Nervous Brown Looking for Budget Alternatives
If, as Emerson said, "a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin
of little minds," Gov. Jerry Brown won’t have to worry about hobgoblins.
After weeks of insisting that no way, no how was he ever
going to put a tax extension on the ballot without some support – i.e., votes –
from GOP legislators, the governor said at a Sacramento labor dinner Monday
night that "one way or another" Californians will have a chance to vote on his
proposal for some $14 billion in tax and revenue extensions to balance next
year’s budget.
When reporters
corralled the governor at the dinner and asked him if that meant he was
willing to go it alone on the ballot measure, Brown gave a classic non-denial
denial, answering instead that he was "not prepared to cease negotiating in
good faith" with Republicans and that while he remains hopeful, "I do recognize
that time is running out."
Pop quiz: Find the word "no" anywhere in that statement.
Mr. Fox’s Misreading
It’s hard to respond when someone misreads you as thoroughly
as Joel
Fox did in attacking a piece
my California Crackup co-author Mark Paul and I wrote for the Sacramento
Bee. You’re forced to restate all your points one-by-one. So you might be
better off saying – read my piece. Or better yet, read my book.
So I’ll say those things. But I’ll also say this: Fox’s
attack proved our overarching point: that everyone in California – across the
political spectrum – has become myopic and obsessed with defending their little
piece of the governing system, even though the governing system works against
the things they say they care most about.
Let’s look at some of the biggest howlers in Fox’s piece:
-Fox says our piece
described "Proposition 13 as the cause for all the ills that befall
California."
Plan B Starting to Come Together
News reports that Gov. Jerry Brown is considering a ballot initiative on taxes if he cannot secure Republican votes to put taxes on a June special election confirm whispers that have been circulating for a couple of weeks. Plan B for Brown’s budget would go directly to the people to raise taxes.
While there is still talk of Brown using a suspect alternative of seeking a majority vote in the legislature to amend older ballot measures to get his tax plan on the June ballot, a November special election would not face legal hurdles.
Taxes appearing on a November ballot would be classified as a tax increase rather than a tax extension for the taxes under consideration expire the end of June.
Of course, the income, sales and vehicle taxes that Brown wants to extend may or may not be the subject of an initiative effort.
AT&T and T-Mobile Set to Merge – A Good Deal for Californians
AT&T recently announced plans to acquire T-Mobile. At the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce representing 3,000 members, we are excited about the new possibilities that this proposed acquisition will mean to our businesses and to our everyday lives.
Simply put, this proposed merger will mean increased service and better technology for California communities.
This merger will help us maintain our state’s competitiveness by giving us expanded and reliable access to high-speed wireless services. Not only will these enhancements to the network infrastructure support innovation, it will help our state continue to cultivate start-up companies that need the most competitive edge to succeed.
This merger will help improve service for customers as AT&T will increase its network infrastructure which would have normally taken approximately five years – and increase network density by about 30 percent in some regions.