Sir Winston Churchill once said that "for a nation to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle." It appears Phil Angelides wants to put the entire state of California into that bucket, then fill the bucket with concrete just to make it a little more challenging.  Read more >>

To visitors the signs that mark a third-world county are obvious. Crumbling infrastructure, people sleeping in doorways, a wide gap between rich and poor, little or no middle class, limited government services unless you pay "extra," and all political and economic power concentrated in the hands of a small elite minority whose sole mission is to perpetuate their power and wealth.  Read more >>

One of the quirky qualities of government bureaucrats is that they regard all money as fungible. They have no qualms about raising taxes for a purpose that is attractive to voters and then spending the additional funds on something else.  Read more >>

There are 13 measures on the statewide ballot this fall in California. Those advocating a "yes" vote on any of them have an uphill battle.

And if you think it is too early to be talking about the next election, well, that proves the point. We just had the June primary and that was the fifth statewide election since 2002. Part of the issue, of course, is voter fatigue. But there is something deeper going on.  Read more >>