And They Want More Money From Taxpayers!
Nov 20th, 2005 by Mark
San Diego has to be, the most corrupt and inept government operating at the moment. That is a monumental achievement, considering that governments in general are incompetent at most everything they undertake. San Diego has elevated incompetence to an art form.
Carol Matlock, behind bulletproof glass in city collections, said: “You should see how angry people get over their library fines.”
Dead-beats abound everywhere. You would think that governments would be more inclined to pay their bills. Well, maybe not. Since they can’t even keep their accounts straight, it would be tough to pay on time. Not that they care.
Many debts on city-provided lists that The San Diego Union-Tribune analyzed this month and last are more than five years old and virtually uncollectable. Others languish in government bureaucracies.
If we can’t trust them to do a better job than that, why should we give them anymore money?
Some claims on the city’s lists are plain wrong. In one case, the city said a Spring Valley woman owed $8,372 on an overdue library book because it calculated the interest at 1,200 percent for more than 11 years. She really owed $154.
How far off are they on other debts? Higher or lower? And note below that the U-T assumes the accounts to be correct when they attack local businesses. What else did they calculate incorrectly. What idiot thinks an overdue library book should have a fine that is larger than it’s replacement value? Must be for show, since they won’t collect on it.
Dead-beats are a fact of life for any operation, including governments. But the city’s financial meltdown, including a pension fund deficit of at least $1.4 billion and an expected $19 million shortfall in the general fund this fiscal year, begs scrutiny of San Diego’s overdue debt.
What? The Union-Tribune is under the impression that the budget issue is caused by mis-management of debt owed to the city? What a bunch of dim-wits. They refuse to call the city council on it’s spend-thrift ways, it’s perk packages that are illegal, the continuing raises and pension increases for ‘special interest’ (read Unions); and their conclusion is that the Treasurer is at fault?
That is as stupid as blaming the bank for you writing bad checks. Is it any wonder that the council is able to get away with these shenanigans? No, it’s not.
An examination of the list of delinquent debtors showed:
Government agencies are the worst offenders. And unlike most other debtors, their accounts don’t accrue interest. Vogl said other governments don’t charge the city interest on its debts either.
Gee, what a shock. Can’t have Government play by the same rules as everyone else, now can we!
The city of San Diego even owes itself $108,253, from rent and utility bills to parking tickets. But Vogl said the Collection Division doesn’t spend a lot of staff time pursuing most of these accounts because everything evens out in the end.
Sure it does, another tax increase should fix that!
San Diego County is the top debtor, with $2.5 million outstanding. The state is close behind with more than $2 million in overdue bills. Most of county’s debt is for a decade of crime lab services that the city provided. The county mistakenly sent payments to the state, which refuses to give back the money. A lawsuit is pending.
I love it, the State refuses to do what is right so the county says “screw you” city.
Now you would think that the U-T would cover the government’s wanton ways a little more closely. You would think that, wouldn’t you? Well they don’t. They spend the 2/3ds of the article attacking businesses. So who do they name? Local companies, not the “Canadian Circus company”, not the woman in Denmark, not the government agencies or who runs them, nor the New York resident who allegedly owes fifteen grand in parking tickets. They do go out of their way to attack local businesses.
Gee, I wonder why businesses are leaving San Diego?
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