Richard Rider

Richard Rider
Location
San Diego, California, USA
Birthday
August 24
Title
Chairman
Company
San Diego Tax Fighters
Bio
Biography of Richard Rider (Updated July, 2011) San Diego, CA 92131 E-mail: RRider@san.rr.com * AGE: 66 * EDUCATION: B.A. Economics, University of North Carolina, 1968 * MILITARY SERVICE: Commander, Supply Corps, U. S. Naval Reserve, retired after 26 years (four years active, the rest in the reserve). ** OCCUPATION: Retired stockbroker and financial planner. Lifetime member of the International Association of Financial Planners. Former business owner. * AFFILIATION: • Chairman, San Diego Tax Fighters • National Taxpayers Union • Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association • San Diego County Taxpayers Association * POLITICAL ACTIVITIES: • Successfully sued the county of San Diego (Rider vs. County of San Diego) to force a rollback of an illegal 1/2-cent jails sales tax, a precedent that saved California taxpayers over fourteen billion dollars, including $3.5 billion for San Diego taxpayers. • Actively supported a variety of tax-cutting ballot initiatives including Proposition 13. Has written ballot arguments against numerous county and state tax increase initiatives. • County co-chair of both California term limit initiatives (Prop 140 and Prop 164). • Libertarian Party candidate for governor in 1994. • Candidate for the 3rd District County Supervisor in 1992 (third place among six candidates with about 20% of the vote). • 1993 – appointed to (and then elected chair of) the San Diego County Social Services Advisory Board. • 1996 – appointed as a Commissioner on the California Constitution Revision Commission by state Assembly Speaker Kurt Pringle. • Has been involved in legal actions against City of San Diego to force a public vote on issuing bonds for Qualcomm stadium expansion, convention center, baseball ballpark and other projects. • 2005 – Unsuccessful candidate for Mayor of San Diego, though his reform ideas have since taken hold. • 2007 – Columnist for NORTH COUNTY TIMES and SAN DIEGO DAILY TRANSCRIPT • 2009 - The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association's "California Tax Fighter of the Year" * FAMILY: Married. Wife, Diane, is a retired public high school teacher. Two sons, ages 32 and 27.

It's tragic how some desperate states experiencing runaway state government spending are raising their income taxes to soak the rich.  But for those states such as California, it's MORE tragic that many other states are now moving to cut or eliminate their state income tax on corporatiRead full post »

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A common fallacy of "our side" is to endlessly repeat the mantra that "government doesn't work." It DOES work. Just not as promised.

Our welfare state works. Pay women to have babies out of wedlock? That works. A new study found that today over half of U.S. babies born to women
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Since I'm no longer running for office, I feel no need to "watch what I say." Not that I ever did.

While now a GOP activist (after 35 years as a Libertarian), my views on legalizing drugs haven't changed.   Do it!

Not that I'm the only Republican who has come to… Read full post »

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Up until about 2 years ago, on my blog I would VERY occasionally post up some layman's hints for computing -- some truisms I stumbled across in my wanderings through geekdom.  So I guess this is a "retro" column.  

Just to be clear -- this is NOT a political
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by Richard Rider, Chairman, San Diego Tax Fighters

Version 1.799            Revised: 15 February, 2012              

Updated version online at:    http://Read full post »

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It's an odd aspect of our country that sometimes we have to look to SWEDEN to discover how well free markets and choice work.  Yes, socialist Sweden.
 
I've written in the past about Sweden's 20 year old full-choice school voucher program.  The Swedes don't even give it a second t… Read full post »
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Here's this morning's TV Q&A commentary I did today on XETV-6 morning news. We discussed our San Diego city politicians' salaries AND their truly unique pensions -- pensions for a handful of people that are arguably the sweetest defined benefit plans in the known universe. About 3 minutes long.
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As I mentioned in a previous posting, for me, my WALL ST

JOURNAL newspaper is my catnip with my morning coffee —

at least the Opinion section. Great stuff.

