An earlier edition of this column focused on government waste due to gross mismanagement and fraud on the part of California state and local governments. The argument then, as it is now, is that elected representatives should be spending much more of their time and energy on oversight of existing programs, rather than posture for a photo op or press release announcing a “new” program that, in all likelihood, is redundant with a dozen or more existing programs covering the same subject matter.

The problem, of course, is that elected officials and bureaucrats have no incentive to be cautious regarding how they spend our tax dollars. Here, the observations of Nobel winning economist Milton Friedman are instructive. He noted that there are four ways people can spend money:

To read the entire column click here http://www.hjta.org/california-commentary/new-ways-to-spend-opm-other-peoples-money/… Read More

The bill opposing boycotts of Israel has been pigeonholed in California’s Democratically controlled state legislature for nearly three months. AB 1552, by Assemblyman Travis Allen, R-Huntington Beach, prohibits state entities from contracting with parties that engage in commercial discrimination, and boycotts on the basis of national origin.

The international “Boycott, Divest and Sanctions” movement is a growing authoritarian movement created and funded by a global alliance of the Regressive-Left and Islamists, whichcalls for a political, academic and… Read More

Despite all the evidence that increasing the minimum wage does little or nothing to reduce poverty, California Gov. Jerry Brown and the Democrats in the State Legislature just passed another minimum wage increase. Not one Republican in the Assembly or Senate voted for the bill, and all Democrats, save two, voted for the minimum wage increase.

The minimum wage has always been an arbitrary figure. If the arbitrary minimum wage is inflated, this also inflates prices, leaving low-wage workers spending more on everything.

This political decision by Brown will likely come back to haunt California, much as the 1999 political pension deal signed into law by Gov. Gray Davis… Read More

California’s minimum wage is set to rise to $15/hour over the next six years. While this topic has been beat to death, it is seldom pointed out that the inflation-adjusted minimum wage, based on 78 years of precedent, at most should only be around $10 per hour. Arecent UnionWatch post “Raise the Minimum Wage, or Lower the Cost of Living?,” proved this using CPI data. As can be seen, only once, in 1968, did the minimum wage in 2015 dollars exceed $10/hour.

Historical Minimum Wages Expressed in 2015 Dollars

A lot of things have happened since 1968, of course. To name just two, theearned income tax creditdidn’t arrive until 1975, and theAffordable Care Act, offering health insurance to low-income… Read More

The five reasons why San Diego pro sports teams are perennial losers — in the past, present and particularly in the future. Taxes play a big part in this tradition.

San Diego is a great place toplayoutdoor sports — terrific weather, low humidity, little rain (let alone snow) and no wind. But for a star professional athlete making big bucks, economically San Diego is a bad choice. And recently it’s been getting worse.

To be fair, our city’s loser tradition dates back generations. Wikipedia lists only one major league championship in San Diego’s history — in 1994 the Chargers won the AFC Championship, putting the team in the Super Bowl (where the San Francisco 49’s kicked their butts, final score: 49-26). No other significant American city has as few championships over the years.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_North_American_cities_by_number_of_major_sports_championships

Pro teams have figured out that… Read More

Below is an excellent article comparing the financial success of Europe vs. the United States — and specifically with the STATES of the U.S. As has been previously demonstrated, most Europeans are less well off than America’s lower income folks.

While this includes great data, and is based on the fine work of Economics Professor Mark Perry (I’m a fan), it does an inadequate job of adjusting for the COL in the American states and European countries. There is one chart giving the CONSUMPTION comparison which dramatically demonstrates the superiority of America vs. all the European countries, but it would be even more interesting to break that down for a state by state comparison to European countries. Ah well, it’s good enough as it is.

BTW, IF you are interesting in how our American prosperity compares between U.S. states, see my article comparing state per capita GDP adjusted for COL. For instance, you’ll find that, adjusted for COL, the per capita GDP of Texas is about 45% higher than CA:… Read More

For average Californians, the news out of Sacramento is seldom good.

Finding ways to increase the tax burden, eliminate the taxpayer protections in Proposition 13 and increasing the cost of living seem to be the preoccupation of most members of the Legislature. The majority of bills that are introduced are designed to give special interests an advantage over their competitors and/or taxpayers.

To illustrate how this can work, let’s look at an issue state regulators faced some years ago. The burning public policy question was whether or not dog groomers should be allowed to clean dogs’ teeth. No, seriously. Veterinarians argued that this should be their exclusive purview because they can perform this procedure more “safely.” Dog groomers claimed this was just an attempt by animal doctors to eliminate competition so they could increase the cost to consumers, who, because of higher prices, might be less attentive to their pets’ needs.

To read the entire column click here… Read More

Named for presidential candidate, new political party said to ‘trump’ the failures of Republicans and Democrats

Claiming they are sick and tired of politics as usual, a group of disenchanted local Republicans and Independents, as well as a few Democrats, released plans today to establish a new political party named after Donald Trump.

Under the banner, “Make America Great Again,” organizers say they are filing initial paperwork with the Secretary of State’s office to become an official party in California by the 2018 election cycle, with longer-term plans to expand into several other states.

Steve Grantham, a local auto dealer and self-described anti-tax advocate, says the choice of the name “Trump Party,” although inspired by the front-running GOP presidential candidate, transcends the name alone. “The guy has motivated many like us to find some hope in the future again,” said Grantham. “He inspired our name for the party, but it’s more than that. Whether Donald wins or loses in November, the effort will continue. Our new party will ‘trump’ the… Read More