Gas Tax Poll Sends a Tremor Through the Political Landscape
A tremor ran through the 2018 California elections with the release of the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll that shows widespread disdain for the recently passed gas tax and vehicle fees–even before collection of the tax begins in November. The gas tax issue could sway California elections from the governor’s race on down, especially […]
Illinois = California Sans Silicon Valley and Sunshine
It’s looking like even the Blues Brothers won’t be able to rescue Illinois from “insolvency,” the fancy word for bankruptcy. Supposedly states can’t go bankrupt, although Arkansas effectively did in 1933, during the depths of the Great Depression. The Land of Lincoln’s credit rating dropped to just a guitar string above junk-bond levels because, according […]
What Awaits California’s Next Governor
California’s economy rises and falls with the national economy: Governors have little to do with those waves but their approval ratings ride right alongside. Pete Wilson wasn’t touted as presidential material until the economy improved in the 1990’s. Gray Davis rode the dot-com boom to high approval ratings until the 2001 dot-com crash. As housing […]
Silicon Valley is testing us
A: Test me all night, baby. No really. Sign me up to be the subject of A/B testing. I’d even be willing to sign a blanket consent form, right now, so that all of Silicon Valley’s biggest brains can test me for the purpose of improving the human future. Everybody’s doing it. In fact, you’ve […]
Sucking Up to China Is Unseemly, Even on Climate Change
I understand the impulse of Gov. Brown and leading Democrats to stick it to President Trump. Our so-called president has lied so often about California that he deserves to be on the business end of a never-ending counterattack. And climate change is a vital issue. Trump’s portrayal of the issue as a hoax merits California’s […]
Interpreting the Meaning of “Hope” at the Comey Hearing—Harris has her Say
A crucial question unresolved in yesterday’s dramatic testimony by former FBI Director James Comey before the Senate Intelligence Committee is this: Did President Trump direct Comey to drop the investigation of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn when he told Comey he hoped Comey could let the investigation go? California’s junior senator Kamala Harris clearly […]
The University of California Doesn’t Need Fixing
“If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” Sacramento lawmakers ought to keep that adage in mind before they adopt legislation to “fix” the University of California. The last thing the University needs is micromanaging by the Legislature. For more than 50 years, under California’s Master Plan for Higher Education, UC has been the linchpin of […]
Jim Comey: A Political Animal Uncaged
Jim Comey’s testimony was about the most widely anticipated hearing since Oliver North sat before Congress in 1987 during the Iran-Contra scandal. That was six years into Ronald Reagan’s presidency. Comey sat before the microphone less than five months into Donald Trump’s first term. He was poised, calm, collected and extremely candid in his answers […]
GO-Biz Hosting 28 Workshops for Businesses Interested in Applying for Over $200 Million in Tax Credits
(Editor’s Note: This press release was received from GO-Biz, the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development) The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) today announced a series of 28 workshops across California designed to help businesses apply for over $200 million in available California Competes Tax Credits (CCTC). “Our message to business owners […]