Will Recall Election be a Harbinger for Gas Tax Repeal?
Much was made at the recent state GOP convention about the gas tax repeal initiative being a magnet to bring Republican voters to the polls in November. Whether the magnet has true pulling power is yet to be determined but a test of that theory comes soon with the recall election of Democratic Sen. Josh […]
Big Three Items are Eating State Revenues
California’s General Fund tax revenues have grown nearly 50 percent since a tax increase in 2012. But funding for most services has grown at a fraction of that pace. Eg, funding for courts has grown only 12 percent. That’s because tax revenues are increasingly being diverted to (i) pensions, (ii) subsidies for retired employees (“OPEB”), and (iii) enterprises reimbursed by Medi-Cal, […]
Californians Need Real Legislation To Access A Truly Open Internet
A congressional effort pushed by big online companies to promote net neutrality through an obscure legislative tool ignores a simple truth: It will not permanently protect a free and open Internet and will continue to leave many rural and minority residents in California on the wrong side of the digital divide. Rather than spending time […]
California Democracy Is Like a Wendy’s in Colton
One recent Sunday night, I stopped by a Wendy’s in Colton, a gritty San Bernardino County logistics crossroads (pop. 52,000) best known as home to one of America’s oldest and busiest railroad crossings. I wasn’t there to catch a train or to grab a square hamburger and a Frosty, but rather to glimpse the struggles […]