I speak often in these pages about things fiscal, financial and economic. Given that I am a CPA and sit on three committees in Congress that deal with money (Budget, Financial Services and Joint Economic), this is to be expected. But, I am not all about money. And, the nation’s problems are not all about money. As big a problem as our debts and deficits are, they are emblematic of deeper and actually more significant moral and cultural issues.

For some time now, we have heard of those who Tom Brokaw dubbed “the greatest generation”, those who sacrificed through a world war to vanquish fascism and imperialism and leave a stronger America for their children. We can go back further to speak of the generation that took the risks to establish this country in the late 18th century or of the generation that fought the Civil War. In each case, said generation sacrificed in order to leave a better and more prosperous country of opportunity for their children.

But, what are we doing now? What will be the legacy of my generation? Our debt and deficit crisis is largely caused by giving ourselves health care and retirement benefits without paying for them.… Read More

Welcome to our second weekly “Idiot of the Week” feature here on the FlashReport. This is our chance to feature a public figure in California who does or advocates something that is particularly lame or stupid. As with last week, there were several “finalists” for the dubious honors. So before we announce this week’s award winning idiot, we are first going to run through the runners-up!

Runner Up #1 The Del Mar Fair Board — Apparently no one has informed the Gubernatorial appointees that make up this board that times have changed, and that there is little tolerance from taxpayers for making “gifts” of VIP tickets for… Read More

Freshman Congressman (and FlashReport blogger) Doug LaMalfa recently posted up on his Facebook page the video of State Senator Jim Nielsen taking his oath of office last week. I have embedded that video below — it runs shy of six minutes if you want to watch the entire clip. Senator Nielsen was afforded the courtesy, after being sworn in, to say a few words. Nielsen chose to take the opportunity to praise the institution of the State Senate, and spent his time talking about what he calls Senatorial courtesy. Nielsen defines this as, ”…how we treat each other and how we respect the institution in which we serve.”

Senator Nielsen, I’m afraid, will find that the courtesy about which he speaks has diminished since his previous service in the Senate (Nielsen served three terms in the Senate from 1978 – 1990). Senator Nielsen will find that no longer are handshakes binding — it is now commonplace for legislative deals made in one session to be unwound unilaterally in the very next session — by the very same people who made the deal in the first place. But then again, Nielsen knows this all too well. Here’s a… Read More

Los Angeles County property owners are beginning to rise up against a proposed “Clean Water, Clean Beaches” tax that every property owner would pay annually. The Los Angeles County Flood Control District proposes the money go to all kinds of projects AND gives a portion to cash strapped cities on an ongoing basis unless terminated by the Board of Supervisors. There is a hearing todayto decide if a ballot should be mailed to property owners.

Opposition to the tax has come from an unlikely source.

School Districts.

And not just school districts like West Covina Unified School District where I am an elected member. WCUSD approved letters of opposition on December 11, but Long Beach and Los Angeles Unified School district and others have joined the protest. The Los Angeles County Board of Education voted to oppose. County Agency vs. County Agency.

The proposed tax would cost schools money. While the idea of tax money going to schools to pay taxes to the county is a completely different discussion, school districts control a lot of property and as such wield a lot of voting power.

The County did find a… Read More

Last night I was pleased to be on hand as, in front of an enthusiastic crowd of over 300 GOP leaders and activists at the monthly meeting of the San Diego County Republican Party Central Committee, former State Senator Jim Brulte officially kicked off his campaign for Chairman of the California Republican Party. Popular San Diego County Party Chairman Tony Krvaric presided over the crowded house.

Senator Brulte started off his remarks by comparing the California Republican Party to the San Diego Chargers, saying that the Chargers had a terrible season but would come back, and so would the California GOP. Brulte told the crowd that he got his start in politics as an elected member of his central committee in San Bernardino County. Brulte talked about how it was not only bad for the GOP, but for the State of California to have one political party be so dominant. He asked the committee what kind of craziness it was that in the context of Sacramento’s Capitol Jerry Brown was being considered the moderate.

Senator Brulte laid out his plans which include the need for the CRP to establish its own statewide fundraising network, so that the party would not… Read More

The president says that we should just extend the debt limit, or cede the authority to him to expand it as he wishes. I’m sure he probably doesn’t think we even need such a discipline at all. He says he will not negotiate on this issue. He says that Congress has already approved all the spending that led to these deficits.

Like on most things, the president is completely wrong.

If credit cards had no limit on them, a whole lot of people would spend without end. The debt limit is like that. It is a discipline that reminds us – “Oh yeah…we’ve just borrowed $16.4 TRILLION. That’s kind of a lot. Maybe we shouldn’t spend so much.” We’ve borrowed 35% ($5.805 trillion) of that since Obama took office. Maybe we ought to think about it before we try to borrow $7 trillion more, which is an approximation of how much more this president wants to borrow in his second term. And, as I understand him, the president won’t negotiate on this. In fact, he has yet to negotiate on anything. No change here. And, as far as Congress already approving the spending….that’s not correct either, Mr. President. Sixty percent of all… Read More

[View the story “Brown’s Rhetoric of \”Fiscal Restraint\” Rings Hallow” on Storify]… Read More

In what strange world do janitors get paid $45 per hour? In California, the land of the prevailing wage.

The dirty secret is that janitors often are not really getting paid $45 per hour, but the taxpayers are being charged this amount on public works projects.

Designed to help the worker, the prevailing wage was created to set a minimum hourly rate paid on all public works projects, primarily for construction workers. But the classification has been expanded and greatly abused.

One contractor’s saga

I recently met with a Southern California contractor who has owned a final construction cleanup business for more than 25 years. Final cleanup on government construction projects is always the last task in the project, and usually takes place within days of the occupants moving in, depending on the size and scope of the cleanup. The contractor said that the work he and his crews do includes cleaning the construction dust off of walls, washing and polishing floors, cleaning windows and mirrors, power-washing all surfaces, wiping down fixtures and hosing down the roof and parking lots.

He is hired as a subcontractor by large… Read More