The Impact of Propositions 1A-1F on Dublin’s Schools
California voters will have an opportunity to support public schools on May 19th by voting on propositions 1A – 1F. The Around Dublin Blog invites comments and perspectives on all 6 initiatives. Please see the “Capitol Notes: 2009 Special Election” widget along the right side of the page for streaming audio clips related to these propositions. Capitol Notes is a blog published by John Myers, KQED‘s Sacramento Bureau Chief for the California Report.
The following message is presented by DUSD Board Trustee John Ledahl:
SPREAD THE WORD!! DUBLIN SCHOOLS ARE IN FINANCIAL JEOPARDY AND NEED YOUR HELP!!
To save education and help children, a bi-partisan effort created 6 initiatives for a May 19th special election to support the state proposed budget. This budget won’t work without these initiatives passing:
- 1A – Adds spending cap and makes a rainy day fund when times get better. Limits future spending increases.
- 1B – Billions of dollars owed to Education from past cuts will be paid back when economy gets better. No 1A passage? Then 1B can’t work!
- 1C – Modernizes the state lottery and raises $5B from lottery funds. No 1C? Then there is a $5B hole in the education budget for next year.
- 1D – Temporarily redirects some tobacco tax money to children’s health and social services over next 2 years.
- 1E – Temporarily redirects some mental health trust fund money to help children’s health programs.
- 1F – Bars pay raises for government leaders in down money years.
WHAT HAPPENS IF THE INITIATIVES FAIL? THE IMPACT WILL BE DEVASTATING…
The Dublin School Board has already made $4 million in cuts the past two years with $2 million more planned for the next year – and that is with these initiatives passing! If they don’t pass? Then it will be an additional cut of $3.5 million. The state budget falls apart and Dublin teachers get laid off, Dublin programs shut down, Dublin class sizes grow. Dublin kids lose out!
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Spread the word that people should vote for ALL the initiatives to save our schools. Check with your school leaders in PFC and Site Council to learn about efforts you can join to spread the word. Join efforts to pass the initiatives via phone banking, letter writing, and other grassroots events between now and May 19th. Stand side-by-side with teachers and parents, city and school board officials, and others to pass these propositions.
If you don’t know who to contact, email LedahlJohn@Dublin.k12.ca.us
WHO SUPPORTS THE PASSAGE OF THE INITIATIVES?
Legislators – Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Governor Schwarzenegger, Education Leaders, California Secretary of Education, Measure L Committee, Dublin City Council members, Dublin School Board, PFC’s and School Site Councils.
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4:39 AM on May 12th, 2009
Prop 1A is a measure on the May 19 Special Election ballot that promises a so-called “rainy day” fund along with tax increases that were part of the budget deal negotiated by Governor Schwarzenegger and the Legislature in February.
Instead of making our budget process more transparent and accountable, Prop 1A does the opposite. Its complex formulas and fine print mean unintended consequences and behind the scenes manipulation by politicians.
•Prop 1A proposes a $13,000,000,000.00 “rainy day” fund, but where will the money come from when it’s “raining” now?
•Prop 1A turns the “rainy day” fund into a new slush fund for politicians to spend on pet projects.
•Prop 1A doesn’t control overspending or borrowing.
•Prop 1A gives extraordinary powers to the Governor with no checks and balances.
•Prop 1A triggers unfair tax increases on the middle class, seniors on fixed incomes and low-income Californians.
While we all want to solve our state’s budget crisis, the effects of Prop 1A will be far different than its supporters promise.
Take a closer look. What you’ll find is Prop 1A is filled with complex formulas and convoluted language that was hastily drafted behind closed doors, without public hearings or independent analysis of how it will actually work.
What is Prop 1A? It’s a flawed proposition that will not do what its supporters say it will do.
Learn more about what they aren’t telling you.
http://votenoon1a.com/what-is-prop-1a
7:32 PM on May 12th, 2009
Your local Green Party chapter says to vote no on all…. http://www.acgreens.org/VG/GPAC-VG-0509.pdf
8:19 PM on May 12th, 2009
This just in from Rep. Tom McClintock:
Prop 1A: Extend the Tax Increases. NO. This is the fig leaf that hides certain deficiencies suffered by the legislators who caved into pressure for the biggest tax increase in California’s history. This measure EXTENDS the tax increases for up to two ADDITIONAL years in exchange for a spending limit that doesn’t limit spending. The “spending limit” is laughable -it requires placing “unanticipated revenues” into a special fund that is then to be spent for a variety of additional purposes including education, debt service and health care. And since all funds are interchangeable, this merely allows funds spent for one purpose to be shifted for another. The bottom line: If you were against the tax increase, you’re against Prop. 1A.
Prop 1B: Increases Public School Spending $9.3 Billion. NO. This is the classic J. Willington Wimpy approach to finance – “I would gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.” In exchange for not making certain mandated school payments over the next two years, this measure obligates $9.3 billion in supplemental payments in future years. But wait, it gets better. According to the Legislative Analyst, it’s not entirely clear the bill will actually save money in the short term, but very likely it will cost much more in the future.
Prop 1C: Lottery rip-off. NO. This measure takes the Lottery revenue away from the schools, diverts it into the general fund to pay for $5 billion of new borrowing to balance the general fund, and then locks the general fund into making additional payments to the public schools in perpetuity. If this sounds like another of the infamous Schwarzenegger “After me, the flood” proposals, you’re right.
Prop 1D: California Children and Families Rip-off. YES. This measure irresponsibly rips off an irresponsible rip-off, which in balance is probably a (barely) good thing. The Children and Families Fund (now called First 5) was the Rob Reiner disaster that raised tobacco taxes through the roof to pay for some highly dubious community programs. This slush fund has built up a sizeable reserve that Prop 1D filches for the general fund.
