As a participant in capital politics for more than 30 years, I’ve observed many abuses of power. Corruption, pettiness, gross narcissism, and dirty tricks have all increased in recent years both in terms of frequency and shock value. The latest incident, and honestly one of the more disturbing I have seen, occurred in the Assembly […]
Property rights are one of the most fundamental constitutional provisions that protect Americans against government abuse. Unfortunately, these rights are regularly under assault by state and local tax collectors who aggressively target homeowners who have fallen behind on their property tax payments. Constant vigilance is necessary to protect property owners against any government encroachments on […]
While few Californians weathered the pandemic unscathed, taxpayers took a particularly heavy hit, getting stuck for the longterm cost of relief payments, bailouts and fraud while losing earnings during the “two weeks to flatten the curve” that turned into two years. If we had known in early 2020 what we now know, it is doubtful […]
A recent column in this space was headlined “Inflation, the cruelest tax.” Well, if inflation is the cruelest tax, then inflation’s impact on gasoline, combined with the nation’s highest tax, can only be characterized as “cruel and unusual punishment.” In addition to inflation and taxes, other government policies related to petroleum are counterproductive. These include […]
Anyone in California who would like to open an individual retirement account can walk into, or log into, any number of well-established financial services companies to see an array of options. One of those options is to have an automatic recurring withdrawal from current earnings or savings. It’s a useful way to “pay yourself first” […]
Anniversaries and birthdays are usually thought of as celebratory events, but on February 16th, California marked an unhappy milestone. It started in November 2020, when voters narrowly passed Proposition 19. While the initiative contained some positive elements, it also repealed an important taxpayer protection from the California Constitution that taxpayers have relied on for nearly […]
More than 42 years ago, California voters overwhelmingly enacted Proposition 13 in response to out-of-control property taxes. Even with the passage of time, Prop. 13 remains very popular among citizens of all political stripes. Nonetheless, many politicians and bureaucrats hate Prop. 13 because it prevents them from taking unlimited cash from the taxpaying public. In […]
It’s a safe bet many Californians would love to update their homes or businesses if they could. New windows, a new roof, perhaps new furniture and equipment are needed, but the inflationary cost of goods, coupled with the financial strain many are experiencing due to California’s COVID restrictions, have put desired upgrades out of reach. […]
If these United States are 50 laboratories of democracy, then California is the mad scientist of far-left policies. That was evident last week as some of the session’s most controversial bills tried to clear the Assembly and continue through the legislative process. From a bill to impose “sector-wide minimum standards” for wages, hours and working […]
We all know what a sore loser is — someone who lacks grace in defeat. But strangely, in California politics, we have sore winners. Last month, Senate Constitutional Amendment 6 was introduced in the California Legislature. If passed, it would substantially weaken the right to recall elected officials. Under current law, voters have the power […]
