Disqus - Latest Comments for Marty_Richman

Re: HollisterFreelance.com | County forgoes program adding pinch for rural owners

Marty_Richman — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 01:41:10 -0000

anothervice,

I know this argument is going nowhere, but let's have it anyway for the heck of it.

Bill Gates, et.al., do not work for me and they cannot force me to give them any money anymore than Lebron James or Mick Jagger or the Walton family.

Public employees work for me and the rest of the public and they deserve fair compensation, but that fact that someone else has a lot of money means nothing, it's not theirs or mine by default.

As far as I know I did help Mick get rich because I've got lots and lots of Rolling Stones albums and CDs, but I chose to do that, I could opt-out at any point.

As Walter Williams pointed out, let's say the Stones made $10 from me last year, and ten from you and ten from someone else and $100 from everyone who went to a concert and you add it all together and it's a lot of money - what special punishment should they pay for being very popular and rich? Why not punish the people who bought the CDs and concert tickets instead?

Sure, the Stones should pay their taxes, but they might buy an ethanol plant to avoid taxes and who decides that buying an ethanol plant should get you a tax break? Certainly not I, and not the Stones. I'd NEVER give $532 million to Solyndra. The government does, so when the government complains that people are not paying taxes, but they throw away so much, whose fault is that? Changing the tax RATES, rather than getting rid of the special treatment, only punishes the 'innocent' just like cheap gasoline.

Example, the government subsidises gas more than $4 per gallon in tax breaks to the oil and gas companies and defense costs and then has the users pick up some of that in taxes on gasoline at the pump and elsewhere.

So you go out and buy a car that gets 50mpg and you save 100 gallons a year or $380. But you should be saving $780, $400 more, but that money is going to someone with a monster truck and you are paying for some of that with your taxes!

Frankly, I don't care if Bill Gates doubles his fortune - it's NOT my money and it's not a zero sum game.

Get rid of the tax BREAKS and the current rates would easily cover the bills.

Regards,

Marty Richman

Re: HollisterFreelance.com | City broaches $3M in cuts without sales tax extension

Marty_Richman — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 18:41:10 -0000

hazel18,

There is another problem in comparing us to Los Banos, which announced recently, if I remember, that they are having their Lowe's or Home Depot closed. That problem is that we are NOT them; our entire populations, economic conditions, competition, etc., are different.

As I keep saying, if San Benito County were on the ocean tourism would be a big business, but we are NOT.

Regards,

Marty Richman

Re: HollisterFreelance.com | County forgoes program adding pinch for rural owners

Marty_Richman — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 18:28:59 -0000

anothervoice,

Nice point, it never even occurred to me - improving something is a taxable event.

Marty Richman

Re: HollisterFreelance.com | County forgoes program adding pinch for rural owners

Marty_Richman — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 01:06:27 -0000

anothervoice,

As you can see from the above, the rules for step-up basis that you mentioned are the 5th most expensive tax break to the nation costing us $357 billion in five years; that's a bunch, but 5th isn't 1st (see below for the 'but' issue).

As long as we hand the tax breaks out like candy and people can buy them with money or votes or both, everyone is going to say "yes, but what about..."

Those giving and receiving the tax breaks ALWAYS have a good argument about why they should be implemented.

I have one bottom line rule, I want my money's worth. I'm always happy when I pay for something and get my money's worth. I do not think the current spending system gives me my money's worth at the federal, state, or local level. Now, why should I give more money to a system that does not give me my money's worth?

Why should I ask anyone else (top 0.1%, 1%, 5%, or anyone else) to increase funding to a system that does not give them their money's worth?

CalPers has 12,199 retirees pulling in pensions of more than $100,000. CalSTRS has 5,259, UC has 1,642. That's almost 19,000 former Cal public employees getting pensions of more than $100,000 a year, $1.9 BILLION a year MINIMUM. The actual total cost? Who knows.

