Phoebe Neuman

Jill Newman

Increasingly, the government is taking control of the financial decisions that will determine the quality of life we lead during our golden years — and that should concern everyone.

First, there was the failure of Social Security, which has always been more of a Ponzi scheme than a retirement program. Social Security’s old-age trust fund will be exhausted in 2035, at which point it will only be able to pay out 77 percent of promised benefits, according to the 2016 report from Social Security and Medicare trustees.

Public pension systems face similar financial difficulties, racking up trillions of dollars in unfunded liabilities nationwide. Yet, California and a handful of other states, as well as some cities, are looking to compound this error by establishing government-administered retirement plans for private-sector workers. California’s version, known as the Secure Choice program, would require employers with as few as five employees to either offer retirement plans to their workers or deduct 3 percent of their paychecks — with “automatic escalation” of up to 8 percent of salary thereafter — for investment directed by the government.

Like other government-run “auto-IRA” programs, Secure Choice was made possible by a Labor Department regulation passed during the waning days of the Obama administration that exempts such state or local government programs from the federal reporting, fiduciary duty and other protections under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

But Congress recently threw a monkey wrench into the plans for Secure Choice by invoking the Congressional Review Act to nullify the DOL rule for state governments, with a 50-49 vote in the Senate last week that followed a 231-193 House vote in February. President Donald Trump has promised to sign it, just as he signed a similar measure covering the local government versions last month.

This is a victory for taxpayers and true choice, for, as state Sen. John Moorlach, R-Costa Mesa, has often said, the Secure Choice program “is neither ‘secure’ nor a ‘choice.’” It is certainly not a choice for employers, who are forced to deduct employees’ pay or set up retirement programs that they may not be able to afford. Additional costs will be passed on in the form of reduced hiring or hours for workers, diminished investment in the business and/or higher prices. Secure Choice could also crowd out existing private-sector retirement plans, prompting some employers to dump their plans since employees could always join the state-sponsored system. The mammoth government investments would also create unfair competition for private-sector investment management services.

Then there is the issue of whether the state would be pressured to provide a backstop (i.e., a taxpayer bailout) if the investments do not perform well. California’s experience with its own pension plans does not inspire a lot of confidence. And, as I noted in last week’s column, the pension funds have often discarded fiduciary duty in favor of ideologically motivated investing, costing taxpayers billions of dollars. Secure Choice could be subject to the same political motivations.

“Today, 55 million working Americans do not have a way to save for retirement out of their regular paycheck,” AARP board member David Walker argued in a March USA Today column in support of the DOL rule. But this argument is highly disingenuous. The 55 million figure refers to those whose employers do not offer their own retirement plans, but this is quite different from “not hav[ing] a way to save for retirement out of their regular paycheck.” Anyone with access to a telephone or an internet connection can sign up for an IRA or an annuity and contribute a portion of their paychecks to those investments on their own. They do not need the government to hold their hand — or force them to do so.

Besides, some people, particularly those living paycheck to paycheck, rationally determine that that extra 3 percent or 8 percent of income today is preferable to future invested funds because they need to pay bills or put food on the table. In any case, shouldn’t individuals have the right to make those “money today vs. money tomorrow” decisions?

As we have seen in so many other areas, ceding more responsibility — and more control over one’s life — to the government is a dangerous prospect. We should be able to determine our own futures, and plan for them accordingly — without government interference.

Adam B. Summers is a columnist with the Southern California News Group.

An idea floating around the Capitol deserves the full support of legislators and the governor: that savings from the upcoming closures of California’s three remaining developmental centers should be used to sustain developmental services, and not be swept into the state’s general fund.

A proposed Assembly resolution to that effect, ACR77, was introduced a couple of weeks ago by Assemblymen Tom Lackey, R-Palmdale, and Devon Mathis, R-Visalia, with Assemblymen William Brough, R-San Juan Capistrano, Matthew Harper, R-Huntington Beach, and Marc Steinorth, R-Rancho Cucamonga, among the co-authors.

At about the same time, advocates for Californians with developmental disabilities rallied at the Capitol to protect funding for developmental services. And Mathis sent a letter last month to the chairman of the Assembly budget subcommittee on health and human services, asking that the committee consider a proposal to deposit all savings from the closure of developmental centers and revenue from the sale of those properties into the Department of Developmental Services Trust Fund.

