Election Season is On
Yesterday I received fundraising emails from both Abel Maldonado and Tim Donnelly both seeking funds for their gubernatorial campaigns. I didn’t receive an email from Governor Jerry Brown for his re-election campaign … but I have received gubernatorial fundraising emails from him in the past, so it’s just a matter of time. Maldonado’s pitch asked […]
Is Prop 8 Ruling a Wellspring for New Initiatives?
The United States Supreme Court’s decision on Proposition 8 just might bring about new initiatives not only on the pro and con side of the gay marriage argument but also from third parties concerned about the initiative process. Before the decision even came down to uphold the lower court’s decision for lack of standing by […]
Wage Issue Overshadows Biz Moving In/Out of CA
How much workers at newly established jobs are paid may be the bigger issue than businesses coming in or leaving California according to some preliminary data released in a new effort to understand the regulatory impact on business and its relation to the surrounding community. An ambitious project undertaken by the California Business Roundtable and […]
Good Economic News Will Lead to Lower Tax Rates, Right?
When Governor Jerry Brown campaigned for Proposition 30 last year, he argued that the temporary tax was needed for only a few years until the economy bounced back. Perhaps too early to celebrate, but the signs of a reviving economy are popping up. Does that mean the Prop 30 tax will expire on schedule? I […]
Boxed in by the Prison Issue
The Ninth Circuit three judge panel’s order to release nearly 10,000 prisoners from California jails by the end of the year seemingly has put a resisting Governor Jerry Brown in a box. On one side, Brown is threatened by the courts to free prisoners. On the other side, political opponents are mounting a campaign against […]
Senate Supermajority Pauses on Prop 13 Changes
Like the last minute of a close NBA basketball game, California’s senate supermajority called timeout before making its big play against Proposition 13. The senate considered four constitutional amendments that would raise taxes with a 55 percent vote instead of the two-thirds vote requirement that Proposition 13 imposes on special taxes for specific purposes. The […]
One Perspective on Business in California
Over the weekend, the Wall Street Journal published an interview conducted by editorial writer Allysia Finley with Andy Puzder, president of CKE Restaurants, headquartered in California. CKE operates Carl’s Jr. restaurants and other establishments. While the entire interview can be found here, below are a number of paragraphs detailing Puzder’s eye-opening view of conducting business […]
Garcetti’s Open-Door Policy
I dropped in on one of Los Angeles Mayor-elect Eric Garcetti’s town hall meetings this week, one of six he is holding in different geographic areas of the city (and another he plans to hold online). As part of his transition plan, Garcetti is meeting with constituents asking them for suggestions on how the city […]
Seeking PR Help to Raise Tax Revenue
Now we’ve got a public school district considering hiring a political PR firm to convince other government officials to raise tax revenue by raising property assessments. Such an action may be illegal and it sure is reckless. Sure, campaigns supporting tax increases have hired professional help but not with taxpayers’ money. And, yes, with taxpayers’ […]
Notes on the Budget, Union Contract and Transportation Tax Debate
Not all the Democrats in the legislature got what they wanted in the budget agreement, but the two legislative leaders got something that they wanted, smoothing the way for an on-time budget. Assembly Speaker John Perez got funds for middle class students attending state universities and Senate Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg got money for mental […]