U.S. Supreme Court to California: You’re Ungovernable
In ordering the release of tens
of thousands of California prisoners, a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court sent
an unmistakable message to this state and its citizens: you are unable to
govern yourselves.
At a couple of points in the
decision, the opinion, by Anthony Kennedy, a Californian, departs from the
subject of prisons to comment on the bleak political and fiscal reality of the
state.
The prisons, he writes, are the
product of a state where governance is broken: "In addition to overcrowding the
failure of California’s prisons to provide adequate medical
and mental health care may be ascribed to chronic and worsening budget
shortfalls, a lack of political will in
favor of reform, inadequate facilities,
and systemic administrative failures."
Criminals Rejoice; Public Alarmed by Supreme Court Decision
This decision is a historic attack on the constitutional rights of states and the liberty of all Californians.
By flooding our neighborhoods with criminals, the Court will make one of highest taxed states in the nation among the most dangerous as well, further tarnishing the California dream.
At a time when law-abiding Californians cannot find jobs, it’s hard to imagine how convicted felons will do anything other than return to a life of crime.
But at least Justice Kennedy can sleep easier at night knowing that none of these dangerous felons will be released in his neighborhood.
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An Even Larger Tax Surge is Possible, But How to Handle It?
Governor Jerry Brown surprised the state political world
with his May budget revision that calculated a revenue surge of $6.6 billion.
Welcome news to a state that had to fill a budget hole more than twice that
size. But, what happens if that unanticipated revenue is just the beginning?
Less than a week after the governor’s press conference, the
LinkedIn IPO sent the stock market into a dither with LinkedIn stocks soaring
to unexpected heights. While it has settled back, the stock is still about
double the original offering.
Last week, Kathleen Pender wrote
an insightful article in the San Francisco Chronicle questioning whether
this IPO could open the floodgates for more of the same from other social
networking companies in the Silicon Valley.
Pender pointed out if the match is lit on an IPO explosion, the state
could see a gusher of money from capital gains taxes. Some analysts have
suggested the surge acknowledged by the governor is made up in large part by
capital gains taxes.
Taxpayers Take to the Airwaves
The May Revise may have just gotten underway, but taxfighters have come out swinging against Governor Jerry Brown and his Union friends.
The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association announced today it has made a Statewide radio buy urging Californians to reject the Governor’s plan for massive tax increases. While it’s not unusual for organizations to take to the airwaves, it is unusual this early in a season that doesn’t yet have a special election on the calendar. A sign that Brown may have one heck of an uphill fight ahead of him.
The radio spot highlights the state of California’s status as “worst” in a variety of categories – “worst place to do business” in America, among the worst tax climates, worst housing market, worst jobless rate, and more. The ad also highlights Governor Brown’s billion-dollar sweetheart deal with the prison guards’ union earlier this month, which has taxpayer advocates fuming.