Patterico's Pontifications

3/12/2010

Unemployed in California

Filed under: Government — DRJ @ 12:40 am



[Guest post by DRJ]

Californian John Nunez collected $11,250.00 in state unemployment benefits after he lost his job in March 2009. His former job was City Councilman in the LA suburb of Rosemead, and he became unemployed after losing his re-election bid:

“Here’s a political scenario voters probably never consider: Politician loses election. Politician, technically, becomes “unemployed.” Politician collects unemployment benefits.

As our colleague Patrick McGreevy reported this week, it really happened in Rosemead, one of the many suburbs of greater Los Angeles. The councilman in question was John Nunez. When he lost a reelection bid in March 2009, he began to collect state unemployment benefits, covered by the city.”

Details at the link. State lawmakers are working to close the loophole as also explained at the link.

— DRJ

21 Responses to “Unemployed in California”

  1. So, obviously you must re-elect everybody, to keep them from losing their jobs and having to collect unemployment, right?

    The snarky Dana (3e4784)

  2. Another illustration of the fact that politicians have no basic skills in economics or business.

    Actually, the poor guy might have been laid off from another job since I don’t know how much Rosemead pays council members but it is by no means a full time job. Our city, which is about the same size as Rosemead, pays $500/month I think. Still, you would think his claim would have been to the other employer.

    One of our city council members lost his job during his time on the council. He was an assistant dean of students at UC Irvine and was fired for assaulting a campus security man. He was one of the three person majority that voted themselves lifetime health benefits. He was recalled last month but was resisting removal.

    Mike K (2cf494)

  3. What? Obama didn’t “Save This Job?

    GM Roper (6afe02)

  4. Does his opponent count as a Saved Job or a Created One?

    Techie (43d092)

  5. Just ridiculous. They should close it ex post facto and before a judge rules that law unconstitutional (because an exp post facto law is), they should shake him until every remaining cents falls out.

    What a jackass that guy is.

    Hey, Mike, most of the politicians I know are business whizzes! They will sell their integrity or their vote or their own mother. And, they then retire and go on to lobby other politicians. Being a political whore has rarely paid as well as it does now in modern America

    timb (449046)

  6. that voted themselves lifetime health benefits.

    Meanwhile, the pension system for government employees is another ongoing debacle. That’s where more and more monies from taxes are going NOT to the pocketbooks of current workers in government, but to former workers who are retiring at relatively non-geezer ages and with a monthly payment not much lower than the amount they received when still fully employed.

    Your taxpayer dollars at work!

    Mark (411533)

  7. Why are we surprised –
    He’s a member of a Protected Class (and I don’t mean “politician”)!

    AD - RtR/OS! (597a8f)

  8. Anybody for a game of “Name That Party”? Yes, he’s a Dem.

    Subotai (7146d8)

  9. While I don’t know this guy’s track record, odds are he is a lot less of a burden to the taxpayers now than when he was in office. It would be good if more of them were unemployed.

    Roscoe (c63744)

  10. He’s a Dem? Really? Shocka!!!

    Icy Texan (b7d19b)

  11. This state is in shambles and it may be too late to save it. And I’ll be God-damned if voters aren’t likely to vote Moonbeam Brown and the same bunch of spend-like-there’s-no-tomorrow Dimocrats who have wrecked the place back into office.

    GeneralMalaise (d63092)

  12. […] Obama Plan to Kill NASA Rockets Will Kill 23,000 Florida Jobs Patterico’s Pontifications: Unemployed in California Gateway Pundit: The Dem’s Disastrously Timed Minimum Wage Hikes Hit Teens & Black Youth the […]

    More Newspaper Layoffs Imminent… Now 600 More Employees Will Be Jobless in Hawaii, Despite Obama’s “Affections” « Frugal Café Blog Zone (a66042)

  13. […] American Elephant: This Is Your Country on Progressivism Patterico’s Pontifications: Unemployed in California Diary of a Mad Conservative: The big brains at Harvard say gas at $7/gallon Michelle Malkin: The […]

    Unemployment at 35-Year-High in Florida, Jumps to Record 12.6% in South Carolina « Frugal Café Blog Zone (a66042)

  14. […] HEAVY POLICE PRESENCE– Dem Reps Booed at Obamacare Rally Patterico’s Pontifications: Unemployed in California Debra J. Saunders, Rasmussen Reports: Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Fantasyland GayPatriot: Where are the […]

    Sen. Barbara “Ma’am” Boxer Not Getting Much Love from California Voters… No Tears Here « Frugal Café Blog Zone (a66042)

  15. It should be a simple question: did he pay unemployment insurance (like the rest of us get deduced from our paychecks)? If he did, he should collect. If he didn’t, no money.

    I mean, this would be like collecting on fire insurance when your house burns down, even though you never made a payment.

    TakeFive (7c6fd5)

  16. I can’t say that I care much. Trying to live on $12K/year in Los Angeles is no easy task — most people pay substantially more just for housing — so if he’s been on UI for a year it’s probably because he can’t find work.

    Of course, one does wonder why this guy was hired to help run a city if he can’t find a decent job on his own.

    Kevin Murphy (3c3db0)

  17. Takefive, I think that you mean disability insurance. Unemployment insurance is paid solely by the employer. So, the real question should be “Did the City carry unemployment insurance?”

    Kevin Murphy (3c3db0)

  18. […] Edition Roger Noriega, The Americano: Understanding Arizona Patterico’s Pontifications: Unemployed in California Founding Bloggers: An Apology? How About Civil Rights Violation Charges? and Progressive Supporters […]

    Good Grief: California DMV Employees Arrested for Selling Fake IDs, Licenses, & Car Titles to Illegal Aliens « Frugal Café Blog Zone (a66042)

  19. […] The American Pundit: Harry Reid Celebrates Loss of 36,000 Jobs Patterico’s Pontifications: Unemployed in California On My Watch – The Writings of SamHenry: UCLA Professor Declares La Raza Revolution Against […]

    Support Nevada, Boycott California! 85% GOP Nevada Voters Embrace AZ’s Illegal Immigration Law, Majority Want Similar Law « Frugal Café Blog Zone (a66042)

  20. […] Protesters Threaten Police at Arizona Rally… Media Silent Patterico’s Pontifications: Unemployed in California On My Watch – The Writings of SamHenry: UCLA Professor Declares La Raza Revolution Against […]

    LA Lakers vs. Phoenix Suns: Los Angeles’ Wrathful AZ Boycott, Lakers Avoid AZ Illegal Immigration Politics… Plus, Remembering the Deaths of 4-Year-Old Josie Bluhm & Chandra Levy « Frugal Café Blog Zone (a66042)

  21. […] Protesters Threaten Police at Arizona Rally… Media Silent Patterico’s Pontifications: Unemployed in California On My Watch – The Writings of SamHenry: UCLA Professor Declares La Raza Revolution Against […]

    LA & San Francisco Messed Up on AZ Boycott: California’s Illegal Immigration Law, Penal Code Section 834b, Is Very Similar to Arizona’s SB1070 (audio) « Frugal Café Blog Zone (a66042)


Powered by WordPress.

Page loaded in: 0.0724 secs.