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.

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NOVEMBER 11, 2011 4:38PM

No one wants to be convicted of jury duty

Here's a terrific article on jury duty that I could have written and have always meant to write -- but didn't.  Thankfully now Greg Beato at REASON did it for me, and did it well.  

Jury duty procedures are designed to make the DMV and the IRS tax code look… Read full post »

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NOVEMBER 9, 2011 7:17PM

More on 2007 San Diego Brush Fire Missteps

Actually this fire fighting rant was written AFTER the blog item below this item. But so what?  Again, this article is NOT for most of my readers -- just those obsessed with fire protection.
 
There is a link to an interesting 5 day firefighting blog debate I got paid to… Read full post »
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NOVEMBER 9, 2011 7:03PM

Rider Rant on 2007 San Diego Brush Fires

I stumbled across this old posting (a rant) of mine from the 2007 San Diego brush fires.  Parts are outdated, and the links don't necessarily work any more, but for folks particularly interested in fire fighting reform, it might contain some nuggests of interest.  
 
It is WAY TOO LONG… Read full post »
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NOVEMBER 6, 2011 8:48PM

57% of "Top 1%" in 1996 Weren't There in 2005

One of the more interesting free market blogs is CARPE DIEM, run by Economics Professor Mark Perry.  A stimulating entry is included below as an example for your perusal.  I recommend subcribing to his free daily email with such items.
 
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NOVEMBER 6, 2011 12:15PM

SD parcel tax vote? AGAIN?? This could be fun.

PRESS RELEASE SENT OUT ON 2 NOVEMBER TO LOCAL MEDIA:
 
Kudos to SDUSD trustee Scott Barnett for refusing to be a deer staring at headlights.  At least he has come up with a plan of some sort.  
 
Needless to say, we at San Diego Tax Fighters like one… Read full post »
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NOVEMBER 6, 2011 11:07AM

Colorado voters soundly reject modest tax increases

Here's a story that should have gotten more coverage nationwide. Colorado, a "swing state" that went for Obama, held a statewide election on 1 November to modestly raise state sales and income taxes (both individual and corporate) for education -- just temporarily, of course. The taxes were soundly r… Read full post »
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NOVEMBER 1, 2011 2:05PM

San Diego ripped off by Metropolitan Water District

This press release says it all.   And I know it's been well researched.  Sadly, this "below the radar" abuse of taxpayers and ratepayers is all to common in water districts and other little-noticed local agencies -- including San

… Read full post »
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OCTOBER 25, 2011 6:07PM

President, VP Ignore Public Sector Hiring Boom

Much has been made of late about the recent decline in the number of public employees -- offsetting the meager employment gains in the private sector.  What is not mentioned is that during most of this deep recession the number of public employees GREW, and only recently have they started to… Read full post »
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OCTOBER 24, 2011 11:47AM

WSJ: How California Drives Away Jobs and Business

Yeah, yeah, I know.  This dreary info is all "old hat" to my readers.  But I found that this WALL ST JOURNAL article is both well written and contains many excellent factoids.
 
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OCTOBER 22, 2011 11:03PM

Income inequality? Get educated, get married, both get jobs

Want to be well off?  Get educated, get married (and stay that way -- perhaps an income-earning "S.O." will do) and both of you get full-time jobs.
 
These are the demographics that dominate when comparing incomes among the five quintiles of earnings.  See the article and chart below.… Read full post »
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OCTOBER 20, 2011 7:49PM

Bloomberg news service is just a liberal propaganda mill

The Bloomberg "news service" recently distributed what purported to be a news story, trashing Prop 13.  It was both intellectually dishonest, factually wrong and, well, pathetic.  
 
Here's the response I wrote the reporter and editor (never heard back from them, oddly enough):
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OCTOBER 20, 2011 7:23PM

Ignorant San Diego school district head wants taxes to soar

There's an interview with Richard Barrera on the VOICE OF SAN DIEGO website.  

Barrera is a union-elected lap dog who is currently the President of the San Diego Unified School District, the 2nd largest school district in the state.  He's committed the district to pay increases for teachers… Read full post »

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OCTOBER 18, 2011 9:08PM

The bogus figures of public education spending pimps

A recent study from the California Budget Project (a left wing outfit masquerading as a nonpartisan, objective group) claims that in CA we spend only $8,908 per K-12 public student, much less than the  $11,764 average of the other 49 states. 