Top 10
Name Annual_Pension Employer
MALKENHORST, BRUCE $509,664 VERNON
FUSTER, JOAQUIN $302,491 UC LOS ANGELES
GERTH, DONALD $283,629 CSU SACRAMENTO
GARRETT, WILLIAM $278,292 EL CAJON
STAHL, JAMES $271,055L A CO SANIT #2
SCHLAG, JOHN $260,710 UC LOS ANGELES
SCHACHTER, JULIUS $254,391 UC SAN FRANCISC
METTE, DONALD $240,999 SACRAMENTO
METRTOONE, ROBERT $237,606. PALMDALE
OKI, DIANNE $235,785 STATE COMP INS

I retired from the Army after more than 22-years as a success and I receive a generous taxable pension of less than $30,000 a year gross. How can the primarily publicly funded pensions for almost 19,000 employees be more than $100,000 a year each when most were adequately, perhaps generously paid when they were on the job?

Regards,

Marty Richman

Re: HollisterFreelance.com | City broaches $3M in cuts without sales tax extension

Marty_Richman — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 00:10:08 -0000

stop the bleeding,

I can't speak to how well the employees understand who pays what in the retirement system, I believe they understand it pretty well. On the other hand, the average taxpayer understands it very little and in too many cases both government and government employees work hard to keep it that way!

calPERS has an Employees' share and Employer's share based on the plan and one would logically believe that the employees pay the employees' share, but in many cases the employers actually pay all or part of the employees' share as well as all of the employer's share.

In some cases, the employees pay part of the employers share, usually so that can later shoehorn those payments out of the public entity at a later date.

For 2010-2011 the taxpayers pay the following Employer share as a percent of employee salary for state employees.

State Misc: Tier 1, 19.92%
State Misc: Tier 2, 19.62%
State Industrial: 18.18%
State Safety: 20.67%
State Police and Firefighters: 28.88%
CHP: 32.62%
Schools: 10.70%

Except for schools, that a lot of money and all tax free on current salary - tax deferred.

Regards,

Marty Richman

Re: HollisterFreelance.com | County forgoes program adding pinch for rural owners

Marty_Richman — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:45:04 -0000

anothervoice,

I hope you remember that I wrote an entire article on the biggest tax breaks in our society and what they cost the government. The list came from the very liberal think tank The Center for American Progress.

Here, as a reminder, were the top 5 tax breaks and the 5-year cost of the Federal government for each...

"No. 5: Step-up basis – if you inherit an appreciated asset you are taxed on the difference between what you sold it for and what it was worth when the previous owner died; not the difference from the original value – cost $357 billion.

No. 4: Local and state income tax deduction - you can subtract the taxes you've paid to your state, city, or town from your federal income taxes – cost $450 billion.

No. 3: Mortgage interest deduction – within certain limits, mortgage interest, even on two homes, can be deducted from one’s personal income taxes – cost $604 billion.

No. 2: Tax-deferred retirement savings – the tax code allows people to shelter from taxes personal income invested in 401(k) plans, individual retirement accounts, employer pension plans, and other similar savings vehicles – cost $788 billion.

Finally the big winner, or big loser, depending on your outlook, No. 1: Tax-free health insurance - employer-provided health insurance is exempted from income and payroll taxes thanks to a specific provision in the tax code – cost $1 trillion, or $1,000 billion over 5-years."

In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009 the city paid $1.78 million and the county paid $2.86 million, a total of $4.64 million, in tax free health insurance to their employees. The average is $7,390 tax free to each employee. Typically, those with families opted for more benefits, sometimes as much as $17,000!

The county also picked up $1.6 million of their EMPLOYEES share of retirement premiums - tax free. Of course they both picked up ALL the EMPLOYERS share tax free, about $5.9 million more.

Now take those numbers and extend them all over the state.

