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Richard Tavildaran-Jesswein, Alicia Mignano and Laurie Lieberman are the most qualified candidates for School Board. These board members are key to keeping our students safe from lies and deceit.
There is only one truth. Don’t be fooled. Our children need to learn how to tell fact from fiction Don’t nt let our kids down. Vote for Laurie, Richard and Alicia.
Please help us keep civility, diversity and civics in our schools and community.
Sarah Braff- teacher SMMUSD 31 years.
Being Los Angeles is such a heavily congested area, it is only wise to leave a landing strip available in the Santa Monica Airport when it is closed in 2028. A lot of aircraft engine failure
happens after takeoff. Some space is needed to emergency land an aircraft.
We had a small plane emergency land on a farm trail in Carson City, Nevada. What would have happened had the trail not been there?
Our disabled veterans are grossly under compensated and have been for generations. This is most especially true for our totally and permanently disabled veterans. Our disabled veterans have been asking various Congresses and Administrations for fair and adequate compensation since the end of WWI in November 1918. That was a 104 years ago!
In FY2023 a totally disabled veteran with no dependents is compensated at the ridiculous rate of $43,463.40 dollars annually. The National Average Wage Index (NAWI) for 2021 was $60,575.07 dollars per annum and the median income for 2021 was $70,784. The per capita GDP in 2021 was $69,288 dollars, among the highest in the world. This rate of compensation to disabled veterans is deliberate and cruel.
It is unconscionable that the wealthiest nation that ever existed compensates its disabled veterans at such a ‘low rent’ scale. This is a national disgrace.
Perhaps the biggest problem with low compensation for disabled veterans is that we pay them only for projected lost wages. Quality of life payment is not included in their compensation which is the norm in the court system in personal injury cases.
Disabled veterans realize that they are being manipulated and given short shrift by the wealthy and politically connected top 5% of the wealth pyramid who lobby Congress hard in order to keep their compensation low in order to ensure a low tax rate for the Elites.
Since our wealthy Elites make their money by investments and not by personal labor they are not subjected to the same tax situation as a worker. That is wrong and it is causing all sorts of problems in the USA right now relative to revenue collection.
It only exacerbates the already fierce divisions in the country due to the widening wealth gap between the Investor Class and the Laboring Class. And this disparity in turn severely affects quality of life for disabled veterans.
So…
We can levy at least a penny tax on every dollar traded on the stock market to pay for their compensation. The New York Stock Exchange alone traded about 1.46 billion shares a day in 2019. There are presently 13 separate stock exchanges operating in the USA.
This would be a 1% tax on all stocks bought or sold on the stock market over and above the 1% tax already being levied on stocks transacted in corporate buybacks.
It is long past time for our wealthy Elites to carry their fair share of the tax burden. To be very frank that Laboring Class sees them all as parasites on the system.
Please introduce legislation now to set compensation at least at the level of the NAWI for ALL types of totally and permanently disabled veterans and/or give them federal tax exclusion for up to $125K per annum.
One more thing; this is a growing national security problem.
We all need to fully understand the danger to all of us should this untenable situation for disabled veterans continue much longer.
Once our young people fully comprehend that should they enlist in the armed forces and subsequently suffer serious illness or injury then they are looking at a lifetime of near poverty as disabled veterans. At that point the armed forces will collapse. In truth, this is already happening. Enlistments into the armed forces are dangerously low.
Ultimately this all boils down to our Elites refusing to be taxed at an adequate level thereby making proper revenue collection to fully compensate disabled veterans and other disenfranchised Americans impossible. Congress must correct this.
I do not request a response. If you do respond use my email address.
Will you ever be honest with the fact that stores that CATCH criminals stealing from their stores are not allowed to prosecute because the police take too long to get there, most times don’t come at all. Trader Joe’s can’t prosecute anyway because their insurance company says its a complete waste of time. Police never show up. The very basic of our shopping needs are not protected. Police will not show up for petty crimes. Doesn’t give a true representation of of our crime statistics. Why don’t you post this?
As a person born and raised in Los Angeles, California, I have a special connection to our water. I have fond memories swimming in the oceans with my siblings, squinting our eyes against the horizon hoping for a glimpse of a dolphin jumping through the sunset. The older I got the more I learned about how many of California’s marine animals are under threat from overfishing and oil drilling. It’s saddening to think about how many animals are in danger simply because corporations cannot stop encroaching on their space. Only 9% of the waters here in California are protected, we need more ocean conservation to defend those animals from harm. Protect our oceans, protect our animals, protect the childhoods that deserve to be experienced on a beautiful planet.
Santa Monica is suffering from a huge population of homelessness of disabled Veterans living on the streets. The VA on San Vicente and Wilshire is a multi-million dollar property with vacant structures and buildings. Why can we not convert these into livable housing for forgotten saints who fought for our country? We must and we need to be committed to do better and come up with solutions…
Homeless is on the rise. More and more people are stranded at night. More and more people are having to sleep outside on the ground with no protection, bedding, storage or toilet. But people need a bed, a toilet, night time storge and protection from the weather, animals and criminals.
I led a homeless peoples meeting for about 16 years at the Ken Edwards Center called Side By Side. I would give the homeless the oportunity to talk about thier dilemma. After years of listening to thier plight I couldn’t take it any longer because I developed a Safe Overnight Sleep solution called Sleep Stations in 2002 and it still doesn’t exist. I let the patent eclipse. I was never in it for the money but only wanted some measure of control to ensure its humane use. I had the patent for about 8 years and we had a nonprofit called Supporting Homeless Existence Leading To Humane Recovery SHELTER. And we thought we would use the patent to try make sure it was constructed and used humanely.
Each Station would provide twelve private sleeping modules, private lock boxes, a toilet, a sink, mirror and possibly a shower. The sleepins sleep one each per bed. Each module inside is twin bed size, i.e.7ft.long and 3 ft. wide with a domed ceiling.
I developed this concept over 20 years ago and still no protection at night even when all the indoor shelters are full. Thousands of people have nowhere but the ground exposed to weather, thieves, insects and angry residents who ridicule or ignore their outdoor on the ground exposed suffering.
I believe Santa Monica High School has the same amount of students it had years ago when I attended. We had plenty of classrooms then. They added an additional building after that. There is no reason to issue $175 million in school bonds (and exactly how can this be paid back when Santa Monica is already cutting back services and having trouble paying pensions now). And what exactly has been done with the last $300 million given to the Santa Monica school system in the past five years? Clearly there is massive corruption and graft going on behind the scenes.
The column by Charles Andrews brought tears to my eyes. I am 60 years old and was born and raised in Santa Monica. As early as I could ride a bike I took off for the beach. I rode past the Civic Auditorium. At the beach I walked my bike over the sand and laid it along my towel, back pack and clothes. I hit the surf and returned to stuff. I then rode home past the civic. As I grew up I watched many performances in awe. The lights and sounds. Why does the city or school district not simply restore the venue? Repave the parking area? Jobs. Landscaping? Jobs. Restoration of the venue? Jobs. Update the kitchen and beverage areas? Jobs. This city touts itself as a tourist destination. Clean up the civic and promote it as an intimate place to see a show. From rappers to celebs who want to take a break. They all have followers and it is a small venue. Free parking. Food and drink prices sane. Ticket prices to be adjusted according to the performer. Pick up services to be negotiated. Thank you Mr. Andrews for pointing out history. I still body surf. I never was big with surf or boogie boards. I love the water on my skin.