Split Roll Proposal Bad for Jobs and the Economy
The California League of Women Voters and other advocates of a split-roll property tax system filed an initiative December 15 that would increase property taxes on California employers by an estimated $11.4 billion per year. A tax increase of this size will lead to higher consumer prices for goods and services we use every day. […]
Are Pension Trusts the Answer to California Local Government Pension Problems
Many California cities and counties are living interesting times, experiencing rising revenue together with skyrocketing pension bills. Although required pension contributions usually rise in response to bear markets, today they are escalating just as stock indexes reach new highs. The reason is that CalPERS and other systems are taking advantage of today’s relatively benign investment […]
Dear Santa, Bring Immigrants!
Kris Kringle Santa Claus Lane Carpinteria, CA 93013 Dear Kris, I hope you don’t mind me writing you at the California beach house address you slipped me when we met at that Mattel corporate event. I would have mailed this to the North Pole, but I don’t have any international stamps. I know most of […]
F&H Daily’s Ninth Annual Black Bart Award Week
For the past eight years frequent contributors to this page Joe Mathews, John Wildermuth and I have nominated candidates for Californian of the Year in the world of politics. We name the final selection the winner of the Black Bart Award. There are no specific criteria to follow in making the selection. Each author will […]
California: Ground Zero In The Battle For Congress
“Gentlemen, we fight on the Marne,” supposedly said a French general in 1914 before the historic Battle of the Marne. Well, gentleman (and ladies), in 2018 for control of the U.S. House of Representatives we fight in California. California will determine whether Democrats seize control of the House and stop the Trump agenda in its […]
Black Bart 2017: Yes!
It’s hard year to choose a Black Bart. But it’s easy to say who can’t be Black Bart: President Trump. You can’t be California’s Black Bart if you don’t have the guts to step foot in the state of California. It’s not good enough to just fly over us on your way to whipping up […]
Addressing Deferred Maintenance in National Parks Without Raising Taxes
I am a National Park Enthusiast. I have a passport that I bring with me to get stamped at each park I visit. I actually plan vacations around National Parks that I have not yet visited. This past year I added stamps from one of our busiest National Parks, The Great Smoky Mountains, and one […]
A call to action from a CEO on the front lines of the opioid crisis
My company, Alkermes, has been at work since the late 1990s developing and bringing to patients a medicine that helps them fight addiction to opioids. As we set out on that path, CEOs of larger companies urged me to reconsider that decision. They pointed out that addiction is a difficult disease with challenging patients, a […]
Who Else Might Jump into Big Statewide Races?
We pretty much know the fields in the big races in California next year for governor and the U.S. Senate—or do we? Speculation concerning surprise entries to the major races spark the interest of political junkies and political pros. Look at some of the names put out there. Willie Brown in his San Francisco Chronicle […]
The Passing Of San Francisco’s Mayor Ed Lee
When any city loses its Mayor it is a notable event. When the City is one of the nation’s most important, heavy coverage is guaranteed. San Francisco’s quiet and often invisible leader for the past seven years, Ed Lee, died unexpectedly this past week bringing close to another epoch in a city always in ferment […]