Time for a Real Debate on the Cost of Climate Programs

Finally, it’s here. A spirited, inclusive, and extremely critical debate over the true costs of California’s climate programs to our economy, small businesses, and working families.

On the heels of an abysmal voter turnout in this month’s election, the emergence of a growing chorus of diverse voices on a vital public policy issue should be welcomed news. It turns out, however, that certain state officials and other vested interests are not interested in debating the costs imposed on small business by California’s broad environmental policies.

But their actions have awoken a sleeping giant. Although CARB made no effort to hear concerns, and debate was shut down in the state legislature, people who are learning about the “hidden gas tax” have started speaking up and working together. From small business owners in the Bay Area to farmers in the Central Valley, religious leaders in San Diego to a mobile health clinic operator in the Inland Empire, consumers from throughout the state are banding together. This movement of drivers and fuel users has serious questions and concerns about the unilateral process used to increase household costs, particularly at a time of high unemployment and economic uncertainty. (more…)

Five Election Winners, Delayed Version

I spent election week traveling – you know, to places with real democracy and competitive elections, like Kansas – and have spent the last couple weeks trying to catch up with work and family. In the process, I failed to file my usual “Winners and Losers” posts for Fox & Hounds Daily on the elections.

So here is the winners post, to be followed by losers.

1. Non-voters. They are not just winning California elections. They are doinating them. More than four in five Californians didn’t bother to show up and vote. Given the state of the state’s democracy, it’s hard to blame them.

2. Padilla and Peterson. Alex Padilla, the new Secretary of State, and his Republican challenger, ran campaigns the way they are supposed to be: serious, specific, respectful to voters. They even debated multiple times – something other candidates in other races didn’t do. Indeed, the other statewide contests – and I use the word “contest” advisedly – were so awful that the content-heavy Secretary of State’s race may have been one of the few reasons to hold an election. (more…)

Vallejo First to Test No Pension Cut in Bankruptcy

What happens when a bankrupt city does not cut its largest debt, pensions, is getting its first test in Vallejo, which has higher average pensions and higher CalPERS rates than the two larger cities still in bankruptcy, Stockton and San Bernardino.

Vallejo was the forerunner, choosing not to try to cut pensions before exiting a 3 ½-year bankruptcy three years ago. City council members said later CalPERS had threatened a long and costly legal battle.

Stockton’s plan to exit bankruptcy without cutting pensions was approved in October. The judge ruled that CalPERS pensions can be cut in bankruptcy. But Stockton does not want to cut pensions, saying they are needed to be competitive in the job market.

San Bernardino, cash short, skipped payments to CalPERS for most of a fiscal year. Last month the city formally announced that under an agreement with CalPERS last June, the missed payments are being repaid and pensions will not be cut in bankruptcy. (more…)

Keep Raising Money, Jerry

Gov. Brown is taking hits for carrying on fundraising late in the campaign, and even after the election, despite the fact that he won easily and can’t run for re-election in 2018.

The LA Times’ George Skelton laid it on the governor pretty thick, writing that the fundraising carried “the kind of smell that turns off the public from politics and exacerbates the ridiculously low voter participation in elections.”

That’s a lot to lay on Brown’s fundraising, particularly when so few Californians know about the fundraising and when the state offers so many other good reasons not to pay attention to politics.

Gov. Brown, in response, has said that the money he’s stockpiled – more than $20 million – will prevent him from being such a lame duck. He’s correct about that. But I’d go a step further. Brown isn’t merely justified politically in raising money. I’d argue that his continued fundraising is imperative; if he weren’t raising this money, he wouldn’t be doing his job. (more…)

California: The Land of Double Taxation for Small Businesses

Just think: You run a business. Your partner embezzles from you and you are reeling – you feel like you’ve been punched in the gut. Next, California’s state government shows up and slaps you around. When you object, Sacramento offers no apology, no comfort. You’re on your own.

Farfetched? Read on to see what happened to a California Limited Liability Company (LLC) that tried to play by the rules.

First, an LLC is a form of business that permits the owner to avoid double taxation. In California, such companies must pay an annual minimum franchise tax of $800, which is the highest of any state (in 40 other states the fee is $100 or less) and may be subject to additional fees based on revenue. (more…)