For Newsom, It’s Get Nasty or Lose
For San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, the choice is now a simple one: either he does something to turn Democrats against Attorney General Jerry Brown or he loses next June’s primary for governor.
Whatever slim chance there was that the Democratic campaign for California’s top job wouldn’t turn into the usual mud bath likely vanished Thursday when a new Field Poll showed Newsom running 20 points behind Brown.
That’s double the 10-point lead Brown held last March. The new poll also showed the former governor smoking the three likely GOP challengers in head-to-head trial heats for the November 2010 election. Combine that with Brown’s nearly $6 million dollar lead in the money race and Newsom can see his chances of moving to Sacramento slipping rapidly away.
Since the new poll numbers make it even more unlikely that Brown is going to hit the campaign trail anytime soon, it’s up to Newsom to start making political life miserable for the attorney general.
Tax Climate Leaves Businesses Out in the Cold
As Governor Schwarzenegger’s Commission on the 21st Century Economy considers a proposed overhaul of the state’s tax system, two reports released last month reinforce what many of us already knew – that California’s tax and regulatory burdens are driving businesses out of the state. The Tax Foundation, a non-profit, non-partisan think tank, unveiled its 2010 State Business Tax Climate Index (SBTCI) which had California ranked 48th out of 50 in business tax climate.
Another study, commissioned in a 2007 bill by Assemblyman Juan Arambula (I-Fresno), found that the total cost of regulation to the State of California is nearly $500 billion and 3.8 million lost jobs annually. To put that cost in perspective, the general fund budget for the state is around $100 billion each year.
While other states are attracting new investment, creating jobs and generating economic growth, the anti-business majority in California continues to operate in a vacuum. They seem to ignore the pleas from California companies, large and small, and operate with no regard for how additional regulations and increased taxes impact our revenue base, along with our standing among other states.
“What Ails California” and “Getting to Reform”: Two Conferences
Reforming California’s dysfunctional government has become a boom industry. The legislature, foundations, activists, and reformers of all stripes are trying to find the golden key to set California straight. Now academic institutions are offering symposiums to study the problem and perhaps move toward solutions.
Two conferences are set in the coming weeks. Both are free to the public. Academics will join interest group leaders and policymakers to explore the state of the state. (I’ll be a panelist at both events.)
On Wednesday, October 14 the conference at the Sacramento Convention Center is titled: Getting to Reform: Avenues to Constitutional Change in California. Sponsored by UC Berkeley’s Robert T. Matsui Center for Politics & Public Service; Center for California Studies at Cal State Sacramento; and Stanford’s Bill Lane Center for the Study of the American West, the one-day conference will examine the advantages and drawbacks of alternative paths to constitutional change, including a look at a potential constitutional convention. See the conference agenda here.
State can’t handle Assembly Bill 32
This week marks the third birthday of Assembly Bill 32, the controversial measure known as the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. Gov. Schwarzenegger, still resolute in his desire to remain an environmental leader, held a media event to celebrate it.
Many in California’s business community, however, see no reason to celebrate. They worry that implementing this law will be more than our fragile economy can handle.
Like every resident in California, I want clean air to breathe, fresh water to drink and gorgeous beaches to enjoy, but there must be a balance between our environmental and economic needs. In 2006, when the California economy was going strong, the Legislature passed AB 32. The bill promised to slash California’s level of greenhouse gas emissions 25% by 2020. At the time, skeptics worried about the feasibility and the impact on business. It seems the skeptics were right.