Regards,

Marty Richman

Re: HollisterFreelance.com | County forgoes program adding pinch for rural owners

Marty_Richman — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 19:48:47 -0000

anothervoice,

IF the land under the act were actually in demand for development and the state wanted to keep it as open space, the act might make sense. However, I'm afraid that there was a lot of land in the program that no developer wanted. So, much of it is just ANOTHER tax giveaway.

As I have pointed out 100 times everyone has their favorite - including the poor, the government employees, the private employees and the middle-class - why shouldn't ranchers and farmers have their favorite tax break too?

You seem to be fixated on your version of a 'fair share' and class warfare, but I don't believe your version is any 'fairer' than others. As long as so many tax breaks and giveaways exist at ALL levels we are stuck.

I say take them ALL away, that would be as fair as you can get.

Regards,

Marty Richman

Re: HollisterFreelance.com | City broaches $3M in cuts without sales tax extension

Marty_Richman — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 04:28:55 -0000

deepbleeding,

Maybe you hang around with the wrong class of people. You could argue that there is no truly 'objective' political opinion about anything, politics is not a science and every human is a product of their self-interest, personal experience and biases - and everyone has them.

All my opinions are my own. I write my column pro bono just so people - like you and others - can't accuse me stirring up things for money. If I ever feel like it, I reserve the right to ask for compensation and they can say yes or no, but that may never happen.

We have no relatives in the county - that I know of - and think I would know if I did.

I paid my bills by working really hard for 46 years, saving, retirement income, and investing. Isn't that how EVERYONE pays their bills?

My life is an open book.

In short order -

I was born and raised on the east coast through High School. My first 'real job' (although I worked miserable retail during HS and right after) was when I enlisted in the military. I was trained and went to night school and eventually retired from the Army with more than 22 years service in 1983 as a Chief Warrant Officer 4. I was a Nuclear Weapons Technical Officer.

I then worked in private industry in electronics, aerospace engineering and explosives, defense and commercial for about 24 -years primarily for 3 companies (or combinations as they changed names and combined and split).

My last two jobs were here in Hollister so we moved here in 1996 - and got rid of the commute - 15-1/2-years ago. I retired in 2005 or 2006 and did some consulting for my old firm, closed since, and for a large out of town project.

I bought our (mortgaged) home in 1996, it's the only real property we own here or anywhere else. No farm, not livestock, no real estate business, no development. I have no business investments here and we live a reasonable life, comfortable, not too flashy. I'll be 70 on my next birthday, so I'm not planning for the next 30-years. I occasionally let someone pick up my lunch check, but I always try to pick up theirs next time around to stay even. We have a few really close friends - none in public office at this time - and we don't track checks with them.

I'm just a human being, with human frailties, pounds and pounds of them; if you're looking for a Saint go elsewhere - but I pride myself on maintaining my honor and integrity, speaking my mind and telling the truth as I see it.

I guess the best description of me is that I believe I'm a grownup, but that's for others to decide. Sorry to disappoint you - I don't think honest people are that rare. Just because people do things in their self-interest does not make them dishonest, it's about WHAT you're willing to do.

Regards,

Marty Richman

Re: HollisterFreelance.com | City broaches $3M in cuts without sales tax extension

Marty_Richman — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 01:47:21 -0000

Bubba,

We certainly need more Police, I'd have to see the analysis for Fire before I agree. The problem is if a new Measure T is approved on the heels of the current one we would not get the police we need. We would be exactly where we are right now -27.42 full time equivalent polce employees with 13 days a year furlough each - and a "no pay raise" contract would hardly make a dent. We already gave those pay raises and had to suspend the last one.

As of June 2009, when the HPD had 28 FTE, the taxpayer cost was about $122,500 per employee. So if you need 5 more officers you need to find $612,000 MORE than Measure T or T2 can provide. Where is that coming from?

The basic problem here is unit cost for services, if we do not reduce the unit cost for services we cannot get out of the 'death spiral' - and furloughs actually INCREASE the unit cost for services.

