Very Small Steps Forward on Ballot Initiative System
SB 1253 hasn’t gotten much attention, but it deserves more. The legislation, backed by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, proposes several very small improvements for California’s ballot initiative system. It’s worth noting that the legislation does nothing to address the biggest flaw of the process: the inflexibility for which California initiatives are known worldwide. […]
There Is No Loophole in Prop. 13
Last week, the media was all abuzz about a bill moving through the Legislature that would fix a “loophole” in Proposition 13. If this were a courtroom, I would rise to my feet and object saying, “Your Honor, assumes a fact not in evidence!” This objection would be sustained immediately because there is no “loophole” […]
Reversing American Decline
Across broad ideological lines, Americans now foresee a dismal, downwardly mobile future for the country’s middle and working classes. While previous generations generally did far better than their predecessors, those in the current one, outside the very rich, are locked in a struggle to carve out the economic opportunities and access to property that had […]
SF Transit Needs More Balance
In San Francisco, conservatives, moderates and (yes Martha) even liberals are fighting back against the anti-auto fervor of the hard core progressive left. A coalition of pissed off voters has formed to field a non-binding ballot resolution against a juggernaut of zealous greens who have been trying for decades to destroy private transportation in favor […]