Prop 1E: Mental Health Funding Rip-Off. YES. This measure irresponsibly rips off another irresponsible rip-off, in this case the Mental Health Services Act that is funded by a 1 percent surcharge on upper-income wage earners and small businesses. Both 1D and 1E would require a more hardheaded appraisal of spending priorities, which is the only reason that would justify voting for them.
Prop 1F: No Raise Without a Balanced Budget. NO. What’s not to like about a measure that says to the Legislature, “If you don’t pass a balanced budget you won’t get a raise?” My advice: beware any measure that puts a representative’s self-interest ahead of the public interest. I’m afraid this would ultimately end up as a perverse incentive for legislators to pass higher and higher taxes in order to qualify for higher and higher salaries. We actually had a balanced budget device in the constitution that worked well: the Gann Spending Limit. We need to bring it back.
11:48 PM on May 12th, 2009
I think it’s funny that to support his arguments against the propositions, Just Say No has cited Tom McClintock, a man who is so anti-tax he would have us all living in shanty towns and have all of our schools closed down before funding any public services. This is akin to asking a man robbing a liquor store if we should decriminalize robbery. OF COURSE HE WILL SAY YES. Citing McClintock as a reason to not support taxes is meaningless, for of course he’s going to say vote no. Even if his arguments did have some validity, we need to consider the source. His opinion is so one-sided that it should be disregarded in any meaningful discussion of the real merits or faults of the propositions. McClintock is an outlier and his positions are too extreme to be seriously taken into account. Reasonable people will realize this, I’m sure.
11:17 AM on May 13th, 2009
We need to make cuts in Fire and Police departments.. I won’t vote to give more money to schools when our fire and Police are making way too much money– Look at what the chief of police makes, and others high up – Same for the Fire Department– Many make over $200k a year– What’s especially upsetting is the pension plans– They retire after 20 some years and they still make 80% of their pay! (and they usually get a pay increase/promotion right before they retire so that their pension is high), and then they go work for another PD or FD somewhere else and make that big money PLUS their pension— It’s got to stop– We cannot afford the pensions for the PD and FD AND the huge wages (some make $60k-$80k in overtime alone!)— You wonder why it is that most major companies that are crashing (Chysler, GM,etc) and then you realize these companies have highly overpaid unionized workers with huge pension plans to pay for– our FD and PD is no different– It is the dirty little secret that no politician will touch (since PD and SD are strong voters, it would be suicide)– So instead, I will just vote against ALL tax increases until we get rid of the pensions for both the FD and PD and also taper down the $200k+ incomes for the top brass —
1:24 PM on May 13th, 2009
The last anonymous poster is correct! We pay far too much to ensure our safety. In addition to penalizing our safety workers, we should lower the salaries of teachers as well. Our kids are just too smart and our economy shows it, the way it is flourishing so! I think the amount we pay people to risk their lives or see too our childrens’ education should be just enough to reward their time spent and NOTHING MORE. Sacrifice should not be rewarded. In fact those people should work for free and we shouldn’t pay any taxes at all ever.
2:40 PM on May 13th, 2009
Despite the hyperbole of the previous statements, I think that to vote no on the propositions is a mistake. Even if we do not like the details or implementation, we need to do something to save our economy. To vote no would be like falling overboard off a a cruise ship and telling the rescuers to pull the lifeline back up because we do not like what it is made of or how it was made.
9:33 PM on May 13th, 2009
Real Conservatives do not support these initiatives. Why support poorly written, over-complicated initiatives that just continue to tax us when the real problem in Sacramento and California is out of control spending? I am all for having a wonderful education system, but throwing more money at it is not the solution. And neither is having the highest sales tax in the country. No thanks. The Republicans who are supporting these are not doing a good job representing Conservatism in Sacramento. Vote NO on 1A – 1E.
1:48 AM on May 14th, 2009
Luckily, real conservatives are an ever shrinking base in our country, being summarily replaced by thinking and caring citizens who are able to weigh the pros and cons of an issue instead of outright dismissing it. This ideological shift was clearly shown by Republican percentage losses in nearly every area in the last elections.
Spending money as necessary is not throwing it at the problem. To not pay for essential education and services is short sighted, ill advised and will result in America being less safe, less educated, less able to compete in the world market. If we can’t spend the money to educate and protect our children today, there will be nothing to protect tomorrow.
It is time for us all quit being so selfish and to do our part to maintain and improve our community and way of life.
5:59 PM on May 14th, 2009
I would agree with the anonymous posting about PD/FD salaries and pension plans being over the top. Sarcasm in the next post does not help and it only shows that there is no reasonable argument for the exorbitant salaries & pension plans especially when most others are having a hard time to find a job or keep a home. Vallejo city went bankrupt because its PD/FD were not willing to sacrifice their plum packages. If interested read the following article and decide for yourself. http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_12265599?source=most_emailed
Reducing the taxes or keeping them low forever is never going to work in the long run. Anyone with a reasonable head should be able to see that with budget deficits rising and national debt growing, taxes cannot sustain at current levels.
I also believe that voting NO on all the propositions is a bad idea. I agree with Joe mostly on this issue.
I plan to vote YES on all except 1B. This is what Sacramento Bee and LA Times are recommending. I agree with most of their reasoning. SFGate is recommending to vote YES on all propostitions.
7:41 PM on May 14th, 2009
Safety worker salaries and pensions are high for a reason, and to take away pensions that were already promised to workers and their families is just wrong.
We want the most qualified people to protect us, therefore we need to lure them away from other locations and other careers to do so. We do this by promising them higher pay and benefits. If we do not offer high enough salaries, we will not be able to get quality people to risk their lives to protect us.