California has decided to close its three remaining developmental centers — in Costa Mesa, Porterville and Sonoma — by 2021, moving their 7,000 clients into community settings, where they will be served by regional centers, which provide and contract for developmental services. (Similarly, Lanterman Developmental Center in Pomona closed after its last client moved out into the community in December 2015.)

ACR77 points out that the average budgeted cost to serve a client in a developmental center in the fiscal year 2017-18 budget is expected to be about $700,000. According to a 2015 Legislative Analyst’s Office report, the average cost to deliver services to a client with similar needs through the regional center system is between $75,000 and $300,000 a year.

So considerably savings will accrue to the state government as the three centers shut down, starting with Sonoma next year, plus revenue from the potential sale or reuse of the facilities. The amount at stake has been estimated at $500 million.

Why is it important for those funds to be used for developmental services, rather than absorbed by the general fund for unrelated purposes?

Because state budgets have shorted developmental services for nearly two decades, failing to keep up with the rising costs of services. Then developmental services took a $1 billion budget hit in the Great Recession, from which they have not recovered. A boost in funding for the current budget year — negotiated as part of a complicated managed care organization tax deal — was a good start, but it was just that.

Developmental funding should continue to rise within each year’s state budget, as does state support for other priorities. And a good way to give that funding the shot in the arm that it needs is simply not to siphon off the operational savings that will result from closing the centers. It costs the state budget nothing, but would make a huge difference to the care and services delivered to California’s most vulnerable citizens.

Before Coachella, Stagecoach and Kaaboo Del Mar festivals made their mark on the Southern California landscape, there was Orange County’s own Doheny Blues Festival.

The two-day music event celebrates its 20th anniversary this year and returns to Doheny State Beach in Dana Point May 20-21. Boasting three stages and a wide range of blues, roots, soul, classic rock and Americana artists, the festival includes Joe Walsh, Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience and Robin Trower on Saturday, and Melissa Etheridge, Chris Isaak, Mavis Staples and Moreland & Arbuckle on Sunday.

“Has it become harder (to produce our event)? Indeed, there is more competition than there was 20 years ago,” says Rich Sherman, president of festival organizer Omega Events. “What we found is that the competition isn’t necessarily what is happening in California, but every weekend on the calendar there is going to be a festival somewhere in North America, even the world. The real issue isn’t Coachella or Arroyo Seco (the latter a new festival coming to the Rose Bowl June 24-25), it might just be a great festival in North Carolina or Florida or Texas. And so the advent of music festivals as a whole has made it tough on scheduling.”

In addition, while Staples has been a featured performer at Coachella, the majority of artists on the bill at Doheny are not necessarily being targeted to play at the other large festivals in Southern California.

What stands out about the 20th anniversary celebration is how many names are appearing for the first time on the bill.

“We’ve tried to secure Joe Walsh several times in the past to play the festival, but that’s a complicated puzzle given (his role in) the Eagles. Joe was one of our early targets (for 2017). It’s an incredible opportunity to have him coming to Doheny State Beach for sure. And Melissa, she has had this new Stax Records tribute she was working on (“MEmphis Rock and Soul,” released in October), and she is very serious about the live show, adding horns and backup singers to her set at Doheny (May 21) to fully represent the Stax sound from Memphis.”

“Chris Isaak, we’ve never had him play the festival, so that’s exciting. He fits right in with all of the roots and rockabilly acts that have played in the past. It goes all the way through the list; Robin Trower has never played the festival before either,” said Sherman, noting the legendary Trower was seminal in the development of merging blues with rock as a member of Procol Harum in the 1960s and during his subsequent solo career.

Fans can expect unique sets from headliners such as Walsh and Etheridge, as well as exciting acts extending across the bill both days. For example, famed Americana country singer-guitar virtuoso Junior Brown will be the first act to appear on the intimate Backporch Stage on Sunday morning.

