Don’t Bring Back the Candy Tax
It’s not often that California voters support a ballot measure by over a two-thirds vote but that’s what they did in 1992 when rejecting a sales tax on snack foods and candy. Now Assembly members Lorena Gonzalez and Cristina Garcia want the voters to take a second look at that action by supporting a tax […]
Handy-Dandy Guide to California’s Crazy 17 Ballot Propositions, Part 2
This is part two of my review of the 17 propositions on the November ballot. Part 1, covering Propositions 51-58, is here. Proposition 59 would advise California’s members of Congress to overturn the 2010 Citizens United decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, which liberalized contributions to political campaigns by corporations, “to ensure that all citizens, […]
Hey Big Spenders: Three Multimillionaires Stake a Claim on State’s Ballot
California has more billionaires than any other state, and an abundance of direct democracy. Those two facts intersect during election season, when spending by wealthy donors helps determine which initiatives make it on the ballot, and how many TV commercials and mailers campaigns can buy. Their donations carry the potential to influence state policy for […]
California Education is a Game of Chance
Californians may think we have a system of public education. But what we really have is a state system for rationing public education. I got a personal taste of this in the spring, when I took my five-year-old son to our local school district offices to determine his educational future. This being California, the determination […]
The Buck Stops With Governor Brown
Last week, I touched on a number of wins in the Legislature and several remaining priorities for the Chamber. Among the 789 bills sitting on Gov. Brown’s desk to sign or veto, there are many items that would impact the business community. We are continuing to weigh in on these bills before the Sept. 30 […]