While Congressional Republicans are busy stopping ObamaCare and the dramatic expansion of government into our health care system, I am surprised to see so many Senate Republicans going along with just the opposite right now. Speaker Bass and the Administration are pushing hard to restore funding for Healthy Families that was vetoed by the Governor last month through the standard big government approach: they’ve decided to raise taxes to do it. AB 1422 would extend a 2.35% Gross Premiums Tax to Medi-Cal Managed Care Health Plans, raising $157 million. This tax increase is supported by health care plans because the state will use the new revenue to draw down a 2 dollars for 1 dollar match from the federal government. This “free money” will then be used to pay the Plans back for the tax and the leftover goes to Healthy Families. A classic political shell game. What do taxpayers get out of this? Under the bill, premiums and copays will be increased which means it will be more expensive for children enrolled in the program. How is that program working? Using the state’s own numbers, on average one in three children do not receive the timely… Read More

Today I had the pleasure of chatting with Northern California radio jocks Armstrong & Getty. The topic: California’s prison issues – specifically, the early release of 27,000 prisoners.

The conversation went well and we even took calls from listeners. My favorite call was from the wife of an incarcerated 62-year-old man who is serving 22 months for trademark infringement. The caller was not specific about her husband’s crime, but she was livid that he was serving time arguing that he is no threat to society at his age.

Joe Getty pointed out that he was a threat to society a year ago when he was 61 years old and broke the law, so therefore why wouldn’t he be a threat now, or next year?

Here’s another point: He is in prison because he did something bad and deserves to face the consequences. Furthermore, the company, the employees and the investors he violated deserve justice. We have to remember that crimes have consequences. That’s how our justice system works.… Read More

While Congressional Republicans are busy stopping ObamaCare and the dramatic expansion of government into our health care system, I am surprised to see so many Senate Republicans going along with just the opposite right now. Speaker Bass and the Administration are pushing hard to restore funding for Healthy Families that was vetoed by the Governor last month through the standard big government approach: they’ve decided to raise taxes to do it. AB 1422 would extend a 2.35% Gross Premiums Tax to Medi-Cal Managed Care Health Plans, raising $157 million. This tax increase is supported by health care plans because the state will use the new revenue to draw down a 2 dollars for 1 dollar match from the federal government. This “free money” will then be used to pay the Plans back for the tax and the leftover goes to Healthy Families. A classic political shell game. What do taxpayers get out of this? Under the bill, premiums and copays will be increased which means it will be more expensive for children enrolled in the program. How is that program working? Using the state’s own numbers, on average one in three children do not receive the timely… Read More

Although the intentional use of fire to keep brush down is no longer as viable because of air quality regulations, we should learn from the Indians’ custom of actively controlling the land for the benefit of wildlife, and safety. The notion that the Indians preserved nature as if locked in amber is now being called "The Pristine Myth". The lesson we need to accept — that the Indians understood — is when nature is left to its own it may be bad for the environment. Too many snow geese can ruin wetlands, protected forests eventually rot and fall down, or burn (releasing way more carbon than new forests), and in California the environment is not clearly benefitting from the 20-30 foot high chaparral that has grown up in the hills surrounding Los Angeles — at least not as much as would grass and small shrubs animals could eat easily. We need a more dynamic approach to these public lands, perhaps cattle, goats or just clearing it by hand if necessary.

In Charles Mann’s book: "1491", his collaborative research argues the Indians dominated the hemisphere — humongous farms and cities in the Yucatan and South America,… Read More

Freshman Republican Assemblyman Tom McClintock has outpaced every other member of the California Congressional Delegation for the last period, bringing in a total of $635,914. H/T to Dan Smith at the SacBee’s Capitol Alert blog for pointing out McClintock’s fundraising prowess.

Not mentioned in Smith’s take were two very important points. The first is that McClintock is very notably one of only a few House members to pledge not to carry or support Congressional earmarks (the Club for Growth keeps track here). Also extremely significant and refreshing is that unlike almost every other member of the California delegation, McClintock raised almost all of his funds from individual… Read More

This morning I wrote about efforts to pass Speaker Karen Bass’ AB 1422, and why Republicans should not support it. The bill seeks to restore some of the welfare cuts that came out of the June budget revision by going after, as some would characterize it, "free money" — referring to grabbing federal tax dollars (hardly "free" to the taxpayers). Through slight of hand, the bills INCREASES STATE TAXES in order to qualify for federal money. Then uses some of that money to "make whole" those stuck with the higher taxes. The remainder is — "free money" courtesy of Uncle Sam, right?

Better yet still, those to be taxed (and reimbursed) WANT this, as they will profit when the "free money" is spent.

So it’s all good, right?

WRONG.

This devilish arrangement is bad in many ways, both on a policy level as well as politically.

I make the policy argument in my commentary, but to reiterate — the so-named Healthy Families program is sick. It doesn’t work well, and is in need of an overhaul of the sort that liberal ideologues are not in a hurry to do.

It is also… Read More

Padres? No one cares, at least not today. In fact, just for one day, let’s also put aside the Angels, Dodgers, As and Giants. As well, the Yankees, Sox, Cubs and Rockies while we’re at it.

Who can possibly care about multi-million dollar salaries, questions about drug use, and coddling of giant egos, when real baseball can be watched?

A group of real players, the Park View Chula Vista Little Leaguers, have made it to the Big Show. Winning the U.S. title game 12-2 in Williamsport, PA yesterday, the Blue Bombin’ kidswill play for the Little League Championship of the World today (noon PST) against the veritable Yankees of the sport, Chinese Taipei.

Over the last several days, this group of boys has transitioned from a Chula Vista team to Team USA. San Diegans are enthralled by the title run, many Californians have taken notice and, today, all will stop as our eyes are on them.

Hope for our youth — and the purity of the game we once knew — springs eternal.

There is joy in… Read More

August 31, 2009 edition of the New Yorker – “The Rubber Room – The battle over New York City’s worst teachers” by Steven Brill. Makes a pretty strong argument against teacher’s unions, or at least their current behavior.

Also the May edition of The Atlantic, which I just got to, has by far the simplest graphic of spending by the Federal Reserve during the economic crisis that I’ve seen. It demonstrates quite clearly, btw, that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is peanuts compared to other lending, bailouts, and asset purchases. This ‘map’ on pages 58 and 59, is a must.… Read More