Some thoughts on money

I don't care too much for money, money can't buy me love. (Not my original, thanks to the Beatles. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMwZsFKIXa8) Or should we compare to The Baby's "Money" which goes "The best things in life are free/But you can keep 'em for the birds and bees." (Like two people will know this song so here is the Youtube for this excellent song! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTirjVo8A0I)

So two things today really irked me about money and I figured this is as good a forum as anything else. Why? Because I can. Why else? Its my blog. Why else? Do I need another reason? No.

First, the California Assembly gave raises to their staffers - again. I know. These folks haven't received raises in a while, haven't had a cost of living adjustment, blah, blah, blah. Don't even give me this nonsense. Let me guess: we need to keep these talented people as well. Right?

Newsflash to the fine folks running the California Assembly: most Californians have not had a raise in years either. It sucks. Its crappy. Its called a recession. Actually, its probably a double dip recession, if not a depression. Do you know what happens in a recession? People lose jobs, pay is cut, benefits are cut. Yep, sucks. Do you know how we get out of a recession? We have to spend our way out of it - not giving our employees raises because they are such good people, but getting consumers to spend money at businesses. That gets business to invest the money and voila, recession starts to turn into gains. Then the economy improves.

Look, its been hard for these people who work for the Assembly. I mean, they must be out there every day using their hands, worrying about where the next paycheck is coming from, wondering how they are going to get health insurance for their families. Oh wait. Sorry. I got those people confused with working Americans. You want it hard? I have clients who live paycheck to paycheck and pay their bills with money orders because they don't want to bounce a check and have so little in their checking account that bouncing a check is possible. I talked to a guy this week who is a supervisor for a construction company and has had to lay off 40% of its employees. Unemployment is over 10% and that doesn't count the people who have just given up looking for a job.

People are out there every day working hard and wondering if their job will still be there in a week. The people who work for the Assembly know that they have a job and its not going anywhere. How do they know this? Because the one thing you can count on - politicians will put themselves last on the list of people who have to take pay cuts, lay off employees or do anything else that will not benefit them. Sad, but true. So these folks don't have the same worries as the rest of us. (Oh, and I don't really count me in there - I am fortunate enough to have a job where I can sit and write this nonsense during the day.)

Memo to the California Assembly: do the right thing and rescind the raises and show the rest of us that you actually care about California and not just your employees. Since these folks won't do anything, let me go to my next money grubbers.

Charities........what? Charities? How can that be? These folks ask for money. Nothing wrong with that, especially if the money is going to a legitimate cause. Breast cancer research or ending MS or helping the homeless. All great causes. I don't have a problem with any of them. So what is my problem?

Have you ever sent these people money? They send you a thank you letter back THAT ASKS FOR MORE MONEY. Yes. Thank you for your generous donation, now send us more money. WTF? How exactly is that supposed to make me feel? I just gave you money. I donated. I did my part, however small it may be. How about you just thank me and leave it at that?

Dear Michael, Thank you so much for the soccer ball for my birthday. I am going to put it up in my office with my other memorabilia. Now, please send me another one. Your friend, Jon

Could you imagine if someone actually sent a thank you card that said that? No. Miss Manners would go into cardiac arrest. Even I would be bugged by it. Yet, more and more charities are doing this and we aren't pissed off? Well, I for one am. Next time I send money to a charity and they ask for more money, I am writing them off and won't give them anything else. Done. Finished. No mas.

By the way, Hala Moddelmog, take a 10% pay cut and Susan G Komen for the Cure will have an extra $50,000 and won't need to ask me for more money. Simple!

MLS in Elk Grove? I think not

I had something real to rant about. I did. Honest. Then I sat down for lunch with my wife. PB&J on wheat bread with a pro-biotic chaser. Not bad. The wife makes the best PB&J sandwiches. So I break out my newspaper and what do I see - a story about my little town. I read said story. Said story is dumb. So here goes my rant.

So the story is this, in a nutshell. Fabian Nunez and some attorney are heading a group that wants to bring a Major League Soccer team to Elk Grove. The City Council is going to vote tonight and exclusive negotiating rights with this group. If you don't know Fabian Nunez, google him. If you don't know Major League Soccer, please stop reading this. Seriously. If you are reading this and you don't know MLS, you really shouldn't read anything I write. Really. I promise.

