Comments by Kevin J. Lansing
September 19, 2009
"...If effectiveness is measured in terms of how often the board of supervisors does what the MCC recommends, “then they’re not effective,” Gordon said..."
On the contrary, if the MCC was always on the same page as Rich Gordon and the other supervisors, then by definition the MCC would be a complete tool of the realtor/developer community.
September 05, 2009
Nobody is arguing that the U.S. healthcare system is without problems. But "fixing" these problems for example by expanding Medicare (or something similar) is going to create a whole new set of even bigger problems, mostly financial in nature.
I don't think most people understand how completely screwed-up Medicare is from long-term budget perspective.
August 31, 2009
A relevant metric for Medicare's financial distress is the present value of the program's future negative cash flows (Medicare present-value deficit = $35 trillion) in comparison to how much income is available today (GDP). It's basically a debt-to-income ratio which is a standard way of measuring the burden of debt. In this case the burden is huge. Basically the U.S. would need to find $35 trillion in cash today to put into a Medicare bank account in order to meet the promised future obligations…
August 30, 2009
"...What’s your healthcare solution?..."
There is no "solution" if you mean some perfect outcome where all problems are solved including the extremely important problem of figuring out a way to pay for it all.
I'm really starting to think that the best outcome on the national health care front is for nothing to happen. At least that way, the politicians can't make things any worse than they already are.
August 30, 2009
"...Make Medicare available to anyone who wants to buy into it..."
Medicare is a guaranteed fiscal disaster waiting to happen. Do we really want to expand a money-losing program and make things even worse? Medicare is currently looking at around a $35 trillion (yes trillion) present-value deficit over the next 75 years. That's about 300 percent of GDP.
August 28, 2009
"...Providing primary health care through emergency rooms is an insanely expensive and inefficient policy..."
But so is providing cheap or free health care at local clinics via taxpayer-subsidized insurance or payments, which is likely part of the plan on the table in DC. We tried that sort of thing in here on the Coastside with well-known disasterous financial results.
August 05, 2009
"...Prior to the installation of the storm drains, there were no documented wetlands on the parcel, known as Beachwood. The storm drain project “completely changed the topography” on Beachwood, resulting in a parcel of land that now resembles an elongated bathtub..." What does it mean to say (as Judge Walker did) that there were no "documented" wetlands on Beachwood prior to installation of the storm drains? Well, that just means that prior to the Beachwood development application, nobody every…
August 04, 2009
Perhaps George needs to be reminded that we have an HMB City Council majority that has shown complete contempt for the Coastal Act (AB 1991, Lanny Davis, Truth Squad, etc.) Nobody should be surprised that those same people (Patridge, Muller, McClung & Fraser) have assigned their hired gun ex-CCWD lawyer Anthony Condotti (the current City Attorney) to try to poke some new holes in the City's LCP definition of wetlands. Mark Massara is simply pointing out what everybody already knows: if the Old Guard…
July 21, 2009
Candidate:
"...Growth...is going to get us out of this financial state...”
Uh oh. Another pro-development politician. We already have four of this kind on the current City Council. Do we really need another one?
July 15, 2009
Hopefully, "five or 10 years from now," Keenan's four best friends (Patridge, McClung, Fraser and Muller) will no longer be on the City Council. Did I say we need term limits?
July 12, 2009
"...The total for salaries is increasing by 10%; where that is being spent is not indicated..." How many organizations are increasing salaries by 10 percent in this economy? How many organizations are increasing employer retirement contributions by 13 percent? How many organizations are raising the price of their products by 12 percent? The real underlying problem with CCWD is that it is a monopoly---but one that is not really regulated in the traditional sense. The only "regulation" that takes place…
July 10, 2009
Connie Malach sounds like the re-incararnation of "Godmother" Dolores Mullin from Half Moon Bay.
Why on earth is San Mateo County and the City of HMB wasting public money to keep Connie Malach and her husband in business?
Hello, County Supervisor Rich Gordon, are you listening?
July 10, 2009
Tim, the explosive growth in CCWD water rates (more than doubling in recent years) is not the fault of the employees. But there is no denying that salaries and benefits are two of the largest components of the water district's budget. All over California, the growth of public employee salaries and benefits has put a strain on local governments and agencies. Look at what happened to the City of Vallejo. As for the City of HMB, the recent raises given to the City Manager by the City Council when the…
July 09, 2009
Two opinion pieces in this week's Review also did a nice job of pointing out Larimer's self-serving, pro-development propaganda
One by Harvey Rarback
http://www.hmbreview.com/articles/2009/07/08/opinion/editorials/
doc4a54eeb84401b499243585.txt
And another by Mark Zborowski
http://www.hmbreview.com/articles/2009/07/08/opinion/editorials/
doc4a54eef939488275515214.txt
July 02, 2009
A self-imposed parcel tax to provide free health care to 40 percent of the Coastside clinic's patients? Put me down for no on that one.
July 01, 2009
Well its good to see that people put a high priority on "protecting public view corridors," But unfortunately, much of the public view corridor in this area has already been eradicated,mostly by the huge three-story boxes on the west side of Miramar (aapoved by the County under Supervisor Rich Gordon's watch), but also by the overgrown "landscaping" planted by the RV park owner just south of the Beach House Inn,
June 26, 2009
Maybe we could ask Naomi Patridge & Co. to hire Jim to paint this as a mural on City Hall.
June 24, 2009
Julia Scott's article nicely connects the dots. Regardless of what you think about Judge Walker's Beachwood decision, Naomi Patridge & Co. torpedoed the City's chances for state financial assistance when they decided to hand out big pay raises to the Police Chief and the City Manager a few months ago, and then later voted to lay-off numerous low-level employees. Then, to really nail the coffin shut, they handed out another pay raise to the City Manager last week. And don't forget that Naomi Patridge…
June 22, 2009
As Barry says, we are now in "Plan B." Never underestimate the many-moves-ahead planning of politicians and their lawyers. As I wrote many times last year, basic fiduciary duty required the City Council to have a plan in place to pay the $18 million settlement to Keenan before they agreed to such a settlement. So when the City Council (represented by Muller and McClung) stood before the state legislature in the spring of 2008 claiming that the City needed AB 1991 in order to survive, they were not…
June 22, 2009
George wishes to "set the record straight." Ok, let's rewind to January 2008, when HMB’s newly hired hot-shot lawyer John Knox told citizens at a public meeting that HMB’s chances of winning on an appeal of the Beachwood decision were “very good.” Later, at the direction of the Old Guard City Council, Knox then proceeded to help broker the give-away settlement to Chop Keenan that was announced on April Fool's Day 2008. The City's lawyers (including Knox) recently claimed that bankruptcy was…
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