" 1. Yahoo!

2. "psychological entitlement"? There is nothing "psychological" about it, they are real entitlements that are financially ruining us all.

3. See #1.

4. Don't mess with Prop 13! The only sanity in an insane world. It protects EVERYONE, Michael, by limiting yearly increases to 2%.

5. I wish it was dead. When is the last time the Democrats in the Legislature tried to be bi-partisan? When do you expect the Democrat Congress to be bi-partisan? We have two parties for a reason, they need to start differentiating themselves and standing up for principles.

6. Many people predicted the mortgage meltdown. You can't loan money to people who have no way to pay it back. It doesn't work.

7. It doesn't take a genius to figure out where we are headed. You can't go into debt at levels never before seen in this country and not expect severe repurcussions. There is a point where people are taxed to such a level there is no incentive to try to get ahead. We are rapidly approaching that point. Cold fusion is even more of a pipe dream than regular fusion! Ain't gonna happen...

8. Couldn't agree more. Why can't more people be like you and me?

9. Obama is a lot worse than people yet realize.

10. As long as the "right thing" involves stockpiling ammo and huge amounts of canned food. "

" 3,5,6,7,8,9,10 I absolutely agree. I dont' know enough to talk about 1,2, and 4. "

" My responses:

1. NO Growth until the infrastructure is fixed. When the streets are repaired we can talk about building more McMansions.

2. Bushite pap. The unemployed want JOBS not handouts. The Wall Street Weasels are the only ones who are getting 'Welfare'.

3. Probably true, but not the changes you have so often pushed in the past.

4. Open to changing Prop 13. But not to lower income taxes on anybody with an income of over $250K a year. Their taxes should go up with genrous deductions for creating jobs.

5. Partisanship is definitely not dead. There are still huge comment strings on subjects like Teabag Events, immigration reform, equal rights for every American, patriotism, and taxes.

6. The mortage meltdown was predicted well in advance. Both Republicans and Democrats were stooges of the Bank Fraudsters and remain so now.

7. Whether the corporations that run the country are willing to let the American people prosper for the next decade or two is still open. The vote down in the US Senate of the mortgage modification 'cramdown' of primary residences was a step in the utterly wrong direction.

8. Very aware and self-aware.

9. Agreed. Obama is also pretty much a 'centerist' which many people on the left and right don't realize.

10. Yes... one can hope for sooner rather than later.

~Ruff "

" If Obama is a "centerist", I'm a liberal. "

" 1. We are a county of slow growth, need to be smart growth. Large ambitious projects rarely meet either description. No growth is a red herring unless you think Napa County will invest in a world wide prophylactic scheme.

2. Psychological entitlements? Oh well a therapist would think that.

3. Nostradamus or jack in the box?

4. Prop 13? Watch out for the 3rd rail.

5. Bipartisanship? There has to be a reason to compromise. When a 1/3 minority can scuttle almost any process there is no will to be bipartisan.

6. Read “the Black Swan” by Taleb.

7. Just follow the yellow brick road.

8. Succinct, Psychological chemistry.

9. Obama is a lot better than people yet realize. The test will be if he can deliver a major change in health care.

10. Being self centered is our first point of responsibility. "

" Good comments, thanks, a few follow up points.

I believe that it is psychological entitlement that lead to literal entitlements and people's unwillingness to let go of them. "The world owes me, my parents owe me, my ex (wife, husband, employer, fill in the blank) owe me, you wouldn't believe how much people feel that without saying it out loud most of the time.

Here's a clue: no one owes you anything. Try gratitude for what you have for a change.

I don't want the rate of increase to change on property taxes, just the start date for assessments. I am gradually becoming more and more against ballot initiatives too. They aren't working because they are too inflexible and create massive problems over the long run.

Ruff, the only way we will get the money to fix the roads is through development. Development is the basis of all tax revenues. Lake Luciana would have brought over a million a year to the schools. But mostly the development I am talking about is Angwin and Napa Pipe. We need affordable housing and that is the only way we are going to get it realistically.

In the time it would take to build the Angwin eco village of 275 non millionaire units plus a senior apt building in Angwin we will have built another 800 or more McMansions--no stopping them Ruff.

Bill, self centered is selfish and unhealthy. It is for 3 year olds. It is not responsible, it is greedy.

Self love is good, but it is not selfish. "

" 1) No development = death. Towns that don't allow new businesses, new houses, new "attractions" just stagnate and die. People need a reason to come to your town and spend money.

2) I strongly disagree with you on this point. I don't find people feel entitled here. Most of what they want is reasonable, good schools, good roads, competent services, etc. What I find is that NO ONE thinks that they should have to pay for them. Someone else should. You can thank you "no new tax" conservatives for that. You've done a good job of making TAX a four letter word.

On Prop 13, I agree with you. Homes shouldn't be the piggy bank for the State or local government. However, what really needs to be changed is how Prop 13 hamstrung school funding, an unintended consequence.