Regards,

Marty Richman

Re: HollisterFreelance.com | City broaches $3M in cuts without sales tax extension

Marty_Richman — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 13:15:31 -0000

I think we ought to consider all aspects of this problem and demand some 'fixes' in exchange for the more than 20 percent of the General Fund budget - more than $17 million - this is going to cost from the city consumers - you and I - in taxes (that's $3.5 million a year for 5 years). That's hardly chickenfeed.

Personnel costs in the GF now appear to top $144,000 per head for the 69.3 GF employees, I'm working the numbers so that is not concrete. $144,000 per head, when are we going to get serious about the cost issues?

Last time the voters approved a blank check with a phony 'Citizen's Committee' that had no power and was appointed by those spending the money, naturally the system did not work. So what are you going to do - try it again?

The problem is the city's cost structure for a unit of work. As soon as money is available they allow the cost to go up until the money is all gone. Keep doing the same thing and you'll keep getting the same answer - it's called the 'definition of modern insanity.'

Marty Richman

Re: HollisterFreelance.com | Councilman irked by captain's commute with police car

Marty_Richman — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 11:16:19 -0000

Justice Now,

The personal attacks bother me to the extent that they take away from the issue and when they are unsubstantiated, that's all. Obviously, the issue stands on its own, no matter who brings it up.

When someone posts that Robbie Scattini is being hypocritical to complain about the personal use of a government vehicle because he used one all the time for so many years, I have no problem at all. It's a perfectly legitimate comment and he is being hypocritical about that although taking it to lunch and taking it 45 miles home is not the same. Using it to go shopping at night is the same.

When someone posts things like who he was visiting and what he was doing - speculation - I have a big problem. The use of the vehicle is on the record, the rest is just scandal mongering and we do a lot of that around here.

I sometimes eat lunch with Robbie (and others), I hope that does not make me one of the 'good old boys.'

I also hope I explained the difference as I see it.

Regards,

Marty Richman

Re: HollisterFreelance.com | Councilman irked by captain's commute with police car

Marty_Richman — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 10:51:56 -0000

Nuts,

I get mine from the online salary schedule published by the City of Hollister -

http://www.hollister.ca.gov...

"Bargaining Unit: Hollister Police Officer's Assoc, Position: Sworn, Range: 048, Effective July 1, 2010, Bi-Weekly Step 3: $2,500.40"

Multiply by 26 bi-weekly pay periods a year and you get $65,010.40.

I wrote, "A sworn HPD Officer makes $2,500 every two weeks in base pay (mid-step) or $65,000 a year."

There are 5 steps, step 3 is mid-step.

So, I get my figures from the official source, the published salary schedule - where do you get yours?

Regards,

Marty Richman

Re: HollisterFreelance.com | Councilman irked by captain's commute with police car

Marty_Richman — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 18:00:03 -0000

A sworn HPD Officer makes $2,500 every two weeks in base pay (mid-step) or $65,000 a year or $31.25/hour. Those on furlough get their benefits but not a day's pay. The cost of the commute could buy 320 hours or 40 days a year of non-furlough policing.

Funny that aspect never came to the council's attention.

Marty Richman

Re: HollisterFreelance.com | Councilman irked by captain's commute with police car

Marty_Richman — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 01:32:36 -0000

I'm at a loss over the reasoning for all these personal attacks, no matter where where you stand, this is a perfectly legitimate issue for thoughtful discussion. It may be costing the city more than $10,000 a year - we're SUPPOSED to be in a fiscal crisis.

There are too many people in this city and county who can't get past their personal animosity - they know each other TOO well and they THINK they know everyone's dirty laundry. Unfortunately, most of it has little to do with what's good for the public, just a lot of jealousy and finger pointing.

No wonder almost nothing gets solved - many of you are your own worst enemy.

Marty Richman

Re: HollisterFreelance.com | Councilman irked by captain's commute with police car

Marty_Richman — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 22:24:27 -0000

more facts less hype,

I only post under my own name and I sign all my posts -

I just finished fixing a hole I accidentally made in the drywall with a chair back and it came out fine, can't even see the repair. I used a 4 X 4 commercial patch made of fiberglass tape and aluminum backing - two applications of regular spackling compound, sanded, spray-on knockdown texture finish followed by two coats of matched flat paint.

