Sandy

anti-authoritarian. lots of dog talk here.

[Sandy @SandyBalzer]

The silent majority of Californians live grass touching lives, never give entertainment award speeches or even visit San Francisco. They are kind, resilient, and not unlike your neighbors. You can hate California governance (a majority of us do too). But you don’t know us. We have more people than Canada, Australia, New Zealand, 6 times the population of Ireland. We have exponentially more people in our political minority than most red states have in their majority.

[Saagar Enjeti @esaagar]

Hating California is a vibe check test for me: Yeah it’s a tragedy what has happened to it but the fundamentals, the natural beauty, the weather, and its pioneer spirit history are top tier

Los Angeles is such an amazing place and it’s just so horrible to watch it burn

[Sandy @SandyBalzer]

@Katiegreenradio @AandGShow Kids + dogs = the best

[Sandy @SandyBalzer]

Well I guess I’ll start packing - if the camp is anything like Israel, should be fun!

[Michael Karlis @MichaelKarlis]

TX-35 Democratic candidate Maureen Galindo says she will convert ICE detention center in Karnes County into an internment camp for "American Zionists."

"It will also be a castration processing center for pedophiles, which will probably be most of the Zionists," she added.

[Sandy @SandyBalzer]

@TheAtlantic @meghan_daum I’m stunned by these comments. You all do realize that the author has been LA based for years AND she actually lost her home in Altadena due to the fire? Don’t agree, fine. But you can’t deny she has had front row seats to this disaster…

[Sandy @SandyBalzer]

@mkhammer Coach hog. With attitude.

[Sandy @SandyBalzer]

I will hide you! But shame on all of us that it has come to this. https://t.co/A7Y99PJIX1

[Sandy @SandyBalzer]

@JonahDispatch Sounds like thumb guy has a great day planned for himself, Pippa! Now what are you going to get up to?

[Sandy @SandyBalzer]

@Twolfrecovery @FriedrichHayek @MHurabiell @marie4sf @mwseibel I’m in Richmond District. Buzzer wails, I go downstairs and open front door with big smile to lovely young woman who asks can she talk to me about Chakrabarti. I had such a visceral recoil reaction as I said “no no no no” that I think I scared her.

[Sandy @SandyBalzer]

@yaelbt Is this about crossword? Cause you need to get over it…

[Sandy @SandyBalzer]

@bariweiss make it happen. Judge Judy as the new Andy Rooney: https://t.co/AdD5mVRqPT

[Sandy @SandyBalzer]

@LizWolfeReason Met you and your and your sweet boy at dissident dialogues years ago. Have faith and pursue motherhood if that is your dream. Any child would be lucky to have you as a mother. I’ve aged out, have regrets, and don’t want that for you or any woman. Youth should not be wasted

[#EBluemountain1 🇮🇱 @EBluemountain1]

Follow this amazing lady and friend

[Boom 💥 @LoveCodeTrade]

California's pension fund pays its biggest check to its own former investment manager: $𝟰𝟱𝟯,𝟲𝟵𝟱 𝗮 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿. The state's pension systems owe $𝟮𝟲𝟱 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 more than they have, and taxpayers are covering the tab.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟭𝟵𝟵𝟵 𝗟𝗶𝗲

In 1999, CalPERS told the legislature that SB 400, a massive retroactive pension boost, would cost "not a dime of additional taxpayer money." They gave cops and firefighters 𝟯% 𝗮𝘁 𝟱𝟬, meaning 90% of final salary as a pension at age 50 with 30 years of service. CalPERS's own actuaries used fantasy investment returns to justify it.

The result in FY2024:

- 𝗖𝗛𝗣 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲: $915.6M in annual pension payouts, average full-career pension $99,832
- 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗲: $426.5M in payouts, average $97,626
- 𝗦𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗮 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘆: $841.6M in payouts, average $100,061

"Not a dime." Now cities pay 𝟱𝟬-𝟳𝟬% 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹 just to cover pension contributions. That's money not going to roads, parks, or actual public safety.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲

Before PEPRA reforms in 2013, employees gamed the system to inflate their pensions for life:

- 𝗩𝗮𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀: One sanitary district manager cashed out 17 weeks of unused leave, spiking his pension by 37% to $217,216/year
- 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴: Safety employees maxed overtime in their final year to inflate the salary their pension is calculated on
- 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗮𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴: Housing allowances, car stipends, bilingual pay, education bonuses, all counted as pensionable income
- 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗺: That $551,688 pension from the hook? A city administrator serving 112 residents. CalPERS eventually slashed it to ~$115,000 after finding most of it was based on non-pensionable pay

