Tobacco Flavor Ban Threatens Convenience Stores’ Ability to Serve Their Communities
The impacts of the coronavirus pandemic have been felt across all industries, but the retail industry is especially hurting. We at the American Petroleum and Convenience Store Association (APCA) know firsthand the impacts that is having because we hear of the struggles of our member stores daily. So, why is it that the California Legislature […]
Oppose the L.A. County Initiative To Defund Public Safety and Unlawfully Delegate Control over the Budget
The Los Angeles Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 in support of a charter amendment for the November ballot that would defund public safety and require a minimum of 10% of the County’s unrestricted general funds —ROUGHLY $880 MILLION — to be spent on direct community investment and alternatives to incarceration. The proponents on the Board […]
Asian Americans join Latinos as targets of Trump
We take a hard look at how President Trump is stacking the deck against Asian Americans and Latinos. Asian Americans are damaged by his racist description of the coronavirus pandemic, giving bigots permission to assault them verbally and, in some cases, physically. With Latinos, it’s Trump’s mishandling of the pandemic, which is roaring through the […]
Sacrificing for the Environment—To a Point
The Public Policy Institute of California’s extensive environmental survey revealed that Californians are strong on environmental protections, but some answers make you wonder how far residents will go to back-up their pro-environment views. When asked if they would be willing to make major lifestyle changes to address global warming, respondents overwhelmingly agreed. More than seven […]
“Affordable Housing” Could Actually Be Affordable with CEQA Reform
Yet again, California is ranked the #1 most expensive state to live in America for 2020. And while taxes and childcare costs are also in the top five in the nation, it is housing costs that really stand out. Rent and mortgage payments run an average of $3,000 per month, nearly seventy percent higher than […]
Court bans “abusive” spiking, but sticks with pension protections
For 65 years, the California Supreme Court has taken a rigid line on pensions for public employees: Any retirement benefits promised to a worker at the outset of a job can only be reduced if they are replaced with something of equal value. That iron-clad precedent has been dubbed “the California Rule.” Today the state’s […]
Answering Questions about California’s Dysfunctional Energy Policies
California, with less than 0.5% of the world’s population (40 million vs. 8 billion), remains the state with the highest cost of electricity and fuels in the country and its dysfunctional energy policies are doing everything possible to further increase those costs to the detriment of those that can least afford it. The states’ pursuit […]
Going for Broke Chasing a Tax Gusher
In this time of Covid-19, public sector unions see an opportunity for a tax gusher. The Proposition 15 property tax increase measure funded largely by public unions could raise $12.5 billion. Assembly Bill 1253, introduced this week by fifteen Democratic legislators and encouraged by the public sector unions, is projected to raise $6.8 billion by […]
CalPERS, Corruption And Cronyism
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System, which has a history of making poor choices, plans to become a lending institution. A healthy pension fund wouldn’t be making such a risky decision. Still hurting from $100 billion in losses from the Great Recession, CalPERS was bruised again by the coronavirus pandemic. Now, funded at only 71%, […]
Governor’s Decision on Minimum Wage Another Blow to Small Business
The California Business Roundtable supported increased funding for the CalEITC funding last year and our research on upward economic mobility shows it is a critical anti-poverty tool. But programs like the EITC are only effective when people are at work. Due to the governor’s decision to allow for the minimum wage increase, despite the state […]