MEMO TO LIBERAL IDEOLOGUES: PUBLIC EMPLOYEE UNIONS ARE NOT YOUR FRIENDS True liberal ideologues in the state legislature, you are agonizing over the needed cuts in state government programs because you believe in a healthy "social contract" between the people and their government. You believe to your core that in America, everyone is entitled to a standard of living that, for some, must be provided in total or in part by the government. You believe that it is right and good for those who have benefited financially from America’s free market system to "bring up" those in this country who really never have or will have the ability to pull themselves up. Victims of society, as you refer to them, need protection and assistance from those who can afford to provide it. I don’t agree with this philosophy, but I "get it" and understand that it is a valid, if flawed, point of view.

If you are one of these ideologues, then you really need to step back and look at the out of control state public employee unions. If… Read More

MEMO TO LIBERAL IDEOLOGUES: PUBLIC EMPLOYEE UNIONS ARE NOT YOUR FRIENDS True liberal ideologues in the state legislature, you are agonizing over the needed cuts in state government programs because you believe in a healthy "social contract" between the people and their government. You believe to your core that in America, everyone is entitled to a standard of living that, for some, must be provided in total or in part by the government. You believe that it is right and good for those who have benefited financially from America’s free market system to "bring up" those in this country who really never have or will have the ability to pull themselves up. Victims of society, as you refer to them, need protection and assistance from those who can afford to provide it. I don’t agree with this philosophy, but I "get it" and understand that it is a valid, if flawed, point of view.

If you are one of these ideologues, then you really need to step back and look at the out of control state public employee unions. If… Read More

The news today that Assemblyman Jim Nielsen pulled a Benedict Arnold on the Poizner campaign wasn’t a total surprise. Team Poizner secured support from an overwhelming majority of State Assembly members and Senators early in the campaign, so it’s reasonable to believe that after Meg Whitman entered the campaign they might lose the endorsement of a few of the legislators on the periphery. I’m sure that the Whitman campaign feels as though they scored a point today, but they still have a long way to go when it comes to securing support from the Republican legislators and local elected officials who matter. It would help if Meg had been a Republican for more than a year or two, but that’s a different story all together.

… Read More

On the rare occasion where all parties involved in a situation can come to a common-sense solution, time is of the essence.

Recently an accounting error by the Chino Valley Unified School District has caused quite a stir in our community. The school district has come across an error in its bell schedule, and consequently fourth through sixth graders at two elementary schools were a few minutes short of instructional minutes on several shortened days.

Currently, if no action is taken, the school year will be extended 34 days to make up the time lost due to this mistake. These make up days would be mandatory for all fourth- through sixth-graders at those two elementary schools. Aside from the fact that these school kids are paying for the mistakes of irresponsible adults, it is astounding for me to learn about all the regulatory red-tape we impose on our local school districts. I understand the need for rules and regulations, but it should also be obvious to even the most ignorant of observers that this mistake was not made with malicious intent.

With bi-partisan support, support from the school board, the school district superintendent and the local… Read More

My boss, Senator Benoit, has penned a commentary giving credit to FlashReport bloggers’and the Republican Caucus’ ongoing efforts to root out waste in State government: Blowing The Whistle On State Waste

BySENATOR JOHN J. BENOIT

Over the past few years, the gifted researchers from the State Senate Republican Caucus have captured insightful snapshots of real-life government waste in action.These witty and all too regular installments, called “Waste Watchers,” have brought to light dozens of tales of egregious activity in State and local governments. Since taking Senate office in December, my Chief of Staff has regularly posted these features here on the FlashReport, continuing a great tradition from my predecessor, Senator Jim Battin.All told, these features have exposed nearly $500 million in wasteful spending. … Read More

Have you ever wondered how much money your local school district receives and how its academic achievement ranks compared to its neighbors?

That fairly simple information has been hard to come by, but the Pacific Research Institute has finally created a database that puts such information at your fingertips. Their School Finance Center website gives you data for the school districts and charter schools in California. One of my favorite features of the site is a simple chart that looks like your gas tank. It shows you from the lowest to the highest where your district ranks in academic achievement and in money received per student. My Republican colleagues and I recently unveiled a reform proposal, “Roadmap To California’s Future,” which calls for more legislative sunshine and accountability. This School Finance Center website helps to achieve that goal of transparency because it clearly demonstrates how much money is being spent and how well students are performing. As you can see from the data, there is no correlation between student performance and more money—some schools do better with less money while others to worse with more… Read More

ASSEMBLYMAN NIELSEN ENDORSES WHITMAN This morning, Assemblyman and former Senate Republican Leader Jim Nielsen announced that he has decided to switch his loyalties and endorsement in the contested Republican primary for Governor. He had earlier endorsed Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner. He is now throwing his support to former eBay CEO Meg Whitman. Nielsen was recently tapped by Assembly Republican Leader Sam Blakeslee, a Poizner supporter, to serve in a newly created "Ways and Means Committee Chairman" position for Assembly Republicans — serving as Vice Chairman of both the Assembly Ap propriations and Budget Committees.

While Poizner has a vast edge over Whitman when it comes to endorsements from elected Republican federal and state legislators, this is the second legislator in a week’s time who had been supporting him that has now moved to Whitman. Congressman John… Read More

Los Angeles County came out with a proposal to cut welfare costs today, or at least that is what they called it. In the world of government, where black is white, and a spending increase is a cut, these bureaucrats think they are helping "balance the budget." Their proposal, however, is an example of just how far off the reservation our government has gone. These bureaucrats want to use the child care money to pay parents to take care of their own children. Think of it this way, welfare recipients get their welfare money to stay home, and then, on top of that, they get child care money to take care of their own kids. What an idea. Does anyone really think that welfare recipients will make any effort to get off the rolls, once they hit this gravy train?

I was the Vice Chair of the Committees that oversaw welfare policy for 12 years. It is the worst job for a Republican in the Legislature. Thousands of whining bureaucrats trot out the sob stories of society for hours on end, demanding more government spending. Truth is, 75% of the money spent on our welfare programs are spent on bureaucrats, administrators, or wealthy vendors, while the… Read More