Oddly enough, you can subscribe FOR FREE online for this

very section. The WSJ will send you a daily email/

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Speaking of Super Bowls (today's the day!), here's a timely article on building new stadiums to draw such "profitable" events to a city. As one might expect from a well-referenced, objective analysis (such as this opinion piece), it's a BAD idea financially.  There might be other "rah rah" reasoRead full post »

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RIDER NOTE:  The joy of being an unscrupulous politician is that you can extort money (excuse me -- "contributions") from friends -- and even enemies.  Jerry Brown is a master at this shakedown.  Read on.
 
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RIDER COMMENT POSTED ON OTHER BLOGS: In a recent interview, Governor Jerry Brown claimed that CA High Speed Rail will cost “a lot less” than the current $100 billion figure that “people are saying” it’s going to cost. And he found a gold mine of free money that’s g… Read full post »

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JANUARY 26, 2012 5:41PM

Rider now a weekly regular on XETV-News

I'm settling in to a weekly commentary on XETV-6 morning TV news.   Looks like we have a regular time and date -- 7:20 AM on Thursdays.  Each appearance is about 6 minutes in length -- a loose question and answer format.  The anchor team is great!
 
Of course, I… Read full post »
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Top of Form

Bottom of Form

Breaking Bad:  California vs. the Other States

by Richard Rider, Chairman, San Diego Tax Fighters

Version 1.798            Revised: 25 January, 2012       &nRead full post »

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Solar power worshipers point to Germany as their role model.  Germany has lead Europe and perhaps the world in the push for solar electricity.  With massive government subsidies, the Germans have spent a fortune on massive solar installations that today they can proudly point to.

Only one p… Read full post »

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JANUARY 24, 2012 2:38PM

CA HSR is AGAIN castigated by CA LAO

RIDER NOTE:  Now I'm just "piling on," as they say in American football. Admittedly not very sportsmanlike, but loads of fun!
 
 
 SACRAMENTO BEE
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The most important domestic subject that I FAIL to adequately cover is K-12 education. It's potentially the most effective tool we have for increasing vertical mobility in our society -- and hence is currently misused as the best single method to repress disadvantaged minorities.  

W

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Yeah, it's true -- I DO fiendishly enjoy beating a dead iron horse -- in this case, our California HSR choo-choo.  But bear with me.  New stuff!  Three solid articles, as a matter of fact.

At this point, it's hard to imagine we will continue with this HSR madness, but… Read full post »
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The Left loves to lament the evil-corporations spending money on political matters -- supporting presumably conservative political candidates and causes.   The presumption is that the "working class" party is buried by the profligate political contributions of the unfettered Fat Cats usinRead full post »

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Daily Policy Digest

Tax and Spending Issues

January 18, 2012

Government Pay Is Inflated

In a new report, James Sherk, a senior policy analyst in labor economics at

Read full post »
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Good news! XETV TV-6 in San Diego has made me a regularly scheduled weekly commentator on their morning news show. Apparently they were sufficiently pleased with my recent appearance (below) to add me to their stable of talking heads. 

Given that they were satisfied with this rather mediocre perf/
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If you're a political or issue activist, you've likely been to these "outreach" and "consensus" meetings, where proponents rig the procedure (and often pack the audience) to get the results they desire while ignoring, stifling, or ridiculing dissent.

Though there are many variations, this procedure is/
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This week the peer review group studying the California High Speed Rail plan (as amended and/or exposed) came out with their report.  Even though they as individuals probably were mildly supportive of the core HSR option, their report has nothing but scathing criticism for this "plan."

&Read full post »

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RIDER COMMENT:  The nationwide expansion of convention centers at taxpayer expense continues, undeterred by the dearth of demand growth. Cities are helpless -- apparently they must keep building such monuments -- otherwise I guess bad things will happen.  Kind of like the bad luck one is gu… Read full post »
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RIDER COMMENT:  Apparently Rick Santorum vehemently opposes limited government and the right to be left alone.  Oddly enough Santorum may be the the only GOP candidate who can succeed in making Romney look relatively good to the more libertarian-leaning voters (compared to Obama).
 
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Sometimes explicit but often IMPLICIT in government employee demands for high pensions are many, many fallacies:

 
1.  "Public employees deserve high pensions because they work for low wages."  

FALSE
.  Perhaps true at one time, but not so any more.  In many instances, today'… Read full post »
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