Your Government at Work

Thanks to our friend Jeff Bliss for passing this along. Fox News reports:

"The US Social Security Administration is dubbed one of the best agencies to work for, and judging by a training conference, I can see why. Fox News scooped the training conference held at the Arizona Biltmore, a facility claiming to be "known throughout the world as the 'Jewel of the Desert.'"Every room has a well-stocked mini-bar and for the weight conscious, a scale. The SSA, Fox said, flew 700 managers to the resort for a conference with skits, a dance troupe, Casino Night and door prizes.

If you're recalling President Barack Obama's fit about private companies doing the wine- and-dine in exotic locations after taking taxpayer bailout money, you're not alone. The federal government spends taxpayer money with no shame, no integrity and no accountability. [Continues after video.]

The Fox reporter asked a SSA spokesman, "With withering criticism over the misuse of taxpayer dollars, many people will look at this and go, 'Wait, same thing.'"

The spokesman replied, "There's a clear distinction between the two. They received specific bailout dollars. We didn't. We're not using any recovery money. There's no ARA money involved in this."

That sort of brain-dead reasoning prevails in Washington. Bureaucrats think if the bucks don't come from one pot, it's fine if they come from another. There's a complete lack of consciousness regarding safeguarding taxpayer dollars.

Every taxpayer in the nation should send the SSA a bill for any federal funds used on this excursion .

With billions of tax dollars wasted on overpayments, the SSA should be sending employees to stay in a wilderness camp. The only reason they won't: those people wouldn't survive the challenge.

The entire department management should be fired, and so should the agency heads. Once again, the federal government proves its ineptitude as we, the taxpayer, face a government composed of looters."

The Governor Steps Down

It has been a strange summer for Republicans. First, Senator Ensign from Nevada goes public with his blackmail story and scandal. Then Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina completely loses it over his mistress from Argentina. Two bright political careers flame out rather quickly. Sanford should be stepping down fairly soon.

But what the heck happened up in Alaska today? Gov. Sarah Palin announced she was stepping down at the end of July. Not that she wasn't going to run for re-election in 2010; she simply was walking away. Now. The national press has been characterizing Palin's press conference (in which she took no questions) as disjointed. Pundits from coast to coast are surprised by the announcement.

It doesn't seem to make much sense, nor does it inspire much confidence in the ability of Sarah Palin to serve in national political office. Some of her allies were saying she was done with political life. Others are claiming she's merely laying the groundwork for a presidential run in 2012. But why resign from office? Who resigns from office these days? Why can't she finish out her term for another 18 months and THEN run? Does she know about something looming on the horizon that we don't? Are there more scandals brewing in Juneau that we're not aware of? There's talk of Palin joining a conservative think tank of getting her own radio talk show.

Very bizarre. Should she run for office in 2012, I suspect this decision will come back to haunt her. It seems to undercut her credibility as a leader.

Meanwhile, the luck of Obama continues. He struggles and fights, but when you look at the opposition, well, he still seems pretty strong.

Back in Town

Just a quick note to say that I'll be back on KVEC starting Tuesday. Thanks to Mardi Hall, Jim Richards, Natasha Prybyla, and all the guest hosts for stepping in and allowing Charlotte and me to enjoy our first (and hopefully not last) visit to Hawaii. What an incredible place.

Of course, we hit Honolulu on Thursday, just as the news about Michael Jackson started spreading. It seemed to be the only topic in both the local and national media and it looks like the media interest will continue. Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina must be breathing a huge sigh of relief since our national media seems capable of only covering one topic at a time. I'm just as glad to have been away last week-- the death of MJ seems a needless tragedy, but I'll leave coverage to others.

Obama Summer

Aloha from sunny and scenic Molokai. This is my first visit ever to Hawaii, and I'm hoping it won't be my last. Charlotte and I are having a wonderful vacation so far and it's easy to tune out the world when spending time in such an isolated spot. Molokai is extremely rural -- there are two hotels on the entire island and two grocery stores. Everything shuts down on Sundays, but it truly is a great place to visit.