When we hired these workers decades ago, we made a promise that both had enough appeal to lure them to a dangerous job, and promised them and their families financial security if they chose accept those risks. To renege on those promises after the fact is wrong and immoral.
If we want to try to lure new people to these jobs with lower salaries and benefits, then we should do so. But we should not go back on existing promises simply because we are unable to properly manage a budget or don’t want to pay the taxes required honor them.
I am not a fireman nor a policeman but I do appreciate the work they do and the risks they take. I am appalled by the talk of going back on existing agreements just to keep an extra buck in our pockets.
5:57 PM on May 15th, 2009
To Anonymous that posted on May 13, 2009 at 1117 hours as well as to the others who feel that police officers are overcompensated:
So you think that us police officers are overpaid? Why don’t you try going through the rigorous process of applying, getting through the academy, passing field training/probation, and handling extremely dangerous calls.
It’s so easy to say that we make too much. It’s so easy to criticize that we have a pension (and to correct you, we receive 90% upon retiring).
Every day, we go to work hoping to return home to our families. A simple call could very easily turn into something completely unexpected. We do not have the luxury that others in normal jobs have to take our time in order to arrive at a decision. We have to make split second decisions and others lives as well as ours depend on it.
We are entrusted with protecting the public. No salary or pension is enough to compensate a police officer for the work they do.
Look at what happened to the OPD officers. Yes, we took the oath to protect and serve. Yes, we took this job fully knowing that it is dangerous and that we could die in the line of duty, but what we do it because we care about people and we care about keeping the community safe.
Next time you hear of someone getting robbed or stabbed, don’t forget that we are the ones the victim is going to call. We are the ones who are going to be in pursuit of a fleeing felon (not you) who won’t think twice about shooting you in cold blood. We are the ones who sustain multiple injuries from engaging in hand to hand combat with dangerous ex-cons who are on parole and don’t want to go back to the pen and will fight you to the death.
So next time you want to rip on us cops, think twice. Never judge a man until you’ve walked a mile in his shoes.
10:48 AM on May 16th, 2009
http://www.forbes.com/2008/08/25/dangerous-jobs-fishing-lead-careers-cx_mk_0825danger.html
Looks like we need to give HUGE raises to our farmers, pilots, fishermen and steel workers—
11:04 AM on May 16th, 2009
You would have to offer me triple what firefighters and policemen and farmers, pilots, fishermen and steel workers get now to get me to do those jobs. Current salaries and pensions ARE NOT BIG ENOUGH for the dangers they face.
5:30 PM on May 18th, 2009
WOW! I am astonished by the amount of ignorant citizens. Some claim that teachers should have their salaries cut. Does this person even know that teachers are the most ‘underpaid’ of all the professions and are the most highly educated compared to other professions? THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER IS THAT WE NEED TO STAND UP FOR SCHOOLS BECAUSE THEY ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT ENTITY IN SOCIETY. WITHOUT SCHOOLS YOU WOULDN’T BE READING THIS. As a teacher I believe our children need better fuding. Be SMART VOTE YES ON PROPS. 1A-1F!
9:46 PM on May 18th, 2009
I think the only call for a cut in teacher salaries in the comment thread was just pure sarcasm. It wasn’t serious. It seems to be more a dig at people who would cut taxes at any expense, including jeopardizing public safety, penalizing long-time public servants, and failing to educate our children.
6:12 PM on May 19th, 2009
To Anonymous on May 16, 2009 10:48 AM:
Very good statistical data. I also think the police officers/fire fighters get paid too much, especially on the pension part. They should have 401K’s just like everybody else who is working in private industries. People working in private industries create the majority of the wealth for the country. I agree we need to pay some taxes for public safety etc, but this has to stop somewhere. Otherwise, the government will be bankrupt sooner or later, which is not going to hurt everybody.
12:19 AM on May 20th, 2009
It looks like Californians don’t care about safety or education. The people who didn’t vote for the propositions will be the same ones that complain when police response times take too long. They will be the first to scream for government assistance when the embers of their homes are being hosed down, even though they could’ve been saved with more firefighters. And they will be the first to gripe when better-educated kids from other states and countries take all of California’s higher paying jobs. Hey, but they will have a few extra tax savings in their pocket right now. I guess that’s all that matters.
12:22 AM on May 20th, 2009
save your scare tactics for some other blog
1:25 AM on May 20th, 2009
Its now our fault. First we all blamed the state legislature for its inability to balance the budget and fund public services. Then we blamed the governor. Now we can only blame ourselves. With these NO votes on key funding measures, we can no longer blame someone else. The reason our state is dysfunctional is because WE THE PEOPLE can’t make the hard decisions or sacrifices it takes. We are the ones who are too selfish to take care of our own. Its no longer the politicians that can’t find a way to properly run our state, it is we who are the ineffective ones.
6:13 AM on May 20th, 2009
Whew, last night my faith was restored in the people of this great state. They did the right thing and voted with their brains and not their ideology.
Well, it looks like our schools need to do the intelligent thing and cut out waste and useless programs that don’t work. Notice how I didn’t say cut teachers’ salaries, I said cut the waste and useless programs that don’t work. Give me the school budget and I’d give teachers a huge raise, hire back the ones who were laid off, balance the budget, and have money left over. You do that by eliminating the waste. And believe me, there’s mountains of waste that could be eliminated that would save millions.
Also, we love our safety and love our law enforcement and firefighters. No reasonable person is proposing cuts to their salaries or pensions, but we ARE proposing eliminating waste in those departments. I know people who work in those industries, and there’s plenty of waste we can trim without touching one salary. It can be done.
