Comments on: Bond betrayal: Did college district dupe OC Tax on PLA?

By: Howard Be a Coast College "Professor of Religious Studies"

Howard Be a Coast College "Professor of Religious Studies" — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 15:37:58 +0000

Howard, the state forces companies to pay those workers prevailing wage no matter who’s working on it, so what’s you point? The state makes sure the payment is done with love and justice, and sinners who fail to pay are punished. Just like your bible says.

You don’t even know the law, but you’ll be at the Coast College meeting on Wednesday night preaching your religion.

By: Howard Be My Name

Howard Be My Name — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 15:17:24 +0000

“Yes, we can all afford that extra $215 extracted from our meager post depression incomes.”

It’s all about *you,* right? You can’t afford to pay for something that would allow someone else to be paid a decent wage to perform work, right?

The self-centeredness of Orange County conservatives will never, ever cease to disgust me. I suppose “Dyspeptic” also considers himself or herself a Christian. Well, I’ve got news for you, bucko…

By: eric christen

eric christen — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 15:11:04 +0000

So someone is protecting taxpayers and worker rights and they are given the title “”anti-union activist.” Really?

The laziness of today’s reporters is breathtaking.

By: Dyspeptic

Dyspeptic — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 19:20:35 +0000

Check the OC Tax Foundation website “About” page to see what is a pretty spotty history of defending tax payers. It seems as if even a very modest amount of skepticism would have avoided their latest failure in due diligence. They more or less admit they screwed up and promise to close the barn door now that the horse is loose. That’s better than nothing but it just adds to what seems like a hit and miss record.

Besides, the PLA contracts are not the only legitimate objection to these school bonds. Why don’t they question the basic fairness of putting these bond burdens on real property owners exclusively? Why should renters and 20 year old free loaders living with parents get to vote on raising someone else’s taxes for their own benefit. A better system would be for those who benefit directly from community colleges to pay in proportion to their benefit via higher tuition.

By: Dave Everett

Dave Everett — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 17:18:17 +0000

I think the Coast Community College District deserves the blame for this. Not Reed Royalty or OC Tax. They should be commended for shining a light on the deception. It is pretty bold to lie in writing to a taxpayers association. If a group is going to be deceptive, they usually use mush mouth ambiguous claims that they can’t be pinned down on. Lying in writing is pretty over-the-line behavior. I probably would have taken their word for it too – especially in writing. But it sounds like OC Tax is changing its policy to avoid that in the future too. I’m also pretty sure Reed doesn’t get to pick his last name.

Here is the OC Tax op-ed in the OC Register today: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/bond-501793-district-college.html

By: Dave Everett

Dave Everett — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 17:08:50 +0000

Wow. They really said “However, a district spokeswoman told the Daily Pilot that no PLA was being drafted or negotiated.” Well, here is the link to the agenda for the April 3rd meeting and it has a PLA on it! It is item #25. The pages from the agenda that refer to the PLA are pages 1, 8, 171,172, and 515.

Here is a copy of the full agenda. http://www.cccd.edu/board/docs/board/agn892.pdf

By: Project labor agreements back in Orange County

Project labor agreements back in Orange County — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 16:53:52 +0000

Next week the Rancho Santiago Community College District board of trustees is also voting on requiring construction contractors to sign a Project Labor Agreement for its bond-funded construction. See Item 6.5 on the April 1 agenda:

http://www.rsccd.edu/Trustees/Documents/Agendas/2013%20Agendas/04-01-13%20agenda.revised.pdf

There was a rash of Project Labor Agreements in Orange County in the early 2000s, read the history here:

http://www.flashreport.org/blog/2013/03/10/pugnacious-defense-of-economic-freedom-in-orange-county-can-inspire-californias-free-market-activists/

By: Dyspeptic

Dyspeptic — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 16:45:47 +0000

Thanks Reed Royalty, thanks for pushing Measure M over the top. Real bang up job you did for O.C. taxpayers on that one. Yes, we can all afford that extra $215 extracted from our meager post depression incomes. Let me guess, it’s for the children right?

The passage of this bond is yet more proof that most voters have the intellectual capacity of a cabbage. Does anyone except me actually look at their property tax bill in this county? It’s already larded up with special fees and assessments. For all intents and purposes Prop. 13 has already been neutralized.

How about reducing the burden on real property owners, many of whom are still financially distressed, by raising tuition for all the idle soccer mommies, bored grannies, GED slugs, jug headed jocks and perpetual students that clog up the glorified high schools we call community colleges. Why not reduce the salary and benefits for all of the district employees, many of whom are over paid education complex leeches. Come on, lets do it for the kids.

P.S. Hey CWD, maybe you could do your devoted readers a favor and investigate Mr. Royalty (can a name be more pretentious than that?) and OC Taxpayers Foundation. A quick perusal of their website shows that the first accomplishment they list on their “About” page is THE RESTORATION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY TO ISSUE GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS! No epic fail there huh?