Many people are sitting around unemployed (or often UNDERemployed) in California, waiting for the state’s economy to recover. The state and federal governments’ response is to PAY people to stay unemployed — with unemployment benefits, food stamps and a host of other taxpayer subsidies. And, sadly, too often this policy produces exactly what one would expect — persistent unemployment.

In the “Dust Bowl” days of the 1930’s, the fabled Oakies picked up and moved for a better economic opportunity — often in California. There was no welfare state to entice them to sit in the dirt and do nothing. Necessity dictated theirmobility

Today’s Californian are less anxious to find work outside the Golden State, though many are indeed leaving for better economic opportunities. Last year we lost a net 100,000 migrants to other states (100K more than moved to CA FROM other states).

Here’s a WALL ST JOURNAL video about one California family that is moving to Williston, North Dakota, where unemployment is as low as 1%. The mom and dad have been unemployed since the recession started, but finally the… Read More

Given Thursday evening’s events in the House, it looks more and more like we may be going over the “fiscal cliff”. Therefore, I wanted to give you an update on what that could potentially mean for you. I also wanted to clarify the total impact of the income tax rate changes that we will face should we go over. These figures, which appeared in my previous “Laptop Report”, have been updated.

The total impact of all the income tax rate changes is estimated to raise revenue of roughly $4.5 trillion over 10 years. The total effect of all of this would be to reduce the deficit by approximately $7.7 trillion over the next ten years according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). That means CBO projects an “average” annual deficit of roughly $230 billion if we are over the “cliff” vs. a deficit of about $1 trillion a year if everything is extended.

Again, these projections are based on “static modeling”. That means they do not take into account the economic impacts and the behavioral changes that will occur as a result of what I’ve outlined above. When these tax hikes take place, people will most certainly take actions to… Read More

Part ll of“Has Chicago-style voter fraud come to California?”

Voter fraud techniques

“Lawlessness in elections corrodes the entire process,” election lawyer J. Christian Adams said.

In Florida during the 2008 Presidential election, 53,000 dead voters somehow cast their ballots.

In California, we also have dead voters.

* “An NBC Bay Area Investigation uncovered thousands of California voters who remain on the voter rolls despite having died several years ago… A closer look at the data revealed that some of the dead people were not only registered, but somehow, even voted, several years after their death,” NBC Bay Area recently reported.

* “Democrats love to make voter registration fraud seem patriotic. Starting in a few days you can (illegally) register your dog and cat from the comfort of your bedroom as voters,” political commentator Steve Franks recently said. “Thanks to the incompetence and corruption of the system, no one will verify they are people. Then you can make them permanent absentee voters—and they can vote without any human interface.”

*… Read More

Voter fraud is real. It always has been. Some political consultants have said that the Democratic Party has perfected it. If the November election is any example, voter fraud appears to be thriving in California.

But voter fraud is something that Republicans have traditionally refused to discuss. “The truth is that voter fraud occurs frequently, and it determines who wins elections infrequently,” election lawyer J. Christian Adams found. “The integrity of the electoral process is perhaps more important than who wins and loses an election. Lawlessness in elections corrodes the entire democratic process.

The sweeping Democratic wins in California have many scratching their heads.

No voter ID, provisional ballots, online registration

No voter identification required to vote in California, the increased use of provisional ballots, and online voter registration generate a trifecta for election fraud.

California Democrats have tirelessly fought all attempts to require voter ID at the ballot box. But… Read More

I don’t know why Jim Brulte wants to be the California Republican Party Chair. It is a thankless job, and every voting member of the party thinks he or she is the smartest politician in the room. In my time in the Legislature, I spent a lot of time doing what I could for the party, because I believe that those involved in the party at that level get involved because of what they believe in, and they should be honored for their time and commitment. I engaged in a lot of internal political fights to advance the principles I believed in. I never cared about the “who” was in charge, I only cared about the “what” the principles of the party, and how they would be advanced by the party structure. I never asked for (and quite frankly never got) anything in return, but I can say that the things I did for the party did not help me politically, and many times actually hurt my political future. I don’t regret any of it, because I didn’t get involved in politics to “build” my future. I got involved because I truly believe that conservative values are what is right for the people of the state, and those values are only promoted… Read More

Immediately after the horrific and tragic school shooting in Connecticut Friday, opportunistic politicians all across the country jumped on the anti-gun bandwagon.

My CalWatchdog colleague John Seiler, thankfully also jumped on the politicians yesterday. “…it didn’t take long for gun-control advocates to take a bead on our Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms,” Seiler said. “It’s also shameful that politicians use such tragedies to advance their tyrannical agendas.”

Lt. Gov. jumps on bandwagon

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom wasted no time putting forth his next political campaign… Read More

Last year the American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) ranked California as the worst STATE judicial hellhole in America. But the corrupt courts in the city of Philadelphia gave that berg the top hellhole ranking of all.

Those days are behind us. The Philadelphia courts have since undergone some encouraging reforms, making California now the undisputed judicial hellhole ANYWHERE in America, according to ATRA’s new rankings just released. Sigh. http://www.atra.org/newsroom/california-replaces-reforming-philly-atop-judicial-hellholes-%C2%AE-list-joined-jurisdictions

Here’s what ATRA’s new press release has to say about our state:

————- Californiais the undisputed heavyweight champion of the consumer class action. Its plaintiff-friendly laws spur ridiculous lawsuits against companies that sell products ranging from breakfast cereal to bagged walnuts. California’s small businesses have been under siege from trolling… Read More

Just the Facts, Ma’am – Fiscal Cliff Edition: This was the famous, at least to those of us who were alive then, admonition offered by the fictional LA detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, to witnesses who would engage in too much speculation about a crime. Well, I generally give you a lot of my opinion. Every once in a while, though, I give you just the unvarnished facts so that you can draw your own conclusions.

You have probably heard the term “Fiscal Cliff” enough times to make you sick. But, do you really know everything it entails? Below, you will find a comprehensive list of every law that will expire at the end of this year, as well as the result of our returning to whatever the law was before. The accumulation of all of these things has been dubbed collectively by the media as the “Fiscal Cliff”:

• Unemployment compensation will revert from a 73 week maximum to a 26 week maximum. This takes it back to the duration that existed in 2008 and prior. This will reduce spending by approximately $30 billion over 10 years.

• For the past 2 years, there has been a “payroll tax holiday”. For this… Read More