4 Responses to “Vallejo, CA, Welches On Debt, Asks Judiciary For Protection”

1. Jim Nance Says:
   May 9th, 2008 at 9:40 pm

   Here is a story about fire fighter salaries in Clark County.

   http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Feb-10-Tue-2004/news/23186860.html

   Over half of the fire fighters make over $100K in the county.

   Of course, all government workers who work like 20 years on the job get close to full salary when they retire and health insurance. Many will get to collect on all the sick time that did not take for all they years they work too.

   Most of the fire fighters have either other jobs or side businesses because they like work 3 days and get 4 days off (something like that)

   I wonder if we are going down a similar path as the city of Vallejo.

2. Helen Weils Says:
   May 10th, 2008 at 7:02 am

   There is nothing that tees me off more than the overpaid playboys known as fireman. Not only are they GROSSLY OVERPAID

3. Helen Weils Says:
   May 10th, 2008 at 7:12 am

   for the 24 hours (in one day of course) that they work.
   Meanwhile, if they are not Sleeping, or watching big screen tv in their RENTED barka loungers they are shopping at Cosco for lobster and steak for dinner, lunch, breakfast or working out at Gold’s Gym. Let’s not forget their burn victim fund
   which raised over $400,000 used ONLY $6,000 for the burn victims and spent the rest for parties for the fireman!!!!
   If that is not enough, we are paying these guys to raise money for the MDA telethon on labor day. Don’t forget that we are also paying for 6 UNION REPRESENTATIVES to sit there in
   their fire stations to negotiate their benefits. And last but not least, they retire at 50 with 90% of their pay and LIFETIME HEALTH CARE BENEFITS FOR THEM AND THEIR FAMILIES!!!!
   AUUUUGH!!!! IT MAKES ME WANT TO SCREAM!!!!!
   I used to have a store at buffalo and Lake Mead. There were
   ALWAYS one or two firetrucks outside Gold’s Gym at ALL TIMES!
   My husband went to Cosco to pick up a prescription and the
   fire chief was ahead of him with his cart loaded with lobster
   and steaks for the boys in their “hard work” of watching tv
   while they waited for a fire that probably didn’t break out
   during their 24 hour shift. Don’t forget 8-10 hours is devoted
   to sleeping during their job.
   It’s time to fire EVERYONE OF THEM and bring back the volunteer fire departments.

4. Steve Says:
   May 10th, 2008 at 9:09 am

   This is an inevitable result for all US Governments that have been on the gravy train for nearly 70 years since FDR began socialism in America. Just some notes:

   1. During the depression, people would not accept charity. To “spend their way out of it”, the politicians had to create labor jobs for these people. One example was the CCC which created a great deal of good for National Parks. Of course, this was funded by a deficit, but at least something useful got done and people preserved their pride.

   2. Nobody seemed to complain about deficit spending, so our politicians saw a gravy train in the making. Free money for all. All they had to do was convince people to take it. Votes aplenty for the providers and jobs-for-life for politicians. Best of all, businesses had to pay for, at most, only two politicians in each election….a great savings of advertising money.

   3. So, the deficit ran on. The “economy” boomed as more and more money was created through borrowing on the “future taxing ability of the US Government”. With the Federal Reserve well entrenched, the system was foolproof. People fell in line and accepted “free money” just fine after a few generations of indoctrination.

   4. Businesses wanted a bigger share of the pie, so they began to buy politicians. You only have to buy two for each election because Americans were convinced (somehow) that the two-party system was the only way (”those rotten Republicans” and “those rotten Democrats”). Rooting for your team was just as much fun as it is in sports. With the incredible incumbent success (about 95% in Congress), sometimes you only have to buy one candidate, a great savings to the corporate advertising dollar. It worked great. Free money keeps the American public down while deficits pile up. No worries since the only thing that matters is the next election.

   5. With the rape of the American citizen in full bloom, business discovered that spending for purchases was pretty low when most of the paycheck went to the “Government” abyss. This hurt profits and left less money for political campaigns. Enter credit cards. Now Americans can deficit spend just like the Government and create their own money. More free stuff. “Government employees” proliferated and personal credit card debt soared. With “minimum payments” the rule, credit cards were painless. If you run out of credit on one, just apply for another. What a country. Business boomed and the “economy” was great. Political campaigns reaped huge financial benefit also.

   6. With free enterprise lurking in the background, greatly suppressed by the socialist movement, however, sources of the credit card lending funds started to get nervous. Kept afloat by the promise of 20% interest for default balances, however, they held out hope and kept investing. What else should we do with our money anyway? Every investment is risky. Enter the speculative run-up of housing purchases backed by massive deficit-funded political capital invented out of thin air by the Federal Reserve. “Everyone can reach the American dream of home ownership”. Focused on monthly payment estimates and no real dedication to assuming debt, America went on a housing purchase binge. Again, great for the “economy” and jobs abounded.

   7. Now what? With Federal, State, and local governments pretty much maxed out on tax collections (people will only pay so much) and borrowed beyond the ability of the country to justify, even with future tax collection capability (now not even able to pay for current expenditures), it is easy to see the result. Since states and locals cannot print money and they have no Federal Reserve Bank, they will be the first to fall. As we have seen, there are no politicians (maybe 1% or so, and they fall pretty quickly) who will risk their positions to advocate that people go back to work and get off the gravy train. While all the politicians know that the ride is over, none will admit it and clamor for even more taxes to be paid. “Think of the children”, “Tax the rotten rich” (ironically trilled by the most rich of our citizens….the politicians), “Tax the businesses”, “Earned Income Credit”, “Witholding taxes sufficient to create a refund at tax time”, “Hope”, “Change”, “Stay the course”, “nothing to fear but fear itself” ring loud in our ears. “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country” is long forgotten in the fateful final days of fear.

   8. Now we are asked to count on our Government even more. Having already spent all the tax money from future generations of our children and printing money as fast as they can, what is left? Of course, default. Just tell the people that you spent all their invested money for their own good and they won’t get it back. OK, fine. But the lending spigot will be gone. Nobody will perform services, even useless services, for no pay, especially for the Government. The city of Vallejo better learn how to sweep their own streets and fill their own potholes. What will they do without public hearings to determine who to name the next school after or who to put a statue in the park for? Businesses won’t help because Vallejo no longer has a hold on their population. The city of Vallejo “employees” may have to find real, productive jobs and actually fund their own retirements. Get a hint, all, for the same fate is just a failed bond issue away from your town, county or state. The Federal Government is just one failed T-bill sale away, but at least they can print money which will stave off the inevitable for awhile.

   9. People will actually find themselves in a situation where they may get houses and cars without Government help. They may actually have to internalize the actual cost of something, not just the monthly payment. They may actually have to commit to paying off a debt, not just be bailed out by politicians (who do so with their childrens yet unpaid taxes). Maybe the citizens of Vallejo are luckier than the rest of us because they have to figure it out sooner. Life without politicians seems like Nirvana to me. I would love to try it. How about you?

   Well, it may be a moot discussion topic anyway, because we will all face it soon. There is simply no other way to go but back to reality. When you have to earn your way and pay as you go, you make much saner decisions. Free medical is expensive medical. Free houses are the most expensive houses. Free money is worthless. So where are we getting the money to pay social security? Medicare? Medicaid? Heck, we cannot even pay for the people we have hired to provide the services you like so much now.

   Maybe if you have to pay for them, they will not be needed so much. Scary, but necessary for our children to have a chance. Shame on us for leaving a generation worse than we found it for the first time in US history. Vallejo is just one of the first in a series of such debacles. Most of the time it just makes me wish I was older.

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