UC Tuition Hikes and Public Employee Pensions – WSJ.com
In 1999, the Democratic legislature ran a reckless gamble that makes Wall Street's bankers look cautious. At the top of a bull market, they assumed their investment returns would grow at a 8.25% rate in perpetuity—equivalent to assuming that the Dow would reach 25,000 by 2009—and enacted a huge pension boon for public-safety and industrial unions.
The bill refigured the compensation formula for pension benefits of all public-safety employees who retired on or after January 1, 2000. It let firefighters retire at age 50 and receive 3% of their final year's compensation times the number of years they worked. If a firefighter started working at the age of 20, he could retire at 50 and earn 90% of his final salary, in perpetuity. One San Ramon Valley fire chief's yearly pension amounted to $284,000—more than his $221,000 annual salary.
In 2002, the state legislature further extended benefits to many nonsafety classifications, such as milk and billboard inspectors. More than 15,000 public employees have retired with annual pensions greater than $100,000. Who needs college when you can get a state job and make out like that?
via UC Tuition Hikes and Public Employee Pensions – WSJ.com.
Democrats’ Quiet Changes Pile Up – WSJ.com
While President Barack Obama still faces stiff headwinds on a range of major legislation on his agenda, he has been signing into law a slew of smaller initiatives that had gathered dust on the Democratic wish list for years.
Many of the bills had been blocked by Republicans who considered the measures unnecessary expansions of government or too costly. But facing Democratic majorities in Congress, conservatives are picking their battles and in many cases letting the legislation roll through.
read the rest here… Democrats’ Quiet Changes Pile Up – WSJ.com.
YouTube – Rep. LaTourette Mocks Democrats for “Big Lie” About GOP Opposition to Health Care
YouTube – Rep. LaTourette Mocks Democrats for “Big Lie” About GOP Opposition to Health Care.
Group questions Catholic funeral for Kennedy OneNewsNow.com
He adds that while Senator Kennedy called himself Catholic, like Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Joe Biden, they are actually wolves in sheep’s clothing.
“They do not hold to the teaching of the church. They, in fact, take every opportunity seemingly to contradict the teaching of our church,” Euteneuer says. “So in the case of Senator Edward Kennedy, he was not only against his church’s teaching on the issue of abortion, but the same with embryonic stem cell research, the same with gay marriage and
various other issues which set him in diametric opposition to his church’s very well-defined and clearly articulated teaching.”
Read more here… Group questions Catholic funeral for Kennedy OneNewsNow.com.
John S. Baker and Elliott Stonecipher: The 2010 Census Will Violate the Constitution – WSJ.com
Next year’s census will determine the apportionment of House members and Electoral College votes for each state. To accomplish these vital constitutional purposes, the enumeration should count only citizens and persons who are legal, permanent residents. But it won’t.
John S. Baker and Elliott Stonecipher: The 2010 Census Will Violate the Constitution – WSJ.com.
various other issues which set him in diametric opposition to his church’s very well-defined and clearly articulated teaching.”