Cross posted at CalChamber.com. California has become notorious for its competitive economic disadvantages, including the high cost of labor, uncertainty from litigation and regulatory delay, and high state and local taxes. Much of the debate about improving our economic performance has been over how to reduce these disadvantages. A welcoming business climate is indispensible to [...]

Last June, after he temporarily halted legislative pay for passing an unbalanced budget, I congratulated Controller John Chiang for making the big time, but suggested he might be a one-hit wonder. The Controller wanted to add “budget judge” to his job description, in effect enforcing Proposition 25’s pass-a-budget-or-no-pay rule on the Legislature, by bootstrapping a [...]

Senate Leader Darryl Steinberg sent initiative reformers’ hearts aflutter when he announced he was jumping on the reform bandwagon. Speaking to reporters, Sen. Steinberg ticked off three changes that he said would “both strengthen … direct democracy and empower the people elected by their communities…” He supports: Allowing the Legislature to place statutory initiatives, including [...]

Even as Gov Brown does an admirable job of restraining the overall growth in state employment, the regulatory bureaucracy balloons. Boosted by strong constituencies in the Legislature, and insulated by their reliance largely on industry fees, fines and penalties, regulatory agencies have seen their staffs grow by fourteen percent over the past four years – [...]

Crossposted at CalChamber.com. Independent contractors are a vital and growing source of California’s economy, according to a new report co-sponsored by several leading business organizations. Attempts to rein in independent contractors through onerous regulations would have a harmful effect on California’s economic productivity and employment. Independent contracting is a business arrangement in which a client [...]

Crossposted at CalChamber.com. Billions of dollars in new taxes may soon flow into California state government to be spent on new programs. The taxes are harmful to the economy, they’re probably illegal, and they’re not even needed for the program’s success. And don’t even imagine that they’re getting Legislative or voter approval. I’m not talking [...]