I read an interesting op ed in the NY Times by Timothy Egan.\ - The Off-Brand Presidency:

"http://egan.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/29/the-off-brand-presidency/?ref=opinion"

He argues that most Americans see Obama as a liberal (I think he's more of a moderate), but they don't care. More importantly, they see him as intelligent and capable. Americans may seem ideological, but deep down we're pragmatists. If it works, who cares who thought it up. "

" NB.

Self interest is a better description. With out that waking up each day would only drive one back under the covers. We arise and face life first and foremost because it is in our own self interest to do so. It is the single most important thing we do daily to insure our health. From there wider rings of responsibility evolve.

Call it self centered, self love or greed it is the single act we perform daily for our selves that insures life for those about us principally buy guaranteeing our own. It is not altruism that drives us. It is not altruism that calls for lower taxes on those who could most afford to pay them and there by secure a responsible society. That is greed and entitlement.

Laboring under the delusion that all wealth is earned provides a smoke screen for greed and entitlement. Better to describe those who seek an equitable place in life as greedy ingrates who feel entitled to a marginal amount of fairness in society. Rather than admit that what sustains us all is not the sole preview of the monied elite but a common treasure.

A treasure fostered by all not merely those who see wealth as mastery and privilege. It is not the ungratefulness for the alms that occasionally fall from the fingers of such privilege that describes self interest but the measure of those striving to insure a better life for themselves their loved one and the whole of society.

The wealthy should give thanks daily that there are those of us who strive daily for a marginal piece of that treasure. Without us there is no real wealth, with out or personal self interest there is no society, no economy, no government, no nation. "

" So we can never get the roads and current infrastructure fixed because we don't keep building more ticky-tacky McMansions that also don't pay for the upkeep of the infrastructure added to support them?

BLARNEY!

Fix Napa's crumbling streets and infrastructure BEFORE we allow more unfunded infrastructure support costs to be added.

ENOUGH ALREADY!

~Ruff "

" NB.

Self interest is a better description. With out that waking up each day would only drive one back under the covers. We arise and face life first and foremost because it is in our own self interest to do so. It is the single most important thing we do daily to insure our health. From there wider rings of responsibility evolve.

Call it self centered, self love or greed it is the single act we perform daily for our selves that insures life for those about us principally by guaranteeing our own. It is not altruism that drives us. It is not altruism that calls for lower taxes on those who could most afford to pay them and there by secure a responsible society. That is greed and entitlement.

Laboring under the delusion that all wealth is earned provides a smoke screen for greed and entitlement. Better to describe those who seek an equitable place in life as greedy ingrates who feel entitled to a marginal amount of fairness in society. Rather than admit that what sustains us all is not the sole purview of the monied elite but a common treasure.

A treasure fostered by all not merely those who see wealth as mastery and privilege. It is not the ungratefulness for the alms that occasionally fall from the fingers of such privilege that describes self interest but the measure of those striving to insure a better life for themselves their loved one and the whole of society.

The wealthy should give thanks daily that there are those of us who strive daily for a marginal piece of that treasure. Without us there is no real wealth, with out or personal self interest there is no society, no economy, no government, no nation. "

" Yeah.

And I never got a job from a poor man, bill.... "

" Maybe Kevin, but you gathered enough spare change from public coffers to make a comfortable life while accusing others of irresponsibility.

Entiltements have been more than kind to you. where is the gratefiulness or is it merely greed? "

" Some semi-pro government haters actually get their jobs from OUR government. And since the poor do pay taxes, folks who work for the government actually do get their jobs, in part, from the poor.

Both rich and poor need to drink clean water, eat safe food, make waste from the food they eat and need to dispose of it.

In self-interest, some government-haters want to keep their jobs and their benefits while denying the same wages and benefits to those that pay their wages and benefits.

Folks who work for the government and then scream daily about 'the evils of government' are very entertaining.

~Ruff "

" 1 It’s time to pull in the reigns of over development. It’s not the eighteenth century any more. Slow growth at best, smart growth always and change archaic laws that determine how a county should develop.

2. I agree completely. The liberal mindset of Berkeley, Santa Cruz and San Francisco have spread throughout the state.

3. Yes, this falls in line with my opinion we’re still living as if we’re in the 18th century. Let’s start with, you cannot build anywhere you want and being born here does not automatically make you a citizen of the USA.

4 I disagree. Most of those this proposition protects are Californians who have been here multiple generations. These are folks whose ancestors pioneered this state and who have taken on the burden of having to pay for everyone who now wants to live here reaping the benefits of their hard work. Those who benefit now will eventually be gone. Don’t impose this burden on them. My grandparents were born in Los Angeles in the 1890’s when it's population was less than 100,000. When they died the population was nearly 3,000,000. Without Prop.13 they would have had to move away. I’d agree that if you weren’t born in CA than Prop. 13 should not be applicable to you.

5 Agreed. Good luck on that.

6 see 5.

7 Obama is seeing to that rough road. But he’s lengthening it far more than necessary and placing mines from end to end.

8 It’s difficult changing millions of years of evolution. It’s difficult changing millions of years of evolution. Our survival instincts preordain we be vigilant.

9 I agree he has potential to be better. "