[Publisher’s Note: We are pleased to offer this original commentary from retired State Senator Dick Ackerman – Flash]

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Every $1 the state invests in UCLA produces $34 in economic activity. As California’s largest UC, it pumps $12.7 billion into the state’s economy every year.

These findings, from a new study of UCLA’s economic contributions, demonstrate the importance of investing in higher education to keep California’s economic recovery alive – and to position the Golden State for a more prosperous future.

In Orange County, where I live, UC Irvine is the second-largest employer and generates an economic impact on the county… Read More

Reactions from the press and public to the BART strikes this year have been overwhelmingly negative. In one of the safest Democratic strongholds in the U.S., there is serious talk of outlawing future BART strikes.

Asreportedin the San Francisco Chronicle on October 19th, “That discussion has already begun, in letters from California lawmakers to Gov.Jerry Brown, from state Sen.Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord, who said he “looking into legislation that could prevent future strikes,” a petition drive by aDemocratic… Read More

Raise the minimum wage! To $10, $12, $15 — more!

Help the downtrodden fast food worker. It all comes out of corporate profits, and so who cares? What could be more fair?

Two problems: 1. Economic reality. 2. Technology.

Dramatically raising wages (coupled with all the ancillary costs of labor) is a huge incentive to replace labor with machines. Below is a highly sophisticated coffee dispensing kiosk (not yet in commercial production) that is potentially thecompletereplacement for a Starbucks store. It’s a highly specialized, heavily customized “coffee shop” with next to ZERO labor.

Don’t get me wrong. For years to come, many clueless liberals will still pay $5 or more for their handmade coffee at Starbucks. Saving the world, one cup of java at a time.

But if (more likewhen) this technology innovation wave is fully commercialized, market forces (and lower prices) will have a devastating effect on unskilled fast food labor. Unemployment will grow, with fewer and fewer able to get even… Read More

Having faith in freedom, Igor Birman is hoping voters “hire” him for Congress. “I’m here on a job interview asking you to hire me,” Birman tells voters he meets.

Birman, a Russian Jewish Immigrant and Republican, announced in September he is running for Congress against Rep. Ami Bera, a Democrat from Congressional District 7. At 32, Birman has a unique ability to reach young and ethnic voters who historically have been wooed by Democrats. At a Sacramento coffee shop, he sat down to talk to me.

“I was defined by freedom,” Birman said when we met this week. “But that freedom now… Read More

Republicans are on journey to prove to Californians that Republicans can win the minds and hearts of Latino voters.

Recent elections prove it’s possible. Take Andy Vidak, who won a state senate seat in a 60 percent Hispanic district, by talking about the needs of the community and finding common ground with Latino voters registered in a different party.

Another role model is David Valadao in the 21st Congressional District, who showed up, became part of his Latino community and talked about his principles.

He too was able to win his district with Latino support. That’s what the party has to do on a large scale.

In order to grow our party, we have to go where we haven’t been and talk to voters who haven’t heard from us. And the RNC has pledged to do just that.

The RNC is investing in resources and staff to strengthen opportunities to reach new voters. In California, the RNC hired a Hispanic state director to build a grassroots infrastructure, expand our electorate, engage with people at community events, and strengthen our ties with Hispanic Republicans.

The RNC’s efforts to engage directly with the Hispanic community are… Read More

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Richard Nixon, in a moment of wisdom many will find incongruous, is reported to have observed, “When you’ve said something so many times you can’t stand the sound of your own voice saying it, that’s when people hear you for the first time.” We’ve come to that point with President Obama’s Common Core Standards (CCS), which I and many others have been criticizing for several years to an uninterested bipartisan audience. The criticism may make an impression now, however, because the you-know-what is hitting the fan in every California school district, and the story is the same in the other 44 states that bought into CSS. The implications for the California GOP become clear when the facts are reviewed.

The Common Core Academic Standards were forced on the states (arguably in violation of the Tenth Amendment) when money was promised via Obama’s signature education initiative, Race to the Top (RTTT), if the states purchased the standards. One fly in the ointment (the first of many) is that the RTTT money doesn’t begin to cover the cost of the standards, and is not supposed to be used for that purpose anyway. That cost is $10 billion nationwide. The… Read More

At the end of September, Assembly Bill 8 was signed by Governor Brown and became law. This is horrible news for taxpayers because California motorists will now be paying $2.3 billion in additional taxes and charges. Adding insult to injury, taxpayers will find their hard earned dollars being used to subsidize programs such as the purchase of all electric cars, like the Tesla that, even with the taxpayer provided discount, can be afforded only by a handful of wealthy individuals. Money will also be lavished on the hydrogen network designed to service vehicles of which, about 250 currently exist.

The bill for ordinary California drivers may not be immediately noticeable because these “surcharges” are buried in vehicle registration and charges for the disposal of tires and other auto services. But they are there nonetheless and, like a death by a thousand cuts, working class Californians are paying for questionable programs that citizens in other states simply don’t have to suffer.

With all the burdens Sacramento imposes on taxpayers – we already have the highest state sales in all 50 states, the highest marginal income tax rate and the highest gas tax –… Read More

Some passing thoughts on the political scene…

IDIOT OF THE WEEK: Francine Godoy is the former Deputy Chief of Staff to Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar. She has filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against her former boss. Huizar’s spokesman released a statement saying that allegations by Godoy are, “absolutely false and malicious.” — His version of facts? I wasn’t harassing her, I was having an affair with her! This guy has been hanging out too long with Anthony Villaraigosa. Huizar: Idiot. __

The fact that former Assemblyman and former Republican Nathan Fletcher has been revealed as a political quisling is a source of great personal angst for me, as he has been a friend for many years. When I read the questionnaire he filled out when seeking the San Diego Labor Council endorsement I got physically ill. When I… Read More