The LAO Weighs In On McCauley's, Most Recent, Fiasco.

The Legislative Analyst's Office shares my concerns over the Federal problems that Paul McCauley's initiative may create.

Click HERE for the report from the LAO, pay particular attention to page 3.

Paul McCauley Answers.

Paul McCauley answered my latest article (below) regarding his efforts to beat up retirees, this time ALL retirees from the State Of California, not just CalPERS retirees. The email is posted below, with my response to his email below his.

================
pmcca28169@aol.com (Paul McCauley) wrote:
> Hey Amigo,
>
> The proposed tax on out-of-staters is an excise tax, not an income tax. Jesus, man, don't you know the difference? The purpose of the proposed excise tax is to capture you prison guards who try to hang up your shackles at age 47, start collecting a pension then sneak out of the state to avoid paying your share of the tax burden. California already suffers too many scoflaws sneaking off without paying their bills.
>
> Further, Clinton signed that law while Monica Lewinsky was doing him. I suspect we can get that reversed for the asking; especially in that every state is now hurting for revenue. The law never made any sense to me and, as you say, I'm a CPA. Just another giveaway.
>
> PM

Joe Bradley Answers:
An excise tax is a tax on GOODS AND PRODUCTS, not income. This is an income tax because it taxes income, not goods or products. You're not a very good CPA, are you?

I'm sure the Monica Lewinsky defense will be used by California in and when this albatross hits federal court.

By the way, did you bother to tell Jerry Brown of your legal theories regarding the defense of a Federal lawsuit regarding this bit of idiocy? After all, he is the one who will have to defend it.

By the way, the Federal Government does not have an initiative system.

The Whack Is Back.

Just when you thought you have seen it all from our resident jester Paul McCauley, he will prove you wrong.

While reading the informative Sacramento Bee "State Worker" blog, I came across Jon Ortiz' reporting of the latest shot in Mr. McCauley's war on retirees. The Secretary of State has entitled it "Tax on Pension Distributions and Health Care Benefits." It can be found by CLICKING HERE.

In the body of the text is the following statement that California "May impose a one-time, additional tax on non-California residents whose pension benefits exceed $50,000 in a year, and who earned income in California." This sounds very good if it weren't for the fact that it VIOLATES FEDERAL LAW and, in so doing, will necessitate a costly and losing Federal court battle by California to force it on non-resident retirees of California. Why doesn't Paul McCauley, being the Certified Public Accountant that he is, know this?

On January 10, 1996, Legislation restricting the States' right to tax nonresident pension income was signed into law by President Clinton. This was known as the "Pension Source Act" or HR 394, now PL 104-95.

"This law prohibits states from taxing the pensions of non-residents. A retiree can receive pension income, including withdrawals from IRAs and other retirement accounts, without being taxed by their previous state of residence."

More on this law can be viewed by CLICKING HERE.

As if California doesn't have enough financial problems, now McCauley wants to embroil the State in costly lawsuits to nowhere.

Obviously Mr. McCauley has lost his mind. If you find it please return it to his last reported place of employment:

Sheet Metal Workers' Union, Local 105
2120 Auto Centre Dr.
Glendora, CA 91740

(909) 305-2800 - Main Office
(909) 305-2822 - Fax

One Member - One Vote.

There has been much dissatisfaction throughout the rank-and-file CCPOA membership regarding the disconnect between the Executive Council in Sacramento and the CCPOA foot soldier on the ground. This is largely due to the rank-and-file membership being disenfranchised in the voting process for these positions.

Instead of directly voting for the Executive Council, delegates are sent to the convention to do the voting. Delegates who may or may not know the will of the chapter membership.

In this era of CCPOA, where State Board meetings become a bloodbath of gladiator games in which dissenting Chapter Presidents are put to political death for disagreeing with Mike Jimenez, including Chapter 13s filed against the dissenters by straw men and Chapters being placed under receivership, the rank and file membership needs to directly vote for the Executive Council positions, thereby bypassing the vulnerable Chapter Presidents and delegates which, currently, do the voting.

If you wish to circulate these petitions throughout your chapter, CLICK HERE.

Merely make enough copies, fill in the information at the top of the form and, after you circulate it within your chapter, present it to your Chapter President.

