Is it Time for a Homelessness Czar?
The recent PPIC poll lists homelessness as the number one concern among Californians. No surprise, frustration dealing with the problem is growing not only for those who suffer homelessness but also for residents and business owners who are unhappy about the growing problem in their neighborhoods. Government has responded with money both on the state […]
Does Homelessness Require a Special Court?
Once in a while, a ballot initiative suggests a new idea. Former Assemblymember Mike Gatto, an L.A. Democrat, has come up with one. He has filed an initiative that seeks a middle way to dealing with homeless—by creating a special court. Gatto’s argument is that our current homelessness policy is at once too tough and […]
SB 5 Vetoed for All the Wrong Reasons
Over the weekend, Governor Newsom finished signing and vetoing the final batch of bills that made it to his desk this year. Among the bills he acted upon was SB 5 (Beall), legislation to reestablish redevelopment authority in California. He vetoed it. That’s the good news. The bad news is why he did. The bill […]
California’s AB 5 will kill the gig economy and force more companies to leave
Proposition 13 was called the political equivalent of a sonic boom by economist Art Laffer. In limiting how much local governments could drain from Californians through property taxes, fed-up voters changed the political landscape with the 1978 ballot measure in a way that few state policies have, before or since. Howard Jarvis’ Proposition 13 swept […]