You have to let everything dry well before going on to the next step. I recommend overnight for each drying cycle. Not to worry - I'm NEVER going into the drywall business, too much work.

p.s. There are a lot of poorly educated smart people and a lot of well educated people who are not so smart; I wouldn't worry about it if I were you.

Regards,

Marty Richman

Re: HollisterFreelance.com | Councilman irked by captain's commute with police car

Marty_Richman — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:37:54 -0000

This is another in the long list of public employee bennies that most of the taxpayers either do not know about or do not understand. Assuming Reynoso has a 90-mile round trip (data from the story, I do not know this for a fact) for 5 days a week, 48 weeks a year (4 weeks for vacation, sick, etc.), that's 21,600 miles. The IRS allows 55-cents per mile as the average cost to run a private vehicle that means he has saved $11,880 per year in commuting costs - tax free.

In 3 years the city has had almost 65,000 more miles put on the vehicle. I do not know what the incremental cost to the city for each mile put on a patrol car, but it's probably about the same, 55-cents per mile, therefore in 3-years it has cost the taxpayers more tthan $30,000.

If the city managers are going to be allowed to do this there should be a limit to how far away from the city the cars can go.

Marty Richman

Re: HollisterFreelance.com | Marty: A happy, cynical Thanksgiving

Marty_Richman — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 16:58:13 -0000

To all our readers, neighbors, and friends,

Thank you all for your time, ideas, and opinions throughout the year.

The Richmans wish all of you and yours a pleasant and safe Thanksgiving (still my favorite holiday!)

Marty and Joyce

Re: HollisterFreelance.com | Authorities suspect sale of heroin after searching home

Marty_Richman — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:02:07 -0000

Clarity,

Sorry to disappoint you, but as a member of the Freelance editorial board I can tell you the newspaper has no such race-based policy.

Crime, and its effects on the community, is everyone business.

Regards,

Marty Richman

Re: HollisterFreelance.com | Authorities suspect sale of heroin after searching home

Marty_Richman — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 02:27:20 -0000

Users end up being sellers and sellers help make new users and on and on and that, and other crimes, is how they fund their addiction.

It's an ADDICTION. The drugs don't care about the race of the users and the users don't care about the race of thier connections, it's not race-based. When you add up all the drug abuse from kids smoking weed 10 times a week to those taking heroine to pcp to meth to adults hooked on oxycodone it's a national epidemic.

Many addicts never have productive lives, they just drift in and out of problems until they die early.

"In a 2000 study conducted by the Drug Abuse Research Center at the University of California, it was found that young men who became addicted to narcotics could be expected to live to an average age of 46 compared to the average life expectancy of 61 for the general male population. Although illicit drug use can wreak havoc on the human body causing liver damage and other chronic health problems, drug-seeking activity greatly contributes to these early deaths. While drug addicts come from all socio-economic backgrounds, there is a higher incidence of risky behavior and criminal activity in drug addicts who do not have the financial resources to support their habit. Many people who live this type of lifestyle experience early deaths."

We have no real national plan to attack this problem.

Marty Richman

Re: HollisterFreelance.com | County short $400K due to late claims

Marty_Richman — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 14:34:26 -0000

stevefromsacto,

We are all on the same page, but we are all human and tend to believe that the fraud committed "by the other guys" is worse than the fraud committed by "our guys." I don't mean this to sound preachy, but in my family - my parents are both passed away now - they were more insulted by transgressions committed by 'our guys' that 'the other guys', that is what's wrong with our current system. Everyone wants to police their political enemies, NEVER themselves. "He may be a crook but he's our crook" is the tenor of the times.

I always thought that when 'my guys' go bad it's a reflection on me! But I find myself making that same excuse-driven political arguments as everyone else.

