Is There a Third Way for Republicans?
I’m not a Republican. But if I were, and if I had picked up the LA Times Monday to read George Skelton’s column with the headline, “Kashkari and Donnelly present 2 paths for GOP,” I’m confident that my reaction would have been: Can’t we find a third path instead? It strikes me that, as down […]
Looking at a New Fee to Replace the Obsolete Gas Tax
California’s roads and highways are losing their financial base. The primary tax source to maintain and improve our state’s transportation infrastructure has been eroding for many years. The excise tax paid on each gallon of gasoline does not keep up with inflation, and steadily improving vehicle mileage means fewer taxable gallons of gasoline are purchased […]
Pandering to the Minority Vote
As they approach what could be a troublesome election season, Democratic party strategists have targeted two issues – inequality and race – as their primary means to prevent another shellacking in the mid-terms. But given the growing dominance of wealthy and overwhelmingly white gentry liberals, the class issue could prove troublesome, particularly given the tepid performance of […]
New Step to Expose Hidden Retiree Health Debt
A decade ago new accounting rules directed state and local governments to begin calculating and reporting debt owed for health care promised retirees, which for state workers turned out to be more than the debt owed for pensions. In a new step to expose hidden debt, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board last week proposed that […]