It is the richest of ironies that those who identify as progressives today bear no resemblance to the true progressives of the early 1900s, including California Gov. Hiram Johnson. In fact, so-called “progressives” today seek to tear down Johnson’s legacy of clean government and fighting special interests. This includes efforts to weaken the powers of […]
Last week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill requiring that voters produce identification to show that they are legally entitled to vote. Notwithstanding the fact that 80% of Americans support voter ID laws, progressives claim that such laws constitute “voter suppression.” But to see what real voter suppression is, one need only move west […]
Several weeks ago, this column addressed Senate Bills 9 and 10, both of which deal with the controversial issue of housing policy and, more specifically, density of housing. Taxpayer advocates and neighbor associations have opposed both SB 9 and SB 10 because of the potential loss of local control and higher taxes. Both bills passed […]
Whether you’re looking at historic election results or recent polling, it’s clear beyond any doubt that Californians hate death taxes. Back in 1982, voters overwhelmingly approved two ballot measures to abolish state inheritance and gift taxes—not only abolish them, but ban them permanently. A few years later, rising property values had created a new kind […]
As Governor Newsom stares down the barrel of the pending recall, we wonder if he has given any thought to what he might have done to forestall or, at least, lessen the odds of being bounced. Probably he has not. To all appearances, the governor seems genuinely to believe that the recall is a “Trump […]
Big government interests – and by “big government interests” we mean elected officials, bureaucrats, public sector unions and private corporations that live off taxpayer dollars – do everything they can to erect barriers to taxpayers seeking to vindicate their rights. As this column has previously addressed, those barriers include making it difficult to vindicate rights […]
By now, only the truly delusional deny that California has an acute exodus problem. The number of people and businesses leaving the state is not just significant, it’s quantifiable. A recent study by two economics professors from Chapman University reveals that those who now categorize themselves as “former” Californians, not surprisingly, were motivated most by […]
Two important topics previously addressed by this column are the propensity of progressives to change elections rules in order to tighten their grip on political power and the question of whether Governor Gavin Newsom’s performance in office warrants his removal via recall. As to the former, the last several legislative sessions are replete with examples […]
The Legislature has gone into summer recess leaving a lot of unfinished business. When they return, among the most controversial proposals left unresolved are bills addressing the state housing crisis. While no one disputes the need for more housing, the broader policy issue is whether state micromanaging of local land use decisions is in the […]
In the category of “good news, bad news,” America’s recovering economy has had a significant positive impact on the Public Employees’ Retirement Fund (PERF), the primary investment fund administered by CalPERS. CalPERS is the largest institutional investor in the United States and it operates the pension program for over 2 million current and retired California […]