You point out that, "Tyrone Freeman incident is not an indictment of the "union". Well, Quest is not an indictment of the medical industry either, in fact Quest has legal standing as a business entity, but it was PEOPLE there who committed the crimes, not some BIG corporation. A 'corporation' cannot commit a crime per se, (no legal quibbling, please); you cannot put it in jail. Some specific people made criminal decisions and they should be punished.

I have a personal theory on economic crime; people who steal will steal whatever the opportunity allows. Those who count the quarters from parking meters and steal much, sometimes systematically, would steal - or arrange to bribe others for bigger bonuses - if they were CEOs. CEOs who steal millions would steal quarters if the worked counting parking meter money.

The rarest of the rare are the Jean Valjean's who truly steal bread because their family's are hungry; it happens, but not often.

So here we are a nation at a moral impasse, we'd all rather have our thieves than the thieves from the other side and too often that's exactly what we end up with. We've got to do better at policing ourselves.

Regards,

Marty Richman

Re: HollisterFreelance.com | Marty: Sexual abuse and responsibility

Marty_Richman — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 01:22:50 -0000

Richie Smartypants.

I don't mind your slam on me personally, but this happens to be a very serious subject; I'm disappointed that, agree or disagree with my opinion, you chose not to treat it that way.

Regards,

Marty Richman

Re: HollisterFreelance.com | County short $400K due to late claims

Marty_Richman — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 00:21:01 -0000

stevefromsacto,

The state certainly deserves some credit for going after the money from Quest AFTER a private competitor blew the whistle on them: "The whistleblower in this case is Chris Riedel, CEO of Hunter Laboratories, who refused to join in the price-gouging practices." So they state had help from concerned citizens. Left to their own devices, who knows? Riedel deserves a lot more credit than the AG!

But when are these players going to see some jail time to get their attention? Soon I hope - this is not their first time around: "Quest Diagnostics is a repeat player, having previously paid $302 million to settle federal civil and criminal charges related to a Quest subsidiary which sold a parathyroid hormone immunoassay test which reported elevated results. Quest then had to pay an additional $12.5 million to settle state claims concerning the accuracy of diagnostic tests."

Let me propose that ALL fraud is "real fraud" whether it's tens of people stealing millions or millions stealing tens - the result is the same and taxpayers pay ALL the bills.

This story is not about fraud, but incompetence. This is the second story is several months, in the first on the county 'accidentally' put a retired doctor back on CalPers by allowing them to work too many hours, that one cost $470,000 (from memory), this mistake will be more than $400,000. Together, the two errors are approaching $1 million. As a percentage of the county budget, that's probably as bad as Quest, but both Quest and the home health care scandal are fraud, crime for profit. The two mistakes are just bad management, so you can't send anyone to jail.

Healthcare has been a fertile ground for fraud at ALL levels by EVERYONE, I don't excuse any of it, big or smalll. Here is another big one from March and top of the heap:

CalPERS To Drop Medco Following Bribery ScandalOn Wednesday, CalPERS announced that it will not renew a drug-benefits contract with Medco Health Solutions, following recent reports about payments Medco made to former CalPERS board member Alfred Villalobos. Under the existing contract, which expires Dec. 31, Medco receives $8 million annually to deliver mail-order drugs to members of CalPERS' PPO plan.The drug company pays off a CalPers board member... business as usual.

OBTW, the union has not exactly been squeaky-clean: April 1, 2009 Union sues former executive for $1.1 millionThe union of low-wage caregivers that Tyrone Freeman once headed has taken him to court to demand restitution of more than $1.1 million -- dues money that allegedly financed his lifestyle of $175 glasses of cognac, $250 bottles of wine and a $3,400 trip to the NFL's Pro Bowl in Hawaii.

I recommend public execution for all the above, I hope you'll support me in this (sarcasm).

Regards,

Marty Richman

Re: HollisterFreelance.com | Bullet train workshops done: What's next?

