I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.
Fred Allen
The Public Pension Bubble
In 2009, according to the Census Bureau, the median household income was $50,221. Now, according to Fortune, we have retired or former public servants making 6-digits in retirement income for the rest of their lives: from a 40-year-old former NYC cop making $100K for the rest of his life at the expense of New York taxpayers to multiple California retired city managers and fire chief at over $250K per year for the rest of their lives as well.
The issue, of course, is these Ponzi schemes are going to end badly, but don't expect restraint from government unions. We are going to see local and state budget pension costs projected to rise from up to a third of the budget to as high as 85%. Are you kidding me? We are going to put hiring freezes, cut government services, etc.--just so retired civil servants can take luxury cruises around the world and eat in expensive restaurants? There is nothing comparable in the private sector. (Granted, some corporate executives get very lucrative compensation packages.)
It may sound like I'm practicing the Politics of Envy, but that really isn't the case (even though I've never had a single penny of vested employer contributions). I've had to grow my own retirement assets the old-fashioned way--by investing. Raising taxes to pay an unsustainable benefit for fat cat retirees is a job killer. I think the Tea Party next needs to look more at local and state issues--in particular, unconscionable pensions.
Political Potpourri
Mike Castle, the all-but-elected GOP candidate to convert Joe Biden's old Senate seat but found himself topped in the end by an unlikely, unqualified Christine O'Donnell, had been exploring a write-in candidacy, which I personally supported, but by state law he had to make a decision to declare by today. He bowed out formally last night. I normally respect Scott Rasmussen (in fact, I subscribe to one of his email newsletters), but his poll showing a 3-way race being Coons 49, O'Donnell 40 and Castle 5 is preposterous and delusional. According to Rasmussen, nearly all the Castle voters would go to Coons. Now write-in's are notoriously difficult to assess, but given Ms. O'Donnell's collapse as a serious candidate after the masturbation/witchcraft kerfuffle and the fact that Castle pulled in almost half the vote even before that, but none of the Republicans who had voted for Castle for decades would abandon O'Donnell? And given the fact that Coons was routinely losing to Castle by the mid-teens or more before O'Donnell's upset, clearly the difference between Coons and O'Donnell reflects many Castle supporters. Why would the majority of independents, moderates, and more mainstream GOP voters who were supporting Castle just a month ago drop to a mere 5%? Did Coons suddenly find a message that connects in an election which looks bleak for all other Democrats? Of course not.
Indeed, incumbent Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), who is barely trailing in a recent CNN poll as a write-in candidate, against GOP nominee Joe Miller, doesn't have Mike Castle's decades of experience as a former governor and incumbent at-large Congressman, but in fact was initially appointed to fill her father's Senate seat. Unlike Christine O'Donnell, Joe Miller is a serious candidate, a former Yale Law School graduate and US Magistrate Judge. Now, personally, I don't think Mike Castle's heart was ever really in the race. In fact, he was talking retirement as a Congressman last year.
The bombshell announcement that Meg Whitman (R-CA) allegedly knowingly hired an illegal alien as a maid left me with a sinking feeling. What is it about housekeepers and inconvenient truths? Remember how Janet Reno was Clinton's third choice as attorney general? Ms. Nicky Diaz Santillan, when she was hired in 2000, presented a valid driver's license and a social security card and signed a statement she was a lawful permanent resident. The "proof" that Whitman and her husband "knew" she was an alien? They got a letter from the Social Security Administration in 2003, suggesting there was a problem with the social security number Ms. Santillan provided; in fact, the letter did not make a finding of Ms. Santillan's legal status, and Ms. Santillan never confessed her real status until years later.
Overall, the House race looks 207-190 GOP with 38 tossups (218 needed to take control). The Senate is 48-46 with 6 tossups. The Senate sees Washington and Connecticut drop from lean Democrat to tossup, and Wisconsin (a Democratic seat) go to "lean GOP" (while Boxer has recovered enough to push the seat to "lean Democrat"). I think these numbers are really conservative. While Boxer has gotten up to a 7% advantage, a lot of these polls show Boxer at well below 50% with a lot of undecided. Undecideds usually break against the incumbent.
Political Humor
"President Obama has written a children's book. Why not? He's got nothing else on his plate." –David Letterman
[Well, Dave, it's not like he can play golf in all his remaining vacations this year... He gets up, does a full half-hour of
It's his third autobiography; it focuses on his 2008 campaign promises and is called My Fairy Tales.]
"The United Nations is appointing an official space alien greeter to meet and greet any aliens that may visit Earth in the future. Well, how does this make Mexican people coming to America feel?" –Jay Leno
[Barack Obama wants to be buzzed just as soon the greeter arrives with the alien to meet her leader.
Attorney General Eric Holder is concerned about higher intelligence profiling in the Arizona Immigration Law. If Arizona lawmen pull over a flying saucer for speeding in its airspace, and asks the alien for his papers, Mr. Holder is concerned they were really motivated to pull him over because of his green skin color.
Not to be outdone, the Obama Administration has nominated William Shatner as its official space alien greeter, citing to Congress his considerable experience in dealing with the Romulans.]
Musical Interlude: The "British Invasion" Series
New Vaudeville Band, "Winchester Cathedral"