Really???  Not if you look at… Read full post »

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OCTOBER 16, 2011 6:16PM

Ridiculous government worker disability claims

There's another statewide (state and local) CA public employee scandal that too seldom gets reported -- the bogus disability racquet.  Public employees go out with worker's comp "injuries" and eventual permanent disability claims at a rate that is many times the experience of the private sector.… Read full post »

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OCTOBER 14, 2011 6:18PM

Jerry Brown's Use of the Veto: More Bark than Bite

Well, I must say.  I AM disappointed.  I expected more out of Jerry Brown.

As it turns out, Governor Brown postured for the cameras about how many unworthy bills were sent up by the Democrat-controlled state legislature for his signature.  But in the end, he vetoed only 14% of

… Read full post »
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SEPTEMBER 5, 2011 1:02PM

Why Texas is a job creation machine -- and DC is not

Let's start with this 2 minute video which offers fascinating insight into the woefully ignorant political appointments that Obama is making.  In a taped interview, the U.S. Secretary of Labor is STUNNED to discover that Texas is creating jobs like crazy -- she literally had no idea about t/… Read full post »

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SEPTEMBER 1, 2011 2:12PM

Rider letter on 3rd party candidates in WS JOURNAL

I had another letter to the editor published (intact) today in the WALL ST JOURNAL.  See below.
 
I'm on a roll -- three-for-three on recent WSJ submissions.  I should retire while I'm ahead.
 
One odd aspect -- when I submitted this letter, the WSJ letters editor and I engaged… Read full post »
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AUGUST 31, 2011 5:20PM

Disgusting racist comment from black Congressman. So?

 I've discussed the hate speech issue before, with the MSM ignoring any racist or hate speech remarks from the left.  But it doesn't hurt to bring this issue forward again with new instances -- if for no other reason than this blog is published on a large,… Read full post »

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AUGUST 23, 2011 12:14PM

SF building useless 1.7 mile subway for $1.6 BILLION

Many of us simply marvel at the idiocy underlying California's  high speed rail (HSR) project.  It was sold to the public with what are now obvious lies, falsehoods and -- well -- more lies.  The backers are in it for the billions of profit, yet the left loves these "green" corporatist… Read full post »
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AUGUST 21, 2011 4:44PM

Green Job Predictions Becoming a Pipe Dream

Contrary to what my colleagues on the right sometimes assert, the progressives DO want more jobs.  Just the proper KIND of jobs.

"Sustainable" jobs.  Government jobs.  Clean jobs.  High paying jobs (regardless of work or skills required).  Centrally planned jobs. Subsidized… Read full post »
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AUGUST 15, 2011 4:03AM

Rider 2007 column on Virginia Tech massacre

On the www.CalNews.com website I came across a column I wrote in 2007 -- published in several papers.  Nothing has changed since I wrote it, so it seems it bears repeating.
 
 
 The Virginia Tech Massacre

By Richard Rider, CalNew… Read full post »

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AUGUST 12, 2011 5:53PM

2011 Cost of Govt Day now worst ever -- 12 August

Today (12 August) is our nation's 2011 "Cost of Government Day."  This is the day the average person in the average state (a later date for the welll-to-do and Californians) is done paying for all governmental taxes, fees and regulations.

This date has been moving towards the end of the year with… Read full post »
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AUGUST 12, 2011 4:59PM

Pres. Nixon FOUNDED the Libertarian Party 40 years ago

Though I am no longer a member of the Libertarian Party (I switched to the GOP earlier this year after being a Libertarian for 35 years or so),  I find this date -- 15 August, 2011 -- of note.   It was this date 40 ago that Republican President Richard Millhouse… Read full post »

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AUGUST 6, 2011 11:20AM

National debt? Chump change compared to TOTAL debt

The problem with us obsessing about the national debt is that this flap distracts us from the FAR larger TOTAL government debt and unfunded liability obligations.  By normal human being standards, the $14.5+ trillion national debt is unimaginably huge.  As of 5 August, the constantly growi… Read full post »

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AUGUST 5, 2011 12:28PM

Timely (and timeless) quotes for today's national debt

"When you're speeding toward the edge of a cliff, you don't set the cruise control.  You stop the car." . . . Sen Jim DeMint . . .
 
"The current deal to raise the debt ceiling doesn’t stop us from going over the fiscal cliff. At best,
… Read full post »
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