive, and a semi skilled manual labor job is not "highly skill(sic) and trained individulas (sic)" . . you are getting the bargain of your lives ================ So says the GED cop being comped $200K per year. We are actually getting the back stabbing of our lives......from greedy public employees that would have trouble making minimum wage in the real world. Why do these clowns keep posting this kind of nonsense??????— September 2, 2010 2:26 p.m.
UC Retirement Funds Face $20 Billion Shortfall
The TOO BIG TO FAILS should have been allowed to fail. As a flaming signpost warning to others not to play fast and lose with other people’s money.— September 2, 2010 8:57 a.m.