Congrats to California voters for doing the right thing. Let’s hope they continue to do the right thing in November of 2010 and 2012.
8:30 AM on May 20th, 2009
China and India’s public school systems have much higher student-to-teacher ratio and much less resource for each student. Yet every year they have their public school student better educated in Science and Engineering. Something must be wrong here in the US public education system. One thing I can think of is that the system completely lacks accoutablity and efficiency. We should be able to do much better with the same amount of resource.
10:12 AM on May 20th, 2009
Two posts ago, Mr. Anonymous talks about eliminating mythical waste. But at the same time he or she gives no examples. Californians think waste is just a big pile of money going to buy piles of trash. If that were the case I would say stop doing that, too. But just saying that there is wasteful spending because it sounds cool to say so, doesn’t help the situation. Just because some politician somewhere says there is WASTE in government does not mean that there really is. Just like when that phone call says your auto warranty is about to expire, it sounds like it might be true, but probably isn’t. Stop saying cut this made up for sound-bite word WASTE and start talking about which specific programs in these departments to cut and why you consider them waste. Californians are such sheep.
10:50 AM on May 20th, 2009
Californians are already paying the highest state income tax, highest sales tax, and highest corporate tax in the whole nation. Why should we pay even more to support the unlimited government spending?
11:31 AM on May 20th, 2009
Wasteful spending at our schools: Football teams, Basketball teams, baseball teams… Get the hint? I think they should try to field the teams, sure, but at the expense of those parents who’s kids play those sports— As mentioned above, we don’t ask for taxpayers to pay for the boy scouts or piano lessons or other activities our kids like, so why should tax payers pay for sports teams that only a small group of kids participate in ?
11:43 AM on May 20th, 2009
Fire Deparments and Police Departments:
They make 90% pension when they retire after 20 years on the force (there are probably some small changes in those numbers, but close enough–)
So after making $150k -$250k a year, they retire and make just about that same amount, while going to work at another city… so that means we’re paying those huge salaries not only for our current force, but probably an additional force and a half (depending)– That is, if we have, say 1000 officers on the current force, we’re actually paying for probably 1600-1700 (the additional 600-700 are those that retired after 20 years on the force–)— That is why we’re bankrupt folks—
Listen to the scare tactics and then realize “Hmm.. if firefighting was really that dangerous, how is it that some smaller communities have VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS!”– Come on, stop the scare tactics guys..
Here’s my thoughts on what they should make:
Firemen (most time is spent sitting in firehouse, sleeping, watching TV or training.. for every 40 hours on the job, the majority is not fighting fires-
I think firemen should make probably $75k a year, with that going up to $100k after say 10 years or so on the job– Standard 401k offered.. NO 90% or other pension offered– we can’t afford it–
Police: Maybe start off at $80k a year and get a $5k bump for every year, maxing out at $120k — I would even allow for extra pay for those at extreme risk, such as gang units, undercover, etc– No pension, just standard 401k—
Now, if some firefighter or police officer dies while on duty, by all means, give that person’s family a $5million settlement or something, so they can live .. but to pay a police officer a pension of $150k for the rest of their life, after they retire is, well, bankrupting us—- Think about it– Become a police office at 25, work till you’re 45 and then make $150k a year in pension (while you work at some other city’s police dept..) That means that your retirement package can be $150k x 30 years = $4.5 MILLION DOLLARS.. For ONE OFFICER— How many of us tax payers have retirement plans like that?
Multiply that $4.5 million out by the number of retired officers and wow– just WOW!
Still think the city/state/county can afford these pension programs??????
11:55 AM on May 20th, 2009
To Anonymous on May 20, 2009 11:43 AM：
Wow, if the numbers you are saying are right (police officers/firemen get paid $150K-250K a year), that is too much. I got my Ph.D. in Engineering in a top-notch university and I have about 10 years’ work experience, I am getting paid less than $150K a year. Is there something wrong here?
12:01 PM on May 20th, 2009
I am the same Anonymous on May 20, 2009 11:55 AM. I just talked about the salary while we are working in my last post. For pension, that does not even make sense. I will get nothing from the company I am working for. All I can rely on is just 401K and social security. Why can’t those police officers/firemen have the same kind of benefits like most of us taxpayers have?
12:48 PM on May 20th, 2009
Poor people trying to make it on 401k payouts. With the market in repetitive spirals they will be living like paupers when they retire.
1:34 PM on May 20th, 2009
not sure if Dublin posts similar, but it’d be very interesting to see:
http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_12116499?nclick_check=1
look at how many police/fire department employees on that list– then realize that they will get 90% of that pay when they retire- 90%! that can be up to $4-$6million retirement!
6:43 PM on May 20th, 2009
To those of you complaining about how much policemen and firefighters earn, both agencies are now accepting applications and hiring new workers. If you want to go through the academy, fight crazy people on the streets, hear catcalls all day from people who claim to pay your salary, and race into burning buildings to rescue people, then you too can enjoy those lush pensions.
Yeah, I didn’t think so.
And to the PhD in engineering, we all respect your credentials and intelligence, but this is the real world. Buck Bundy, the dog from Married with Children, earned more than most of us do, including you. It’s not fair, but that’s the way it is.
But sleep well knowing that the $150k figure people here are throwing around is totally bogus. Top step for a cop in San Francisco is about 2/3 of that figure. With excessive overtime, you can approach $150k, but it’s very difficult. Overtime is like working two jobs, so if you want to make $150k, then get another job and count it as one. And those are SF cops; cops in Dublin are compensated nowhere near as much.
Top officials at the SFPD do make that much, but the average cop? No way.
