Category: California

The Lottery Is a Wonderful Thing

California finally has a budget for the fiscal year that started July 1.  You see the problem is that our laws require a 2/3 majority to pass all spending bills.  The Democrats have a majority of the legislature but not the required two thirds.  The state goes through this every year.  It’s not likely to change because the districts have been so gerrymandered that it’s almost impossible to change the control of any district.

 

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has done the best anyone could, given the government structure.  It was a fabulous idea for balancing the budget.  We will borrow $10 billion from future lottery revenue.  Maybe the Federal government can use that method to finance the bail out of Wall Street.

 

I am not certain that anyone really cares. Beverly Hills, Malibu, La Jolla, and Calabasas too, are all doing great this year.  What’s to worry?

On The Lighter Side

Thanks to my father we moved to Southern California when I was 10 years old.  Before that it was the life of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.  That meant hot and humid in the summer and cold and damp in the winter.  Since moving here I have been to the California’s snowy mountains four times and back to the Eastern winters twice.

 

Long time friends of mine invited us to their son’s wedding in La Jolla at the Torrey Pines Hilton this past weekend.  We have visited San Diego about 100 times so the trip to La Jolla (a suburb of San Diego) is nothing new to us.  The temperature will be 760 today.  It was within one to two degrees of that temperature while we were there.

 

La Jolla Hilton
La Jolla Hilton

 

 

If you are looking for a place to live on the mainland with the most moderate climate Southern California is the place to live.  Of course the cost of housing is any where from three to ten times the cost anywhere else in the country except Manhattan, Boston, and Hawaii.

 

You could spend many days just visiting the museums in San Diego.  The displays are all spectacular.  We spent about three hours in the Natural History museum and only saw about half of the displays.  Another two hours was spent at Seaport Village.  The rest of the time consisted of a nap and two evenings with the wedding party. 

 

Well it was a Jewish wedding.  Do I have to tell you any more than that?  For those of you who don’t know, a Jewish wedding is always spectacular.  There is a dinner followed by a night of dancing and singing.  At the Hilton it could not have been better.  I didn’t even talk about politics!  Yes, I missed Tina Fey and Amy Poehler on SNL.

The California Budget Impasse

California is bigger than many countries. The population exceeds 36 million people.  The budget has a shortfall of over $15 billon.  The total budget exceeds $100 billion.  The reason that no budget has been passed, and there is an annual ordeal in balancing the budget, is that the law requires a two thirds majority for passage.  Neither political party has that majority. Both the Democrats and Republicans have fought for their way to balance the budget.  Neither has the power to bring a permanent resolution.

 

The Democrats want to raise taxes to cover the budget and the Republicans want to reduce spending to match current revenues.  This argument will probably go on long after Arnold Schwarzenegger has left office.  The two thirds law was probably passed to protect the public from excessive spending.  The consequence has been just that.  The California legislature has a history of poor spending habits.

McCain’s Flawed Health Care Plan

This morning on Face The Nation one of the Democratic speakers commented about John MCain’s health plan that will result in higher taxes on health care provided by employers.  I researched this issue on the internet.  Here is what I found.

 

John McCain’s plan is vague.  He is opposed to any kind of universal health plan.  He thinks that more competition will lower the cost of medical insurance.  It’s not true.  Here in California there are 118 companies licensed by the state.  They provide group and/or individual coverage.  Is that enough competition?  It doesn’t help because most people are insured by the very big companies.  That is a handful of insurers.  Most of those same big insurance companies are in almost every other state.  The names are familiar to everyone.  They are Aetna, Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Cigna, Kaiser Permanente, Golden Rule, Mutual of Omaha, Pacificare, Hartford  Life, and United Health Care.  In Mr. McCain’s Arizona there are 39 companies licensed to sell group insurance and another 13 licensed to sell individual plans.  I checked Arkansas and most of the same big companies are selling insurance there too.  

