Notice: Undefined index: file in /srv/www/blog.flashreport.org/releases/20130218155602/wp-includes/media.php on line 1676

We are pleased to share this original commentary…

AS CALIFORNIA GOES, SO GOES THE NATION? By Assemblywoman Diane Harkey If you believe that our state’s influence is waning, take a second look. While California may be declining in economic power, our political muscle is unfortunately being felt in Washington, DC. The brinksmanship, confusion over who is in charge, constantly changing, last minute negotiation of legislation, and the final outcome of the debt ceiling debacle is vintage California hard-core, partisan left, San Francisco politics.

The ultimate outcome depends on what type of government can be sold to the American people. Do we beleive in equal outcomes or equal opportunities? Should we redistribute private wealth or encourage private wealth creation?

Never let a good crisis go to waste, is a key component of the California and DC strategy. At this pivotal time in our nation’s history, the answers to the two questions posed above depend on what you beleive about the 2007 market crash. Was the bubble and subsequent crash caused by… Read More

I have received many emails asking who voted to send a draft platform that eliminates several conservative planks. Here is your answer. Below is the list of elected drafting platform committee members present at the meeting. Only two, myself and the Honorable Craig DeLuz. Voted against the neutered draft and in favor of amendments that restored deleted sections. Don’t be fooled the first vote was to send the draft to the full committee that had no language on marriage, guns, and a vague one on life. That is the official draft. The rest are “suggestions”.

Those listed below voted against thos amendments or were silent during the voting. This attendance list is from the CRP.

Hector Barajas Claudia Bermudez Rob Bernosky Hon.Bill Berryhill Greg Conlon Paul Cummings Jim DiSanto Margaret Dominici Jim Faison Gregory Grandrud Doris Gentry Ryan Hatcher Eric Hickok Dr. Marvin Jones Morgan Kelley Virginia Kiraly Leonard Lanzi Hon.Jim Nielsen Michael Osborn Laura Peter Dana Reed Brad Torgan Ryan Trabucco Dan Trimble… Read More

The problem with us obsessing about the national debt is that this flap detracts us from the FAR larger TOTAL government debt and unfunded liability obligations. By normal human being standards, the $14.5+ trillion national debt is unimaginably huge. As of 5 August, the constantly growing per citizen obligation for that debt comes to $46,844.12 – according to the National Debt Clock. http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/

The average number of people in an American “household” (defined as people living together) is 2.11. http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/2010_census/cb11-cn132.html Hence the per household piece of the official national debt is $98,924.49.

But according to an April 2011 USA TODAY article, the TOTAL per U.S. household debt owed to governments is now $531,472 – the household’s piece of the estimated $61.7 trillion U.S. federal, state and local government debt/liability obligation. At 5% interest, the household bill is $26,573.60. EVERY year — foolishly assuming zero future… Read More

A couple weeks ago CalPERS and other government pension funds released glowing reports about their earnings, which had “soared” in the last fiscal year. Most pension funds reported in excess of a 20% return on investment. The inference was that the pension managers were back in the saddle, riding great returns to pension fund recovery.

The unions and their apologists went into full attack mode, ridiculing those who have been expressing deep concerns about defined benefit pension plans and the lackluster returns this past decade (among several others problems) — when pension funds averaged under 6% returns per year.

The pitch from obnoxious labor posters and bloggers has been that “happy days are here again,” and that essentially we can now look forward to a string of similar annual returns that will make up the massive unfunded liability deficit that ALL such funds face.

Gee — what a difference two weeks makes. At this point, the stock market has lost all gains since the beginning of the year — and then some. Yesterday’s 500+ point DJIA drop was only the latest down day — though (so far) by far the… Read More

Abram Wilson recently sent an email about the California Republican Party Platform and the current proposal to eliminate important parts of the platform that appeal to conservatives.

First let me say the Abram Wilson is a decent man. He ran twice in an Assembly District that had been previously represented by Republicans. Unfortunately despite the investment of hundreds of thousands of dollars he lost both times. And while Wilson REFUSED to fill out a pro-life questionnaire during those elections and his website never mentioned Proposition 8 nor the Second Amendment and he defended banks during the fiscal crises in 2010, I’m sure he would have been a better legislator that Assemblywoman Buchanan is.

I admire Wilson for realizing after his two losses the need for a conservative platform. In the email he asks people to read a draft different from the actual approved drafting committee version and “note its strong conservative ideals that are pro-life, pro-family, pro-second amendment, and anti-tax while focusing on the issues that will be most important to Californians such as jobs, the economy and education. “

But this is my question that has… Read More

AB 1215 Harms Consumers, Business & Doesn’t Make Sense By Bob Pacheco, State Assemblyman, Retired

Ronald Reagan once joked that an economist is someone who sees something happen in the real world and wonders if it will work in theory.

His point was that policymakers spend too much time focused on theory and too little focused on what really works. A prime example of this is going on in the State Legislature right now. AB 1215 is supposed to be about giving consumers the information they need to buy a car. Except it doesn’t do that. Instead, it mandates that car dealers only obtain a federal government issued report known as the NMVTIS vehicle history report. But the NMVTIS system was never intended for use as a sales tool for sellers of used cars. Its best use may be to just assist government and law enforcement in fighting vehicle fraud.

Dealers know that other more comprehensive and more accurate reports are available from privately-owned commercial databases that provide incentives to mechanics and insurance companies to keep detailed records of cars that have… Read More

It’s not every day a government program becomes less burdensome for small business owners and entrepreneurs, but it can happen.

In my recent op-ed “A Qualified Mess,” I described the many problems plaguing the “Qualified Purchaser Program” — a use tax collection program targeting small business owners. I invited impacted business owners to send me their feedback via a survey on my website, and I shared this feedback with my colleagues and BOE staff.

I also joined small business owners and taxpayer advocates at a press conference urging reforms to this program. This NFIB-sponsored event was well-attended and led to stories by … Read More

Now that the maps have come out from the Citizens Redistricting Commission, there are hosts of people that are being critical of the final product because of the impact they have on one or two individual elected officials that they care about. Most of these concerns are misplaced.

First of all, Prop 11 and Prop 20 did not cause Congressmen Miller, Royce, and potentially Dreier to run against each other in 2012. California demographic and political changes did that. These two ballot measures also did not cause Gallegly and McKeon to be lumped together. While the number of Republicans in the California Congressional delegation will shrink, the losses are nowhere near where they would have been if the staff of Speaker Perez would have been able to draw the maps over at 1020 N Street. Then we would be talking about losing nine seats instead of three.

Prop 11 and Prop 20 probably saved the political careers of people like Buck McKeon, Mary Bono Mack, Jeff Denham, Brian Bilbray and Dan Lungren. At least under these maps, people like Lungren have a fighting chance. He would rather run against Ami Bera in the seat he is scheduled to… Read More