A Veteran is a Veteran…Period. More on Pension Cuts

By Neil Rubenstein

Observer Columnist

Congress, in its infinite wisdom, mandated that those men and women who served honorably and faithfully sometime between 1961 and 1978 would forevermore be considered Vietnam veterans.

Those troopers could have served in the North Atlantic on a Coast Guard cutter doing iceberg duty or in Europe flipping pancakes in the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment mess hall, or in Pearl Harbor with the Navy or with the Marines at Camp Pendleton, as long as it was sometime between 1961 and 1978.

Calling some "Vietnam era" veterans is a disservice that should no longer be tolerated.

From the file labeled "Where is the leadership we need from the mayor's office?" Why can't Mr. Cooper stop his reelection campaign long enough to take a look at Mr. and Mrs. Roc suing us for in excess of $110 million? It's alleged Mrs. Roc was hit by a police car driven by Officer Bass. It is further alleged Bass was driving at a high rate of speed without his siren on and on the wrong side of Washington. The mayor should be involved in the process to make sure we get the best lawyer from the best law firm.

Perhaps those in City Hall should take a look at the city of Central Falls, Rhode Island. They cut pensions by up to 55% and eliminated COLA for retirees in 2011.

I bet no one at our city hall told the council about Desert Hot Springs, CA. Why should the staff say anything? Well, by jingo, I will. Effective Dec. 28, 2013 that city decided to cut police and city employee salaries by more than 20% amid bankruptcy concerns, and there will be a reduction in paid holidays.

I don't need to tell anybody the city, county, state and federal government have, these past years, raised every tax known to exist. One they are talking about is a new "fee" based on miles driven. But I've heard unsubstantiated rumors that to protect their $300,000 salaries and $165,000 pensions, City Hall might consider a toll on Overland over La Ballona Creek or possibly parking meters at the mall or a sales tax on prescriptions.

Bill Lockyer, California State Treasurer, recently said the following in Thousand Oaks: "California is suffering a $5 billion annual shortfall in its funding obligation for retired public school educators." Don't worry if you run out of checks paying all those taxing agencies -- you can get a postal money order and mail it up to Sacramento.

$1 trillion is the amount the United States had to borrow between Oct. 1 and Nov. 14, 2013 in order to pay off old loans that were coming due.

Lastly, the Chinese just bought Farmer John and AMC movie theatres. Maybe we could sell City Hall to them and lease it back.