The United States is either a nation of people ruled by laws and Constitution, or we are a nation ruled by ideological tyrants.One example of this is the illegal protecting by “Sanctuary cities” of convicted criminals.

“It is time to start locking up local officials like Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel for interfering with the enforcement of federal immigration law,” Matthew Vadum of Canada Free Press recently wrote.

Notably, the Department of Justice’s Inspector General published a… Read More

California breaking off into the ocean as a result of the “Big One” is science fiction fantasy to Hollywood, credible urban legend to citizens of Los Angeles and San Francisco and, perhaps, the secret hope of many Americans residing on the other side of the Sierras.

However, backers of a just filed initiative, “Calexit: The California Independence Plebiscite of 2019,” want a different sort of California breakaway. They envision the state as a “free, sovereign and independent country.” Although the effort began several years ago, secessionists have been bolstered by those suffering Trump Derangement Syndrome – a condition where “alt left” adherents lose their minds over the thought of a Trump presidency.

A spokesman for the movement cites California’s different culture, different set of priorities, and different plans for the future as a justification for breaking away from the rest of the country.

To read the entire column click here http://www.hjta.org/california-commentary/the-great-california-breakaway/… Read More

Some worthwhile reading from the last few days…

Measure A lost. Here’s what SANDAG opponents want us to do now.

by Barrett Tetlow in the SDUT

“In the aftermath of Measure A’s defeat, SANDAG elites are asking the question “What happened?” The answer is they were completely tone-deaf. They have an opportunity to learn the right lessons from this election — or they will be doomed to repeat this current failure.”

Read it all here.

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What An Election: The Polling Earthquake, Big Wins in SD & More

San Diego voter turnout was high and many are asking about the future of polling.

Competitive Edge Research & Communications provides a trove of insights from the election.

Read the newsletter.

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Speaking of Competitive… Read More

Below is a discouraging chart, ranking the states’ projected public employee pension debt (shortfall) per household. California is in 3rd place, but essentially is in a tie for 2nd worst with basket case Illinois. The worst state by far is Alaska, a state that bet the farm on endless oil company tax revenues so they didn’t fund their state employee pensions much at all.

One takeaway that isn’t discussed in the analysis but should be emphasized: EVERY state has an unfunded (taxpayer) liability for these guaranteed pensions. Every single one!

Clearly these “defined benefit” plans are universally abused by politicians — giving away lush underfunded benefits today that must be paid by others years down the road. The federal government should use the tax code to end the deductibility of guaranteed pension contributions — making such guaranteed pensions illegal for new employees, and frozen for existing employees, allowing no further participation. Replace these abusive pensions with non-guaranteed 401k-type retirement… Read More

Since California voters have voted to make the temporary “soak the rich” state income tax essentially a permanent levy, it’s worth looking at just what this means for the wealthy, and what their residency options are. Here’s a summary of the California state individual income tax, compared with the other 49 states. It is excerpted from my dreary fact sheet “California vs. the Other States”:

www.TinyURL.com/CA-vs-other-states

I’m posting the helpful chart comparing brackets — a newer chart than I’ve referenced before. New though it is, it’s already outdated:

1. Tennessee has TOTALLY repealed their state income tax. Previously they taxed only interest and dividends, but they’ve dropped that tax starting in 2016.

2. New Hampshire also exempts earned income — taxing only interest and dividends at 5%.

EXCERPT: … Read More

The Commonwealth Foundation, a think tank based in Pennsylvania, has recently released a study entitled “Transforming Labor – A Comprehensive, Nationwide Comparison and Grading of Public Sector Labor Laws.” It ranked every state in terms of the relative power of public sector unions. California, along with tiny Maryland, were the only states that got an F.

If you view the map presented in the Commonwealth study, there is a strong correlation between states controlled by the GOP vs those controlled by Democrats. Nearly all the Democrat controlled states with large urban populations get D grades, with the notable exceptions of Florida (C), and Texas (A). We can perhaps learn something from the outliers – why did Texas get an A and why does Montana get a D? But California is in a class by itself.

When performing this analysis, the studies author, Priya M. Abraham,… Read More

California politicians and their union bosses lack all shame in their self-enrichment at public expense. Their outrageous conduct has ravaged the once-prosperous Golden State, consigning taxpayers to $1.5 trillion in debt and another $1 trillion in pension debt. Yet the voting public seems oblivious.

The rest of America has watched without much empathy as California’s politicians deal death-blow after death-blow to the once Golden State through insane, hypocritical and often… Read More

While there is certainly extensive discussion and speculation as to the public policy consequences in Washington, DC about the outcome of the Presidential Election, we here in California know that our Legislature’s policy agenda does not wait for the federal government. In fact, in many ways, we have seen the California Legislature reach far beyond federal laws on important small business issues such as minimum wage, labor mandates, and environmental regulations.

This is why the small business community is paying close attention to what the California… Read More