USA Politics

Perun said:
It's not just "some" watchblogs. I've been following the media since I was a teen, and every single media outlet that I ever put my trust in at some point got exposed for either reporting wrong facts or twisting the truth for their own benefit. When I started reading watchblogs, I saw that there is almost a systematic way of getting things wrong.

It starts with comparatively minor things such as reporting wrong numbers or mixing up names. It gets serious with cases that are almost symptomatic, when one paper or news station bends the truth a little or misquotes something, and the rest of the press picks that up and keeps twisting it. This has happened a little too often in recent times for my taste, and I feel that the media have not earned, or deserve my trust.

So yeah, I prefer to triple-check information, because it's happened way too often that I used something as the foundation of my opinion or knowledge that later turned out to be wrong.
Click to expand...
Hmm. A few sources -NOS teletext and Cale's official site included- say that J J Cale died yesterday. But I still don't see it on American newspaper sites, or BBC news or CNN. I have a double feeling about this. Either the big media are not alert / slow. Either some people have made a dumb mistake. I guess there will be more clarity soon. Did any of you hear about this on some of your favourite news sources?
 
An American singer-songwriter and musician (74 years). A big inspiration to e.g. Neil Young and Eric Clapton. The latter used some of his songs in his repertoire and also played together with Cale on stage and albums.

I am a bit surprised you haven't heard of him, but when you hear After Midnight you might recognize him (or his voice):
 
Interesting, there is a government run insurance agency for pension premiums. Most private companies with pension plans are required to pay into it so that those receive benefits in case the plan becomes insolvent and taxpayers are off the hook as the premiums cover this.

Something like this would be great for cities like Detroit, Stockton, and the many other who are on or have gone ever the brink.... except government exempted government from paying into this ... probably assuming they would never get into this mess.

Link to the FAQ on how this works

http://www.pbgc.gov/about/faq/pg/general-faqs-about-pbgc.html
 
Very smart, it has paid off. But it seems government did not want to have to pay the premiums. It seems hypocritipcal of politicians that rail against "evil corporations" when they do not give their workers the same protections that private pension workers enjoy.

Now their option is to ignore the promises they made or stick it to the taxpayers.

... add to that the deals were negotiated by elected officials whose future elections are dependent on these unions and neither are interested in the future.
 
Both sides of the aisle do this shit all the time, for all sorts of stuff. It's one of the hypocrisies that really pisses me off about government.
 
Sure, but I think the public unions in large cities are one of the bigger sources of flat out corruption and driving crap public policy. Generally cities deal with more practical (clean parks, fill in potholes, make sure police and fire respond quickly) and less political type issues ... stuff like these relationships end cities ability to perform their duty. Detroit has so many public workers, yet the place is a shit hole and they cannot perform their basic responsibilities.

It is not just pensions and union rules that got them into this mess, but it is a large part of it there and in many cities across the country
 
I don't think it is unions in general - I think it is *those* unions. But we've been back and forth on this mess. Detroit has been managed by (literally) crooks for a long time, and the true depth of the corruption will probably take 20 years + to come out.
 
I have no issue with private unions, I do not belong to one nor would I care to, but they are fine because there is a true negotiation when it comes to contracts. Public unions on the other hand on the contractual end have no such relationship. They are able to hold cities hostage and keep jobs that are no longer needed. Not just Detroit, but other cities and states.

There was an article, I will try to find it, that made the case that you can make more money over a lifetime going to a Prison Guard school and retiring as a guard in CA than you can with a graduate (I think, maybe undergrad) degree from Harvard. Sure it is a crap job, but that is out of whack with reality .. it got that way because a union pretty much negotiated with itself for 25 years .. then they sue to keep the state from transferring prisoners out of state, and keep fighting for laws that keep people in jail.

What Walker did in Wisconsin will be looked back upon as a move that saved that state and many of its cities from the fate that many other governments will face.
 
I've only watched a little bit, and will look at the rest when not working :)

Ah, debt. The American way. Here are my thoughts... When my mom and dad were my age (or starting out, let's say), getting a credit card was super difficult. A home loan was, maybe equal to one year's income. It wasn't insane. Rates were high (that is true!), but the debt wasn't out of control. When I got married, I fell into the trap. You need a house, a table and chairs, a tv, a fridge, a washer and dryer, cable tv, a new car...etc. So, you don't have the money? We can loan it to you!! And down I fell. I fell into a huge pile of debt, and I did it with eyes open (I'll pay for that later). I remember when I woke up to it. Kids (19 years old) would come into the shop to buy a 4-wheeler and they'd be qualified for revolving credit of 9,000...for a $4,00 wheeler. Then add some stuff and shit to it and you owe $5k. Then you trade it in 6 months for something else and you owe $7k. And when its all over, you have $9k in debt with something worth $3k. And I thought "fuck, that's me. I can't do that". And I stopped. And I've been working to owe nothing but my house... it's hard, especially when kids want/need this and that.

Ah, debt, the American way. You don't hafta have a lot of wealth, or work for it, you just have to borrow like it!
 
I say my Great Grandfather's mortgage documents once. His house was something like $4,000 ... but the bank had the right to re-evaluate it annually and they could just decide to call the note in for most any reason. That is obviously too strict, but we are now way too loose in credit and that lead to a large degree to our current mess. There should be a happy medium somewhere
 
More public union fun

Salary 'spiking' drains public pension funds, analysis finds

Approaching retirement, Ventura County Chief Executive Marty Robinson was earning $228,000 a year.

To boost her pension, which would be based on her final salary, Robinson cashed out nearly $34,000 in unused vacation pay, an $11,000 bonus for having earned a graduate degree and more than $24,000 in extra pension benefits the county owed her.

By the time she walked out the door last year, her pension was calculated at $272,000 a year — for life.

Robinson, 62, is among a group of public employees who have increased their retirement paychecks by adding such things as vacation time, educational incentives, car allowances and bonuses to their final salaries.

Such "salary spiking" was banned in 1993 by CalPERS, the state's largest public employee retirement system, to help control spiraling costs. But 20 of California's 58 counties — including Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange and San Diego — do not participate in CalPERS and their employees may legally continue to spike their salaries.
 
There's this woman on one of the news channels... Suze something, a supposed financial guru regarding debt and advising people on savings accounts, investments and of course if they can afford something (private school for their kids, a new car or home, a vacation, etc) taking into consideration all of the caller's debt. I have to say, when I do catch it while channel surfing... I can't look away. What she says makes a shit ton of sense. She's very fiscally conservative, but fuck it, it works. One particular episode was on the DOs and DON'Ts of buying a house:

DO buy a home when:
you can put AT LEAST 20% down
you can afford AT LEAST an 8-month emergency fund
you can afford a 15-30 year mortgage with a FIXED rate
you have stable employment
and of course you have a doable debt/income ratio.

DON'T buy a home:
Because, "oh interests rates have never been lower"
Because, "Prices have never been lower, we have to get in on it now!"
And if you don't meet the "DO" suggestions (more like requirements.)

She called the above don'ts "fear purchases." and to NEVER buy out of fear. I sent this to a coworker who is thinking of buying a house with her fiance and they collectively have 5K in Savings. That's barely enough for a car... if that. I told her I knew they would do whatever they wanted anyway, but to keep it in mind.
 
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