Throw the Penalty Flag in Football and Politics
The campaigns for the Senate District 7 special election and building a Los Angeles area football stadium are two rough and tumble affairs that have something in common – the need to throw a penalty flag on deceptive plays in the campaigns. Much attention has been paid to the disingenuous nature of mailings by the […]
The March 2015 Meme of Job Growth, Low Wages
In public policy, we often ignore the obvious, due to partisanship, the desire to get along, or ideology. So it is with last Friday’s “puzzle” over both the state and federal jobs reports showing strong job gains, with weak wage growth. This past Friday, due to the annual benchmarking process by EDD, both the state […]
Why I’m Going to Tunisia and You Should Too!
Many of you reading this were part of the 2010 Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy, a five-day long summer gathering in San Francisco, that looked at the state of direct democracy in California, the U.S., and the world. These every other year gatherings have continued, under the leadership and management of friends in Europe. […]
Congress Needs to Step in to Stop Patent Trolls
Here in California, the latest battle of the smartphone wars between Apple and Samsung before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is just the latest example of why our nation’s patent laws need reform. This highly public feud has increased the average consumer’s awareness of patents and their role. Washington has paid attention too, and […]
Franchise Business Model Provides Opportunity for California Women, Minorities & Other Aspiring Small Business Owners
When actress Patricia Arquette shined the national spotlight on wage equity for women in her recent Oscar speech, I was reminded of a major reason I decided to go into business for myself 19 years ago – to obtain more control over my financial security than I would otherwise find as a female employee in […]