 

McCain’s plan according to almost every report I have read will end employer income tax deduction for the expense of providing medical insurance.  Some reports have even said that the employees themselves will have to declare the cost of the insurance provided as part of their income.  Those actions would result in a tax increase for both individuals and companies.  The result would likely be that companies will stop providing medical insurance to their employees.

 

This one issue alone is reason enough to vote for Barack Obama.   

What’s Wrong with California?

Actually there really is very little that is wrong with California.  I should know. My family moved here 60 years ago.  I have traveled over most of the state’s highways.  I can say that this state offers more opportunity for any endeavor that you might have.

 

Most Californians live within 50 miles of the Pacific coast.  The temperatures are fairly moderate in most of those areas.  The educational opportunities include some of America’s best universities including UCLA, USC, Stanford, and UC Berkeley.  The arts and entertainment is second to none.

 

What’s not to like?  The cost of housing is at least twice the prices of most other cities.  Even the poorest neighborhoods are expensive.  Los Angeles public transportation is very inadequate thus car ownership is almost mandatory.  Street gangs have impacted city life by making evening walks impossible in some areas (mostly the poorer neighborhoods).

 

We just took a brunch cruise this past Sunday on Hornblower Cruises in Marina Del Rey in Los Angeles.  The Marina Hornblower is not their most attractive

                                                                     ship from the outside but inside they have dance floor and a fabulous buffet.  The yacht toured around the bay giving us a view of the many beautiful ships and sail boats owned by the rich.  The entire bay is surrounded by homes and condominiums that most of us cannot afford (all owned by people who will be pay higher taxes if Barack Obama becomes president).

 

Marina Del Rey is just one of many beautiful places in this state.  San Diego has La Jolla and Mission Bay.  Metropolitan Los Angeles has so many beautiful communities that are in and around it that they are too numerous to list here.  Beverly Hills and Bel Air are the two most famous.  Twin Peaks and Marina Park seem to be the choice areas of San Francisco.  However there are many other less known communities through out the state that are really the choice places to live and work.  My two favorite places are Mission Bay in San Diego and Ventura County just north of Los Angeles.

 

What about the rest of the state?  We have Mt. Shasta in the North.  There is Lake Tahoe in the middle along with Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks.  In the south there is Palm Springs where it rarely rains.

 

Then there is our population diversity.  California is the diversity capital of the nation.  We have all races colors and creeds.  From the Gay and Lesbian communities to Scientology everyone is part of this state.  If you are unable to accept diversity this is not the place to be.  My problem is I just can’t afford the cost of living on Balboa Island.

Financial Literacy Is Not a Government Responsibility

It’s hard to be a social liberal and still be in favor of a government that does not intrude in the private lives of individuals.  How does a government help its population without intruding like a parent that keeps telling its children, “No, no, no. You’re doing this all wrong.  Let me show you how.  If you do fail I will be there to help pick up the pieces.”

 

I have been briefed by a few people who have teaser rate, adjustable rate home loans.  Every one of them knew that they had acquired loans that could be financially devastating.  I know that many people have claimed that they were misled about the low interest rate loans that enabled them to buy a home.  How could they not know they were in for trouble when the payments were so low and the down payments were either nothing or near nothing?

 

Now a California assemblyman wants to add another bureaucratic layer to help people with their financial literacy. This proposed law is AB 2123, California Financial Literacy Initiative, is for the training of the public in financial literacy. This proposed law is supported by the AARP.  The AARP brought the law to my attention.

 

The money to provide the education would come from donations from nonprofit entities into an educational fund.  However, there would be a cost to the state in the form of a Financial Literacy Advisory Committee.  There is no explanation how the committee would be funded.  I foresee another government mandated activity that could cost all Californians more tax dollars.

 

I am sympathetic to everyone’s plight as I had a near bankruptcy experience about 25 years ago.  It was not the result of an adjustable rate loan.  It was the result of a job loss.

 

California government is in financial difficulty.  This is not the time to enact any new laws.  Has anyone heard of the library?  Those are marvelous places where the books on all subjects are free to read.