The first Republican president of my memory was Eisenhower. My first presidential vote was for Kennedy, the second for Goldwater, and the third for Nixon. I pulled for two out of three. Actually, I pulled for only one, the other two were desperate votes.
What surprises me now is the near 180 degree shift of the Republicans. Often I voted for Republicans because I thought they would take care of my money with the same caution I thought they gave to the care of their own money.
Not anymore.
Gov. Schwarzenegger wants to sell a massive amount of bonds to spend on the "infrastructure" of the state. Borrowing is OK, but at what cost? How much of the state's budget will be shunted to pay the debt of these bonds? There are calls now for a reduction in state pensions. How will future legislators pay for my pension as well as those bond debts?
These guys sold their souls for a national tax cut in 2000. I don't think they've found religion in the interim.
Republicans
Bond Debt
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Ah, Ike. Where are you when we need you?
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Schwarzenegger may been getting a little overly ambitious with his bond plan. There is little doubt that most, if not all, of the infrastructure projects he want the bonds to pay for are needed, but it is hard to imagine the majority of California voters (notice I did not say the majority of Californians) will commit such a big pot of future funds to those bonds.
ReplyDeleteAs for pensions, such as yours, you may be seeing the same thing that private sector employees have known for a long time. Our pensions are disappearing and our retirement funds, once thought secure, are in serious jeopardy. Toss the problems with the social security system in on top of it, and the senior citizens of the future are likely to be, in a word, fucked -- and not in a fun way.