First, Do No Harm
As a measure to change the rules for ballot initiatives wends its way through the Legislature, its supporters should remember that in politics, as in medicine, the most important rule is always, “First, do no harm.”
Although California’s $24.3 billion budget problem is still a long way from being solved, people across the state are trying to figure out who’s to blame for the financial mess and what can be done to stop it from happening again.
Everyone has a preferred group of villains and most of them are old favorites.
Republicans, for example, like to target those big-spending liberals and greedy unions for pushing the state budget into the red. Democrats would rather talk about those conservative budget slashers and their penchant for giving tax breaks to their buddies in the business community.
California to Feds: Drop Dead
This article originally appeared in Sunday’s Washington Post
Sure, California’s economy has seen better days, our budget is a mess, and we’ve been wondering whether the federal government might help us out with our cash flow. But the barbs sent our way by politicians and commentators in Washington are getting to be a bit much.
Democrats suggest that we’re all selfish folks who refuse to tax ourselves enough to support our spending. (They should talk.) Republicans say the entire state is addicted to over-spending. (They should talk, too — see the rising deficits of the Bush era.) Such commentary has been offered with heaping plates of schadenfreude, as if our devotion to surf, sunshine, personal fitness and Kobe Bryant meant that we deserve damnation. Writers at the Atlantic have admitted to enjoying California’s troubles and urged us to declare bankruptcy even though, as a legal matter, states can’t seek bankruptcy protection.
The Next Generation of Young Entrepreneurs
With California grappling with a major recession, record-high unemployment, and a massive state budget deficit, it is easy to understand how one can become greatly depressed about the future of the entrepreneurial spirit in our great state. However, when I witness sterling examples of great potential and perseverance of our youth despite the current recession, I am regularly reminded of the great hope and promise our future holds.
Earlier this month, NFIB/California was pleased to announce the 2009 winners of our Young Entrepreneur Awards (YEA). Six students from around the state were awarded scholarships designed to reward and encourage entrepreneurial talents among high school seniors. In addition to the traditional academic considerations, students were required to write an essay describing their entrepreneurial endeavors to date and future goals.
Many of the current and past recipients of these awards had already demonstrated their entrepreneurial spirit by starting, operating, and, in some cases, selling businesses before they have even donned their caps and gowns.
You Can’t Crush Dissent in Cyberspace
As we watched the 12th Century battle the 21st Century in Iran over last weekend, one thing became startlingly clear. The revolutionary struggle going on in Iran right now is like none other than has ever been waged in the history of the human race, thanks to Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and all the other ways that people can communicate and share their ideas in Cyberspace. Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore.
As a person who is more tech savvy than many of my generation who cut their teeth while growing up watching ‘Howdy Doody’ on small, black and white TV’s in the 50’s, I honestly could not figure out what Twitter was for, in all its ‘140 characters or less’ glory, until Iran erupted following their clumsily rigged elections over the last couple of weeks. Now I get it. YouTube and Facebook make more sense to me now too.