How a Rural California Town Got Universal Broadband
If California is really the global tech capital, why is it so hard for our small towns to get the Internet service they need? One answer to that question is in Gonzales, a Salinas Valley settlement of 9,000. While California’s biggest cities now struggle to provide Internet access for people to work and study from […]
Federal Money for State and Local Governments Could Stop Tax Increases
Governor Gavin Newsom is hoping for federal funds to avoid about $14 billion in budget cuts. Political tensions over a federal subsidy to state and local governments—some Republicans label it a bailout—have held up Washington assistance to the states, but the odds are some form of federal help eventually will come. The federal funds could […]
The Coronavirus’ Impact on Bills in the California Legislature
As you may recall, there were 2,203 bills introduced by the February 21 deadline for the 2020 California Legislative Session. Since that time, there were 20 more bills introduced (committee bills, for example, are not subject to the February deadline), 14 additional bills in the Assembly and 6 additional bills in the Senate. Out of […]
Here are 6 things the Legislature can do to help California recover from economic devastation
The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated the California economy, especially public-facing businesses. Entertainment – including motion pictures, television, live shows and theme parks – restaurants, accommodations and retail sectors have been laid waste, evaporating thousands of jobs. Few states depend on this sector as does California. Tourism, hospitality and retail also are the very sectors that […]
The Grand Inquisitor’s Story Comes To California’s Job Devastation
(Part of a series on the impacts of the coronavirus on employment and the workplace. The previous ones are here.) A number of issues arising during the pandemic—issues of faith, certainty, freedom— lead us back to The Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel published in 1880. It is not too grandiose to say that at a […]
Time to stop the mandates, give business time to recover
Proponents of a newly-proposed privacy initiative, the so-called California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), claim to have enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot. The actual number of qualifying signatures may be close, based on my experience with previous initiatives. But as someone who has signed a few ballot initiative arguments, I question whether this […]
Budgeting by Trump
Remember a long, long time ago—all the way back to February—when our state and its leaders were committed to resisting President Trump at all costs. Three months later, Gov. Gavin Newsom, our resistor-in-chief, is proposing to put Trump in charge of the California budget. These are strange times, and this strategy may be good politics. […]
California’s Request For Federal Funds
About Governor Newsom’s request for $14 billion of additional federal support– Even when added to the $8 billion already provided to California by the CARES Act, the total ($22 billion) would be less than half the $48 billion proposed for California under the HEROES Act passed by the US House of Representatives last week. But, […]
Separating Good Bailouts From Bad Bailouts
The pandemic shutdown is about to enter its third month, and economic repercussions have just begun. Too much has been shut down for too long. In California, the initial reopen is not going to include huge business sectors – theaters, concerts, conventions, sports, travel, hotels – and other sectors such as restaurants and retail establishments […]