Turn Brown’s Act Into a New Brown Act
My initial reaction to the AP’s story showing that Gov. Jerry Brown got state oil and gas regulators “to research, map, and report back” on the potential of his family’s private land for future oil and gas activity was too harsh. I thought: here’s a guy who has failed to make government more responsive to […]
Are We Heading for An Economic Civil War?
When we speak about the ever-expanding chasm that defines modern American politics, we usually focus on cultural issues such as gay marriage, race, or religion. But as often has been the case throughout our history, the biggest source of division may be largely economic. Today we see a growing conflict between the economy that produces […]
Why is California’s Disability Unemployment Higher than in 1971?—Paul Hippolitus Explains
Paul Hippolitus, the director of the UC Berkeley Disabled Students’ Program , recalls that when he entered the disability employment field in 1971, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated 33% of adults with disabilities worked either full or part time. In September 2015 that estimated rate was down to 20%. “After 44 years of laws, education […]
Tax Raisers Like Non-Voters
Did you know that there was an election last Tuesday? Not many voters did, and the tax-and-spend crowd likes it that way. In this little publicized election, 29 out of 40 local tax increase measures passed. Michael Coleman, Founder of the California Local Government Finance Almanac, notes the significance: “There were more local revenue measures […]