Previously the engine of growth, the Bay Area outpaced California's overall job losses in 2025, leading the decline
Depopulation from domestic outmigration and rapidly aging demographics (the only cohort growing in some counties is age 65+) will worsen fiscal problems quickly
Wonder why #healthcare ⚕️ in the United States doesn't meet your expectations, just look at this chart. The healthcare system is hiring more administrators than doctors or nurses. These are national figures, but the same is true in #VenturaCounty.
State lawmakers prepare to stick taxpayers with more public pension costs and debt
State lawmakers prepare to stick taxpayers with more public pension costs and debt
Lawmakers should learn from their costly pension mistakes that paved the way for CalPERS to accrue over $160 billi...
trib.al
As oil & gas industry sounds alarm on CA's @AirResources updates to cap & invest, Chair Lauren Sanchez notes there's time to figure it out.
Relying so much on imported fuel, will War in Iran change things?
"There are a number of global events we are taking in consideration."
Billionaire Uber co-founder reveals he's joined exodus from California https://trib.al/39XWkCT
How is the City doing financially in fiscal year 2026? 💰
Unfortunately, expenditures are outpacing revenues (again). Liability claims & departmental spending over budget continues to lead the way!
Check out our latest Revenue Forecast Report!
http://revforecast2027.lacontroller.app
California gov. candidate Matt Mahan urges end to state gas tax https://trib.al/iIw3HJv
I'd add that aside from ineffectiveness and the huge cost, the first hotel on this list had a mortality rate of 5%
It's wild that you can easily land millions of dollars of funding in Progressive cities for programs that have an empirical outcome of "one in twenty dead"
More Regulation = More Building Cost
More Regulation = Less Supply
Less Supply + More Building Cost = Unattainable New Home Prices
The math is simple. Tear down unnecessary regulations and unlock affordable housing supply.
BART fares can no longer cover most of its operating costs ...
The city of #SanDiego Rules Committee will consider placing a “large-portfolio homeownership speculation tax” on the November 2026 ballot.
No details are available on the legislative calendar, but such tax would presumably apply to any investor or corporation selling a home a
Opinion: Jon Coupal: Is the bullet train hungry for property taxes?
Jon Coupal: Is the bullet train hungry for property taxes?
When even local government interests have concluded that the “return on investment” simply isn’t going to be t...
www.ocregister.com
For some reason, the @wapo editorial board decided to cover Bay Area county finances and absolutely nailed it: runaway spending despite a stagnant population.
Billionaires aside, California has had negative net interstate migration every year since 2001.
We've lost a net of 3 million people to other states in the last 15 years.
For a state that spends ~$350 billion a year, you'd expect better
Higher gas prices making it hard to make ends meet? Then be sure to vote NO on the tax hikes and bonds coming to your ballot this Spring.
None — zero — of @GavinNewsom’s $6.4 billion mental health projects opened last year as promised:
10 projects from Newsom's mental health bond were supposed to open in 2025. That didn't happen
Projects supposed to offer mental health and substance use care to foster youth, new mothers, unhoused people and ...
calmatters.org
Another costly disaster: Meet the LAX people mover that's designed to be recyclable and hire gang members. To coerce ridership (eventually), the airport is slamming higher fees on rides from Uber, Lyft, taxi and limo services. New column:
The SkyLink extortion: LAX’s plan to tax success to pay for failure
Government force makes it happen. Competitors obliterated. Instant success.
www.dailynews.com
Increases in #SanDiego's pension system payments have burdened the city’s budget for years, and they will get worse if personnel costs continue to escalate or the stock market underperforms.
“The board also discussed projections showing that a stock market crash — or even just a
To underline this important point, this enormous increase in expenditure occurred over a period that Newsom depopulated California—for the first time in its history as a state
The left decided that eating the seed corn is the only possible solution to this astonishing profligacy
California's billionaire tax proposal has not survived "first contact" with billionaires.
- It's a money loser for the state
- It is exporting wealth and jobs, not improving inequality or opportunity
- It worsens CA's structural fiscal problems
My debate with the architects👇
Walnut Creek raised sales taxes 0.5% in 2023. Now the City says it's short of money again. Maybe time to find some programs to cut.
Staff vacancies to remain in place to help balance Walnut Creek budget
A loss in sales tax from the city’s largest industry group, auto dealerships, has created another $2 million hole in the fiscal year 2027 budget.
www.mercurynews.com
SEIU is one of the main driver's for California's fraught fiscal condition. Anyone who cares about the future of California should vote opposite of SEUI.
In California, 14.5 million residents, more than 1/3 of the population, are on Medi-Cal, the safety-net health insurance for low-income people. That includes 1.7 million residents with "unsatisfactory immigration status." Tax hikes are coming. New column:
The Medi-Cal money pit
The higher the taxes on Medi-Cal providers, the more money California can “draw down” in federal dollars.
www.dailynews.com
The Billionaire Tax did well in a recent poll of California voters, but also:
* 85% said that the state wastes money
* 58% said they personally pay too much in taxes
Some hope for us taxpayer advocates this year.
Wait. I thought high speed rail was supposed to be safer than air travel. Hope CA is paying attention. @hjta.
