Space X vs. California High-Speed Rail
So let’s take bets: who gets to their exotic destination first? Space X, from Earth to Mars? Or the California high-speed rail project, from San Francisco to Los Angeles? I’m not sure I would bet on either, but I’ve been wrong about both before. I doubted Space X would pull off its private space flight. […]
Jerry Didn’t Do Wrong. The System Did.
Molly Munger is right to bring suit to challenge manuevers that permitted Gov. Jerry Brown’s temporary tax initiative to leap up the ballot. Whether she wins or loses in court, it’s good politics to point out when your competitor is tweaking the rules to his advantage. But, please, hold the outrage. Because Brown, as near […]
The Initiative That Has Most to Lose From Brown’s Leap
The rapid rise of Gov. Jerry Brown’s initiative up the ballot, via miracles and trailer bills, has left other initiatives in the dust. But we might be missing the real story in this tale. Most of the talk has been about the impact on Brown’s tax competitors – Molly Munger’s temporary income tax for schools […]
Dear Tobacco Companies
Dear Big Tobacco, Congratulations. You beat back Prop 29 narrowly, a $1-a-pack cigarette increase! But you had to spend north of $45 million to do it, and the vote was extremely close. Which raises a question: do you really want to do this again? Because if you don’t make a bold move, you’ll have to. […]
Jerry’s June 20 Miracle
It is not often that one witnesses an authentic miracle. It’s even rarer that a miracle takes place in the public sphere without people immediately remarking upon it. June 20 brought just such a miracle to California. Before that now-holy day, Gov. Jerry Brown had what appeared to be a significant problem. He had staked […]
Broad: Tax Reform Would Follow Defeat of Brown’s Initiative
Crossposted on NBC LA Prop Zero Blog Eli Broad is off the reservation. The billionaire philanthropist told NBC LA’s Conan Nolan this weekend that he opposes Gov. Jerry Brown’s temporary tax initiative. Normally, a rich guy opposing a tax on the rich wouldn’t be a problem, but this isn’t any ordinary rich guy. And the […]
Fox Is Right About Prop 25, Wrong About Spending Limit – For Same Reason
Joel Fox wrote here Monday that Prop 25 had failed to produce a better budget. And he was dead right. Passing a much-touted constitutional amendment that is supposed to guarantee an on-time, balanced budget does not in fact guarantee an on-time, balanced budget. Indeed, the only thing it guarantees that lawmakers will pass something that […]
Top 10 Pavlovian Responses in California Politics
News item: Gov. Jerry Brown recently labeled Republicans’ automatic opposition to any talk of increased taxes a “Pavlovian” response. The reference was to the great Russian scientist Ivan Pavlov, and his finding that the presence of food causes dogs to salivate. Brown was right about the Republicans. But he was also unfair in just picking […]
Department of Delays: Should Democrats Wait Until Month’s End on Budget?
With only $2 billion in differences between legislative Democrats and Gov. Brown, the budget fight is merely at stage play at this point. It looks like it’ll be over Friday, but should it be? There may be one big practical reason for the Democrats to delay the play’s closing until month’s end. To see whether […]
Free Deborah Tharp!
Last week, a woman named Deborah Tharp was arrested outside a grocery store in Costa Mesa for the crime of petitioning her government. As a video shows, this happened in exactly the kind of place – a space for public use, even within the property of a private retail establishment – where petitioners have every […]