Finance | Coral Gables Watch

Congressman Ryan’s Plan to Fix Medicare and the Budget is Dangerous for Your Health

April 5, 2011 Leave a comment

And this from hardly what one might call radical news media.

PAUL RYAN’S plan to replace Medicare with a system of vouchers for seniors to buy health care on the private market has only been vaguely described, as of this writing. But there is one thing about it that’s fairly clear, regardless of what’s in the details Mr Ryan will announce today: Mr Ryan’s plan ends the guarantee that all American seniors will have health insurance. The Medicare system we’ve had in place for the past 45 years promises that once you reach 65, you will be covered by a government-financed health-insurance plan. Mr Ryan’s plan promises that once you reach 65, you will receive a voucher for an amount that he thinks ought to be enough for individuals to purchase a private health-insurance plan. (Mr Ryan insists that his plan doesn’t entail a “voucher”, but there is no meaningful distinction between getting a voucher with which to pay for insurance, and having the government send a payment to the insurer you choose.) If that voucher isn’t worth enough for some particular senior to buy insurance, and that particular senior isn’t wealthy enough to top off the coverage, or is a bit forgetful and neglects to purchase insurance, there’s no guarantee that that person will be insured. It’s up to you; you carry the risk.

via Medicare reform: You put the load right on me | The Economist.

Filed under Economy, Finance, National

Do You Pay Your Credit Cards: Economics of the Federal Debt Ceiling

April 4, 2011 Leave a comment

This is pretty simple. Debt come from past ceiling. If you want to lower future debt and debt ceilings, then stop spending growth now. The core problem is constraining Medicare spending, certain out of control subsidies tax cuts for the wealth, military spending and, to a lesser extent, social security spending.

If you spend your income on things you want, and the charges then show up the following month on your credit card bill, would you pay those charges? Yes, of course you would. You’ve made purchases and the bill has come due.

That’s the whole question about raising the debt limit—whether Congress should allow the government to pay for spending that has already been approved by Congress.

via Raising the Federal Government’s Debt Ceiling – Brookings Institution.

Filed under Economy, Finance

For Whom I Would NOT Vote In The Coral Gables Election

March 26, 2011 1 Comment

Following a process of elimination, I would not vote for the following:

I would not vote for Mr. Slesnick. He has had 10 years in government and has led to city to its present state. We lived with a corrupt and unethical city manager, we had taxes increased even in bad times, we saw the virtual collapse of the Country Club and, of course, we have the still secret audit of the Biltmore lease, and unrestrained support for city unions and pensions. Add to this a poorly run IT Department and EDEN software, a weak Finance Department and a widely criticized Building and Zoning Department. You have here a good number of reasons to end the Slesnick Era.

I would not vote for Mr. Rosenblatt. His program is to continue more of the same with lots of sponding on rehabilitating Miracle Mile (where he has a business), settle the Biltmore lease and keeping taxes low. I am glad to know that taxes are low and, presumably, potentially could be raised just a little more in the future.

I would not vote for Mr. Sanabria. He is supported by the Fraternity of Police who are completely and virgorously defending the benefits of good salaries and even better pensions that they have acquired over the years with the acquiescence of the mayor and city commission. I don’t believe that Mr. Sanabria can be counted on to defend the voters against more taxes and fees.

We need three strong votes against more taxes for the future–we will not get them from Commissioners Anderson, Kerdyk and candidate Sanabria, so electing Mr. Sanabria would be budgetary lethal for the taxpayers of Coral Gables.

I might not vote for Mr. Kedyk. I don’t see that he has contributed any heroic measures to the city (I know that many don’t agree with that view), and he has clearly voted for taxes, but not as many taxes as Mr. Slesnick might desire, nor more than Mr. Cabrera would have wanted. The facts are that he has consistently voted for taxes. He never raised a voice against the former city manager, had no problem to approve the UM Grid and he has been relatively quiet about the Biltmore, the Country Club and similar issues. He is not a reformer and we need real reforms in the organization and financial management of the city of Coral Gables. Almost certainly he will be elected so one should be careful about the other candidates that you vote for, if you want real reform and to reduce your taxes.

I might not vote for Mr. Quesada. He appears to be a nice enough fellow, but he is a totally unknown quantity in the city. He seems like the continuation of the Slesnick-Kerdick-Withers coalition and the business-led support for the unbridled commercial growth of the city, which sucks in police, fire protection and other resources away from the residents and taxpayers who are having a hard time paying their taxes and fees.

Filed under Budget, Coral Gables, Election, Employees and Unions, Finance, Government, Politics, Taxes and Fees

For The Candidates: A Proposal For A NEW AGENDA For The City of Coral Gables

March 17, 2011 Leave a comment

This is the list of issues, problems and ideas for the future of the city Coral Gables Watch for inclusion in a needed New Agenda for the City of Coral Gables. Following is a list of examples of possible NEW AGENDA items.

Prepare and discuss with the public a NEW AGENDA for the City to face the major pending problems, such as unfunded benefits, taxation, staffing and organization;
The City Manager should routinely report to taxpayers the progress on the budget and organizational changes;
The city commission should agree on a new Code of Ethics;
Change the election dates for the city of Coral Gables to coincide with national and state elections.
Prepare and publicly discussion a long-range financial plan for the City of Coral Gables
Target a freeze and/or reduce actual amounts of taxes paid by citizens (not just millage rates) during the next three years;
Accelerate a plan of reducing pensions and health benefits, especially for firefighters and police;
Prepare a plan and publicly discuss how to reduce unfunded pension liabilities during the next five years;
Have a community town hall meeting at least twice a year to discuss the budget and other current issues;
Develop a realistic and flexible agreement with the Biltmore that protects the taxpayers not just now, but in the coming years from subsidizing the operators;
Undertake a review of financial mechanisms and the defective EDEN system to establish a modern, functional accounting of spending and revenues.