California’s recovery must focus on its “essential” Central Valley
Crises have a way of revealing what’s important. And Californians adjusting to life in the age of COVID-19 are learning the importance of the Central Valley. The Central Valley is home to many parts of the economy that continue to operate during the crisis producing products and providing services that we all rely on. It’s […]
Governor’s Business & Job Recovery Task Force Should Give an Equal Chance to All Qualified Workers
As the California Task Force on Business and Jobs Recovery meets to formulate plans to restore and rebuild the state’s economy, it should remember Gov. Gavin Newsom’s official slogan: “California for All.” The state recognized construction as an essential business and California needs all hands to help rebuild the state as quickly as possible. When […]
California’s Forecasted Budget Deficit Decades in the Making
For decades, the state that has been dominated by one-party that has been laying the foundation for a budget catastrophe. The concept of having the wealthy bear the responsibility to fund most of the state’s General Fund and the constant efforts to have its residents pay the highest costs for electricity and fuels is about […]
The Fight Over Voting By Mail
A huge battle is brewing over the use of mail in balloting for the November election. Republicans, led by President Trump, believe mail voting is a dagger aimed at killing their party, Democrats believe mail ballots are a vast new source of Democratic votes. Intense as this battle is, they are both wrong. Mail ballots […]
Backers of ‘False Claims Act’ Bill Make False Claims of Their Own
The sponsors of AB 2570 – a flawed proposal to deputize profit-seeking attorneys to engage in tax collection – continue to claim that California has a $20 billion “tax gap,” despite being alerted that the that number has no basis in fact. The “tax gap” is the estimated difference between what taxpayers owe under the […]
Could California Be Setting a Model for the Nation?
There are three coronavirus response models being offered for general public consumption with varying degrees of popularity. None are particularly comforting. Each has fallacies. For purposes of discussion I will call them (1) the Utopian Model; (2) the Science-Based Model; and (3) the Doomsday Model. California’s preference hews closer to the second model with some […]
Los Angeles taxpayers on the hook for $49,700
A new report found that Los Angeles taxpayers are on the hook for $49,700. Truth in Accounting (TIA) released the City Combined Taxpayer Burden Report that analyzed the fiscal health of the 10 largest cities in the United States, including underlying government entities. Not only are city taxpayers on the hook for the city government’s […]
Can the Gov. Do That? Changing Workers’ Comp with a Signature
In 2004 I played a key role in changes to the workers compensation system in California by carrying an initiative that was ultimately embraced by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and used to convince the legislature to make important changes to the system that was threatening the viability of the business community. If the legislature had not […]
No Surprise: Tesla May Move Out of California
Dear Elon Musk: I almost never write open letters, but I’m doing so here to applaud your comments about the difficulty in doing business in California. You stunned many people by saying you might move Tesla’s headquarters and vehicle manufacturing out of California when Alameda County refused to permit your Fremont factory to re-open in […]