Don’t Dismiss the Protests
Despite rallies against stay-at-home orders popping up all over California there is a tendency to dismiss protestors as a small slice of the electorate, especially in light of recent polls that show backing for Governor Newsom’s handling of the coronavirus crisis at 70% approval. Yet, the protests should be viewed like a political canary in […]
Save Local Government By Eliminating Local Governments
California is finally getting the local government apocalypse it needs. I love local government. In most places, it’s the most democratic, participatory, and effective level of government, and it deserves to be the most powerful and best-funded. But in California, local governments are too weak and small to be effective. Why? There are simply too […]
It’s Time to Review AB 5 if Policymakers Really Want to Restart California’s Economy
“Bring Back Borello!” will never work as a rallying cry, but it might be a timely agenda item for California legislators to seriously consider when the coronavirus coast is clear for them to return to Sacramento. In the meantime, the April 30 second anniversary of the state Supreme Court’s Dynamex decision and the Assembly Bill […]
State budget will take a very big hit
A bit of fiscal history is in order. The Great Recession that hit California 13 years ago had a devastating effect on the state budget. General fund revenues — principally personal income taxes paid by affluent Californians — dropped by about 20% and to maintain basic services, the Legislature and then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ran up […]