Why Are Audiences Allowed at Candidate Debates?
Listening to the raucous audience frequently interfering at last night’s Los Angeles District Attorney election debate rekindled a question I’ve thought about before– why are audiences permitted at major political debates—including presidential debates? There are many news accounts on the issues raised and the candidates’ responses at the L.A. debate last night presented by radio […]
Shocked, Shocked to Find Top Two Being Gamed
It’s not a scandal when California’s top two system gets gamed. It’s a system that was designed to be gamed. Since its passage by voters a decade ago, defenders of the top two—I don’t call it a primary because it’s the absence of the primary—have described it as a way to give independent and moderate […]
Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Strengthening California’s Middle Class
Many California economists and workforce practitioners know of employment initiatives launched by Mike Bloomberg, when he was Mayor of New York, 2002-2013. However, beyond the economists and practitioners, these initiatives have not received the attention they deserve. With the California primary approaching, it is worth taking a look at a few of them: the results […]
Using Online Resources to Qualify Ballot Measures
There is a mass delusion afflicting millions of Californians. They endure a cost-of-living nearly twice the national average, high taxes, the highest incidence of poverty, the most hostile business climate, some of the worst K-12 schools, well over a $1.0 trillion in bond and pension debt, unaffordable homes, among the highest prices in the nation […]