We all know that there is an endless list of addictive substances that present a real danger to people. Alcohol, cocaine and heroin just to name a few. But a powerful addictive substance provided by our own government is public money. Few things can get individuals and institutions more hooked than that. Although we’ve known […]
The assaults on California property owners and taxpayers never stop. And once again the California Legislature has advanced a massive tax increase at the last possible moment when they thought no one was paying attention. Assembly Constitutional Amendment No. 11 (ACA11), approved by the California Legislature, takes away Proposition 13 protections that California families have […]
California’s budget process has become so warped it would make even Niccolò Machiavelli blush. The annual spending plan was never easy for citizens, the media and even political insiders to understand. But for the last decade, it has been perverted into a wholly political process devoid of transparency. Sacramento politicians will crow that they have […]
Times are strange indeed when the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association finds itself fighting on the same side as left-leaning organizations such as Voices for Progress, Common Cause and the ACLU. The saying that politics makes for strange bedfellows is never more true than in times of crisis and confusion. When the COVID-19 virus descended on […]
Earlier this year, this column raised the alarm over the resurgence in the use of “pension obligation bonds,” a risky financing method that fell out of favor during the 2008 recession but is now making a comeback. Fortunately, there is more scrutiny on this form of debt financing than in years past, and taxpayers are […]
Under California law, proposed initiatives must be presented to the California Legislature in an “informational hearing” open to the public. Legislators do not vote on the proposals because these are initiatives that have already qualified for the ballot. The hearings are mostly for the benefit of policy leaders and the public. Because the infamous “split […]
“That which gets rewarded, gets repeated” is a principle equally applicable in business management, dog training and public policy. As to the latter, when politicians and bureaucrats are rewarded with more money after wasting the taxpayer dollars they already receive, what makes anyone think their behavior will change? The Democrat-controlled House of Representatives has passed […]
The COVID-19 pandemic has upended our lives by putting our health at risk, disrupting our work lives and robbing us of most of our recreational activities. It has also evaporated all of our assumptions about transportation policy in California. First, in one of the few positive consequences of the pandemic, California’s highest-in-the-nation cost of gasoline […]
In January, Gov. Gavin Newsom presented a proposed budget for fiscal year 2020-2021 which envisioned a several billion dollar increase in spending for existing programs as well as a host of new programs. But that was before COVID-19 arrived at our shores. In over the course of just three weeks in March, it became obvious […]
By Jon Coupal and Timothy Bittle The powers of direct democracy — initiative, referendum and recall — have been powerful tools to control slow-moving or corrupt politicians. These powers are enshrined in the California constitution for reasons that are just as compelling in 2020 as they were in 1911 when Gov. Hiram Johnson, seeking to […]
