Chuck Beckwith’s column competently lays out all the usual public employee arguments justifying their opulent pensions. A cursory review of the logic reveals just how breathtakingly flawed this reasoning is. First and foremost: His core point is that pensions provide economic stimulus. This is the classic “Broken Window Fallacy.”  Essentially, “If I break your window and […]

There’s a good news story on the front page of the San Diego U-T about Denny Sanford, a philanthropist who just gave $100 MILLION to UCSD for medical research. A genuinely generous man with a vacation home in La Jolla, his avowed goal is to give away his billion+ dollar fortune during his lifetime. Such […]

When it comes to gathering sufficient property taxes, Prop 13 is no problem at all – except for profligate spenders.  Look at the history of my San Diego County – a history that pretty much reflects the history of property taxes in the urban/suburban counties that hold over 85% of California’s population. According to the […]

The one bright spot in California’s otherwise moribund economy has been the state’s tech start-ups in the electronics and biomedical fields.  Liberal politicians always trot out this niche segment of our economy — claiming that California is just hunky-dory — proven by this lucrative (if high risk) field of endeavor. And indeed, HISTORICALLY the progressives can make […]

Here’s the fact that EVERYONE (including me) initially undervalued concerning Mickelson and CA state income taxes. Starting in 2013, Mickelson’s NET state income tax has jumped 83.6%! And yes, this huge increase hits most Californians making more than $2 million income. Here’s why. Until 2013, state income taxes were deductible for federal income tax purposes. […]

Here’s a depressing but documented comparison of California taxes and economic climate with the rest of the states.  The news is breaking bad, and getting worse (twice a month, I update crucial data on this fact sheet): California has the 2nd worst state income tax in the nation.  9.3% tax bracket starts at $48,029 for people filing as […]

I’ll discuss below the “millionaire’s tax” aspect – and the unintended consequences if either the Brown or Munger tax is passed.  This subject is seldom broached even by opponents (even in the ballot arguments), as it’s felt that many people so hate rich folks that it’s “bad form” to speak out in their defense.  I […]

When it comes to gathering sufficient property taxes, Prop 13 is no problem at all –except for profligate spenders.  Look at the history of my San Diego County – a history which pretty much reflects the history of property taxes in the urban/suburban counties that hold over 85% of California’s population. According to the SD […]

While I’m not adding this electricity cost analysis to my “Breaking Bad: CA vs. the Other States” fact sheet (this analysis is a hard item to condense into one sentence), it’s a situation my California readers need to understand.  Our state’s residential electricity rates often are outrageous compared to the rest of the nation.   And […]

The left wing, big government group Next
10 has for some time touted their clever online survey – "The California Budget Challenge — How will YOU balance the
budget?" It is a sophisticated
scam. 

 It is based on a logical
fallacy – in this case, what logicians call a "false dilemma."  According to Wikipedia, a
false dilemma is also known as a "false dichotomy, the either-or fallacy, fallacy of false choice,
black and white thinking or the fallacy of exhaustive
hypotheses."

While the Next 10 online survey is sophisticated in format – replete with
interactive pie charts and a bit dazzling to the layman – when all is said and done,
essentially only two major choices are offered:

1.  Raise taxes
2.  Cut services