Notice, if you check the new link, Lando’s pension jumped almost $15,000 in the last year – that’s because he is still working, for Paradise Irrigation District. Yes, Lando has continued to collect retirement while working for various public agencies, like the city of Oroville rec district and PID. That also raises his retirement costs, of which he pays almost nothing. In fact, he paid NOTHING as a City of Chico employee – Chico management paid nothing until Brian Nakamura took the reins in 2012, instituting a 3% share for management.
That’s right, 3% for 70% of their highest year’s salary. Plus COLA. Through constant pressure we’ve managed to get them to pay more, but it’s still less than 10% of cost.
So see, there’s the little victories. Teeny, tiny victories. Just think if more of you pitched in!
Stop sleeping on your stomach and complaining about your sore asses Folks. Wake the hell up. Next time you see Tom Lando at the grocery store tell him he should pay for your groceries. Be nice, but let him know, you know what he’s doing, and you don’t like it.
Wow, Butte County went with Trump, but passed a sales tax measure in a landslide. Chico’s got two new liberals on board, and one district divided by less than 100 votes. Whatever the future holds, it will be interesting.
I got an pertinent comment from BC – noting the return of the financial pit known as Chico Ice Rink, he opines that Chico voters keep voting the way they do because “It’s not bad enough yet.“
Pointing to abysmal performance of our school district, he observes, “but you don’t see a massive concerned parent group rising up. ” To which I will respond – most of the parents are products of the same education system. People are so poorly educated these days they don’t even understand how they are being screwed, and they certainly don’t know what to do about it. I took my kids out of school, that worked for us, but most families don’t have that option. Then there are the taxpayers who don’t have kids in the system but suffer the consequences of higher taxes that don’t do any good.
BC predicts, “10 years from now, these underperforming students will have no chance of earning a living that will allow them to start families or save or invest. But by that time, they will be fully prepared for the soul crushing low-rent lifestyle that plagues middle and lower income California.” The long term result – higher crime rates, domestic violence, and disease caused by poor diet and general lifestyle choices. All of us will pay one way or another.
But Chico is almost a haven for those escaping the bigger, nastier cities. “The cost of living and the cost of taxes are through the roof compared better run municipalities. but Chico is still half the price of living in the Bay Area or Los Angeles.”
The lobster pot is not as hot here in Chico, so they are lulled into a false sense of comfort. The end result – “Death by a thousand cuts: a slow slide into the abyss.”
Yes, that’s what I’ve been documenting here for over 10 years now. And I’ve asked myself, as I know BC has asked himself same about a thousand times – what does it take to get people to get off their asses and do something besides complain?
Well, as BC mentions, there is a steady conga-line out of state. A simple search listed a couple hundred thousand a year beating it out to other states. What a bunch of losers!
Well I’m not leaving, but I’m not going to sit here being a cash cow either. Yes, my current form of protest is BOYCOTT. It’s more fun than you’d think – my husband and I call it Shop-cation. It’s a nice way to break up the work week. Yesterday we made a quick day-trip – during our lunch break – to a nearby town, where we were shocked how much cheaper the groceries are.
For example, we found pints of gorgeous fat blueberries for $2.50 – a fruit that is currently in season but not available at Chico stores for less than $7/pint. All the produce was cheaper, same brand products for dollars less than the same stuff in Chico stores. If you could find it in Chico – the quality of produce at Chico Winco is very disappointing, and higher prices at Raley’s and Safeway don’t guarantee better quality.
And here’s a stinger – gas was also cheaper. No, not Oregon cheap, but almost a dollar cheaper for premium than Chico gas stations. And you don’t have to worry about getting shot or stabbed!
We also make regular purchases online. Here’s the thing – we are either buying products we can’t find at Chico stores, or we’re paying so much less, the sales tax taking is not a factor. Hey, Chico retailers, you need to ask yourselves how this new sales tax increase is working for you. We’ve patronized old Chico businesses for years, but when we found out how they were gouging us for stuff like dog food and hardware supplies, we went online and found the same products for so much less the local sales tax doesn’t even register.
Are you a lobster? Well, get the hell out of the pot.
I heard Joe Rogan on the news the other day, asking all of us to just get along, and I realized – I’ve got Election Fatigue!
It’s no fun watching the political pundits on tv anymore. For months now I’ve had my coffee and a good laugh watching the morning news. This election was kind of fun and exciting. Now that it’s over, there’s the task of actually fixing the country. That’s so boring.
If I was Don Trump, this would be an “oh, shit…” kind of moment. “What did I get myself into… “, I’d be asking right now. Don says he has a plan. He’s busier than Santa Claus.
Something I never heard discussed during this election – even during discussions of the National Debt – was the federal pension deficit. How much of the national debt is simply pension liability? A Google search provides the following information.
“As of June 2024, the US has $1.34 trillion in unfunded pension liabilities, which is the amount that is not covered by pension plans. This number has been over $1 trillion since 2008.
“Interest continues to accrue on unfunded liabilities, which is the fastest growing contributor to pension debt.
Yes, pension liability is a giant part of the national debt. “Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projections – The CBO projects that the federal budget deficit will grow to $2.8 trillion by 2034.“
As for California, “Different states have varying levels of pension funding issues, with some like California having particularly large unfunded liabilities.”