And with all due respect, having a doctorate in engineering does not require you to risk your life. Cops and firefighters are well compensated because they risk their lives. They need to offer those incentives to attract the right kind of people to do those very dangerous jobs. The worst injury most of us will get is a paper cut or carpal tunnel.
Of course there is tons of waste within the PD that we can save money by trimming, but salaries and pensions should be left alone.
6:54 PM on May 20th, 2009
Looks like the good residents of Dublin already posted several examples of waste.
I say convert every football and baseball field into a parking lot or retail center. That’ll raise city revenues and create jobs, while high school sports do zilch.
We pay taxes for those football programs, because schools think students get a “well rounded” school experience. I remember showing up at football tryouts, and the coach couldn’t stop himself from pointing and laughing at my because I was so small. Or how about my sister, who was brought to tears every year when they turned her down for the cheerleading squad, losing her spot to girls with better curves.
Well rounded experience for who, the students, or those students with better genetics?? The rest of us cried and suffered humiliation that stayed with us through adulthood. Oh, and then we grew up, got jobs, and have to pay taxes to pay the salaries of those coaches who laughed at us.
More examples of waste? Where do I begin? Better yet, how about you study examples of schools in India and China who churn out superior students (as one reader already pointed out). Instead of whining on this board about how voters should approve more money for pork, study those schools and then copy them.
Maybe you’ll find a few things missing, like sports teams, gymnasiums, the school band, music programs, instruments, uniforms, overpaid guest speakers, and scores of other areas we can eliminate waste.
California, a very liberal state, just rejected these bills by a 2 to 1 margin. Imagine how the rest of the country would have voted.
7:34 PM on May 20th, 2009
The average family food bill in India for a week is 73 cents. In China it’s $4. In the US it’s $84. The average home rents for $17 in India, $200 in China, and $900 in the US. Since everything is 100 times more expensive here than in India we must spend 100 times what they do just to keep our kids educated at a level that is on par with them. We do not do that. We could lower our standard of living and make all public service costs go down. We could get rid of those wasteful sewage systems. Maybe paving roads could end, too. Electricity for streetlights is clearly a waste. Most towns in India don’t have many of these things. We could stop teaching the values of physical fitness, leadership and teamwork by eliminating sport teams…oh wait… most schools in India and China have those. Comparing the US to third world and communist countries, is serving no purpose in this discussion.
9:15 PM on May 20th, 2009
Anonymous on May 20, 2009 7:34 PM:
You are going to the extremes. Besides, open your eyes to the world. After all, we need to face global competition. You cannot just compare the absolute numbers. You need to compare the purchase-power equivalent numbers.
China, for instance, have improved their infrastructure tremendously over the years. They now have the best and largest rail road system in the world. Soon they will have the best and longest highway system in the world. They already surpassed US as the biggest auto market in the world and biggest telecommunication market in the world. Not mentioning all the commodities. Do not put your head in the sands.
9:39 PM on May 20th, 2009
i’m tired of cops and firemen saying how dangerous their jobs are, and that’s why they should be paid upwards of $4million pension when they retire—- Um– look at the link above from Forbes, there are MANY more jobs more dangerous than yours and those folks don’t use scare tactics to hold taxpayers hostage–
10:26 PM on May 20th, 2009
They’re only scare tactics until they happen. Then they are called reality, no matter what YOU choose to call them.
10:57 PM on May 20th, 2009
I can’t agree with all the redistribute the wealth socialists who keep calling for taking peoples pay and benefits away. To pay for all of our budget shortfalls by taking money away from working Americans is a far too Marxist an attitude. What happened to free market economics where American workers are entitled to life liberty and the persuit of happiness (and wealth)?
It scares me to think that some people are alright with the notion that if someone makes too much money, we must take it from them and give it to those in government who can’t properly manage what they already have. Workers, business owners, and entrepreneurs should not ever be penalized for making money in this country! In fact, we need to keep wages and retirement payments flowing in order to reinvigorate the retail and service sectors on which America and especially Dublin rely.
12:28 AM on May 21st, 2009
a free market is a great idea you have there– And in that free market, guess what happens? When there is a lack of money, then you have to look at your expenses and cut some of the waste down a bit– You don’t stick your head in the ground and say, “gosh, gee willikers! we ain’t gots no money but we have to keep spending the way we always have!-We can’t dare talks about no change in plans!”
Seriously folks, our severe economy problems require some severe changes.
I like how you say, “to pay for all our budget shortfalls by taking away money from working americans is far too…”– Um, you see Einstein, the FD and PD payrolls are part of the budget shortfall…. Hmm.. what would I rather see cut, 3teachers who are teaching, or some pension plan for a cop that retired 15 years ago — I’ll agree with you, it sucks to lose your pension but given the choice (which is what it’s getting down to here), and I’d chose to spend the money on people / employees who are actually working than those that retired years ago— what do you suggest, fire all the teachers so we can continue to pay our FD and PD pensions for guys that retired and don’t work anymore? (yes, losing a pension sucks, ask all the laid off workers from private businesses that went bankrupt due to pension programs–
6:40 AM on May 21st, 2009
It is shocking and sickening how many of you are INCREDIBLY JEALOUS of what police officers and firefighters make. If you can’t stand that cops get 3% at 50 or 3% at 55, then GO GET THE SAME JOB!! Stop hating!! Stop being so ENVIOUS!!
If you want that job, then go for it! Apply and hope that you pass the pass the background, academy, field training, and probation.
How naive of someone to comment that a police officer on patrol is at less risk than someone at the gang task force and therefore, merits less pay. You obviously haven’t worked a day on the job. That’s complete ignorance.
