California’s Initiative Process Serves as Check on Legislative Power
(Editor’s Note: State Treasurer John Chiang issues a monthly newsletter, Intersections, which offers facts and analysis about California’s debt, investments and economy. Each newsletter contains a feature titled Head to Head that offers differing views on Golden State policy and politics. For November, the discussion was about the initiative process featuring pieces by Joel Fox and Joe […]
California’s Initiative ‘Brutality’
(Editor’s Note: Previously published in Treasurer John Chiang’s Intersections newsletter) California’s initiative process is, in a word, “brutal.” That was the official judgment six years ago when hundreds of experts in direct democracy from all over the world came to San Francisco for a five-day conference. (Full disclosure: I was one of the conveners of the event). […]
Injunction Delays December 1 Department of Labor Overtime Rule
The Valley Industry and Commerce Association (VICA) welcomes today’s injunction delaying implementation of the Department of Labor Overtime Rule, which would have raised the overtime exemption threshold to $47,476 on December 1. The Department of Labor rule would have significantly impacted small businesses across California, increasing labor costs while limiting opportunities for employees, especially young graduates. […]
A New Era for American Energy
The stark difference between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump was crystal clear when it came to energy before and after the election. Clinton wanted to killcoal, and since Trump was elected three coal companies stocks in particular didremarkably well in the market: Arch Coal (ARCH), Peabody (BTUUQ and Alliance Resource Partners (ARLP). While clean coal is a […]
Anti-Trump Hysteria Plagues Our Schools
Worse than anything Donald Trump ever said, the backlash to his election has been horrifying. While the hysteria and teddy-bear-clutching over the election of a Republican president is nothing new – remember “Bushitler?” in which some on the left equated W to Der Führer – the present-day Trumphobes are second to none. In Los Angeles, […]
A Business Strategy for the Governor’s Race
Now that the 2018 race for governor of California is in full swing with the release of the first Field Poll on the contest, as the race shapes up business interests will consider how to position themselves in a multi-candidate field. Conventional wisdom dictates that if one well-known Republican runs against a field of equally […]
President-Elect Trump and California Employment
What will Donald Trump’s election mean for California employment? Let’s start with a caveat: it is too early to tell in any detail. Trump has never held office, and we don’t yet know how his employment policies will play out. Certainly, the dire warnings in the past two weeks by the CNN and MSNBC commentators […]
Shop Local on Small Business Saturday
The National Federation of Independent Business is America’s leading small business advocate. We are proud to represent 350,000 small, independent business owners, and we are excited to cosponsor the 2016 Small Business Saturdaypromotion with American Express. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, small businesses account for the vast majority of the jobs in this country. […]
Does Political ‘Reform’ Keep California Women Out of Politics?
California sees itself as a progressive place, but it is anything but when it comes to women in elected office. Barely one quarter of the legislature—and 1/15 of the Los Angeles city council – are women. The trend persists despite many efforts to reverse it. And often, after elections like this past one, which was […]