Another must-see act on Sunday is Wichita, Kansas-based Moreland & Arbuckle, whose line-up features members Dustin Arbuckle (lead vocals, harmonica), Aaron Moreland (guitar) and Kendall Newby (drums). The trio’s material is a perfect amalgam of Delta blues, Southern rock, country folk and Chicago sizzle. The Record Company is among the high-profile artists whose sound recalls the style that Moreland & Arbuckle’s created on their 2005 debut “Caney Valley Blues” and have continued to develop through to their celebrated 2016 album “Promised Land Or Bust” issued by Alligator Records.

“”For me, I felt like everything we did musically happened organically. We didn’t set out to create this style of music that melds Mississippi country blues and ‘stoner’ rock. We knew we had something special but we never really thought about it being influential on anyone else,” Dustin Arbuckle said in a recent phone interview.

The appearance is bittersweet, since Moreland & Arbuckle are performing their last-ever California date in Dana Point as part of their recently announced farewell tour.

“We want to enjoy these last handful of shows. We’ve had a good run,” said Arbuckle, who plans to continue to write, record and perform original music. “I want to say ‘thank you’ to all the people who have supported us for the past 15 years.”

Staples is another key performer on Sunday. Sherman noted that while the 77-year-old Staples is a legacy artist with a career stretching back to the 1950s, her approach is also contemporary. Staples is featured on the Arcade Fire single “I Give You Power” released in January 2017, and the more recent Gorillaz single “Let Me Out” issued last month.

“We’re proud to be a partner with Doheny State Beach and the California State Parks system to produce this event in such a spectacular setting,” Sherman said. “You can’t beat enjoying great live music on the beach, and the fans have always told us ‘please, keep the festival at Doheny State Beach,’ like we would ever consider leaving. Behind the scenes, we are proud to have invested in the infrastructure of the venue, having rebuilt many of the lighting structures inside the venue, so that locals can benefit from the event all through the year. Plus, we help to raise funds for the Doheny State Beach Interpretive Association, which operates the on-site visitors’ center, so this is truly a wonderful, long-term partnership.”

20th Anniversary Doheny Blues Festival

With: Joe Walsh, Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience, Robin Trower, Canned Heat and more (May 20); Melissa Etheridge, Chris Isaak, Mavis Staples, Bobby Rush, JJ Grey & Mofro, Moreland & Arbuckle and more (May 21)

When: May 20-21, 2017

Where: Doheny State Beach, Dana Point

Tickets: 1-day ($75) or 2-day ($140) general admission tickets; VIP and Gold passes are available for Sunday, May 21 ($150 and $250, respectively, with various amenities).

Information: DohenyBluesFestival.com

Re: “Tough choices” [News, May 7]: This attempt at tugging on heart strings is proof as to how far this once terrific newspaper has fallen. Ngoc Tran is currently doing jail time for her second felony conviction. The upshot of the article is how unfair it is to her children that their mother, after finishing her sentence, will likely be deported by an uncaring Donald Trump.

These children, who are portrayed as victims of Donald Trump’s views on deporting resident aliens who come here and commit crimes, are truly victims. They are not, however, victims of Trump. They are victims of an uncaring mother, a woman so devoid of clear thought that she not only became a drug user but was selling that poison to our kids.

Are we a nation of laws? Are there consequences for one’s actions? This article does nothing to make us a sounder, safer society. It appeals to the witless, who emote in lieu of using clear thought.

— Nancy and Ed Leonard, Dana Point

Sob story

The only way the Register could have tried to increase sympathy for Ngoc Tran (felon slated for deportation) would have been to include one of those greeting card sound-makers, so that when you turned the page the theme from “Love Story” played softly in the background. Sad story, yes, but such is the consequence of many bad choices.

— Mary Litwinski, Dana Point

Redemption?

How much weight should society give to the possibility of redemption for anyone? With the onus of being deported added to the punishment of a crime, this is critical. This issue will arise again and again with the young people either abandoned or left on their own after arriving in the U.S. either legally or illegally.

I don’t know the details of Ngoc Tran’s crimes beyond what was printed, and that certainly looks bad, but America was once the dumping ground for the criminals and other undesirables of England. Did these men and women miraculously change into upright citizens upon entry, mostly continue their criminal ways, or largely suffer through poverty, servitude, lack of education, housing blight and societal discrimination for perhaps more generations? We know the answer to this, so what weight do we want to give this particular woman’s background and her chance for redemption in deciding her and her children’s future?