It may not be well received due to the fallout at State Board these Chapter Presidents are fearful of, however, these petitions will give them the built in defense that the idea didn't come from them, it came from the membership. In this way they can save themselves from the inevitable berating they will face, by Mike Jimenez, at State Board or the fate of Corcoran in which the dissenting chapter was taken over by West Sacramento.

Fundraising For The Church.

After perusing Jon Ortiz' State Worker blog (Click Here), I discovered that robbing the elderly by allowing the reduction of their, current, retirement benefits is not Mr. McCauley's first foray into the body politic.

Paul McCauley, with all the zest of any religious zealot, has several initiatives, one of which, if enacted, will create one of the largest transfers of wealth in California's history, from the California taxpayer, directly to, what is being referred to with increasing frequency as, the "Church of Global Warming". Merely Google "Church of Global Warming" to find out more.

First, as has been previously discussed on this blog, is his plan to open the door for confiscation of the, current, benefits of California's retirees for the purpose of funding benefits for his Global Warming Alarmist parishioners. Now, lets examine his other initiative whose beneficiary will, similarly, be his Parish.

The "McCauley-Rooker Wealth Tax and Oceans Preservation Act" will initiate massive tax increases in California to fund his Global Warming Religion:

Click Here for the document.

Some excellent commentary is to be found by Clicking Here.

Clearly Mr. McCauley's "Church of Global Warming" has an appetite that is so voracious that it is prepared to consume, in their turn, every catagory of California's citizenship with the confiscation of their assets for purposes that will, not only support and expand the Church doctrine, but may very well get Mr. McCauley a ride on Al Gore's private, fuel guzzling, jet.

The Church of Global Warming seems to be a beneficiary which is common to Mr. McCauley's initiatives, whether it is leaving the elderly destitute or chasing money out of the state, Mr. McCauley is one of the churches most dedicated fundraisers.

The question that each and every California citizen must now ask is, "When will YOU be in Mr. McCauley's cross hairs?"

Mr. McCauley has provided the following contact information:

Paul McCauley, CPA
1640 5th Street, #214
Santa Monica, CA 90401-3309

Tel: (310) 230-5418
Fax: (310) 458-1026
Email: pmcca28169@aol.com

Paul McCauley's Secret Agenda.

With his pholosophy of, "Whatever it takes to get the job done.", Paul McCauley has, seemingly, revealed his true motivation, for either his incompetence or deception, in attempting to amend the California Constitution through the Initiative process.

Within the last sentence of Mr. McCauley's, ill conceived, proposal is an insight into Mr. McCauley's true agenda. In his final statement, " . . as well as to make an urgent response to global warming effects on the environment.", Mr. McCauley exposes himself as a Deacon in the Church of Global Warming and he wants to sacrifice the elderly and their current pensions on its altar.

My reasoning for this presumption is simple. This stipulation is, completely, out of place when compared with the other purposes which Mr. McCauley has embraced in his initiative. As any purveyor of Sesame Street can attest, the game of "One of these things is not like the other things.", a game which encouraged children to make critical comparisons to determine which, among several items, is out of place, has come into play as Mr. McCauley's "sore thumb".

While Mr. McCauley attempts to take the moral high ground for his robbery of the elderly, his support of global warming issues, and his willingness to put the elderly out in the cold for their support, has been obfuscated but not lost in his rhetoric.

Global Warming (or climate change as it is now being called, due to the confusion among its proponents) is still controversial and there is NO consensus in the scientific community regarding its reality. More controversial still is the notion that climate change is being caused by human activities, and a substantial number of prominent scientists dispute the philosophy that global warming (climate change) is caused by anything other than natural occurrances within our world and our universe.

Mr. McCauley wishes to stir up the fervor of Californians, through deception, regarding economic issues to force the elderly, through reduced pension benefits, to, involuntarily, support his political causes of Global Warming/Climate Change.

Once again, Mr. McCauley's contact information, as listed in his state filings, is:

Paul McCauley, CPA
1640 5th Street, #214
Santa Monica, CA 90401-3309

Tel: (310) 230-5418
Fax: (310) 458-1026
Email: pmcca28169@aol.com

Paul McCauley and Sloppy Work.

