People Don’t Want a Sales Tax on Services
As the 2020 election nears, Californians are bracing for an onslaught of local and state tax increase proposals on everything from property to soda. Proponents are already selling these taxes as though they are the missing piece in the California Dream, while conveniently ignoring the people who are going to pay more: taxpayers, consumers and […]
Would California Politics Be Better Off If Real Punches Were Thrown?
American politics are pugilistic in the metaphorical sense. Actually throwing a punch and hitting someone is still rare. Taiwan is a different story. Throwing punches in Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan is a longstanding tradition. It’s also part of the political culture at the local level. As I arrived in the country to serve as co-president of […]
California’s Man-Made Power Outages
Californians are mired in a conundrum of conflicting goals to accommodate its growing population, its growing number of registered vehicles, the need for more housing to accommodate its growth, and the unrestricted growth of its forests where much of the housing is encroaching. The public has strongly supported Obama-era regulations, which were a major rewrite […]
Fact check: Do Californians really cool on ballot measures as the election approaches?
In 2020, California voters will be asked to weigh in on some of the most contentious and consequential issues facing the state — criminal justice reform, rent control, school construction funding and inequality. For those hoping to make sense of the deluge of political polls and they’re likely to see over the next year, consider […]