Prop 29 Could Begin Push to Tax Specific Products and Services
If the Proposition 29 tobacco tax passes on June 5th, it could kick off a negative trend of targeted taxes on products and services. Supporters of the tobacco tax argue that they wrote the measure to direct how taxes would be spent because voters don’t trust legislators to handle their tax dollars appropriately. Walling off […]
Governor’s Reorganization is Also Reform, and it’s on the Move
Government reorganization. Are you still with me? It’s a tough sell, not least because it inflames few passions (usually only those of a few bureaucrats and their captive constituencies) and doesn’t involve campaign contributions or big lobbying contracts. Government reform can come in big packages or small. The former often fails because of sheer weight […]
$16 Billion Deficit Underscores Need For Real Reforms
Governor Jerry Brown announced this week that the deficit has ballooned to a monstrous $16 billion dollars, an amount equal to 17 percent of the state’s entire general fund. So, California’s self-perpetuating job killing machine continues: The state continues to have a stagnant economy due to the financial crisis of 2008 and hideous economic climate […]
Tales of the Harpooned “London Whale” – Sinking JP Morgan Chase
At the heart of the latest news about JP Morgan Chase’s $2 Billion dollar trading loss story, now believed to be at least $3 Billion and possibly $4 or even $5 Billion, lies one gentleman, Bruno Iksil, a/k/a the “London Whale.” Before the latest news, as recently as last year, Mr. Iksil was known as […]