On Jon Ortiz' State Worker blog, which can be accessed by clicking here, is an email from Mr. McCauley in which he expresses his desire, through his proposed amendment, to modify annuities for retirees that are paid, annually, over $100k:

"As the economy tanks and an increasing number of people lose their jobs, their homes, their 0D 401(k)'s etc., their sympathy for a public employee who believes that he/she has an entitlement to retire on a $100,000 pension will wane."

However, Mr. McCauley has, certainly, NOT done his homework on this figure. As reported by CALPers, in their January, 2009, report, which can be accessed by clicking here, the summary of average annual retiree benefits are as follows:

Average monthly service retirement allowance all retirees: $1,985 X 12 = an annual benefit of $23,820.00

Average monthly service retirement for school miscellaneous members: $1,079 X 12 = an annual benefit of $12,948.00

Average monthly service retirement for State members: $2,291 X 12 = an annual benefit of $27,492.00

Mr. McCauly is, therefore, either (1) misinformed as to these recipients of these monumentally high annuities or (2) he is conducting a campaign of misinformation to further his political agenda. While it is arguable that there may be a few annuitants who draw in excess of $100k as Mr. McCauley asserts, the figures show that they are far from the mainstream CALPers retiree and, in fact, represent a very small fraction of all retirees.

Mr. McCauley's profession is that of a Certified Public Accountant or, in contemporary parlance, a bean counter. His stock and trade is precision in numbers and extracting an accurate bottom line from information that he has determined to be accurate. His foray into the political arena with this, ill conceived, initiative is inconsistent with his training and ethical standards of professional meticulousness. His measure, cited below, is the political equivalent of "fuzzy math" in the accounting world, a concept for which there is no place.

Mr. McCauley states that he is targeting retirees making $100k+ annually, however, this figure is nowhere to be found in his initiative. It, simply, lumps all retirees into the same pen for slaughter, regardless of their annual income.

When measured against his statement of intent, this means either one of two things:

1. Mr. McCauley has, incompetently, formulated an inexact initiative which is not that which he intended.

2. Mr. McCauley is conducting a campaign of misinformation to deceive California, thereby bolstering his own political aspirations.

The disparity between what Mr. McCauley says and what he does is not reconciled in his initiative.

Neither of these scenarios bode well for Mr. McCauley's clientelle, who pay for competence, accuracy and integrity in a CPA. These qualities are a Certified Public Accountant's stock in trade and should be as much a part of Mr. McCauley's political life as it is a part of his professional life and, if lacking in his political life, who is to say that these qualities are present in his professional life?

Perhaps the solution for California's financial ills lies more in the auditing of Mr. McCauley's clientelle by California's taxing agencies to see for themselves if, in fact, any of his political deficiencies have rubbed off into his professional life.

I do not assert that Mr. McCauley may be "cooking the books" for his clientelle, only that elements of his political life may be bleeding into his professional life.

I am The Blogger.

This is the amendment. the added language is offset by asterisks.



SECTION 3. CALIFORNIA CONSTITUTION ARTICLE 1, SEC. 9 is amended to read:

SEC. 9. A bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts may not be passed, *except that public-employee pension contracts may be renegotiated, including reducing vested benefits for existing and prospective retirees, for the limited purposes enumerated hereinafter.*

*1. To enable the state government, local governments and taxing districts to meet the essential public services of fire and police protection, public health, education and prisons.*

*2. To enable California and its political subdivisions to meet long-term public investment needs to provide for fire and police protection, public health, education, prisons, transportation and energy needs as well as to make an urgent response to global warming effects on the environment.*

Paul McCauley and Elder Abuse.

Paul McCauley and Elder Abuse.

Many years ago, the People of the State of California saw fit to pass laws outlawing Elder Abuse, doing so with good reason.

In a heroic effort to protect some of California's most vulnerable citizens, the California Legislature decided to take action and enact laws to protect our elder residents against abuse by younger and stronger predators. Now, enters Paul McCauley, replete with Gerontophobia, who threatens to, quite literally, take the food out of the mouths and I.V.s out of the arms of the elderly in California, all in a time when these old folks should be enjoying their Golden Years.

