Federal Dollars Won’t Be Coupled to Tax Reform
Slightly more than a decade ago as California was working its way out of the last devastating recession, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the legislature created the Commission on the 21st Century Economy, chaired by financier Gerald Parsky. Often referred to as the Parsky Commission, it boldly followed its mandate to create a new tax structure […]
New Shutdown Points to a Dimming CA Economy
If there were a stock exchange dedicated exclusively to California’s fiscal health it would take a drubbing with the double announcement from Gov. Gavin Newsom closing down many work establishments that were opened just a month ago and large school districts in the state announcing they would remain closed and go to online learning instead […]
Racial Soul-Searching and White Comfort
During this time of national reflection on racial issues, the terms white privilege, white supremacy, and white power have been bandied about plentifully. A different term has been offered up by eminent Los Angeles civil rights attorney, Connie Rice, in assessing the potential outcomes from current protests: white comfort. I asked Rice where this latest […]
Proposition 17 and a Case of Good Timing
One ballot measure expected to get little notice this election season is Proposition 17, granting voting rights to parolees. Yet, because of the increased focus on judicial reform spurred by the protests following George Floyd’s killing, Prop 17 will be wrapped within, and benefit from, the justice reform movement. The California Constitution prohibits felons serving […]
UC’s New President has an Opportunity to Create a Level Playing Field for Political Thought
Congratulations to Dr. Michael V. Drake chosen as the new president of the University of California. Dr. Drake has pledged to face issues head-on acknowledging the difficult challenges ahead dealing with the pandemic, climate change, and social justice. Hopefully, he will apply his well-regarded reputation championing diversity and equity to political thought as well. Most […]
Will Defund the Police Movement Revive Thoughts of LA Secession?
An op-ed in the Los Angeles Times over the weekend by Jon Wiener looked back at the Los Angeles beach community of Venice attempting to secede from the City of Los Angeles 50 years ago over LAPD actions that secession organizers said terrorized the community. The article rekindled a thought I had when the movement […]
California and the Need for “Order”
In the current political environment, the phrase “law and order” has been entangled with the President Donald Trump’s campaign to clamp down on protestors and its implied racial overtones. But focusing on the second half of the equation, “order,” and what it represents, is becoming a problem for Governor Gavin Newsom and California authorities when […]
Who Does Gavin Pick if Kamala Leaves?
The political parlor game of guessing who Gov. Gavin Newsom might choose to replace Kamala Harris in the US Senate if she becomes Vice President of the United States is heating up. Many oddsmakers have California’s junior senator as leading the pack as Joe Biden’s vice presidential pick. With Biden currently enjoying a double digit […]
Removing School Police Could Create Liability Issues for Districts
An outgrowth of the civil rights protests that target policing is the effort to close down police presence in schools. While the resolutions ending police responsibilities at schools speak to racial concerns and alternative safety programs, ending cooperation with school police not only raises safety fears but liability issues for the school districts. School districts […]
Call it the Do-Over Ballot
Label the coming election on ballot measures the Do-Over Ballot. Many of the propositions headed for the November ballot are intended to re-do previous actions taken by voters and/or legislators. Removing some property tax limits, changing other property tax rules, undoing a ban on affirmative action, toughening criminal penalties—all these ballot measures are intended to […]