And what does this mean to the taxpayers? “Unfunded pension liabilities can have a number of impacts, including: Increased class sizes, Cuts to health services and extracurricular activities, Potential tuition increases, and Increased burden on taxpayers.”
Speaking of increased burden, according to the Legislative Analysts Office, “Since its post-pandemic peak in September 2022, California’s private sector has lost a net 154,000 jobs (1.2 percent) while the public sector has gained 361,000 jobs (7 percent).
We’ve talked about this in Chico, new management positions created with salaries in excess of $100,000/year. Management pay the lowest contribution toward their own benefits. I’m guessing this is the trend all over the US, city, county, state and federal.
President Trump and several of his appointees have talked about downsizing the government. Oh sure, talk is cheap, let’s see The Plan.
Well I’m still waiting for the final news on Measure H, but it looks like it passed. I think we’ve finally reached that threshold where public employees and their hangers-on are the majority of voters in our county. Poor old private sector is in decline in Butte County, particularly the retail sector.
I was shocked at how many tax measures were passed in nearby counties – I think Humboldt County passed TWO. All with promises to rebuild and maintain neglected infrastructure. Maybe you remember this post from 2019
“Key Findings”: (1) City pension costs will dramatically increase to unsustainable levels, (2) Rising pension costs will require cities to nearly double the percentage of their general fund dollars they pay to CalPERS, and (3) Cities have few options to address growing pension liabilities.“
“few options”? The option that is left off the table is, MAKE EMPLOYEES PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE. Right now, employees pay different percentages, all less than 25%, with management paying the least, even those who are members of the 300K Club.
Instead, the California League of Cities suggests that cities wring the cost of their own pensions and benefits out of the taxpayers by applying an agenda of attrition.
“Change service delivery methods and levels of certain public services: Many cities have already consolidated and cut local services during the Great Recession and have not been able to restore those service levels. Often, revenue growth from the improved economy has been absorbed by pension costs. The next round of service cuts will be even harder.”
If that doesn’t tell you what Measures H were all about, you’re THICK in the head.
Chico is a member of the league, paying increasing annual dues, this year almost $40,000. That doesn’t include the fees for sending our $300,000+ city manager to conferences at some of California’s most exclusive resorts. You can see that Chico management took the league’s advice to heart – look around town. Streets crapped out, sewers lines failing, trees falling onto 100 year old power lines – all the while, Chico’s budget has grown, salaries have gone up, and service has gone by the wayside. The work they did on the south end of town was NOT paid for with Measure H – Mike Mangas reported on Ch 7 news that Measure H funding was only a small part of that road work, most of it was state and federal. The money for the remodel on Mulberry came from Americans with Disability Act funding.
The county of Butte has done same. Last month’s conversation regarding maintenance of Doe Mill/Garland Roads – a very important escape route out of Upper Magalia and Paradise – revealed that the county is not interested in maintaining this road, even though they have the grant funding available to do so.
So what do I expect out of Butte County Measure H? Raises all around – in fact, I bet you my last $5 the supervisors will raise their own salaries by the end of 2025.
In the meantime, Oregon just rejected their government’s attempt at a establishing a sales tax. The measure was written to look like a tax on corporations, “ with the proceeds to go toward tax rebates for individuals”
“Measure 118 would have slapped a 3% tax on businesses’ Oregon sales above $25 million, then divvied up the money raised among the state’s more than 4 million residents, no matter their age.”
Luckily opponents were able to show the voters that this tax would obviously worm it’s way down to consumers. Just like any sales tax, everybody pays it. Do you really expect commercial businesses to be run like charities? You think they will pay a tax on raw materials, shipping, employee costs, packaging, more shipping, then retail – the tax applies to every step in the chain, 3%+3%+3%… And I got news for you – that will end up on the final tab, and you pay that.
Well, the Oregonians figured that out, and they not only rejected Measure 118, they kicked the shit out of it – over 78% of the voters said HELL NO – GET YOUR FUCKING HAND OUT OF MY PURSE!
So you know, I love California, the actual state, and a lot of the actual residents, but I shop in Oregon now. Medford is only 4 hours up the road, and it lays between the Oregon Coast and the Cascades – if you never tried a vacation in Oregon, you’re missing out. And it’s so much cheaper than vacationing and traveling in California, it’s not even funny. Starting with the price of gas – I think we paid $3.84 for Premium on our last trip up. We also got tires for our work truck – the savings on that paid for the hotel room. A trip to Winco – some stuff was actually cheaper, and then there’s no sales tax on stuff like toilet paper and soap.
See, there’s the thing – we found everyday products, and FOOD, cheaper in Oregon because they don’t have sales tax on every step in the supply chain. California does – and then Newsom’s gas penalty. That’s what it is, Newsom wants to penalize people to driving. He wants to be the governor that got us out of our cars, even if that tanks our economy.
So, excuse me if I don’t have much use for Chico voters, or Butte County voters. I consider the people who voted Yes on both measures H to be PUSSIES. Hey Butte County – GROW A PAIR!
Chico Taxpayers Association 