Trust Govt. to Spend New Money as Promised? The Record is Not Good
Reassurances to taxpayers about proper management of new revenue on the state and local level is too often ignored by politicians once the money is secured. Recent examples of attempts to spend money differently than promised are common—but it’s an old story, as well. The legislature passed the gas tax and vehicle license fee increase […]
Why Some Experts Say a Court Just Created a New Pathway to “Tax” Californians
Could a few words buried within a recent court ruling make it easier for the state to raise money from Californians? Those words—contained within a decision affirming the constitutionality of California’s policy of charging polluters—are causing a stir among some state budget experts, who wonder if the ruling could be used to could pry loose […]
Gas Tax Increase Could–and Should–Have Been Prevented
It’s the same old song and dance again in Sacramento. Only this time it’s to the tune of $450 per year for every California household. Under the guise of solving California’s infrastructure problems, politicians in Sacramento passed one of the largest tax hikes in recent history. In another hit against hard-working Californians, Sacramento just increased […]
California Squashes Its Young
In this era of anti-Trump resistance, many progressives see California as a model of enlightenment. The Golden State’s post-2010 recovery has won plaudits in the progressive press from the New York Times’s Paul Krugman, among others. Yet if one looks at the effects of the state’s policies on key Democratic constituencies— millennials, minorities, and the […]