The Cost of Extortion
Whatever some say to justify sky-high fees, design requirements and affordable-housing mandates it’s certain they all do one thing: raise housing costs. It is said that the fees are necessary to mitigate the impact(s) of new housing on the community. Yes, but so high? Moreover, new design requirements locals say are written to conform the […]
California State Legislature Picks a Fight with The United States Constitution
Yet another new law confirms union control of the California State Capitol. Gov. Brown has signed Senate Bill 954, which restricts what kind of construction industry advancement programs are worthy of inclusion in state prevailing wage determinations. As you might guess, Senate Bill 954 ensures that employer payments only qualify as industry advancement if they […]
Profligate Waste Negates Justification for Transportation Tax Hike
A personal digression: My father was head of the Iowa Department of Transportation (then called the Iowa Highway Commission) in the late ’60s and early ’70s before he was appointed by President Ford to serve as Deputy Federal Highway Administrator. (Of course, he lost that job when Jimmy Carter became president, but he continued to […]
California’s $12.3 Billion in Proposed School Bonds: Borrowing vs. Reform
“As the result of California Courts refusing to uphold the language of the High Speed Rail bonds, the opponents of any bond proposal, at either the state or local level, need only point to High-Speed Rail to remind voters that promises in a voter approved bond proposal are meaningless and unenforceable.” – Jon Coupal, October […]
Knee Jerk Tax Hikes
For the second time in as many weeks Californians got the news that Sacramento politicians are proposing yet another big tax hike. The truth is that new taxes would never be required were it not for Sacramento’s mismanagement of existing tax dollars. Last week, it was the proposal to deal with the very real problem […]
California’s $12.3 Billion in Proposed School Bonds: Borrowing vs. Reform
“As the result of California Courts refusing to uphold the language of the High Speed Rail bonds, the opponents of any bond proposal, at either the state or local level, need only point to High-Speed Rail to remind voters that promises in a voter approved bond proposal are meaningless and unenforceable.” – Jon Coupal, October […]
So Many Studies, So Little Credibility
Universities, think tanks, and community organizations in California continually churn out studies and reports to prove that state agencies and local governments need to spend more and regulate more. This flood of studies overwhelms the small number released each year in California to support public policies based on free markets and limited government. Why the […]
Construction Unions Should Fight for Infrastructure that Helps the Economy
One primary reason California has the highest cost-of-living (and cost of doing business) in America, combined with a crumbling infrastructure, is because California’s construction unions have allied themselves with environmental extremists and crony “green” capitalists, instead of fighting for what might actually help their state. California’s construction unions ought to take a look around the […]
New Economic Development Tax Incentive Should Be On The Fast Track
California’s economic development programs have lately been a work in progress – just as these efforts need to shift into overdrive. No time like a recovering economy to put our best foot forward. State government has focused the last couple years on structure: creating a new economic development agency, opening our first new foreign trade […]
CEQA’s Union Shop of Horrors
If you operate a business in California, you’ve probably heard of CEQA horror stories – about how it delays construction projects and makes them far more expensive. Heck, you may have passed around a few of those stories, too, since the business sector’s disgust with CEQA has attained an almost mythic status. It’s the state […]