'Pension spiking' is not protected by California law, top court rules
For two decades, it was a treasured perk for some county employees across California: the ability to boost their pensions by cashing out unused vacation or sick leave, or working extra hours, at the end of their careers.
In some cases, workers received more in pension payments than they earned while working.
But with the state's economy struggling and a pension crisis looming, then-Gov. Jerry Brown backed a sweeping reform measure in 2013 that prohibited county workers from 'pension spiking.' Labor unions sued to overturn the new law.
On Thursday, in one of several closely watched pension cases, the California Supreme Court sided with the state, unanimously upholding a provision of the 2013 law that prohibited pension spiking by county workers.
'''Pension spiking''' not protected by California law, top court rules - Los Angeles Times
The California Rule has its origins in a case from 1955 called Allen V. City of Long Beach. The idea behind the California Rule is simple: workers enter a contract with their employer on the day they begin work and the pension benefits they are offered as part of that contract cannot be diminished, unless replaced with similar benefits. To cut or reduce pension benefits without an equivalent benefit to offset the cut would be a violation of the employment contract. California courts have continued to uphold the precedent of the California Rule in multiple cases over the past six decades.
A dozen other states that also use a contract rights approach to public pension benefits have chosen to follow the principles of the California Rule. Those states are:
Alaska
Colorado
Idaho
Kansas
Massachusetts
Nebraska
Nevada
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Vermont
Washington
What is the California Rule and why does it matter? - NPPC
This is part of the reason Pelosi and the Dems keep on fighting for state and local stimulus relief, because they need to charge their mismanagement off to the Coronavirus.w/ the pandemic seems public pension portfolio management is the last thing people and elected officials are thinking about,... but as I see things its a ticking debt bomb that needs to be addressed
It already is. This is one reason Pelosi will not allow any more stimulus - the Republicans in the Senate will not agree to a trillion dollar bailout to blue states.Shhhh! Don't talk about the obvious right now! Wait until it can be properly politicized!
Unfortunately, anyone with a calculator can see that state pensions in some states are on the brink of failing. Also unfortunately, the politicians aren't willing to work to fix those pension funds. This is going to get ugly really fast.
California Legislators Propose 0.4% Wealth Tax, Plus 16.8% Income Tax Rate
California Legislators Propose 0.4% Wealth Tax, Plus 16.8% Income Tax Rate
California seeks to increase it’s already stratospheric top 13.3% income tax to 16.8%, and the latest new tax the golden state wants to collect is a .4% wealth tax. The “leader” in state taxes already, this would be first-in-the nation wealth tax targeting the very wealthy.www.forbes.com
Every tax system has its inequities BUT a predictable property-tax system is superior to a volatile “market value” system. This is because it lessens bureaucracy and the associated perverse incentives like “fiscalization of land use” which was pointed out by bay area Democrats in a 2017 panel discussion.
Actually in 2014, San Francisco–based state Senator Tom Ammiano, a Democrat, proposed legislation to redefine “ownership change” for businesses that makes more sense than Prop 15 (which is on the November 2020 ballot).
Basically the legislative fix tackles “abuses” AND would have generated increased tax revenues
The issue is simply fixed by defining an “ownership change” as having occurred whenever at least 90 percent of a property shifts hands, regardless of whether any one owner ends up with more than a 50 percent stake in a property.
On the surface, the Ammiano bill seemed likely to pass: The GOP wasn’t averse to the reform, the California Chamber of Commerce came out in favor, and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association made statements indicating the group could live with it. Yet the bill died—and not just, or even primarily, because of corporate opposition.
Paradoxically, many progressive politicians opposed it, as did organized labor and a large number of community groups who believed the bill was far too narrow in scope and worried it would take the wind out of a bigger and broader reform movement that was finally coming into its own—one that wouldn’t just change the definition of ownership, but would also require regular reassessments of the value of commercial real estate, both the buildings and the land on which they sit.
With covid-19 there is a very real problem that passage of Prop 15 is a high cost in lost jobs and leakage from businesses relocating out of state.
www.TinyURL.com/SplitRoll
You want a pension dumpster fire? Look at Illinois! Talk about a financial cluster****.
