Democrats pay lip service to the First Amendment and claim to encourage political engagement but, in reality, their desire is to silence all views but their own. Last week, a Court of Appeal made them pay for their hypocrisy. In 2017, one of the most hotly contested political issues in California was the imposition of […]
Recently, a San Francisco judge upheld the validity of a local special tax that failed to secure a two-thirds vote of the city electorate as required both by Proposition 13 (1978) and Proposition 218 (1996), also known as the Right to Vote on Taxes Act. Both initiatives were sponsored by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. […]
By Jon Coupal and Jay Obernolte Just two weeks ago, this column exposed the abject lack of transparency in the state budget process. But the way the Legislature enacts its spending plan is just one of many ways Sacramento politicians attack transparency. In recent years, taxpayer advocacy groups have pushed for greater disclosures in local […]
This column has frequently recounted how ideas coming from California’s progressive politicians are not just destructive, but also how most result in outcomes diametrically opposite of what the left actually thinks they will have. Examples of this phenomenon are legion. Take high speed rail (please). It was sold as a “climate change” project because, in […]
Let’s face it. California’s budget process has devolved into a bad joke. The record amount of spending coupled with massive expenditures for wasteful, pork-barrel projects is bad enough. But the more insidious problem is the lack of budget transparency. This is not the way it is supposed to be. As usual, Sacramento politicians are patting […]
If there was any question whatsoever as to whether California has gone completely off the rails, proposals in the new state budget should remove all doubt. Perhaps the most egregious of these involve changes in state law as they relate to health care. As of this writing, those proposals have yet to be adopted by […]
Against formidable odds, taxpayers scored a significant victory last week against big progressive interests. Measure EE, sponsored by the Los Angeles Unified School District, would have imposed a $500 million dollar annual property tax on all property owners within the district’s boundaries. Because the tax was being advanced by the second largest school district in […]
In politics, strange things happen in the week preceding an election. It is no different with Measure EE, the controversial property tax hike proposed by the Los Angeles Unified School District. Although predicting the outcome of any election is dangerous it is clear that Measure EE is in trouble. In fact, its biggest problem might […]
In its flailing effort to impose a $500 million dollar annual parcel tax on the property owners who live within its boundaries, the Los Angeles Unified School District has mailed out — at taxpayer expense, of course — a letter advertising how seniors can apply for an exemption to the tax. This is the latest […]
By Jon Coupal and Phillip Chen California has a record $21.5 billion surplus. That’s the good news. The bad news is that we have all that money because you are being overtaxed. Earlier this month, Gov. Gavin Newsom released his revised budget proposal, the largest in California history. At a staggering $214 billion dollars, the […]
