President Harry Truman had a sign on his desk that read “The Buck Stops Here.” In an interview with legendary journalist Edward R. Murrow, he explained that, as president, he was responsible for all the decisions of his administration and wouldn’t “pass the buck” to someone else. In California, political leaders have elevated “buck passing” […]
Editor’s note: This commentary was published in the June 4 print editions of the newspaper as part of a pro-con debate page about Proposition 13. For the counterpoint, click here. Last week, I was reminded yet again why Proposition 13 remains so popular. The nonpartisan Tax Foundation produces maps of the United States ranking the states […]
When will progressives stop attacking the direct democracy rights? A couple of months ago, this column exposed the threat that Senate Constitutional Amendment No. 1 posed to the power of recall. Among the powers of direct democracy, initiative, referendum and recall, the power to recall a statewide or local elected official provides voters with the […]
In California politics, there are three major movements to the annual budget Kabuki Dance. In January of each year, the governor announces a proposed budget for the next fiscal year beginning July 1st. The dance move just executed last week was the “May Revise,” a revision of the previous proposed budget, leading up to the […]
On Wednesday of last week, Senate Constitutional Amendment No. 4, a major legislative effort to repeal the dreaded “Death Tax,” lost by a narrow margin (4-3) before the Senate Governance and Finance Committee. Although opponents of the tax will continue to pressure the Legislature to act, there is a powerful alternative to address the harm […]
Oh, the irony. San Francisco is perhaps the most progressive city in the United States, although Portland and Seattle might put up an argument. So how is it that the one thing that might save the City by the Bay from the fiscal abyss is Proposition 13, the iconic tax-cutting initiative backed by conservative Howard […]
What is it with California that it just doesn’t know how to run a railroad? This column has, on several occasions, covered the abysmal history of the nation’s largest boondoggle, high-speed rail. With every passing day, it becomes increasingly obvious that it will never be completed and all that will remain is a series of […]
In a recent column I referred to SBX1-2, a dangerous legislative proposal to define “excessive profits,” as setting a new speed record in California’s headlong rush toward Soviet-style central planning. Well, let’s add one more bad bill to the state’s perpetual march toward a collectivist state. Fortunately, this one may not be legal for long. […]
I got hit by a car last year while riding my bicycle. But not just any car — it was a remote-control car being operated by a teenager in my neighborhood who directed the miniature missile right through a stop sign. And while not as large as a real automobile — it weighed about 10 […]
We’ve seen this before. Whenever taxpayers qualify an initiative for the statewide ballot that brings fiscal sanity to a fiscally insane California, local governmentinterests respond with unhinged hysteria, claiming that empowering voters to approve tax and fee increases will bring about the end of Western Civilization. Well, cue the theatrics because here we are again. […]