Wouldn't it be a nice change to see red states pay their fair share instead of being welfare queens?Of the decisive issues in this election is whether us in Florida have to pay for the pensions of California, New York and many other Democratic Party run states. Biden will punish red states by making them pay TRILLIONS of dollars to cover the ass of red state's absurd pensions.
With a Biden win, all states should start massively giving money to the citizens of their states since Biden sees this as a federal government responsibility to pay.
government unions need to be broken up.
What does that even mean?Wouldn't it be a nice change to see red states pay their fair share instead of being welfare queens?
What does that even mean?
No, that is not subsidization. That is a pure measure of income tax dollars paid versus federal dollars disbursed. Most of that is non-discretionary federal spending, and is actually evidence that Republicans are right about the size of government.It occurs to me that you might not actually know that blue states generally subsidize red states. So here:
Most & Least Federally Dependent States in 2024
Most & Least Federally Dependent States in 2024wallethub.com .States Most Dependent on the Federal Government - 2020 Edition - SmartAsset | SmartAsset
SmartAsset crunched the numbers to find the states that are most dependent on the federal government.smartasset.com
https://apnews.com/article/2f83c72de1bd440d92cdbc0d3b6bc08c (" High-tax, traditionally Democratic states (blue), subsidize low-tax, traditionally Republican states (red) — in a big way.")
If you want more cites, consult google. The topic is not seriously debated that I know of. Red states are "takers" -- unable to maintain their economic standards without welfare subsidies from a federal government that redistributes wealth from the more economically successful blue states to the politically powerful, but impoverished, empty states.
as an aside, this argument is totally irrelevant to state governments and their pension obligations
Unfortunately, anyone with a calculator can see that state pensions in some states are on the brink of failing. Also unfortunately, the politicians aren't willing to work to fix those pension funds. This is going to get ugly really fast.
They are counting on Biden to bail out all the pension funds with the Covid relief bill Trump refused to sign. Trump wanted a clean bill, Pelosi wanted all or nothing. She refused to compromise on Covid relief. Many people suffered. Her reaction? DILLIGAF? “I didn’t want to give Trump a win.”w/ the pandemic seems public pension portfolio management is the last thing people and elected officials are thinking about,... but as I see things its a ticking debt bomb that needs to be addressed
w/ the pandemic seems public pension portfolio management is the last thing people and elected officials are thinking about,... but as I see things its a ticking debt bomb that needs to be addressed
Unfortunately, anyone with a calculator can see that state pensions in some states are on the brink of failing. Also unfortunately, the politicians aren't willing to work to fix those pension funds. This is going to get ugly really fast.
politicians spend the money on other things rather than the pension programs
$130,000 for an 8-foot-by-8-foot shed? That’s what L.A. is paying in a bid to house the homeless
In other cities, 64-square-foot aluminum and composite sheds are being used as quick and inexpensive emergency shelter for homeless people.
Not in Los Angeles. Here, plans to employ the minimalist structures, known as “tiny homes,” have blossomed into expensive development projects with access roads, underground utilities and concrete foundations — and commensurate planning delays.
At the city’s first tiny home village, scheduled to open in January, each of the 39 closet-sized homes is costing $130,000, about 10 times what some other cities are spending. Five more villages are planned to open later.
Mayor Eric Garcetti announced the program in March, signaling that the concept of sheltering people in tiny homes, long neglected in Los Angeles, had emerged as a leading strategy in the city’s response to a federal lawsuit alleging it has done too little to get homeless people off the streets.
$130,000 for an 8-foot-by-8-foot shed? That's what L.A. is paying in a bid to house the homeless
Plans to employ the minimalist structures, known as 'tiny homes,' have blossomed into expensive development projects.www.latimes.com
In total for November, San Diego taxpayers spent $5.7 million to temporarily house about 900 people — just over $190,000 a day
Temporary shelter costs at San Diego Convention Center exceed $40M, city records show
Critics say COVID-19 relief funding subsidizes city-owned nonprofit instead of helping those in needwww.sandiegouniontribune.com
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