Currently, the California Constitution prohibits the abrogation of existing contractual obligations of California. The initiative proposed by Mr. McCauley, and approved for the petitioning process, would add one, narrow exception. All "existing and prospective retirees" who are beneficiaries of "public employee pension contracts" would be subject to have these contracts abrogated through renegotiation, a renegotiation which is prohibited in all other State obligations.

Clearly, the targeting of politically powerless retirees, living on a vastly reduced income, too old to begin another career to make up for the monetary loss that Mr. McCauley proposes, is tantamount to Elder Abuse. Clearly this mean spirited measure will facilitate some secret agenda while robbing the elderly of a decent retirement.

When coupled with current efforts for California to pass an Assisted Suicide bill, Mr McCauley's dark vision, for California's retirees, is clear. In the movie, Soylent Green, the disillusioned elderly, could check into suicide centers called "Home" and self administer a poison to, slowly, die and become one less statistic in an overburdened, surplus population. From there, they were processed into a foodstuff known as Soylent Green for consumption by the existing population.

The fact that Mr. McCauley will feed on the misery of the elderly is obvious since he is expending so much effort to do so, the only remaining question is the form of the feast.

The Secretary of State's tracking number for this measure is 1350 and the Attorney General's tracking number is 08-0018.

Mr. McCauley's contact information, as listed on his filing with the Attorney General's Office is:


Paul McCauley, CPA
1640 5th Street, #214
Santa Monica, CA 90401-3309

Tel: (310) 230-5418
Fax: (310) 458-1026
Email: pmcca28169@aol.com

=================================

News Release by Calif. Secretary of State Debra Brown
DB09:002
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Kate Folmar
January 21, 2009
(916) 653-6575


Public Employee Pension
Contracts Initiative Enters Circulation
Renegotiation of Public Employee Pension
Contracts. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.

SACRAMENTO: Secretary of State Debra Bowen today announced that the proponent of a new initiative may begin collecting petition signatures for his measure.

The Attorney General prepares the legal title and summary that is required to appear on initiative petitions. When the official language is complete, the Attorney General forwards it to the proponent and to the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State then provides calendar deadlines to the proponent and to county elections officials, and the initiative may be circulated for signatures. The Attorney General’s official title and summary for the measure is as follows:

RENEGOTIATION OF PUBLIC EMPLOYEE PENSION CONTRACTS.
INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.

Eliminates certain state constitutional restrictions on renegotiating public employee pension contracts. Allows vested pension benefits to be reduced for existing and prospective public-sector retirees. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Possible reduction in pension costs for state and local governments, depending on future actions by state and local governments and courts. Any such reduction likely would be largely or entirely offset by negotiated increases in other costs, such as employee salaries and wages. (08-0018.)

The Secretary of State's tracking number for this measure is 1350 and the Attorney General's tracking number is 08-0018.

The proponent for this measure, Paul McCauley, must collect signatures of 694,354 registered voters – the number equal to 8% of the total votes cast for governor in the 2006 gubernatorial election – in order to qualify it for the ballot. The proponent has 150 days to circulate petitions for this measure, meaning the signatures must be collected by June 22, 2009. The initiative proponent can be reached at pmcca28169@aol.com. No phone number was provided.

A warning to the CCPOA membership.

It is being reported HERE, that there is a letter, appearing to be from Mike Jimenez, circulating throughout the CCPOA membership. This letter is accompanied by a questionnaire which asks the member for personal information of the type that is solicited in, what is referred to, as the Nigerian Lottery Scheme which is perpetrated over the internet. The purpose of such schemes is, ultimately, to gain enough information to commit identity theft.

As reported, there are substantial errors in the information provided in these letters, such as the number of days of the impending furlough (the letter reports only one while everyone else reports two) and the return address which is in Napa (CCPOA has no office in Napa). The letter also refers to the "Executive Board" rather than the "Executive Council".

If you should receive one of these letters, you SHOULD NOT fill out and mail in the attendant questionnaire as requested. It may look official, but many "phishing" scams on the internet direct their victims to fraudulent, yet official looking, web sites. The same can be accomplished through the U.S. Mail.

Instead, you may want to file a report of mail fraud with the Postmaster of your local post office.

Since MJ is, reportedly, the author of the letter, you can contact him by email at mjccpoa@aol.com and report this to him directly.

A Little Comedy Relief.