In California, a Billion Dollars is Chump Change
The late Illinois U.S. Senator Everett Dirksen supposedly said in examining the federal budget, “A billion dollars here, a billion dollars there and pretty soon you’re talking real money.” In California, a billion dollars here and a billion dollars there is a good indicator on how big the problems are that the state faces. Dealing […]
No, “density” doesn’t rhyme with “sanity”
The recitals seem all right: big California cities are becoming increasingly unlivable as population continues to concentrate, traffic gets worse and housing costs soar. Not a lot of disagreement there. And yet it feels like there’s something in the Kool-Aid of many editorial boards and op-ed writers which makes them take a shine to SB50, […]
Jurors Are Working—They Should be Paid More
I handled Los Angeles County jury duty in 2017, and again in April, 2019. I had a sour experience with it, because of the structure of jury duty. California legislators designed California county-level jury duty laws. Based on those laws, CA jurors receive $15.00 a day, $0.17 a mile as their pay – starting day […]
Bring Back Josiah Royce
If you’re a Californian who doesn’t know the name Josiah Royce, shame on you—and on the schools and intellectuals who have allowed us to forget the greatest thinker the Golden State ever produced. When he is remembered, Royce—born in 1855 in Grass Valley, raised in San Francisco, and educated at Berkeley—is often described as a […]