Is a well-written spending cap worth extra years of tax increases? That is the question that confronted our legislators and now confronts every California voter. The deal that was pushed by the Governor was to re-enact a spending cap as good as or better than the original Gann spending limit of 1979. For a variety of reasons, I conclude that this has been achieved. Once in place, this spending limit could be changed only by the voters, although I fully expect future governors and legislators to search for every loophole. This spending limit will not cut taxes. In fact, passage of the measure is linked to extensions of the new tax increases on sales (though 2012), income (through 2013) and cars (also 2013). Can California’s economy survive more years of our being the state that is the least competitive and most hostile to new jobs in the nation? I know it will exacerbate the suffering of unemployment and failing businesses. If this spending limit succeeds in containing spending, then the big budget battles still lie ahead. Future legislatures will be forced to repeal current spending formulas to be able to live within the… Read More

Lester Snow, Director of Department of Water Resources, has once again penned an exclusive commentary for FlashReport readers…

We’re in our third consecutive year of drought due to below-average rain and snowfall in California. Despite the recent storms, we are still well behind average for the year and there’s virtually no chance that we will get enough rainfall this spring to pull California out of this drought. Three dry years combined with court-ordered restrictions on pumping from the Delta climate change impacts, and a state that has grown by 9 million since the 1991 drought has created a real crisis for our economy, our environment and our agriculture industry.

Today, the Governor has taken bold action to assist people, communities and businesses as they deal with the challenges of this drought. By proclaiming a… Read More

Lester Snow, Director of Department of Water Resources, has once again penned an exclusive commentary for FlashReport readers…

We’re in our third consecutive year of drought due to below-average rain and snowfall in California. Despite the recent storms, we are still well behind average for the year and there’s virtually no chance that we will get enough rainfall this spring to pull California out of this drought. Three dry years combined with court-ordered restrictions on pumping from the Delta climate change impacts, and a state that has grown by 9 million since the 1991 drought has created a real crisis for our economy, our environment and our agriculture industry. Today, the Governor has taken bold action to assist… Read More

Remember the "Don’t tase me bro," line that was all the rage after an anti-war protester slammed the John Kerry speech years ago.

Well, taxpayers can adopt their own version of this request: Don’t tax me bro!

Ashley Nicole Ingram posted the line on her FaceBook status while attending the LA "Taxpayer Tea Party" – similar "Tea Parties" are going on across California to protest the recent Mega-tax hike and pork-pie stimulus package.

She’s allowed me to use it here, but I can see the bumper sticker industry rolling out a new hit sometime soon. … Read More

As I’ve previously mentioned several times, Controller Chiang decided to put his public employee union bosses, from whom he has raked in plenty of campaign dough, ahead of taxpayers when he refused to implement the Governor’s Executive Order during the last budget impasse. While the state was facing an huge financial shortfall and the Governor was taking executive action to cut costs by reducing the pay of state employees to minimum wage, Chiang refused to implement the order and cited that his computers weren’t up to speed with what was required from a 5-year old court ruling.

Yesterday, Judge Timothy M. Frawley has tentatively sided with Schwarzenegger based on a 2003 case, White v. Davis, that ruled that state workers aren’t authorized their full pay until the money is appropriated in the state budget. Since tentative rulings are rarely overturned, we can expect that the Judge will take this stance again on Friday in his final ruling. This sets a… Read More

As I’ve previously mentioned several times, Controller Chiang decided to put his public employee union bosses, from whom he has raked in plenty of campaign dough, ahead of taxpayers when he refused to implement the Governor’s Executive Order during the last budget impasse. While the state was facing an huge financial shortfall and the Governor was taking executive action to cut costs by reducing the pay of state employees to minimum wage, Chiang refused to implement the order and cited that his computers weren’t up to speed with what was required from a 5-year old court ruling.

Yesterday, Judge Timothy M. Frawley has tentatively sided with Schwarzenegger based on a 2003 case, White v. Davis, that ruled that state workers aren’t authorized their full pay until the money is appropriated in the state budget. Since tentative rulings are rarely overturned, we can expect that the Judge will take this stance again on Friday in his final ruling. This sets a… Read More

An edited version of this commentary appears today in Capitol Weekly Newspaper, and can be accessed here.

THE “BEST WE COULD GET” WAS THE LARGEST TAX INCREASE IN THE HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA? By Jon Fleischman

Last week, six Republican legislators joined with all of the Democrats in the State Capitol to vote for the single largest state-level tax increase in the history of our nation. I could spend a few paragraphs outlining for you why, on a policy level, this is exactly the opposite of what Californians need right now from their state government. But I wanted to spend a little more time on the political ramifications of that decision, at least as it impacted the delegates at the California… Read More

An edited version of this commentary appears today in Capitol Weekly Newspaper, and can be accessed here. THE “BEST WE COULD GET” WAS THE LARGEST TAX INCREASE IN THE HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA?

By Jon Fleischman

Last week, six Republican legislators joined with all of the Democrats in the State Capitol to vote for the single largest state-level tax increase in the history of our nation. I could spend a few paragraphs outlining for you why, on a policy level, this is exactly the opposite of what Californians need right now from their state government. But I wanted to spend a little more time on the political ramifications of that decision,… Read More