One reason Gov. Brown’s Prop. 30 tax increases passed so handily last fall was that many voters became convinced that if they didn’t say yes to the new levies, the sky would fall. Schools would suffer, services for the elderly – already devastated by previous budget cuts – might disappear. Police and fire personnel levels could be decimated. And much more.
Encouraged by 30, Liberals Prepare a New Tax. It Is No Cinch.
Spend more than $30 million to pass a temporary tax increase proposition. See a governor put his entire political capital on the line to pass it, airing countless television commercials featuring that man almost begging voters for a yes verdict. Threaten draconian cuts to schools and colleges that already have seen programs pared to the bone. Result…
One Parole Reversal That Brown Got Right
California’s Parole Board goes by the book, even when it comes to the most heinous murderers. It pretty much has to, or its decisions will be overturned by the courts, which must rule on the letter of the law. Not all cases fit into the letter of the law. Some crimes are so vicious that even if the perpetrators have reformed in prison, earned Ph.D. degrees while incarcerated, led prayer groups for years and otherwise been exemplary convicts, they never should never be freed.
If Tesoro Is Allowed to Buy Arco, Will That Create a Near Monopoly?
Are you ready for $6/gallon gasoline? Then $7? Premium grades of gasoline already go for more than $5 in Los Angeles and elsewhere. Regular has been above $4.50. There is no promise…
Brown’s Reasoning About Pupil Equality Smacks of Old Serrano Verdict
Gov. Brown never has described it quite this way, but the essence of what he wants to do with many of the new tax dollars from last fall’s Prop. 30 victory is finish the job begun in 1971 by the Serrano v. Priest decision of the California Supreme Court. “Equal treatment for children in unequal situations is not justice,” Brown said…
Fracking Would Not Have Been a Big Deal If…
California could have three or more facilities receiving liquefied natural gas (LNG) today, but for massive popular resistance to the prices and possible dangers they might have brought. If those plants had been built, the phenomenon of fracking would mean something very different.
Change to CEQA Rules Inevitable – How Extreme Will They Be?
The battle lines over what may become this year’s most contentious, intractable legislative battle began to form within a day or two of when Gov. Brown uttered two key sentences in his mid-January state of the state speech…
As GOP Backs Off, Illegal Aliens Gain a Sheen of Respectability
Elections matter, one reason for the immigration reform proposals coming from President Obama and a bipartisan panel of U.S. senators in recent days. Here are a few facts behind those moves: Republican Mitt Romney won among white voters, rich and poor, male and female, by an overall 59-39 percent last November. Because Obama had far larger margins among Latinos, blacks and Asian-Americans, Romney’s strong showing among whites didn’t win him the Presidency.
Speaking of Billionaires Who Should Be Paying Their Fair Share
The old saw tells us that billionaires didn’t get rich by giving away money. What about paying their fair share?
Huge (but Incremental?) Changes May Be in Store for Prop. 13 Beneficiaries
From the moment it became clear last fall that Democrats had won supermajorities of slightly more than two-thirds in both houses of the California Legislature, Prop. 13 has been in the political crosshairs. That’s a sea change for the landmark 1978 initiative that limits property taxes to 1 percent of the 1975 assessed value or 1 percent of the latest sales price, allowing yearly increases of no more than 2 percent to adjust for inflation.