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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TimF who wrote (615829)	6/12/2011 3:16:17 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1579697

Thanks Prop 13. Retirees boost population of Lincoln, Calif., but not its commerce A big retirement community has helped make the town California's fastest-growing city, but its businesses have not seen much benefit from the mature and thrifty populace. April 28, 2011\|By Alana Semuels, Los Angeles Times The Sun City community here has just about anything active seniors could want: a fitness center, swimming pools and an array of classes including dance, aerobics, personal finance and computer skills. Outside, residents play pickleball in the warm air, near the amphitheater where a Jimmy Buffett tribute band will kick off the summer season. Golf carts hum on the streets, and in the main lodge's parking lot, spaces for the handicapped stretch toward the horizon. In the neat neighborhoods, there's nary a basketball hoop or spare toy in sight. "It's like a cruise ship that doesn't sail," said Sheila Safley, 64, a perky divorcee with a full social calendar who moved here in October, from nearby El Dorado Hills. "It's like a four-star resort." Sun City Lincoln Hills is one reason Lincoln was the fastest-growing city in California in the 2010 census, with a population of 42,819. That's up from 11,205 a decade earlier, and more than a third of those new residents live in this 6,800-home retirement community, completed in 2005. But Lincoln is a town without commerce — or much of it, anyway. Vacancy signs scream from empty storefronts up and down the quaint Main Street, with its old-time movie theater and historical plaques. A sign shilling bankruptcy services leans against an empty retail complex built during the housing boom. Its mature population is one challenge — and one that cities across California might face as the state's baby boomers age. More than 10% of the state's population is 65 and older, according to census data. Older people tend not to splurge as much on apparel, entertainment and food as their younger counterparts, and they don't have the same demands on a pocketbook as families with children. People 65 and older spend $38,000 a year on household and other expenses, on average, compared with $59,000 a year spent by people 45 to 64, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Lincoln City Manager Jim Estep, who is trying to close a $2-million hole in the city's $13-million budget, said Sun City Lincoln Hills was a fine addition to the city. But it's not a cash cow. "Most retirement communities aren't big spenders," he noted. "We didn't get a lot of additional revenue from there." Estep also blamed the limited ways his city can raise money. Sales tax growth is one of the few ways cities can boost their revenue in the wake of 1978's Proposition 13, which limited property tax increases. And his town doesn't currently rake in much sales tax. articles.latimes.com

To: TimF who wrote (615829)	6/12/2011 5:48:43 PM
From: Alighieri	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1579697

The tax cuts essentially can't have caused the more recent decline, it was obviously because of the recession. C'mon Tim...I am going in circles with you here, I sense because you are out of arguments. The declines in 2009 and beyond came from a new LOWER baseline and yes in 2009 we see the effects of the recession...the lower baseline IS DUE of the tax cuts in 2001... That might be a real simple point, so simple one might wonder why I bother to point it out, but you where disputing it. Baloney...I never disputed it... Message 27422037 2006 $1.043T 2007 $1.163 trillion 2008 $1.145 trillion 2009 $ .915 trillion 2010 $ .8985 trillion ...and of course we know what happened... Great Recession = Dec 2007-June 2009 Duration = 1 year 6 months Time since last recession = 6 years (bush presided over two of these beauties) Peak unemployment = 10.1% GDP decline = -12.8% Al