Month: September 2010

An FDR Answer For Pension Pain

There is a simpler path to solving the problem of Pennsylvania’s citizen-crushing public pensions than instituting limited Marxism as suggested at this link. Granted invoking the use of U.S. law rather than communist ideals might lead to less cooperation from  public school teachers and other government workers who would be most affected by policy changes. One supposes, though, it can be solemnly intoned “to each according to his needs” to get them on board as the government spigot is shut.

Chapter 9, Title 11 of the United States Code is the bankruptcy provision for governmental bodies. It was instituted in 1937 during our last depression when the previous means of resolving municipal debt — actions of mandamus in which courts compelled tax increases — proved infeasible.

The law notably makes it easier to re-write collective bargaining agreements approved when times were flush and the Dow was seen to be reaching 30,000.

Granted there are obstacles in taking such a route. The legislators who now sit in Harrisburg and who would be needed to sign on would take a major hit if their pensions were limited. As would the governor. As would the state judges who would be asked to rule on cases by those objecting to the policy.

And of course, you would have to deal with smart-alec teen-aged sons and angst-ridden teen-aged daughters coming home from classes taught by those teachers  unwilling to help the needy asking you “WHY DO YOU HATE???!!!!”

But with enough will it can be done and our lives can become better.

New Rudeness and Meaness in Political/Social Discourse Not Your Imagination

By Dr. John Gilmore

Gerard Aquilina,
the head of Barclays Wealth Managements’s private
banking unit, at a conference in Zurich, as reported
by Bloomberg News Columnist Matthew Lynn in his
column Ultra Rich in Finance are Meaner than the rest of
Us, gave the following admonition:

“Beware
of the complexities of dealing with the ultra high net worths,”
Aquilina told his audience. “Demanding and often unreasonable
requests  from them may create “Impossible demands on
the organization.”  Such  as? Help with getting
children into the right school, securing credit to  buy
property, or obtaining last-minute concert tickets, for example.
Even  worse, the richest of the rich turn out to be pretty
stingy as well. They  don’t even want to pay the full fee for
all the services they demand.

According
to Lynn, this was insight into how the rich have changed in the last
decade. One study from the University of California, Berkeleyfound
that the rich are ruder than others. Another study found they were
less likely to give to charity andhelp poorer people. A third study
in Humboldt University in Berlin concluded that they were
“nastier” in the sense of being more apt to punish others. 

The
results of this research and may just explain the cry for no more
taxes, ending social security, spending more on war than health care,
and the many other policies pushed from the top down through the
conservative media that is always trying to pretend to be liberal, in
my humble opinion, that puts property and material gain before the
quality of life fort the human family and the overall environment.  

Toomey Gets Ridge Endorsement

Former Gov. Tom Ridge has endorsed Pat Toomey in the Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race.

There was speculation that Ridge would challenge Toomey for the nomination after incumbent Arlen Specter switched to the Democrat Party in 2009 when it appeared Toomey would beat him in the GOP primary election.

Ridge, who is socially liberal on many issues and hence more appealing to certain moneyed elements of the state GOP establishment, quickly quashed the speculation, however.

The Ridge endorsement, announced today, indicates a unity among state Republicans and is a significant boost for Toomey who appears to be surging past Democrat nominee Joe Sestak, the congressman from the 7th District.

Ridge in his statement said he was endorsing Toomey “because he is an honest, principled leader whois unafraid to stand up for what’s right.”

“As a member of Congress, Patconsistently fought for taxpayers, and in today’s economic climate, thattrait is more important than ever,” Ridge said.

Yesterday, Toomey was endorsed by the state chapter of the FraternalOrder of Police.

Pa FOP Gives Nod To Toomey

The Pennsylvania Fraternal Order of Police, today, endorsed  Republican and former Congressman Pat Toomey, who represented the 15th District,  for U.S. Senate over Democrat Congressman Joe Sestak who represents the 7th District.

The state FOP, representing 41,000 active and retired law enforcement officers, is the largest law enforcement advocacy organization in Pennsylvania. It endorsed Republican Rick Santorum in his unsuccessful Senate race in 2006.

The FOP Philadelphia’s chapter is not bound by the state organization’s action and is expected to make an independent endorsement.

Gen. David Petraeus says inflammatory rhetoric and Anti-Islamic Behavior May Ruin the war Effort

Pastor Terry Jones
announcement that he will burn Qurans at a service September 11th
has created a great deal of anger in Afghanistan and is increasing
lack of cooperation and attacks on U.S. soldiers. Many officials
agree that such a move will help provide propaganda for terrorist
organizations who see the United States as an Anti-Islamic Country
with a goal to destroy Islam.

 

Gen.
David Petraeus, who is Commander of Troops in Afghanistan initiative
said he is outraged by the pastor’s decision to burn the Quran,
which, he said from Afghanistan, could “endanger troops and it
could endanger the overall effort here.”

 

Jones is not deterred by the rise in anger and the
burning of American flags taking place in Afghanistan due to his
repeated rhetoric about Islam being a religion “of the devil.”
He intends to carry out his plan September 11 regardless of the
outcome. Jones responded in response to Petraeus, “Of
course we care. It’d be tragical if because of this one person died.
But at the same time, we do not feel responsible for that.” 
If Jones is not responsible, who is? Even as the 9/11 Burn the
Quran plan continues religious leaders all over the world, and
especially in the U.S., are discussing their concerns over the
“Islamophobia” that seems to be rising throughout the United
States.   