High-speed train crash in Spain kills at least 39
More than 400 passengers were on board the trains that derailed near the city of Córdoba, in Spain's worst rail crash in more than a decade.
bbc.com
Since 2018, California policies have handicapped in-state crude production and refining, making the Western states’ energy supply increasingly reliant on imports. Foreign sources are prone to supply disruptions, like the crisis currently unfolding in the Middle East, causing
📊 California’s emissions are statistically insignificant in the global climate equation.
California emitted about 371 million metric tons of CO₂e in 2022, according to the California Air Resources Board.
Global emissions exceed ~37 billion metric tons per year, based on data
NEW: The California wealth tax furor can obscure a key caveat:
The initiative hasn't even qualified for the November ballot yet. And the ballot signature world is only getting crazier/more expensive.
Will it qualify? I took a look:
Will the wealth tax even make the ballot?
politi.co
The LAX Automated People Mover probably won't be ready in time for the World Cup, but the airport is jacking up Uber charges just in time.
LAX proposes sharp fee increases for services that pick up, drop off passengers
Uber is rallying its customers to protest a vote Tuesday to raise access fees as much as 140% once the airport people mover begins service.
www.dailynews.com
Wait. I thought high speed rail was supposed to be safer than air travel. Hope CA is paying attention. @hjta.
High-speed train crash in Spain kills at least 39
More than 400 passengers were on board the trains that derailed near the city of Córdoba, in Spain's worst rail crash in more than a decade.
bbc.com
Head East, Young Man! "Eat the Rich: California Democrats Trigger a Reverse Gold Rush with a Wealth Tax." @hjta.
Eat the Rich: California Democrats Trigger a Reverse Gold Rush with a Wealth Tax
Below is my column in the California Post and New York Post on the exodus of wealthy taxpayers from the state ...
jonathanturley.org
Well, this is easily explained. Illinois is just as politically dysfunctional as CA, but they have really crappy weather. "As California exodus continues, one state bucked the trend." @hjta. via @sfchronicle
As California exodus continues, one state bucked the trend
Half a million more people left California for other states than came in 2023 and 2024 combined. But there were ...
www.sfchronicle.com
@joncoupal column on split roll. "Will more businesses split from California over Tom Steyer’s split roll threat?" @hjta.
Will more businesses split from California over Tom Steyer’s split roll threat?
Time will tell whether Steyer is even serious about pursuing split roll.
www.ocregister.com
Editorial: By doubling down on ‘mansion tax,’ Los Angeles earns its fate
Editorial: By doubling down on ‘mansion tax,’ Los Angeles earns its fate
Measure ULA arguably is worsening the city’s homeless situation
www.ocregister.com
Let's Roll! "*Breaking News* Save Prop. 13 Taxpayer Champions Turn In 1.3 Million Signatures For November Ballot Measure."
*Breaking News* Save Prop. 13 Taxpayer Champions Turn In 1.3 Million Signatures For November Ballot...
Business And Taxpayer Coalition Moves To Put Local Tax Limits Before Voters In 2026
open.substack.com
Great piece from NR's Jim Geraghty: California Affordability Problem That Newsom’s Fans Don’t Want to Talk About. @hjta.
The California Affordability Problem That Newsom’s Fans Don’t Want to Talk About | National Review
Two major magazines have published profiles about Newsom that seem more interested in his appearance than in what ...
www.nationalreview.com
What she said. "Jennifer Berger: Prop. 13: Why It’s Misunderstood and Why It Matters." @hjta.
Jennifer Berger: Prop. 13: Why It’s Misunderstood and Why It Matters
Every so often, a familiar complaint bubbles up: Why does my neighbor pay a few thousand dollars a year in property taxes while mine is in the tens of
www.noozhawk.com
So, which is worse -- the sheer incompetence and folly, or the efforts to conceal the waste and fraud? "Jon Coupal: Sacramento wants to hide information about the bullet train. @hjta.
Jon Coupal: Sacramento wants to hide information about the bullet train
The vampire sucking millions of dollars out of the pockets of California every day is back in the news. Here’s the latest.
www.ocregister.com
Brutal takedown of CA High Speed Rail debacle. "FULL INTERVIEW | Assemblywoman Alexandra Macedo on high-speed rail update." via @YouTube. @hjta. Great job, Alexandra.
Great reporting by @CalMatters. "Some California high-speed rail records could remain secret under proposed law." @hjta.
Some California high-speed rail records could remain secret under proposed law
A new California bill would allow the agency overseeing the high-speed rail authority to withhold some records if ...
calmatters.org
If not, they should. "Will L.A. voters have tax fatigue at the ballot box?" @hjta.
Will L.A. voters have tax fatigue at the ballot box?
The city council is considering numerous potential ballot measures to increase taxes to raise revenue for the beleaguered general fund.
www.latimes.com
Jon Coupal: Local sales tax hikes coming soon across California . @hjta.
