State Officials and Unions Will Never Have All the Money They Want
Proposition 15, the split-roll property tax measure on the November ballot, would seriously affect family businesses throughout the state by raising taxes on commercial property by an estimated $11.5 billion a year. As the owners of family-owned Holt of California and chairman of the Family Business Association of California, I know how hard it will […]
The dark side of Governor Newsom’s gas-powered vehicle ban
California Governor Newsom has convinced himself that green EV’s made from “fairy dust” must replace those dirty gas-powered vehicles. Sharing a few realities of the darker side of his fairy dust beliefs may burst his bubble. Let us get some of the bad news out of the way first. The following is a partial list […]
San Francisco’s Retirement Spending
When we’re not studying state finances we read financial reports issued by cities and school districts. Recently we took a look at the City and County of San Francisco where annual cash spending on pensions and other post-employment benefits (OPEB) more than doubled from 2010 to 2019: Unfunded liabilities more than tripled to $8.3 billion:
Consider Another Option to the Prop. 24 Debate
Proposition 24 is tough stuff—tough to get through and understand that is. The measure runs 52-pages. The politics are a bit confusing, too. While proponents argue that Proposition 24 will strengthen California’s current privacy law, some privacy advocates say it’s not strong enough and that’s why they want it defeated. But it has always seemed […]
Reading the Props: 23 Continues the Labor-Dialysis Wars
Every two years, I read the full text of all statewide ballot propositions—because at least one Californian should. Next is Proposition 23 Prop 23 is mercifully short, at less than 2300 words. But it’s another meta-measure that is mostly about itself. Prop 23 is a follow-up to the failed Prop 8 from 2018. It’s another […]
Kamala Harris as President?
As we face yet another Sophie’s Choice election within less than three weeks, I’ve been waiting to see when and if the Trump campaign would start challenging the person who could end up being President: California Senator Kamala Harris. After all, she would be far more dangerous to the future of America than Joe Biden […]
St. Louis Proposal Would Make CA’s Top 2 Primary Even Worse
In a couple weeks, California will hold yet another general election with third parties being mostly kept off the ballot, Republicans being under-represented on it, and Democrats having to spend millions in contests against other Democrats. I wanted to share a way that it could be worse. In St. Louis, voters are looking at a […]
Small Business Retail Theft a Major Concern this Election Season
Shoplifting and stealing are becoming a bigger problem in California, which is why small businesses are showing interest in two statewide ballot measures that deal with crime and justice. Proposition 20 seeks sterner criteria defining felonies, while Proposition 25 is a referendum on the Legislature’s no cash bail law. A survey by the National Retailers […]
Why California Is Better At Protecting Your Rights Than the U.S. Government
Do you trust your state officials more than feds, dream of California independence, or support breaking the U.S. into regional republics? Then you’re a traditional American patriot. Or do you cling to hopes of national unity, or believe in compromise to preserve our union of 330 million? Then you’re part of the problem. The frightening […]
California Vote by Mail in Safe Hands; Remember to Exercise Your Right to Vote
Democracy’s most sacred right, voting, is already underway in California with all 21 million registered voters having received a mail-in ballot. While voting by mail may have stirred controversy on a national level, here in California, we have grown comfortable with making our decisions around the kitchen table, marking our choices on candidates at the […]