The top legitimate CalPERS pension in 2024: $𝟰𝟱𝟯,𝟲𝟵𝟱/𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 to a former CalPERS investment manager. The fund's own employee gets the biggest check. You can't make this up.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 $𝟭𝟬𝟬𝗞 𝗖𝗹𝘂𝗯

Those spiked pensions add up. The number of CalPERS retirees collecting $100,000+ pensions:

- 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟮: 14,650
- 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟲: 22,826
- 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟬: 40,060
- 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵: 173% in eight years

These 40,000 retirees are 5.5% of all CalPERS pensioners but collect 19.5% of total payouts. Statewide across all pension systems, an estimated 𝟴𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬-𝟵𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬 California government retirees pull six figures annually.

𝗣𝗘𝗣𝗥𝗔 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴

The 2013 reform only applies to employees hired after January 1, 2013. Every "classic" employee hired before that date keeps the old formula. The $100K club tripled 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 PEPRA passed because the reform doesn't touch existing employees or retirees. The spiking-era pensions will keep paying out for decades.

It gets worse: CalPERS returned 𝟲.𝟴% 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 while the S&P 500 returned 𝟭𝟬.𝟰%. If they'd just bought an index fund, the unfunded liability wouldn't exist. Instead they plow 37% of assets into "alternative investments" and rank 𝟯𝟲𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝟱𝟬 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 in 5-year returns. And that $265 billion hole? That's using CalPERS's own rosy assumptions. A private-sector discount rate makes it far worse.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝘅

Every private-sector worker in America funds their own retirement through a 401(k). If the market drops, they eat the loss. Government employees get a 𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 regardless of market performance, and when CalPERS comes up short, taxpayers cover the gap.

The answer is simple: move new government employees to defined-contribution plans like 401(k)s. Match their contributions generously. But end the guaranteed-benefit structure that forces cities to choose between pensions and potholes.

The "public employees accepted lower pay for better benefits" argument doesn't survive contact with the data. California state workers already earn 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 than private-sector equivalents in most categories, collect massive health benefits, enjoy job security private workers can only dream of, and then retire on six-figure pensions funded by people who will never see one.

$𝟮𝟲𝟱 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝗯𝘁. $𝟱𝟭 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀. 𝟰𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝘅-𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗯. 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗮 𝘀𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝟰𝟬𝟭(𝗸)𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘂𝘀?

[Robert P. George @McCormickProf]

Speaking to the Jewish community in Rome, Pope John Paul II made crystal clear the teaching of the Catholic Church on 1) the brotherhood of Jews and Christians; 2) the sinfulness of anti-Jewish hatred and prejudice; and 3) the irrevocability of God's covenant with the Jewish people:

"The Jewish religion is not 'extrinsic' to us, but in a certain way is 'intrinsic' to our own religion. With Judaism therefore we have a relationship which we do not have with any other religion. You are our dearly beloved brothers and, in a certain way, you are our elder brothers.

On the basis of this brotherhood renewed by Christ, the Church rejects every form of discrimination and anti-Semitism. She condemns them as contrary to the very spirit of Christianity. She deplores all hatred, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism directed against the Jews at any time and by anyone....

The covenant between God and the Jewish people has never been revoked. 'The gifts and the call of God are irrevocable' (Rom 11:29).

[Sandy @SandyBalzer]

@LizWolfeReason I’m so very sorry for your loss and so blessed to hear this loving story.

[Sandy @SandyBalzer]

Just got her eyes done.

[Sandy @SandyBalzer]

@yashar I’m so with you. Candace is just slightly less crazy than Kanye. Tucker is evil.

[Ben Badejo @BenjaminBadejo]

If Vice President Vance doesn’t condemn Tucker Carlson now, that’s it. @VP @JDVance: Either you condemn this, or you forfeit your viability as a presidential candidate. The choice is yours. If you do not condemn this now, you are unfit to lead — and unworthy of the oval office.

[Kosher @koshercockney]

Holy sh*t.

Stop what you’re doing. Give yourself 3
minutes. Listen to this.

Marco Rubio 2015.

He called it.

He called it word for word, like a play-by-play.

[Sandy @SandyBalzer]

@koshercockney More important than ever to build bonds around moral priorities. Principles over politics and parties.

[Sandy @SandyBalzer]

Grifted their way into obsolescence

[Wide Awake Media @wideawake_media]

UN officials have warned that the United Nations faces total financial collapse as a result of "non-payment of dues by member states".

"We face a real danger of running out of money."