Let’s Tax Services and Make Everything Worse By The Honorable Michelle Steel, Member, Board of Equalization We’re all over-regulated. A recent study for the California Small Business Advocate’s Office shows that regulation costs California’s families $492,994 billion. This translates to a total cost per household of $38,446.76 – just about the median household income – or $13,052.05 per resident. In terms of jobs, this means 3.8 million lost jobs – that’s a tenth of California’s total population! Because of high regulation, we lose a third of gross state output and four and a half times the state budget every year.… Read More

The Governor’s Commission on the 21st Century Economy delivered its much anticipated report today. Some of the recommendations are valid and should be embraced by the Legislature. But unfortunately, the report also calls for a hidden tax on business (known as the business net receipts tax) that would lead to taxing services.

At a time when California’s business climate is the third worst in the nation and when its unemployment rate is breaking Depression-era records, the notion of a hidden tax will go over like a lead balloon with taxpayers, with economists and certainly with Republicans.

How can we support any idea that will make California less competitive in business, kill jobs and evaporate the entrepreneurial spirit that Californian is known for the world-over? It’s obvious that further taxation will do all of these things, and in the process send California’s business climate to rock bottom and push our joblessness rate through the roof.

Perhaps instead, Legislative leaders and the governor should get serious about… Read More

MY DAD AND KAREN BASS Yesterday was one of the Jewish High Holidays – Yom Kippur. My mom and dad, who are members of Temple Akiba in Culver City, attended the Temple’s Yom Kippur services at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium. Who should be there but the local member of the California State Assembly, Speaker Karen Bass. My dad took the opportunity to introduce himself to Speaker Bass, identifying himself as a Republican. When the Speaker asked for dad’s name, which he gave her, she asked if he was any relation to me! She proceeded to tell my father that the FlashReport is a "must read" for her every day! Maybe it is, or maybe it isn’t — but it was very cool of her to say that to dad! And polite to leave it at that ;-) CONSIDERING… Read More

MY DAD AND KAREN BASS Yesterday was one of the Jewish High Holidays – Yom Kippur. My mom and dad, who are members of Temple Akiba in Culver City, attended the Temple’s Yom Kippur services at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium. Who should be there but the local member of the California State Assembly, Speaker Karen Bass. My dad took the opportunity to introduce himself to Speaker Bass, identifying himself as a Republican. When the Speaker asked for dad’s name, which he gave her, she asked if he was any relation to me! She proceeded to tell my father that the FlashReport is a "must read" for her every day! Maybe it is, or maybe it isn’t — but it was very cool of her to say that to dad! And polite to leave it at that ;-)

CONSIDERING THE TAX COMMISSION REPORT AS A PACKAGE … Read More

I just read that former California Republican Party Chairman Bob Naylor, who had endorsed Steve Poizner at some point, has now pulled that, and instead endorsed Meg Whitman. I admit that I wasn’t impressed to see Naylor on Poizner’s endorsement list, nor will I be to see it on Whitman’s. Naylor is a controversial figure in GOP circles because he always seems to side with the special interests that he represents as a lobbyist over the interests of the Republican Party he once lead.

An extremely affable guy, this former Assembly Republican Leader is definitely NOT in the "mainstream" of Republican thought. Naylor was one of the only, if not the only former CRP Chairman to endorse the controversial Proposition 1A, which if passed would have smacked California taxpayers with over $16 billion in higher sales, income and car taxes. Just this summer Naylor penned a… Read More

Juliet Williams over at the Associated Press has the story.

Excerpt: She says for most of her adult life, she was raising a family, working, and focusing on her husband’s career. But Whitman says that’s no excuse for failing to register or vote. UPDATE: Here is a more complete and direct response from Whitman on the issue.… Read More

I have spent the last several years trying to make a living, to become a profit center for the state of California, instead of a cost of doing business. I have learned that once you no longer have a vote in the Legislature, people forget your name, and your opinions count for little. I voice those opinions, nevertheless, from time to time, in the hopes that someone might listen to them.

So, I want to voice my opinion on Governor. Now that the convention is over, and everyone has heard the candidates. The newspapers have analyzed the speeches, and the blogs have clashed their cymbals. I come to this point with the knowledge that I have not always been right about my choices. Bill Simon had to defeat Richard Riordan for the primary nomination, to avoid a complete meltdown of the Republican Party in 2002, but he was a terrible candidate for Governor. Afraid to take a position, constantly alienating people at all turns because of his weakness, and severe personal issues that arose just before the election doomed his chances. I endorsed Simon despite these weaknesses, and we lost that Governor’s race to the incompetent Gray Davis.

I endorsed… Read More

Because there has been a little stir created over the "Straw Poll" taken at the State GOP Convention over the weekend, I thought I would take a moment to write about it for the benefit of FR readers.

First and foremost, there was no official California Republican Party straw poll taken of delegates or attendees to the convention. As an elected party officer, I feel comfortable assuring everyone of that. I even called my colleague, CRP Treasurer Keith Carlson, and asked him. "Nope," he said, demonstrating a strategic use of brevity (not often exhibited by attorneys).

Yet a media release went out this morning from the DeVore for U.S. Senate Campaign proclaiming his overwhelming victory in the CRP Convention Straw Poll.

So what gives?

The answer is pretty simple. The DeVore for U.S. Senate campaign conducted their own straw poll. Their campaign printed the ballots. Their campaign volunteers handed out the ballots to at least those coming out of the convention’s Saturday evening dinner… Read More