Off the Tracks
The Legislative Analyst issued
a report yesterday slamming California’s High Speed Rail project. The
analyst cited a number of problems including uncertain funding, conditions
attached to federal funds and poor management of the project. While the analyst
recommended some changes that might help the project, I wonder if the voters would
like a second crack at voting on high-speed rail. Cut their loses before things
get worse.
The huge $9-billion bond voters approved as Proposition 1A
in 2008 passed with 52.6% of the vote with pretty much all the money spent in
the campaign on the Yes side. (Full Disclosure: I participated in a number of
debates representing the No side.) Ultimately, the cost of the huge project is
pegged at $43-billion.
The Pension Debate Is Small and Boring
People in Sacramento have a real talent for turning what
could be big, interesting debates into narrow, tit-for-tat snooze fests. The
latest example of this capital city myopia is the pension debate.
Each day,
that debate gets narrower, with very little discussion of the nature of
pensions themselves. On one side, those skeptical of pension benefits and their
costs accuse public workers and their unions of selfishness and trying to
bankrupt the state. The union side responds with its own ad hominem attacks,
questioning the financing and political ties of the groups that support the
pension skeptics.
This is
frustrating to watch, because the pension debate should be big. It touches on
virtually every significant economic debate in the world today, among them the
challenges of longer life spans, the nature of innovation and job creation, the
structure of the public sector, the regulation and performance of the financial
services business, and the welfare state.
Kam Kuwata Award for Political Involvement Set Up at USC’s Unruh Institute
Anyone who’s reading this knows about Kam Kuwata, either by reputation or if you were lucky, by personal interaction and friendship. We know what an effective political operative he was, of course, and what a good and kind person he was as well. But one side of Kam you may not have seen was his willingness to be so helpful and encouraging to young people, and how devoted he was toward supporting them as they decided whether and how to involve themselves in public service.
He not only participated in our events at USC, but he would stay afterwards to talk individually with students who were considering careers in politics or government. He demonstrated to them that you could respect an opponent while still holding firm to your own principles and beliefs, and that you could fight fiercely on behalf of those beliefs without demonizing those with whom you disagreed.
As those of us who’ve known Kam for so many years begin to consider our own lives after politics, I can think of no greater tribute to him than to provide that same guidance and support to our next generation of political leaders. We at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and at the Unruh Institute are committed to carrying on his name, his memory and his legacy. We hope you’ll join us.
Taxed by the Mile
Americans pay lots of taxes but never before have taxes been judged by
distances traveled. That could soon change.
The Obama Administration is floating a Vehicle Miles Traveled Tax as part
of the Transportation Opportunities Act.
Drivers in the United States pay auto purchase and leasing taxes.
There are already biting federal and state gasoline and fuel usage taxes.
Drivers pay bridge and tunnel and toll booth charges, and trailers and
truckers and recreational vehicles often pay additional fees.
And of course we are taxed every time we fill up or repair, or get service or
maintenance on our cars.