One of the most closely watched – and hotly contested – pieces of legislation now pending in the Capitol is a direct attack on Proposition 13. Assembly Constitutional Amendment 13, until two weeks ago, was devoid of any substantive language. But it was subject to a “gut-and-amend” maneuver adding language that should alarm every California […]
Less than two weeks ago, radical progressives in the California Legislature launched the most brazen sneak attack on California’s iconic Proposition 13 in its 45-year history. Assemblyman Christopher Ward, backed by the new Speaker of the Assembly, Robert Rivas, introduced Assembly Constitutional Amendment 13 (ACA 13). It would amend the constitution to make it easier […]
Prior to the successful passage of Proposition 13 in 1978, Howard Jarvis tried several times to bring property tax relief to beleaguered California homeowners. While coming close, it wasn’t until 1978 when voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 13 over the opposition of virtually every political institution and newspaper in California. As they say, timing is everything. […]
For political observers, the debate between conservative and progressive politicians over the impact of various policies can be entertaining as well as enlightening. Of course, politicians tend to either stretch the truth or cherry-pick various statistics to support their positions. Take, for example, arguments related to poverty. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the official […]
Last week, this column addressed the dilemma facing the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS), California’s biggest public pension retirement funds, involving “Environmental, Social, and Governance” principles. Depending on how it is interpreted, “ESG investing” can simply mean evaluating investments in a broad manner “to assess […]
Over the years, the California Public Employee Retirement System (CalPERS) has had its share of problems, including a few episodes of corruption. In 2016, its former CEO was sentenced to 54 months in prison for corruption and fraud charges stemming from a conspiracy to trade official acts for cash and benefits. In 2020, CalPERS’ Chief […]
The increasing rate of people and businesses leaving California is well documented and is slowly being acknowledged by reluctant politicians and legacy media. Arguments from California’s cheerleader-in-chief, Governor Newsom, that everything is fine are growing less credible by the day. For those of us who want to stay in the Golden State – no matter […]
Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association members and frequent readers of this column have undoubtedly heard about Assembly Constitutional Amendment 1. ACA 1 is a direct and perennial attack on Proposition 13 that would change the state Constitution to cut the percentage of votes needed to raise special taxes, dropping it from the current two-thirds required under […]
In addition to last week’s record-busting $310 billion dollar budget, the legislature is also advancing a $15 billion “Climate Bond” to appear on the ballot sometime in 2024. This “climate bond” should be viewed with a great deal of skepticism by California voters for several reasons. First, why is a bond – any bond – […]
And you thought California’s $32 billion in Employment Development Department (EDD) fraud was bad. A small group of criminals in Detroit has managed to pilfer the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits of nearly 8,000 impoverished California families who were shocked when they discovered their EBT cards had been drained. The criminals stealing access to […]