How about all of you jealous folks go on a ride along with Oakland PD and have them take you to the east side? Let’s see if you change your mind. One dose of that and you will all be running to the Montclair District seeking refuge from the terrors that plague the east side.
7:39 AM on May 21st, 2009
People who call for cuts in salaries are short sighted, petty, and jealous. The worst way to fix a poor economy is to take money away from workers. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that if you take away spending money from the economy (and service workers salaries and pensions are a MAJOR percentage of the economy) all other enterprise fails. The government should do everything it can to stimulate economic growth. That means not taking money out of the spending pool. That means no new taxes. That means no cuts in worker pay. Jealous people like to think it’s people making more money that they do that is hurting Dublin’s bottom line, but that’s a tiny drop in the bucket compared to revenue generated by goods and services. Dozens of Dublin’s services have failed or left, not because workers had to much money to spend, but because they had to little. STOP TRYING TO TAKE MONEY FROM
WORKERS! PROMOTE SPENDING INSTEAD!
8:54 AM on May 21st, 2009
For people promoting more government spending here, do you really think we can spend more money out of debt? US already has more than 10T in debt and Obama government is piling on 1T a year for the next 8 years. Hey, the FED can still print the money out of thin air, except the US dollar is not going to worth much. Countried like China and Japan already own a lot of US debt, do you think they will keep buying forever? We are spending our children and grandchildren’s money.
9:51 AM on May 21st, 2009
I agree with the last post mostly and somewhat with most of the others. Most people on here are not promoting more government spending it seems. It seems that they are promoting less government spending. With that the case, the question is where. Worker salaries are an option. As are public services.
Since Prop 13 more than 20 years ago, most local governments have scrapped and saved and eliminated most of the blatant waste and have learned to live with less for a long time. Now were left with deciding what is left that can go, and to be honest, we’re hurting pretty bad.
While some salaries and pensions could be cut, many can not because of legal and labor contracts. Several communities trying to cut existing pensions have gone into bankruptcy paying paying legal fees to fight the contracts in court and still losing. So as appealing as it may sound, that’s not really an option. But negotiating new compensation for new hires is an option.
There is also a myriad of state and federal safety laws that require a set amount of police, fire and ambulance coverage, especially for those communities receiving federal funding, so lay offs and station closures won’t work either.
School districts must maintain their facilities to a legal standard and most already do the bare minimum, so the only discretion they have is with payroll. But because of existing contracts, their only option is to increase class size, close schools and layoff low seniority teachers. They were already doing that in most school districts.
Most school sport programs are already 100% parent and fund raiser supported and many of those high school sports programs actually make a profit through ticket and concession sales. So cutting there isn’t much of an option and makes little or no sense.
That leaves public services. I think we will see a few more potholes, a few more continuously flashing red lights at intersections, a few more water main leaks, a bit more leeway on code enforcement and new project approvals, fuller trash cans and longer grass at our parks.
People don’t seem to realize how much our hands are tied at the local level. Just as a family that loses income, Dublin will just have to buckle down and cut where it can while still meeting its obligations.
10:14 AM on May 21st, 2009
I think the person who commented about promoting spending (Anonymous on May 21, 2009 7:39 AM) was talking about promoting consumer spending, not government spending. His/Her point was that taking more out of our paychecks hurts consumer spending, and that we should promote consumer spending in order to jumpstart the economy.
10:34 PM on May 21st, 2009
To paraphrase Ronald Reagan “The American people are not under taxed; The government over spends.” The root cause of the current budget crisis is the creation of unsustainable pay and pension for government workers. When the Governor and others speak of a structural deficit that is what they are talking about. The current system of lifetime pay and benefits makes no sense. It’s quite possible for a a government agency to be paying for three people to do one job. The person working and the two that have retired in the last 15-20 years. There is a reason business has moved away from pension plans; they bankrupt companies (i.e. GM and Chrysler).
We need to make hard decisions to turn around the quickly sinking ship known as California. The first thing we need to do is stop reelecting 98% of the State Assembly and Senate. We need fresh ideas and not the same old ideology that has run this State for the last 20+ years. Both the Democrats and Republicans have failed it’s time to change. We can blog all we want but unless we are willing to vote out the bums in Sacramento, things will never change. Remember the definition of insanity is doing the exact same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
8:02 AM on May 22nd, 2009
Here is a quote from this link:
http://sunshinereview.org/index.php/California_state_budget
“California’s state spending has ballooned in the last decade at a rate much higher than the rate of inflation and rate of population growth in the state. According to Tom Campbell, California’s finance director in 2004-2005, if the 1999-2000 budget of former California governor Gray Davis had been increased over the next decade by a factor representing the inflation rate and California’s population growth in that time, California would now be experiencing a budget surplus, rather than a deficit even with the recent revenue decline due to the state’s economic recession.[6] Instead, California has had a 50% spending increase over the past five years.[7]“
2:17 PM on May 22nd, 2009
The propositions in this last election were far too complex. The full texts were dozens of pages long and refered to documents and budget proposals that were thousands of pages long. I have two children, a 50-hour-a-week job and many other obligations. It’s a shame we can’t hire or elect a group of people, hire staffs for them, send them all to a single location and make THEM do the research and meet and make the complicated decisions of government so we don’t have to. Oh wait. We did that. They’re called legislators.
They should not have passed the buck to the majority of Californians who don’t have the expertise, time or responsibility to decide such issues. This special election was a complete waste of taxpayer time and money.
The referendum laws need to be changed so that our lawmakers and governor are forced to make laws and govern.
10:23 AM on May 23rd, 2009
I think a lot of people making comments are losing sight of what I think is the real problem here — our top-notch education in California for our kids is going down the drain. We are last of the 50 states in State funding per child, but yet we’re one of the top revenue states in the nation.