Jon Coupal: Local sales tax hikes coming soon across California
The good news here is that a proposed initiative currently in circulation would close the Upland loophole for special sales taxes.
www.ocregister.com
Geez. How about dealing with the budget crisis first. "Newsom says he’ll investigate claims TikTok is censoring anti-Trump content." via @sfchronicle
Newsom says he’ll investigate claims TikTok is censoring anti-Trump content
Candidates for Congress on Monday joined the growing swarm of TikTok users who say their videos criticizing immigration agents are being suppressed.
www.sfchronicle.com
Spot on piece from @wsj. "California Wealth Tax Backers Ignore Proposition 13 Lessons by @Jon_Hartley and @realartlaffer via @WSJopinion @hjta.
Opinion | California Wealth Tax Backers Ignore Proposition 13 Lessons
Faced with an onerous levy on assets, taxpayers will vote against it at the ballot box or with their feet.
www.wsj.com
Good job in presenting the data in a way that ordinary taxpayers can understand. @californiaglobe @SteveHiltonx @hjta. New Tax Calculator Shows Democrat Policies Add $35,000 a Year to Your Cost of Living https://californiaglobe.com/fr/new-tax-calculator-shows-democrat-policies-add-35000-a-year-to-your-cost-of-living/.
My column in @ocregister. The budget process isn't just a joke, there IS no budget process. "Jon Coupal: Why does California even bother with a budget?" @hjta.
Jon Coupal: Why does California even bother with a budget?
The governor and the California Legislature should heed LAO’s chilling conclusion: “Taken together, these trends rai...
www.ocregister.com
Compelling piece from Larry Sand. Without an educated citizenry, democracies will fail. . @hjta.
Six Ways to Improve Schools › American Greatness
As someone who attended public school in the 1950s and 1960s, taught in elementary and middle schools in the ear...
amgreatness.com
Wow. @TaxFoundation eviscerates CA's proposed wealth tax. "The Proposed California Wealth Tax Is Far Higher than 5 Percent," @hjta.
The Proposed California Wealth Tax Is Far Higher than 5 Percent
The 2026 Billionaire Tax Act, a California ballot initiative, would ostensibly impose a one-time tax of 5 percent ...
taxfoundation.org
A random act of journalism? Pleasantly surprised that this is from the @latimes. "California’s exodus isn’t just billionaires — it’s regular people renting U-Hauls, too." @hjta.
California’s exodus isn’t just billionaires — it’s regular people renting U-Hauls, too
U-Haul truck trends mark exodus from California
www.latimes.com
Another crappy metric thanks to CA's socialists. @TaxFoundation @hjta.
Visualizing California's erosion of purchasing power. This is shameful. "Mapped: The Real Purchasing Power of $100 by U.S. State." @hjta. via @visualcap
Mapped: The Real Purchasing Power of $100 by U.S. State
Is a dollar in your pocket worth the same in Albuquerque as it is in New York City? We show the real purchasing power of $100 in each state.
www.visualcapitalist.com
My @OCRegister column. Jon Coupal: Blue states have a fraud problem. @hjta. "Its not that red states don’t have problems, or even scandals. It’s when they do, they value competence over excuses."
Jon Coupal: Blue states have a fraud problem
The difference is not that red states don’t have problems, or even scandals. It’s when they do, they value competence over excuses.
www.ocregister.com
California? Bueller? Bueller? "As the clock turns to 2026, the residents of nine states will pay lower tax rates on their income. Happy New Year indeed." @hjta. via @WSJopinion
Opinion | Happy Tax Cut New Year
Residents in nine states will pay lower income-tax rates in 2026.
www.wsj.com
Attorney General Rob Bonta’s Ballot Language Manipulation Exposes a Serious Constitutional Flaw https://open.substack.com/pub/sodoesitmatter/p/attorney-general-rob-bontas-ballot?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
From the "Dean" of legal analysts: "Tick, Tick , Tick: Study Shows California is Losing a Taxpayer Every Minute." @hjta. @JonathanTurley
Tick, Tick , Tick: Study Shows California is Losing a Taxpayer Every Minute
California is facing a perfect storm in finances, with a crippling deficit and a declining tax base. Now, a stud...
jonathanturley.org
Pretty sad, folks. "Leaving California: Three More Major Businesses Close or Move Out of State." @hjta. https://californiaglobe.com/fr/leaving-california-three-more-major-businesses-close-or-move-out-of-state/
From @HJTA friend Jon Fleischman: "Top Nine Ways Gavin Newsom Made California the Most Unaffordable State in the Country." https://open.substack.com/pub/sodoesitmatter/p/top-nine-ways-gavin-newsom-made-california?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
Taxpayer dollars being spent to steal more taxpayer dollars. "Pacific Grove’s Tax Dollars at Work by @davidrhenderson." @hjta. via @WSJopinion
Opinion | Pacific Grove’s Tax Dollars at Work
The city council hires a consulting firm to help it figure out how to raise my taxes.
www.wsj.com
No surprise that the "benefits" of the ULA tax are being vastly overstated. "Scrutiny Grows Over Measure ULA Claims, Mike Manville Weighs In." @hjta.
Scrutiny Grows Over Measure ULA Claims, Mike Manville Weighs In
UCLA Professor and Chair of Urban Planning Michael Manville shares his input on the plausibility of the numbers in...
luskin.ucla.edu