For Whom the California Budget Tolls
Journalists and elected officials occasionally make the mistake of viewing budget problems in terms of size rather than where the budget item falls. For example, the costs of unfunded pensions and retiree healthcare in the current fiscal year (FYE16–17) add up to 6% of the state’s General Fund, a much smaller share than retirement spending […]
Labor Law Reform is Long Overdue
The California Business and Industrial Alliance (CABIA) was formed last year after the company I work for was assaulted with a wage and hour PAGA Lawsuit. This cost us over a million dollars and will take us years to recover. Late lunches and misclassified safety incentives were the violations we committed. Our flexible schedule and […]
Can an Oprah Campaign Happen?
Hollywood is good at making news—usually about the latest movie blockbuster or acting sensation. But that was not the case at the most recent Golden Globes awards which worked hard to take the industry and the Golden State out of an unfavorable spotlight. Before a jewel-bedecked audience of very well-coiffed Californians—notably woman all attired in […]
Scramble for Ed Royce’s Congressional Seat
Thirteen-term congressman Ed Royce will retire at the end of this term, opening up a wide-open race in a competitive district, reports Martin Wisckol in the Register. While several “insiders” repeatedly promised that he would not retire, there were hints that he would. Like Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) on Judiciary, Royce hits the GOP’s term limits on the House Committee on […]
Voters’ Right to Know Undermined by High Candidate Statement Fees, SoS Conflict of Interest
Can we really say we have a democracy, if the only candidates that voters have information about, is those who can ‘pay to play’? Yet that’s the case here in California, where candidate space in the official statewide Voter Information Guide (and in the county sample ballots) – the only pieces of information that go […]