I hope you all can put aside your whining about your salaries, 401k plans, etc. and think about our kids. There is so much talk about moving to San Ramon or Pleasanton to get to a better school, etc. but that’s so shortsighted because even those schools are going to be impacted by the State funding, teacher layoffs, etc.
10:34 PM on May 23rd, 2009
Our top-notch education in California has been going down the drain since Prop 13 passed. Repeal Prop 13 and cut wasteful spending. If we can do that, California will be in sound fiscal health once again.
12:58 PM on May 25th, 2009
To those who voted yes for 1A-1F propositions, I thank you for your efforts. To those who brought up sound arguments against them, I respect your opinions. The bottom line?
* We will now cut from the Dublin Schools $3.5M instead of the $2M already planned for next year, in addition to the $4M in cuts already done these past 2 years – and not counting more cuts planned for the following year. More teachers will go, more essential programs will be cut, class sizes will grow, etc. and the quality of education in Dublin, like everywhere else, will suffer. I agree with folks about the following:
* Going to a neighboring district won’t help. Their cuts are even larger because they have no growth as Dublin does.
* We must change the laws allowing propositions to decide all issues and force the state to fix the problems – or vote them out. We should allow the simple majority who represent the majority of voters do their jobs.
* Prop 13 must be repealed. Period.
* Education in California must change the way it educates. Maintaining standards and accountability is part of it. I believe longer school years and days will help us compete against those countries who recognize time in class is crucial for success. Which of you are willing to change your lifestyles to accommodate this? This is just one hard issue to resolve among many.
Over the next year or so the federal govt. will award billions of stimulus money to a select number of states who demonstrate a plan for innovation and improvement. Right now California is not even on the list due to our decades of neglect.
We are about to face one of those rare moments when long term planning and changes must equal short term needs. We either fix the system now or bankrupct the state.
Sharing of good ideas by all (as is here in this blog) is needed, but compromise, effort, and sacrifice by all is needed more. Do you agree? If so, what are YOU going to do to make it better?
John Ledahl
Dublin School Board
6:14 PM on May 27th, 2009
This last post by John L. enrages me to no end. It’s a perfect example of what’s wrong with our government and our school system.
Forced to cut “essential” programs? I’d love to know what those essential programs are, and I can assure you they’re not essential.
I hate to see teachers lose their jobs, but if we can get by with fewer teachers (and we can), then why were more hired in the first place? Funny thing about a budget: once it’s trimmed, you suddenly learn how to get by on less. That’s what our government, including our school board, needs to do. It’s what everyone reading this needs to do. We all need to live below our means in order to plan for rainy days like this.
What am I going to do about it?? What a preposterous question. How is this any of our responsibility? What are you going to do about the lack of resources on my software project? Nothing, because it’s not your job. And likewise, I’ll do nothing about your situation, because it’s not my job, and you’re the one who contributed to the situation you’re in, not I. A huge chunk of my paycheck goes to paying you to figure it out, and people like me who come on this board to offer you helpful advice on how to trim your spending get shot down by your tax and spend ways.
Tax and spend, tax and spend, tax and spend. Do liberals know how to do anything else?
What am I going to do about it? How is it my problem anyway? I don’t have kids, and it’s incredibly short sighted of you to think I do, or that all of us reading this blog do. Maybe your precious class sizes wouldn’t be so large if people stopped having so many kids? But no, we could never suggest anything like that, could we. Doing things that make sense isn’t allowed most of the time. You know, just like my wife and I are being told to ration our water and electricity, when the two of us consume less than half of what a family of four does. Not adding to the overpopulation of this planet is the “greenest” thing a couple can do, yet we’re being told to ration. And now we’re being asked by John L. what we’re going to do about the lack of school funding.
But by far the most problematic thing John said was this:
“Over the next year or so the federal govt. will award billions of stimulus money to a select number of states who demonstrate a plan for innovation and improvement. Right now California is not even on the list due to our decades of neglect.”
In other words, the government is wasting billions of our money on nonsense and bailouts, and John L. doesn’t seem concerned in the slightest. Rather than object to this obvious taxpayer waste, he’s salivating over the prospect of getting his hands on as much of that wasteful money as possible. To heck with fiscal responsibility, there are football uniforms to purchase and gym coaches to hire!
What was that about tax and spend, tax and spend, tax and spend?
Look, Republicans aren’t innocent either. Bush and McCain supported the first bailout too; a move that I think cost McCain the election (along with a million other reasons, namely a bungled campaign strategy). But Obama purposely overstated the “crisis” so that his pal Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats in Congress could pass every pork project under the sun and disguise it as “economic stimulus.” Rather than oppose this obvious waste, John L. is more interested in getting a piece of it. Disgusting.
Oh well, guess you’ll just have to make do with less spending money John, just like the rest of us.
Spending less than we earn; it’s quite a concept, isn’t it?
9:21 PM on May 27th, 2009
I’m sorry that sharing my thoughts enraged the previous ANONYMOUS commenter. At least I stand behind my statement by identifyiing myself. And before anyone says these kinds of debates are for Dublin Townhall, I disagree. There hasn’t been a posting on Townhall since early April. This is the only forum I know of for this topic and the topic is too important to the future of every citizen.
I am not crying wolf. We are about to enter a period where the quality of life for our kids will be much lower regardless of personal income.
I was about to answer each point made by Mr. Anonymous until I got to the part where he says he has no kids. Can I say anything more when a guy without kids says stop spending money to educate kids?
The hard facts are that other countries in Europe and Asia have longer school years and days with higher standards – not less which is the direction we are now going in. High standards in Math, Science, Language, technology, music, art, and athletics are integral to their programs.