Marty_Richman — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 15:49:51 -0000

XLancer,

Please see my answer above, it did not post as a reply for some reason.

Regards,

Marty Richman

Re: HollisterFreelance.com | Bullet train workshops done: What's next?

Marty_Richman — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 15:48:09 -0000

XLancer,

It's a fair comment, I don't know about naysayers, but we do know exactly what the Interstare cost (thanks to the Department of Transportation) and we can update and make a comparison:

"The final estimate of the cost of the Interstate System was issued in 1991. It estimated that the total cost would be $128.9 billion, with a Federal share of $114.3 billion. This estimate covered only the mileage (42,795 miles) built under the Interstate Construction Program. It excluded turnpikes incorporated into the Interstate System within the mileage limitation and the mileage added as a logical addition or connection outside the limitation but financed without Interstate Construction funds. In all, Federal-aid legislation authorized a total of $119 billion to pay the Federal share of the cost of Interstate construction. (Interstate Construction funds were authorized through Fiscal Year 1996.)"

If we take that $130 billion and spread it between 1991 and 1996 and then raise it using the CPI calculator from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to 2011 costs we get a low of $188 billion and a high of $213 billion or a mid-point of $200 billion for 42,795 miles of ONLY the Interstate Program today.

That's $3.03 miillion a mile in 1996 or $4.67 million a mile in 2011 dollars.

The Bullet train is now estimated - IF it comes in on budget - to cost $98.5 billion for 800 miles and I seriously doubt they will be on budget. That's more than $123.1 million a mile in 2011 dollars, 26 times the cost of the Interstate per mile!

Even the HSR Authority budget admits that labor cots in the U.S. are 30 percent to 70 percent higher than it cost to build the bullet trains in Europe. But the report claims we will still bring it in at the same price per mile as Europe - it does not explain how since we also need more seismic upgrades. Don't mean to be beating a dead horse, but see my Op/Ed today on the same subject.

I'll post more an proposed fares in the future.

Regards,

Marty Richman

Re: HollisterFreelance.com | Milgard plant closure in Hollister to spur 135 job losses

Marty_Richman — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 03:42:09 -0000

XLancer,

I appreciate your response. I did not leave Salinas out of fear, just pointing out that the crime rate is a serious problem there as it is here. I grew up (1940s - early 50s) in one of the poorest areas of Brooklyn, NY, and we had all the gang and crime problems you can imagine primarily from Italian gangs and Eastern European (Jewish) gangs. Other parts of the city had Irish, Puerto Rican, and Black gangs. These problems go with poverty and lack of opportunity hand and glove.

You can't kill gangs with jail, you can only dent them. They just go get new recruits. You have to kill the problems that feed the gangs to win in the long run.

I'm very pessimistic, I believe that education is the key change, but I don't think we are getting a return on our dollar and far too many failures. It's selfish I do not want to be paying to incarcerate these folks at $48,000 a year each. There is too much bureaucracy and overhead in the education system and I do not see a way to get rid of it. Even among the minorities there is a deep chasm, some are moving ahead well, others - too many - are just stuck.

As long as the gang problems here are primarily Hispanic/Latino some folks will take that as representative of the Hispanic/Latino community - it's sad, but it's human nature. When things get tough, as they are now, people who feel they are losing out start looking for scapegoats. The funny part is that poor people - those used to tightening their belts or who believe they have less to lose because they never had much - seem to handle the setbacks better. My Dad said the depression was tough, but they never had anything anyway, so it was not any tougher on them, lol.

You have to keep fighting to get rid of racism, but it's also important to remember that not everyone that has a problem with illegal immigration (I certainly do) or perceived Mexican nationalism (doesn't bother me), are racists.

Friday, Veterans Day, the ceremonies will be filled with San Benito County Veterans, a large number of them Hispanic/Latino. What more can one ask of citizens to cement their loyalty than to put their lives on the line for THEIR country?

Regards,

Marty Richman