Water Bond Election Politics: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
The major reason the legislature pulled the $11-billion water bond off the ballot yesterday was bad but the result was good. The bond was pulled largely for political reasons. The governor and members of his party are afraid that a measure adding the huge debt on the taxpayers in the same election they hope to […]
Field Poll Tests Budget’s “Ransom Note”
The July 4th Field Poll measured the Ransom Note Effect of the governor’s budget – pass my tax initiative or I’ll cut schools. According to Field, 72% responded negatively to the cuts. But what were the voters saying: That they would pass the tax measure to avoid the cuts or that they don’t like threats? […]
Molly Munger Will Win this Case Against “King” Jerry in the Court of Public Opinion
The famous line from George Orwell’s Animal Farm, “All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others,” seems to apply of late to the powers that be in California politics. The governor and his allies in the legislature continue to work the system to give themselves an advantage over fellow citizens in […]
Stockton: From “Fat City” to “Mudville” Once Again
Stockton’s fall into bankruptcy is a cautionary tale for California governments that must be heeded to stop future disasters. For all the reasons that Stockton ended up in this predicament, and there are many, the issue of pensions and public benefits rides above the rest. For a place that once bore the names “Fat City” […]
Cutting Edge California
As the High Speed Rail legislative vote nears, we hear arguments for the rail as not only promoting jobs and necessary transportation for a growing population, but a test for California as a forward thinking, cutting edge state. Cost, environmental concerns, and effectiveness of the rail system are all parts of the debate—and they have […]
Legislative Democrats Want to Game the System (Again), this Time to Help Gov’s Tax Initiative
Democrats in the legislature plan to add language to SB 1039 that would rearrange the order propositions will appear on the ballot. No question, the reason for this is to move the governor’s tax measure to the top of a pile of measures that have qualified for the November ballot and separate it from the […]
California Forward Waits and Waits
Is today the day the Secretary of State will announce if the California Forward governance reform initiative has the signatures necessary to appear on the November ballot? Time is running out. The constitutional deadline for achieving ballot status is Thursday. Supporters of the measure are demanding to know why the count is not done yet. […]
A Brown/Lincoln Connection—High Speed Rail, “Internal Improvements,” and a Bad Economy
In reading a passage in Doris Kearns Goodwin’s prize-winning history, Team of Rivals, about Abraham Lincoln’s political genius, I couldn’t help see a situation that Lincoln faced as a state legislator that is similar to one created by Gov. Jerry Brown. Unfortunately, this connection revolves around one of Lincoln’s setbacks, not one of his triumphs. […]
Three Tax Initiatives Qualify – Will they be Placed Back to Back to Back on the Ballot?
Governor Jerry Brown’s income tax/sales tax increase measure, civil rights attorney Molly Munger’s income tax increases for schools, and hedge fund manager Tom Steyer’s tax increase aimed at multistate corporations all qualified for November’s election the same day. One political issue pundits have kicked around this initiative season is will the appearance of three tax […]
On Spending Limits and the Misuse of Robin Hood’s Name
Fellow Fox and Hounds contributor Joe Mathews took me to task yesterday claiming my stand on a spending limit was wrong because initiatives rarely work out as planned. He wrote: “Why should Fox, or anyone else, think that a spending limit would be a limit on spending?” The answer to that question is contained in […]