We have spent less than 47 other states for 30 years, rely on federal and local funding for anything innovative, and about to reduce more teachers, programs, and materials during the worst economic and budget cycle in state history. Mr Anonymous will be the first to complain when property values reduce even more tahn they have due to lower schools’ quality throughout CA school.
I think its time for drastic changes. Prop 13 is outdated. Lets look at the state with the best tax and spend plan and replicate it – as long as it devotes sufficent money to educate. Lets look at the best educational system in the world and institute it and support it here. I have taught at the college and high school levels in New York, New Jersey, and California for nearly 30 years and visited schools in Scandinavia, Germany,and Japan. The basic, easy to see reason why they learn better in those places is the REAL, no bullshit dedication to kids education. I have supported Dublin Schools as a board member since 1994. Tax and spend? A basic concept I learned in the streets of New York, then relearned during my MBA program, and as a businessman, parent, and coach is that YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!
For example, look what 30 years of declining CA education did to us – it produced Mr. Anonymous.
6:52 AM on May 28th, 2009
John L.,
The beauty about this blog is that we can remain anonymous. It has nothing to do with being afraid to identify who we are. Everyone has their reason for not revealing their identity. If you opt to identify yourself, then that’s your choice.
I feel as though some parents think that the government owes them for having kids. If you choose to have kids, then you SHOULD have the means to support them and that includes paying for any activities that are no longer offered through the school. I will never understand the mentality of people that have kids knowing fully well that they cannot afford them. It blows my mind and then people become upset when services are cut.
Kids or no kids the guy you responded to has the right to express himself. You know nothing about him and to make a statement like, “…look what 30 years of declining CA education did to us – it produced Mr. Anonymous” is extremely ridiculous and juvenile.
And while it is nice that Europe and Asia have longer school years – that point is irrelevant because we operate things differently here in the U.S.A. If you desire that for your children, then consider moving abroad.
As for Prop 13, that should be left alone. It shouldn’t be amended or rescinded because the State lacks the capacity to figure out how to properly save/spend money.
If your position is that “You get what you pay for” then consider putting your kids in a private school. You may even want to send them to Phillips Exeter Academy for high school. They will get a top notch education there.
12:14 PM on May 28th, 2009
I will become a US citizen before the next election cycle. John L is exactly the wrong type of person I want to see in our School Board. I will definitely campaign and vote him out. I cannot tolerate all the despicable language he used to attack our fellow Dubliners.
11:32 PM on May 29th, 2009
I can’t believe people are blaming Prop 13 — something that was passed in the 70′s — for what’s happening to the state funding today. Even if it’s repealed, that won’t change the way the State and local governments spend. You need to change the elected officials who are making the decisions, whether it’s Arnold or John.
Did anyone forgot the dot com bust in 2000? That took millions of dollars in taxes away from the State. The real estate bubble that was never suppose to burst? Well, it did. That also took away millions of dollars in taxes from the State. It also made a lot of people homeless, and they can’t pay their taxes to fund schools, etc. It is a vicious cycle that needs to be stopped.
It believe it’s greed and poor management of funds — our own and the State’s — that got California into this mess.
And even if you don’t have kids and did not vote for these measures, do you realize that the children of today will be running the companies and government tomorrow? Don’t you want our future leaders to be better than we are today?
5:37 PM on June 1st, 2009
For all those who support PD pension plans because of the risk they take, they should remember there is something called insurance. If they are hurt or killed their family should be taken care of, no doubt about it. The cities should recognize their service with medals. But not these ridiculous pay packages, that the cities cannot sustain over long periods of time. If the police are so deserving, for the risks they take and the rigorous training they go through, then how about giving similar packages to every soldier who has seen combat. Then the country would go bankrupt, so no we cannot do that. But its okay for the cities to go bankrupt.
Its not just about PD but the FD, the city employees and even teachers. They are all in noble professions, no doubt about it and they deserve our respect but they should not be allowed to bankrupt our cities. They are all retiring with these unimaginable pay packages that the rest us will have to pay with our taxes.
Vallejo is an attractive city after its bankruptcy. The cities that realize the problems first will have a head start and attract more people and businesses.
2:32 PM on February 10th, 2010
It honestly is not the poor management of funds that gets us into these budget messes on the local, state and national level. It’s that a free market economy can only thrive if profit is increased. It is the nature of capitalism. Any company or corporation that wants to succeed in America must grow financially. Ultimately that can only come through the gradual raising of the price of goods and services.
That means that no amount of planning or organization by “not-for-profit” entities such as governments or charities can allow for ever increasing costs. More taxes just accelerates the increases in costs charged to these entities as businesses realize they now have more money to pay. Cutting services is an option but eventually will lead to a third world standard of living.
I honestly think there is no solution to the financial problems and it’s a death spiral brought on by the intricacies of capitalism. This has already happened in other nations where it is not uncommon to see shanty towns in the shadow of high rises. The best we can do is do our best to fight this spiral and stave off the worst.
3:58 PM on February 10th, 2010
You sound like a socialist to me. I have lived in a communist country for most of my life. In that country, government controls everything and provides free housing, free education, free medical, etc to its citizens. That sounds good to you, right? But you have seen what all those have led to. All those have led every body to miserable poorness, not prosperity. Just look at Cuba as an example.
7:18 AM on February 11th, 2010
Socialist or capitalist seems to not matter. We are seeing evidence of what capitalism can lead to right here. You and many others have demonstrated frustration for where socialism and communism can lead to. It leads to the same conclusion. The death spiral statement still applies.
12:11 PM on February 11th, 2010
It is just fact of life there is an economic cycle. US has emerged from greater crisis before and it will emerge from this depression one way or the other.