California!! It's Another Country!!

[Haggis@wk]

Welfare-Roll High Rollers

"California welfare recipients are able to use state-issued debit cards to withdraw cash on gaming floors in more than half of the casinos in the state,"

the Los Angeles Times reports. In a Web follow-up, the paper adds:

California welfare recipients withdrew more than $1.8 million in taxpayer cash on casino floors between October 2009 and May 2010, state officials said Thursday.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger also issued an executive order Thursday requiring welfare recipients to sign a pledge that they will use their cash benefits only to "meet the basic subsistence needs" of their families.

A pledge. Yeah, that'll work. While he's at it, why not make welfare recipients spend their money on tickets for the California Lottery? That way, over a third of it will go to public education!

[jamiebk]

Seems like there should be a technological solution to this, but I guess not...One way or another people are going to turn this or any form of welfare into cash. Food stamps have long had a "black market" associated with them.

But then again...Shapley says that they add to the economy:

In communities in which gambling has been permitted, I have seen the growth of restaurants, hotels, & taverns. That would indicate that the presence of gambling institutions does promote economic activity within the communities they are established.

What was Las Vegas before gambling?

[Haggis@wk]

Sheriff’s deputies’ union: Give Us 150 Percent Pensions, Or The Kid Get It!

[Haggis@wk]

In 2008, California voters passed Proposition 2, which mandates a set of humane conditions for the hens tended by egg-producing farmers. This year’s legislature has passed a law that will require out-of-state egg producers to conform to the mandate as well, if they want to sell eggs in California. The governor signed it yesterday, demonstrating that they can get things done in Sacramento. The things just have to be on their list of priorities.

[piqaboo]

I wasnt planning to get hens this year, but I may have to rethink.

[Haggis@wk]

I wasnt planning to get hens this year, but I may have to rethink.

Can you keep chickens in your neighborhood?

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

I wasnt planning to get hens this year, but I may have to rethink.

Can you keep chickens in your neighborhood?

If you call the chickens livestock, no. If you refer to them as pets, yes.

It would probably be less trouble to smuggle eggs from Mexico...

[piqaboo]

Chickens are kinda fun.
Not sure if they would induce coyotes to climb the fence or not. That would be a problem.

[Haggis@wk]

Chickens are kinda fun.
Not sure if they would induce coyotes to climb the fence or not. That would be a problem.

Oh yeah, the domestic cat population in Plano is taking a hit and people are complaining to the county about it. The county takes no action against coyotes which is making a lot of folks mad. Two children in a New York town have recently been attacked by coyotes. One of the reason given for the attacks is that the coyotes have lost their fear of humans. They'll damn well regain it quickly if any come into my backyard.

[Haggis@wk]

Whooping cough outbreak continues unabated

The inabil­ity of Cal­i­for­nia to report its cases of whoop­ing cough in a timely man­ner means that Fed­eral pub­lic health offi­cials can­not react in a timely man­ner to changes in the case counts. It should worry neigh­bor­ing states, as well, since they, too, can­not know how severe the epi­demic may be.

Many states, not just CA, have abandoned one of their primary responsibility; the public health of their citizens. Not healthcare but just simple inoculations and TB tests.

This is such a painful disease and I tear up when I hear a small child with that distinctive cough

[Shapley]

In 2008, California voters passed Proposition 2, which mandates a set of humane conditions for the hens tended by egg-producing farmers. This year’s legislature has passed a law that will require out-of-state egg producers to conform to the mandate as well, if they want to sell eggs in California. The governor signed it yesterday, demonstrating that they can get things done in Sacramento. The things just have to be on their list of priorities.

It will be interesting to see if that can hold up to a Constitutional challenge. California has some authority to tell farmers in its own state what to do, but it does not have the authority to tell Nevadans, Arizonans, or Oregonians how to treat their livestock. SInce there is probably no discernable difference between an egg produced by an humanely treated chicken and any other egg, It would be hard to enforce the law. I am curious how California intends to enforce it. Will the debt-ridden government be sending State employees to neighboring states to police their farms?

[Giant Communist Robot]

Pennsylvania has done a similar thing for many years with its Reg. Penna. Dept. Agr appearing on baked items and such. California has every right to decide what can be sold there. Not that their law makes any sense.

[Shapley]

Pennsylvania has done a similar thing for many years with its Reg. Penna. Dept. Agr appearing on baked items and such. California has every right to decide what can be sold there. Not that their law makes any sense.

