Comments on: Millionaires’ tax to be filed in California

By: John W

John W — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 18:57:39 +0000

Re: #8

The typical union rebuttal about public employee pensions is (a) average pensions are only about $2,000 per month; (b)”race to the bottom” argument: the private sector should be upgrading retirement benefits to public sector standards, not the other way around; and (c) we shouldn’t balance the budget on the backs of middle class public servants.

The “average” they throw around includes all kinds of statistical garbage, including for numbers for people who were on the public payroll for far less time than required to earn full benefits. According to Dan Borenstein, the average state employee pension for somebody qualifying for full benefits was in the $65-70k range.

As for the “race to the bottom,” traditional defined benefit pensions in the private sector were never anything remotely like public sector pensions, even in the “golden age” of pensions in the 60′s and 70′s. An ideal retirement was considered to be a three-legged stool of pension, Social Security and savings — enough to start retirement with about 80% of pre-retirement income. A good pension was typically about half of the 80%, replacing 40-50% of pre-retirement income, with no cost of living adjustments, and not starting until you were in your sixties.

By: Raul

Raul — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 06:12:33 +0000

I have to agree with Rick K, these $100,000 pensions for public sector workers have got to go – and I’m a Democrat. We’ve got people up and down the state working two or three part time jobs – just knocking themselves out working 60 hours a week to even make $40,000 – and here we have these 50 year old retired Police Chiefs or Fireman making $100,000 a year for life – plus free health care. When you retire you are supposed to make less, you need less, your kids are grown, you don’t have to commute to work anymore, you sell the big house, move to smaller place, I mean that was the normal pattern with retirement – and you didn’t retire until you were in your 60′s. But now we have this public sector gravy train thing going on with these massive retirement packages going to people in early 50′s – Dan Borenstein keeps writing about it, it’s just unbelievable. I’ve got know problem with reasonable public sector pensions, 3,000 or 4,000 a month – that’s a figure voters can live with, but these six figure pensions have got to go.

By: Rick K.

Rick K. — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 09:07:40 +0000

The 3% at 50 pension scheme needs to be curtailed before voters approve any new taxes. It’s obscene that government workers can retire at age 50 with 90% of the salary. Many rank-and-file government workers are getting pensions of $100,000+ per year for the rest of their lives. Why should the average Californian, who retires on Social Security and a meager 401(k), pay higher taxes so that prison guards can retire to lives of luxury?

By: Ralph Hoffmann

Ralph Hoffmann — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 06:43:43 +0000

Raise the Federal and CA gasoline tax!

By: For Liberty

For Liberty — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 05:22:32 +0000

This is their attempt at job creation, which in the long run will force the millionaires out of the state or possibly encourage them to declare residency outside of CA.

By: John W

John W — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 04:55:50 +0000

As a Democrat, I’m sick of all the noise about taxing millionaires and billionaires — state or federal. There’s not enough money there to fix the revenue side of our fiscal woes. Just let the Bush cuts expire for everybody. We did great under the old rates. If we get rid of the tax expenditures, we can ratchet down the marginal rates a bit but shouldn’t do so until we see the deficit getting under control. I’m also against extending doubling down the SS payroll tax holiday.

By: Truthclubber

Truthclubber — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 04:25:10 +0000

This will NOT pass.

The voters (especially the DTSs) of this state know that the two words that need to be used LOUD and CLEAR in Sacramento, and have NOT been used enough, are:

CUT. SPENDING.

By: RR, Senile Columnist

RR, Senile Columnist — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 02:24:50 +0000

As Woody Guthrie humorously noted back in the Depression era, “Ain’t no use me workin’ so hard, I got a woman in the rich folks’ yard/ when they kill a chicken, she sends me the head/ she thinks I’m a workin’ I’m a layin’ in bed.”‘

By: Elwood

Elwood — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 01:44:32 +0000

In Congressman George Miller’s (36 year incumbent) op-ed piece in the CC Times the other day Georgie Porgie used the phrase “millionaires and billionaires” (as in soak the rich) four (4)times.

It’s always good to see our beloved 36 year congressman come up with new thinking!

Plan on hearing that dimmiecrat talking point ad nauseum between now and November.