— Jean Samuel, Laguna Hills

Good money after bad keeps heading toward the Santa Ana streetcar. Last week, it was announced that the $298 million, 4.1-mile route was slated for $50 million in congressional funding. The Orange County Transportation Authority sees this as an indicator of federal support for the project, which the transportation agency is hoping the feds bankroll to the tune of $148 million in total.

“We’re thrilled to see the federal government continue to join us at the local level in recognizing what a strong transportation project this is,” OCTA board member and Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido said in a statement reported by the Register. “This project returns our federal tax dollars to Orange County, leading to additional jobs and increased economic development.”

But streetcars are only strong transportation projects in the minds of central planners. To us, they are a needlessly expensive, inflexible mode of transportation that rarely meets projections or comes anywhere close to recovering its operating costs.

According to the National Transit Database, streetcars almost never cover their costs. The average fare box recovery ratio in 2015 for light rail was 27.9 percent. By comparison, the Register reported in 2015 that “fares are projected to cover 30 percent of the estimated $5 million annual operating cost” of the Santa Ana project. Santa Ana taxpayers will pick up 10 percent of the difference; OCTA, and county taxpayers, get to cover the rest.

And asking taxpayers to subsidize more transit couldn’t come at a worse time as OCTA continues to grapple with a bus ridership crisis. Just last month the agency ended its reduced $4 fare program after it failed to stem hemorrhaging ridership numbers.

“It has not moved the needle in that our fixed-route ridership is still declining,” said Sean Murdock, OCTA’s director of finance and administration, the Register reported.

So why not invest in a fixed-route mode of transportation incapable of responding to delays or shifting user preferences? Buses are by no means a moneymaker, either, but the flexibility they provide is everything a streetcar is not.

If OCTA continues to fail to get people onboard its bus system, why should we be expected to hold out hope for the streetcar?

Gigi Hadid has re-upped her contract with Tommy Hilfiger.
Hilfiger, which is owned by PVH Corp., said Tuesday that the 22-year-old model will continue as the global brand ambassador for Tommy Hilfiger women’s wear, including apparel, footwear, watches and accessories. Her ambassadorship reflects Hilfger’s ongoing strategy to expand its women’s business globally.
Following the successful launch of the Tommy x Gigi collaborative collections for fall 2016 (shown in New York) and spring (shown in Los Angeles), Hadid will continue to codesign the Tommy x Gigi collection in collaboration with Hilfiger for another two seasons. Hilfiger officials declined to reveal in which city the fall 2017 show will take place.
Known as an “Insta-model,” Hadid has 33.9 million Instagram followers.
“Gigi is a force in the fashion industry and the ultimate Tommy Girl,” said Tommy Hilfiger. “Her positive, down-to-earth energy and cool, effortless style continue to captivate her audiences around the world. I have loved designing the Tommy x Gigi collections with her and I look forward to continuing our partnership for another year.”

Tommy Hilfiger and Gigi Hadid 

In February, the Tommy x Gigi spring collection was shown at the TommyNow runway show in Venice Beach, Los Angeles before an audience of 3,000 guests, including 2,000 consumers.

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PAUSING FOR THOUGHT: Givenchy said will skip its usual runway presentation of men’s ready-to-wear and women’s couture during the next round of men’s collections in Paris in June.
The French fashion house’s new artistic director Clare Waight Keller, who officially joined the brand on May 2, will show her debut collection of women’s ready-to-wear during Paris Fashion Week in October, as reported.
A complete men’s spring 2018 collection, designed by an in-house team, will be shown to buyers at Givenchy’s showroom in Paris from June 27 to July 1, company officials said. Paris men’s fashion week is scheduled to run from June 21 to June 25.
Waight Keller will show her first couture designs for the label in January 2018, the house said. Her predecessor, Riccardo Tisci, in recent years had shown his couture designs as part of his men’s runway show.
Waight Keller, whose nomination was revealed in March, has been tasked with propelling Givenchy’s roots as a Fifties couture house further into the modern age.
“She has this great ability to break the rules and innovate without making a revolution,” Givenchy chief executive officer Philippe Fortunato told WWD. “Her very focused approach will help the brand in building the ongoing momentum we have

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