Gov. Jerry Brown enjoys talking about local control. During his 2010 campaign, he mentioned it constantly. I’m sure it scores great in the focus groups.

However, seriously increasing local control in government decision-making has not been a part of his governing strategy, and there is even less indication that his Democrat colleagues in the legislature have any interest in this at all.

In fact, the opposite is true.

Faced with the imminent passage of a local ordinance to ban union-only Project Labor Agreements in San Diego, Democrats passed and Governor Brown signed SB 829, withholding state funds from cities that pass such measures. The new law was rushed through and promptly used in union-funded advertising against the proposition. San Diegans passed the measure, called Proposition A, anyway.

How about pension reform? Shouldn’t localities have the power to fix their pension problems without state interference? Again, no local control for you. Brown’s Public Employee Relations Board (PERB) initiated a lawsuit against the City of San… Read More

Governor Jerry Brown struck a conservative tone in his State of the State Address today when he spoke of fiscal discipline, local control and regulatory reform.

But the challenge before California remains the same: growing private sector jobs. If we want to solve our long-term budget problems, we need more taxpayers, not less.

Despite some job gains, California’s unemployment rate remains among the highest in the nation—many California counties still have double-digit unemployment rates ranging as high as 25%.

Many entrepreneurs, small business owners and even athletes are considering leaving our state due to rising taxes.

And while certain government-favored industries are growing, most job creators are struggling to survive under a growing weight of new regulations, taxes and fees.

Clearly, it’s far too early to celebrate California’s recovery. Millions have yet to experience it.… Read More

This native Californian was all bundled up to keep warm on a chilly Washington morning on Monday to witness the 57th United States Presidential Inaugural and hear President Obama’s second inaugural address.

To be honest, I was inspired by the address….. ….but, not in the way the president might have wanted.

I’m a big football fan. There’s nothing to bring you to your feet quite like the big touchdown pass. And, that is usually what brings accolades in the annals of football lore. But, just as important, and many times more important, is that tenacious defense. When you don’t have the ball, you count on those 11 defensemen to keep you in the game. Oh sure, they can sometimes get a “pick-6” and score a touchdown. But usually, they just hold the line and keep bad things from happening. The undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins were led by what was dubbed the “no name defense”. They held the line and they were a big part of the only undefeated season in NFL history. As Republicans, we don’t have the ball right now. We may control the House, but we are the minority party in Washington since everything… Read More

The U.S. Constitution provides for certain government regulations, but actually stresses minimum involvement. Regulations are merely a way for the government to implement social change and impart control.

But government intervention usually causes more harm than the problem the regulation sought to correct; most government regulations don’t work.

During a dinner party discussion with friends this weekend, the subject of gun control came up. “No one needs an assault rifle,” one friend said. “No one should be allowed to have one. I mean, who… Read More

Throughout the 2012 campaign, Republicans warned that should President Obama win a second term, he would be far more liberal and assertive than his carefully crafted image would suggest.

We have been proven right.

… Read More

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