Trump Damaged Democracy, Silicon Valley Will Finish It Off
When Democrats made their post-election populist “Better Deal” pitch, they took a strong stance against pharmaceutical and financial monopolies. But they conspicuously left out the most profound antitrust challenge of our time—the tech oligarchy. The information sector, notes The Economist, is now the most consolidated sector of the American economy. The Silicon Valley and its Puget Sound annex dominated […]
Supreme Court defends local initiatives, but may threaten taxpayer protections
A California Supreme Court decision makes it easier to raise some local taxes. But how much easier remains to be seen. For two decades, local tax increases have usually been governed by Proposition 218, whether proposed by a local government agency or by citizen initiative. Passed by voters in 1996, Proposition 218 requires voter approval of all […]
SB 2’s Tax Hurdle
Senator Toni Atkins’ Senate Bill 2 is focused on one of the gnawing problems eating away at California’s people and economy—affordable housing. Yet, the bill is struggling to gain the necessary two-thirds vote. The author has made amendments to bring colleagues aboard. But, the larger issue SB 2 must overcome is that it is a tax […]
What Kind of Party Chastises Chad Mayes While Advancing Travis Allen?
If you want to know why California has turned its back on the Republican Party, consider how the California GOP is treating Chad Mayes and Travis Allen. Let’s start with Mayes is the Assembly’s Republican leader. He just came off a big deal to renew the state’s cap-and-trade program. Mayes turned limit leverage to get […]
Legislature Wants to Tax Drinking Water for First Time in History
The California Legislature is moving for the first time in history to tax every residence and business about a dollar month for drinking water to generate $2 billion over the next 15 years to supposedly clean up contaminated ground water. Although Senate Bill 623 is titled: “Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund,” a coalition of agricultural […]
Harris v. Garcetti
Does California politics have a new top rivalry? Sure, all the hype right now is about Gavin Newsom v. Antonio Villaraigosa, and the already-well-underway contest for the governorship. Less remarked upon has been a rivalry with a longer horizon (2020) but with higher stakes: U.S. Senator Kamala Harris vs. L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti. They are […]
Would Republicans Have Been Better off Without the Recall?
Among the Donald Trump faithful, he can do no wrong. The stalwarts did not mind the departure of Reince Priebus and Sean Spicer, who were seen as Establishment Republicans, presumably committed, but insufficiently, to Draining the Swamp. That swamp, candidate Trump implied, was full of the status quo, cronies from both major political parties who […]
‘Rain tax’ is back, and L.A. County residents could get soaked
In a stealth maneuver seven weeks ago, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors persuaded Assemblymember Chris Holden, D-Pasadena, to “gut and amend” Assembly Bill 1180, originally designed to reduce contamination from tires, to instead give them more authority to raise taxes on private property. Publicly, the purpose is to use the new taxes to make our water supply […]
Flavored Tobacco Ordinance Sure to Backfire
If San Francisco ultimately implements its recently adopted ordinance to ban the sale of flavored tobacco products, it will do more harm than good, serving to increase rates of tobacco-related addiction, illness and death across the city. There are two major issues with this ordinance. The first is the ease with which persons who want […]