Local Governments Rigging Elections
With all the state and local taxes on the November ballot, one would think that government at all levels in California was starved for revenue. But even a cursory review of the Golden State’s “tax machine” reveals that the tax burden is already too heavy for many to bear. California has the highest income rate […]
Business and Tax Ballot Measures
Last week, the Los Angeles Times’ Liam Dillon reported that the business community is not engaging on the big tax fights appearing on the November ballot: Proposition 55, the income tax extension and Proposition 56, the increased tobacco tax. While business leaders say the positions taken is colored by political circumstances around these particular measures, business […]
Nonpartisan Voter Guide Simplifies California’s Most Complex Election in Decades
It’s been called the most important election in our lifetimes. Indeed, the 2016 election will go down in history as truly unusual and at times, unpredictable. Here in California, voters have taken note, with registrations hitting a record high. But this year, the nearly 18 million California voters heading to the polls in November will […]
L.A.’s Measure M: Long Range Spending Based on Short Term Thinking
Los Angeles County is potentially poised to inflict a “forever” sales tax on itself and spend a majority of the funds in ways which cannot possibly produce what its supporters claim. Advocates appear oblivious to transit ridership trends and new technologies which will make Measure M an expensive and futile experiment. Metro’s CEO Phillip Washington has […]
Oracle’s Marriott
Checking in on my grandmother early one morning last week in San Mateo, I picked up the local paper to read the news: Oracle had bought the local Marriott hotel. If you spend time on Bay Area roads, you’ve driven by it, near the intersection of the 101 and the 92. Ho-hum news, until a […]
CA National Guard Should Keep Bonuses
It is disgraceful that the men and women who answered their country’s call to duty following September 11 are now facing forced repayments of bonuses offered to them. Our military heroes should not shoulder the burden of military recruiters’ faults from over a decade ago. They should not owe for what was promised during a […]
Are Bonds Free?
Voters in California have hundreds of local bonds to consider in this election but I suspect many voters don’t understand how the bonds are funded. They won’t find out by reading ballot summaries. I can’t speak for all the bond summaries throughout the state, but I looked over the 24 bonds on Los Angeles County […]
Prop 67 Should Be Prop 51
The long statewide ballot, with 17 different measures, demonstrates many things wrong with California-style direct democracy. Here’s another one: we put referenda last, when they should be first. The terms referendum and initiative are often used interchangeably, especially by out-of-state media (yes, I’m looking at you, Washington Post). But they are different. A referendum is […]
Goodbye Payphones, Hello Progress
If Clark Kent wanted to turn into Superman in California today, he’d struggle to find a phone booth. Across the entire state there are only 27,000 payphones left, down 70% from 2007. It’s no big surprise that the payphone is going the way of the dodo bird. According to the Pew Research Center 92% of American adults […]