Gov. Brown Pitches LA Chamber for Tax Measure Support
Governor Jerry Brown returned to the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce to give a similar speech to the one he gave last year— seeking support for his tax plan. Last year, his proposal was in the legislature, this time he had an initiative to sell. However, the business people I talked to in the audience […]
Chiang Gets the Lawsuit He’s Looking For
Controller John Chiang got a nice little present from Democratic legislators this week when Assembly Speaker John Perez and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg decided to sue him. Lawsuits, especially one aimed at an ambitious young politician, typically fall into the no-fun-at-all category, leading as they can to pricy court battles that can bring […]
What the Voters Want: More Corporate Taxes
Here’s the most interesting thing about the new PPIC poll: One of the most popular ideas with voters is something that almost nobody talks about. The pollsters ticked off a series of potential tax increases and asked if people favored or opposed each: higher income taxes for the wealthy, a split roll for property taxes, […]
Moderate is Now a Four Letter Word
In today’s political environment–at least on the GOP side–“moderate” has become a pejorative. With the same venom that Nixon used to denounce Communists–real or imagined–Newt Gingrich has leveled the “moderate” charge against Mitt Romney. This says a whole lot about what is wrong with politics and governance these days. The attributes that make government work–pragmatism, […]