Speaking of Hawaii, I bet there are moments when President Obama wishes he was still here. I'm hopeful that KVEC will carry his Tuesday press conference live as the President is expected to address a variety of domestic and foreign issues. By all accounts, the honeymoon is over; it's down to serious business.

This is what ABC News/Washington Post reported on Monday:

"Barely half of Americans are now confident that President Obama's $787 billion stimulus measure will boost the economy, and the rapid rise in optimism about the state of the nation that followed the 2008 election has abated, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Overall, 52 percent now say the stimulus package has succeeded or will succeed in restoring the economy, compared with 59 percent two months ago. The falloff in confidence has been sharpest in the hard-hit Midwest, where fewer than half now see the government spending as succeeding. In April, six in 10 Midwesterners said the federal program had worked or would do so.

The tempered public outlook has not significantly affected Obama's overall approval rating, which at 65 percent in the new survey outpaces the ratings of Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton at similar points in their tenures. But new questions about the stimulus package's effectiveness underscore the stakes for the Obama administration in the months ahead as it pushes for big reforms in health care and energy at the same time it attempts to revive the nation's flagging economy.

Obama maintains leverage on these issues in part because of the continuing weakness of his opposition. The survey found the favorability ratings of congressional Republicans at their lowest point in more than a decade. Obama also has significant advantages over GOP lawmakers in terms of public trust on dealing with the economy, health care, the deficit and the threat of terrorism, despite broad-based Republican criticism of his early actions on these fronts."

So Obama is sliding on the issue of the economy, but still more than 20 points about the hapless Republicans -- have they found their missing Governor Sanford yet??? Bizarre -- the guy has four kids and he skips out on Father's Day. So much for family values.

I still believe in this President, but the problems/challenges facing this nation may be larger than any one man. It will be an interesting summer. He has to Labor Day, I think, to maintain our trust. If he fails in the next two months, it could easily become the winter of our discontent.

Aloha

Just a short note to indicate that Charlotte and I are escaping for awhile after the Thursday broadcast. I'm taking my laptop with me and hope to continue administering the blog, but who knows what high tech is available on Molokai. I'll do my best to keep the posts going in a timely fashion, but let me apologize in advance for any delays.

We have some great guest hosts on board next week. Enjoy. I'll be back on the 30th.

Dave

Mr. Edge and Ms. Wilcox, Round II

Both The Tribune and CalCoast News have new postings on their respective web sites tonight regarding the very latest in the soap opera that has become county government. It would be laughable, except you and I are funding this insanity and there's likely to be a huge settlement at some point, to some party. Guess who is paying that.

Apparently, predictably, Ms. Wilcox feels that she is the victim of sexual harassment, citing incidents and comments from David Edge dating back all the way to 2000. We will be discussing this latest turn of events on the Thursday edition of Hometown Radio. The obvious question that many people ask in these circumstances is, Why stay? Why stay on a job for 9 years with a boss who is engaged in inappropriate behavior? However, as you read through this lawsuit, the allegations raised against David Edge are particularly disturbing. If true, this guy didn't cross the line, he leapt over it repeatedly. It is very disturbing to read such alleged comments coming from the CEO. How much is this going to cost the taxpayers?

No Bailout for California

We have talked a lot lately about the California budget mess, so this shouldn't be surprising -- how about a bailout from Washington, D.C.? I mean, c'mon -- can the Obama administration really afford to have California collapse? We are one of the largest economies in the world. What we do matters. Obama may not like doing this, but I suspect that eventually he'll come around with some kind of bailout package for us.

Here are excerpts from the Washington Post analysis:

"The Obama administration has turned back pleas for emergency aid from one of the biggest remaining threats to the economy -- the state of California.

Top state officials have gone hat in hand to the administration, armed with dire warnings of a fast-approaching "fiscal meltdown" caused by a budget shortfall. Concern has grown inside the White House in recent weeks as California's fiscal condition has worsened, leading to high-level administration meetings. But federal officials are worried that a bailout of California would set off a cascade of demands from other states.

With an economy larger than Canada's or Brazil's, the state is too big to fail, California officials urge.

