As this year winds down, it is only appropriate that we have the ultimate wasteful story to help us go out with a bang. Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner deserves many thanks for providing this story. If it weren’t for his direction of the Department of Insurance, hundreds of millions of dollars may have been squandered without notice. Fear not, “the Ghost of State Fund Past” has now come to haunt former Insurance Commissioner and current Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi in the form of the biggest audit released this year.

According to the Los Angeles Times (December 11, 2007), a hard-hitting state audit reveals that "California’s scandal-plagued government-run workers’ compensation insurance company spent more than half a billion dollars over the last decade for outside marketing help that often provided ‘minimal services’….[T]he report paints a picture of an obscure rogue operation with more than $22 billion in assets, little oversight, minimal public checks and balances, and indiscriminate spending with little attention until… Read More

John Zeigler, who until recently hosted a talk show on KFI Radio (his website is here) sent over this piece he penned. It is notable for his support for Fred Thompson. It is readable because John’s gift of communicating comes through loud and clear. A great conservative, it’s a pleasure to feature some thoughts from him for our readers…

Why Not Fred? The most mysterious reality of an utterly baffling race for the Republican Presidential nomination (Mike Huckabee is a frontrunner??!) is undoubtedly the failure of Fred Thompson’s campaign to gain any traction. … Read More

Actually, there are a thousand things you need to know about this budget crisis, but let’s do three, real quick:

1. We haven’t even sold the "infrustructure" bonds passed last November, and now we really can’t due to our budget situation. This is why the Lincoln Club of Fresno County opposed the bonds in the first place. Most journalist don’t know what a bond is, so this isn’t being mentioned in budget crisis coverage.

2. Working on a "health care deal" during this crisis isn’t even stupid – its just plain political malpractice. The resulting ballot initiative in November, 2008, aimed at raising our taxes, will be a defining issue for the GOP and actually give the State GOP something to do this year. Yes!

3. Assembly Leader Mike Villines yesterday to me: "tax increases are dead on arrival in the State Assembly, there isn’t a revenue problem." The Governor better get his meat cleaver out. Villines told me yesterday that even termed out Republicans won’t support new taxes.

Even the most elemental analysis of the state budget over the past several… Read More

This may sound unbelievable, especially in light of what may be as high as a $15 billion shortfall in needed revenues to cover budgeted state expenditures, but this Monday liberal Democrat Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez is hauling 80 members of the State Assembly to Sacramento to vote on a plan that purports to somehow improve access to health care in California by expanding the size and scope of state government’s involvement in this sector. There is no doubt that Nunez will get support from this proposal from his caucus, as raising taxes (did I mention this proposal includes MASSIVE tax increases?) and hoisting mandates and requirements on businesses and on people are what liberals love to do the most. There is not enough room in this whole website to go over all of the inherent problems with this plan, going beyond the obvious abandonment of key American traditions — the notions of individual responsibility and freedom. Once again, "big brother" is coming in to suck… Read More

This may sound unbelievable, especially in light of what may be as high as a $15 billion shortfall in needed revenues to cover budgeted state expenditures, but this Monday liberal Democrat Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez is hauling 80 members of the State Assembly to Sacramento to vote on a plan that purports to somehow improve access to health care in California by expanding the size and scope of state government’s involvement in this sector. There is no doubt that Nunez will get support from this proposal from his caucus, as raising taxes (did I mention this proposal includes MASSIVE tax increases?) and hoisting mandates and requirements on businesses and on people are what liberals love to do the most. There is not enough room in this whole website to go over all of the inherent problems with this plan, going beyond the obvious abandonment of key American traditions — the notions of individual responsibility and freedom. Once again, "big brother" is coming in to suck… Read More

It appears we will be taking up a highly amended form of AB 1X Monday, first in Appropriations Committee in the morning and, zowie, ‘if’ it passes out of Committee,the Assembly floor session is already scheduled for 1PM.

Not much detail yet on what the Guv’s office and the Speaker’s officeare including in the plan. Talk is the Senate isn’t too interested and will not be convening.… Read More

Just off the transom, Assembly Budget Committee Vice Chairman Roger Niello (R-Fair Oaks):

“With recent reports showing that next year’s budget deficit has grown to $14 billion, it’s clear that lawmakers must act to get the deficit under control. I’ve been disappointed to see some in the Legislature immediately seize upon our growing deficit with a call to raise taxes rather than reduce state spending. As the old saying goes, the first thing you should do when you find yourself in a hole is stop digging. Proceeding with a course of action that the voters have summarily rejected will only deepen the current budget crisis. We must remember that frustrated Californians sent a powerful message to Sacramento the last time taxes were irresponsibly raised by recalling the Governor.

Now is also not the time to grow government. Our state simply cannot afford the massive government-run health care program that will be voted upon next week, which includes, at a minimum, an $8 billion tax increase. Taxpayers deserve responsible leadership that will make the necessary decisions to deal with California’s spending problem,… Read More

Apparently Governor Schwarzenegger, after much prodding, is going to declare a “State of Fiscal Emergency” for California. That is a good move because it moves the emphasis onto dealing with the state’s huge megabillion dollar fiscal problems.

In football parlance, its time to take the offensive team out of play and field the defense. The folly of blowing taxpayer funds on questionable scientific theories or massive expansion of the government’s role in healthcare will have to wait (yeah!).

That said, as pointed out by Senator Jim Battin on this blog, the actual declaration of fiscal emergency is much more style than substance. But if it indicates that the Governor is moving into austerity mode, then, it is a worthwhile declaration, indeed!… Read More