While 1773 and 1978 may seem like they have nothing in common, both years go down in history books as two famous taxpayer revolts. The Boston Tea Party’s protest on December 16, 1773 by American colonists sent a strong message to Britain that Americans would not take taxation sitting down. Fast forward two centuries later, […]
A son once told his father that he had both good news and bad news and asked his dad which he would like first. The father said, “Give me the good news first.” So the son says, “The good news is that the air bags in your car work perfectly.” California is a state with […]
In a bit of irony, this March there will be a Proposition 13 on the California statewide ballot. But unlike the landmark taxpayer protection of 1978, the Prop. 13 of 2020 will put taxpayers on the hook for $27 billion. There’s another big difference between Prop. 13 (1978) and Prop. 13 (2020). The first was […]
In football, defensive coaches tell their players that the best way to avoid missing a tackle is to keep their eye on the ball carrier’s belly button. The runner may duck, weave, or spin but the belly button is always at the center. This is a fitting metaphor for the annual Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association […]
During this past summer there were dozens of media stories about big increases in property tax revenues. Orange County was typical. The taxable value of real estate went up $33 billion to over $600 billion. Assessments increased in all of Orange County’s 34 cities. During this past summer there were dozens of media stories about […]
Perhaps California’s political structure hasn’t quite devolved into the kind of despotic regime like we see in North Korea or Venezuela, but that doesn’t mean we’re not headed in that direction. As reported last week in this column, the attack on Proposition 13 is now in full gear as proponents of the infamous “split roll” […]
After several fits and starts, the battle over the defense of Proposition 13 began in earnest last week as progressive interest groups began gathering signatures for their new and hardly improved ballot measure to impose a multi-billion dollar “split roll” property tax on Californians. These same tax-and-spend interests had already qualified a previous version of […]
There is little debate that California is a harsh, anti-taxpayer environment ruled by a tax-happy majority party. However, in this super-partisan environment that grips both California and the entire nation, it is important to point out when our political adversaries do something positive. In that spirit, let’s acknowledge what Gov. Gavin Newsom did right for […]
Cassandra of Greek mythology was blessed with the gift of prophecy and doomed by the curse that no one would ever believe her. Conservatives in California know just how she felt. California’s modern day Cassandras have repeatedly warned about the misuse and diversion of public funds for roads and highways. In no other area have […]
Anyone paying attention to California politics knows that our public pension funds are in big trouble. Notwithstanding a vibrant economy, both the California Public Employee Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) are tens of billions of dollars in debt. Unfunded liability, a fancy name for that debt, is not the […]