Yes, California can request that businesses wishing to sell goods in their state register and comply with guidelines, but they should have no legal enforcement authority. I suppose voluntary inspection agreements can exist, but other states worried about States' rights should reject the sending of California inspectors into their businesses.

We did business in California a number of years ago, in which we had to comply with manufacturing guidelines. However, we did not have to be visited by California inspectors. I had to become certified by the State of California and by they City of Los Angeles to perform inspections for compliance. This was normal, and is not unlike the requirements of other states, and was generally similar to requirements for export manufacture to some regions.

I suppose, now that I think about it, it probably is not that onerous. When I first perused the link, I though it called for inspectors to visit the site, but I don't believe it specifically stated that they would be California employees, so I suppose they could set up a mechanism similar to the manufacturing inspection process. I withdraw my complaint.

But I still think its stupid, given California's precarious financial situation. They can't ensure the welfare of their employees, but they want to ensure the welfare of Nevada's chicken population. Go figure...

[Giant Communist Robot]

But I still think its stupid, given California's precarious financial situation.

Lawmakers live in a different dimension

[piqaboo]

We also have a law requiring vendors to have documented provenance. That;s making it tough for the foragers to sell their mushrooms etc these days.
And another silly law making it illegal to consume alcohol on the beach (nothing about enforcing existing rowdiness laws, no no.) Now we are working to close a loophole which lets one booze up floating in the surf (one is not actually On the beach at that point). Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

[Haggis@wk]

Calif. controller: Disclose municipal salaries

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- California's controller is ordering all cities and counties to start reporting the salaries of elected officials and public employees.
Controller John Chiang said Tuesday he will post the information on his website beginning in November.

The directive comes after revelations that the Southern California city of Bell paid three of its top administrators a total of $1.6 million a year. Part-time City Council members were paid nearly $100,000 a year.

Currently, local governments must report only general figures about revenue and expenditures to the state controller's office

Reminiscent of pitchforks, the people of Bell, CA took to the streets and forced (frightened?) the city administration to quit, although one will still receive a cool mil a year for retirement.

It caused a mini-firestorm when Bell released its public payroll data. One can only imagine what will happen if the whole state complies with the State Controller. When do the lawsuits with various reasons for why they can't do it begin? 5, ...4, ...3 - I have a feeling, it won't be too long. If the people pay the salaries, why shouldn't they have a right to know what they are? Sounds reasonable to me

[Shapley]

According to the news, all three of the 1-year employees will receive pensions nearly equal to their salary. The cost of those pensions is shared among the cities, so the city of Bell only pays a small portion of the pension.

How does one warrant a full pension after only a year on the job? Who wrote these laws and who approved them? Is there no one in California government that has an understanding of economics? Is this problem unique to California?

And, where the Hell did I put my pitchfork...

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

The cost of those pensions is shared among the cities, so the city of Bell only pays a small portion of the pension.

Which cities? Bell is in Ellay...

How does one warrant a full pension after only a year on the job? ...

Slick agent and a clever lawyer

Who wrote these laws and who approved them? ...

The Bell city council, and nobody. That's why the ruckus.

Is there no one in California government that has an understanding of economics? ...

The Governator seems to, but he's surrounded and outnumbered. I think he should try Terminating some of the agents and lawyers

Is this problem unique to California?

Probably not.

And, where the Hell did I put my pitchfork...

Look in the barn, next to the muckrake.

[Shapley]

Which cities? Bell is in Ellay...

According to the LA Times, that would be all of the cities in the pension liability pool, which includes "
140 small cities and special districts such as Norco, La Cañada Flintridge and Goleta...", as well as those cities that formerly employed him:

"The rest would be shouldered by his former employers, Hesperia and Rancho Cucamonga, according to estimates made by The Times and reviewed by pension experts.

In the case of its former police chief, Randy Adams, Bell escapes nearly all the costs of his estimated $411,300-a-year pension. Under CalPERS rules, the city is responsible for just 3% of that because he only worked there for one year. Taxpayers in Glendale, Simi Valley and Ventura would have to pick up the rest."

The article is [url=http://articles.latimes.com/2010/aug/01/local/la-me-bell-pensions-20100802[/url]here.[/url]

Look in the barn, next to the muckrake.

I don't keep the muckrake in the barn, since I use it so often...

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

Norco, La Cañada, Flintridge, (all Ellay) and Goleta (part of SantaBarbara), Hesperia (out in the desert, a bit), Rancho Cucamonga(also desertish) - all are ellay-area places. It's like you change jurisdictions every nine blocks in that town...

I should look up his lawyer and agent. I could use a raise.