"This matters for the U.S., not just for California," said U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, who chairs the state's Democratic congressional delegation. "I can't speak for the president, but when you've got the 8th biggest economy in the world sitting as one of your 50 states, it's hard to see how the country recovers if that state does not."

The administration is worried that California will enact massive cuts to close its deficit, estimated at $24 billion for the fiscal year that begins July 1, aggravating the state's recession and further dragging down the national economy.

These policymakers continue to watch the situation closely and do not rule out helping the state if its condition significantly deteriorates, a senior administration official said. But in that case, federal help would carry conditions to protect taxpayers and make similar requests for aid unattractive to other states, the official said. The official did not detail those conditions.

California is among several states that have asked for a bailout from the Treasury Department. A few have gotten some traction, notably Michigan, whose economy is among the country's weakest and is struggling to deal with the fallout from the bankruptcies of General Motors and Chrysler. To stave off mass layoffs, Treasury officials are considering helping the state's auto suppliers stay afloat and convert their businesses to support other industries.

California Controller John Chiang, a Democrat, warned last week that the state was "less than 50 days away from a meltdown of state government."

While its fiscal crisis is severe, experts say the state is unlikely to default on what it owes, even if it runs out of cash. It can raise money through taxes and other means to assure repayment of its debt. Most likely are massive cuts in public services.

"After June 15th, every day of inaction jeopardizes our state's solvency and our ability to pay schools and teachers and to keep hospitals and ERs open," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) said Friday.

Problems unique to California have made it hard for the state to find a way out of its crisis.

The state entered the downturn burdened with an inflexible budgeting apparatus, constrained by a state ballot initiative approved by voters in 1978 that severely limited property taxes in California. The signature example of "ballot box budgeting" left the Golden State inordinately reliant on the personal income tax, which accounts for half of revenue to Sacramento.

California's budget is also heavily dependent on taxes paid on capital gains and stock options, which have been clobbered during the meltdown of financial markets. State budget analysts made their annual estimate of revenue a month before the crisis spiked in the fall and have been backpedaling ever since.

Insider capital gains -- income from sales of stocks or other assets. In California, that income dropped to $52 billion in 2008 from $130 billion a year earlier. It is estimated to be $36 billion this year.

To close an annual gap now put at $24 billion, Schwarzenegger and leaders of the legislature's Democratic majority have put aside talk of tax increases to concentrate on cuts. Most dramatically, Schwarzenegger would eliminate the state's basic welfare program, which serves 1.3 million.

Facing gridlock and few options other than severe cuts, California began to look to Washington for help. State Treasurer Bill Lockyer sent a letter to Geithner in mid-May, urging him to consider helping cash-strapped municipalities.

"A fiscal meltdown by California or any other large state or municipality would surely destabilize the U.S., if not worldwide, financial markets," Lockyer wrote. If the state were to default, it could shake bond markets and undermine investor confidence in a still-fragile financial system."

Lois and Mr. Lynch

Good segment tonight with Stacey Warde from Rogue Voice. Stacey is pretty enraged over Charles Lynch being sentenced to a year and one day in prison for running a medical marijuana dispensary in Morro Bay. The silver lining was that Judge Wu could have imposed a much harsher sentence, but he opted to ignore prosecutors' pleas and not sentence Lynch to five years, or longer.

Still, it's pretty outrageous for Lynch to spend even one day in prison. The man and his family have suffered enough at the hands of Sheriff Hedges. The voters of California have made it clear that we want medical marijuana. The federal government refuses to listen to us. Lynch is paying the price.

The surprising part of the conversation tonight was the number of callers directing their venom towards Cong. Lois Capps, a former nurse. The callers (and Stacey) seemed to believe that Capps should at least issue a statement on the verdict and take a position on medical marijuana. According to Stacey, she has declined.

So it's a sad day for those of us who believe in the rights of the individual. Alcohol is far, far worse than marijuana and yet drinking is such an integral part of our culture. Seems to be a double standard. How much taxpayer was wasted prosecuting Charles Lynch? For what? For what?