So where to start? Should we start with Fabian Nunez? Dude was Speaker of the State Assembly. Dude's son killed a guy. Yes, we all make mistakes. I have made plenty. Just ask my wife. But, murder, manslaughter or anything close to it? Not on my list of sins. But, I get it, people screw up.

Dad shouldn't be held responsible for the mistakes of the kid. I get it. I would hope not to be judged by what my kids do. But Fabian, and I can call him Fabian because I have seen him try to play soccer, used his influence to get his son's sentence commuted. That means shortened. Did it in a sneaky way that has generated two lawsuits. I'm sorry. I don't mind if you run out and use your money to hire the best attorney you can find. I would even refer you to a few of them. I don't mind if you hire the experts and pay the money to try to get your son found not guilty. That is our system. Right or wrong, if you have money and you can afford to do it, then you should hire the best person to represent you or your family. Good. Fine. But to use your political influence AFTER THE FACT to try to get your son a reduced sentence is wrong. Flat out wrong.

Look, we all can bust our butts and make money. I don't mind it. We can debate if Nunez ever busted his butt working, ever worked hard for the people of the State of California, ever did anything to earn money. We can debate how much money he has. But if you work hard or are Mark Zuckerberg and steal, er, borrow an idea, you can make money. That is fair game. But we all don't have political connections. We aren't all on a first name basis with the cheating former Governor. We all don't have his cell phone number and we can't get it. Thats playing dirty pool. Sorry. And it sits wrong with 99% of the country.

So, does the City of Elk Grove want to do business with this guy? Lets see we enter into an agreement and he doesnt like something, does he call Jerry Brown to get the new Governor's influence to change the rules? Does he ask the Senate President, who is a good guy even if I disagree with some of his politics, for help in dealing with the City? How on earth can you trust him? Let me guess - because he is a politician. No offense to any politician reading this, but I trust politicians as far as I can throw them, and unless they are on a TLC show called "Little Politician" I can't throw them that far.

But beyond that, MLS in Elk Grove? Really? Major League Soccer? Okay, a few basic points. First, Sacramento could not support the Sacramento Knights, a minor league indoor soccer team. Stockton, our neighbor to the south, could not support the Stockton Cougars, another minor league indoor soccer team. We can barely keep the freaking Kings in Sacramento (although one of their idiot play by play guys is the reason I won't support them). We have lost 2, or is it 3, pro football teams. Heck, San Jose lost the Earthquakes several years ago. Yet, somehow, Elk Grove is going to support professional soccer.

Elk Grove has a mall that hasn't been finished. Elk Grove has a ridiculous number of foreclosures. Elk Grove has unemployment around 10%. Elk Grove schools are struggling. Yet, these people are going to support a professional sports team?

Oh wait, I know, no public money will be used. Sure, and cows will fly over the stadium dropping ice cream to the fans. Chocolate or cookies and cream? Every sports stadium uses some public money.

Oh, I know, things are different here. Really? We can't get our freaking youth soccer leagues to play nicely in this town. I am the biggest soccer fan you will find. Wanna bet? Gladly. Pele autograph jersey in my office - I WIN! End of discussion. But I couldn't get this town to support a fundraiser for breast cancer. Of course, idiot Jon is now going to try a fundraiser for Autism Speaks. Apparently, I don't learn. Literally, I got the mayor out at my game. And that's it. The city? Very little support other than some great small businesses. The local soccer community? No support. At all. Coaches telling players not to come because they might get hurt. Yeah, they might get hurt crossing the freaking street too.

Look, MLS is a great thing. The quality is improving. We have some big names playing. But they can't support MLS in some big cities. What makes anyone think we can support it here? Seriously. Lets politely tell Nunez to take his political influence and shove it. We don't need MLS in Elk Grove. The list of things we need more is staggeringly long. Homes. Jobs. School funding. Support for local businesses. We don't need some washed up politician (who, by the way, would get schooled on the pitch by my 10 year old) and his cronies coming to our town to ruin it. This is a travesty and we should put an end to it now.