Harrisburg City To Skip Bond Payment

Pennsylvania’s capital is going to skip a $3.3 million payment due Sept. 15  to bondholders of Series 1997D and Series 1997F capital appreciation bonds.

This borrowing is not related to $288 million in renovations of the Harrisburg incinerator plant for which Harrisburg City is on the hook for $68.7 million.

Harrisburg, population  47,000, is controlled by Democrats and has been unwilling to take steps such as laying off city employees to deal with the fiscal crisis.

Harrisburg missed $3.5 million in debt obligations last year.

Ambac Assurance Corp., insurer of the 1997 general obligation bonds, has announced that it will meet payments to investors. Its parent company, however, Ambac Financial Group of Wisconsin, has warned that it may seek bankruptcy protection as early as next year.

Moody’s Investors Service no longer rates Harrisburg.

Open Road Tolling To Be Studied In Pa.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission voted this morning to advertise for bids for a study of open road tolling which is collecting tolls without toll booths.

If it should be implemented — and a spokesman emphasized it was just a study — the 615-toll collectors employed by the Commission would become superfluous. The collectors make between $18 and $22 per hour or between $37,000 and $46,000 per year not counting benefits or overtime, which according to a Commission spokesman is not a major factor. The commission also uses seasonal workers the number of which, according to the spokesman, was fewer than 100.

New Jersey is replacing toll collectors on the Atlantic City Expressway with open road tolling. Collectors there expect to make $60,000 per year with toll plaza supervisors pulling in $85,000.

In the Pennsylvania fight between man and machine, I’m taking John Henry’s side. Pa.’s collectors — unlike New Jersey’s–are not overpaid and E-ZPass always struck me as being a tad elitist and big brotherish.

Still, my first choice is to forget trying to raise revenue via the roads and turn them into freeways. Toll roads might make sense in New Jersey and especially Delaware where a disproportionate amount of non-residents use the roads, but in Pennsylvania it’s a way to inefficiently snare revenue from its residents via self-imposed traffic jams.

Further, it’s bad for transportation. Consider this: on the 20-mile free section of I-476 i.e. the Blue Route there are 12 interchanges. In the next 24 miles after it becomes a toll road in Plymouth Meeting there are two.

Making the turnpikes into freeways would end the rationale of funneling captive customers into select cattle-shuts and allow for the construction of more interchanges. This would save a lot of gas and commuter time, unless of course the new freedom results in an economic boom which would then see snarls by all the workers going to the new jobs. But that strikes one as being a win, win.

The Union, Delco And Lost Chances

Delaware County chipped in $34 million to build a soccer-only stadium in Chester for a privately owned team that couldn’t even work in Chester or Delco into its name.

The Delco Union. Probably not appropriate especially for the point about to be made.

The Pennsylvania Convention Center in Center City is under fire by conventioneers for the union-inspired, loanshark price structure to set up exhibits, even for work that could reasonably be done by the exhibitor himself. To use a laptop for an audiovisual display requires the involvement of a stagehand at $37 per hour. To use it to register visitors to the booth requires an electrician at $46 per hour, To erect the booth requires a carpenter at $107 per hour.

So what if Delaware County were to build or help build a convention center on the Chester waterfront as close to the casino as possible, and let the exhibitor set up sans involvement from the locals? It would be close to I-95, the Blue Route, the airport and a lot of hotels. And, of course, hotels and restaurants would spring up next to it.

It would do a roaring business and be a greater boon to Chester than either a soccer stadium or casino could be.

A Post Racial Society Threatened?

On
the
Mc
Lauglin Group, WHYY, Pat Buchanan and Monica
Crowley said that the NAACP has greatly damaged the possibility of
the U.S. becoming post racial by saying there are some elements in
the Tea Party Movement that are racist and that the Tea Party
Movement should address these elements. The NAACP has been accused
of having some racist elements within it also, after they said this,
and told they should address those elements. Of course this was done by a black member of the Tea Party.  I think that the
correct response should have just been, “We will do that.”


Why
all of the arguing and strife over what is obviously true from some
behavior at several rallies. Is it too much for people to expect to
not be spat on and called by racial slurs in our society? And does
becoming a post racial society mean allowing people to spit on you
and call you racial names and not saying anything about it? Is a
person organizing himself to protect himself from racist attacks
being racist? The civility, respect, and decency seems to have
totally disappeared and people seem to just want to strive, argue,
and win by any means possible. 

 

Unfortunately, in a society that is
democratic and depends on people working together to support the
common good and commonwealth of the nation, such infighting doesn’t
work. My mother once told me that you have to be careful about what
you say when you are angry. Sometimes you can hurt a person so badly
that you can never take what you said back, even if you said it out
of anger and really didn’t mean it.

CEOs Make Millions — We Spend Millions

Sarah Anderson, President of the Institute for Public Study, has discovered through research that CEOs from the companies with the most job cuts made more money, Twelve Million Dollars more, on average, than other CEOs in Fortune 500 Companies who maintain the well being of the company and workers.  Anderson also reports that it is customary to lay off workers during the years of the highest profit.  These job cuts boost the profits and add up to more money in the pocket of CEOs.

Later, due to the displacement of workers and needing to train new workers to take their place, it costs the company more money, but the CEOs are only interested in short term profit and are rewarded for it.  What happens to these laid off people?  We end up paying for them in unemployment, underemployment, the ripple affect when mortgages fail, and through the loss of tax revenues.