Brown Key to 2016 Tax Measures
With the 2014 election finally over, attention is turned to possible tax measures on the 2016 ballot. I previously wrote about groups looking to raise taxes on commercial property, oil extraction, cigarettes, and extending or making permanent the income tax piece of Proposition 30. Marc Lifsher covered similar ground in the Los Angeles Times over […]
Five Election Losers, Delayed Version
It takes some time to process the election results. Here, to accompany my post on the five election winners, are five election losers. 1. Whoever that Republican guy who was running for governor. Bald. Seemed smart. I can’t quite remember his name. I guess most Californians had the same problem. 2. Consumer Watchdog. The jig […]
The Upside of Low Turnout
This election, your vote counted double. “When it’s 50 % turnout, your voting power is doubled #math,” Paul Mitchell of Political Data Inc., the state’s top political data firm, tweeted on Election Day. Increased voting power — it’s one of several upsides to the state’s record low turnout in this month’s gubernatorial election. With fewer than […]
Southern California Stuck in Drive
Southern California has long been a nurturer of dreams that, while widely anticipated, often are never quite achieved. One particularly strong fantasy involves Los Angeles abandoning what one enthusiast calls its “car habit” and converting into an ever-denser, transit-oriented region. An analysis of transit ridership, however, shows that the region is essentially no better off […]