Well, a year ago, FR San Diego Blogger Barry Jantz and I came up to Sacramento with a red-carpet invitation from the Governor’s office to the State of the State Address, and we even got a special ‘pre-brief’ with some senior staff members. Of course, last year the Governor rolled out his Strategic Growth Plan, and we were pretty critical of it. So, go figure, no red carpet this year! Nevertheless, thanks to live-streaming video, I was able to take in the entire address from my own laptop computer! Of course, my immediate reaction was — this speech seems an aweful lot like last year’s speech, in that everything that I heard was all about spending, spending and more spending. But, since it seems to be the most accepted rhetorical style these days, let me start by taking a moment to praise the Governor for some of what I heard in his speech…

I applaud the Governor for his strong stand in support of redistricting reform, and the Governor declared that his proposed budget would actually close the existing deficit by a… Read More

Well, a year ago, FR San Diego Blogger Barry Jantz and I came up to Sacramento with a red-carpet invitation from the Governor’s office to the State of the State Address, and we even got a special ‘pre-brief’ with some senior staff members. Of course, last year the Governor rolled out his Strategic Growth Plan, and we were pretty critical of it. So, go figure, no red carpet this year! Nevertheless, thanks to live-streaming video, I was able to take in the entire address from my own laptop computer! Of course, my immediate reaction was — this speech seems an aweful lot like last year’s speech, in that everything that I heard was all about spending, spending and more spending. But, since it seems to be the most accepted rhetorical style these days, let me start by taking a moment to praise the Governor for some of what I heard in his speech…

I applaud the Governor for his strong stand in support of redistricting reform, and the Governor declared that his proposed budget would actually close the existing deficit by a… Read More

According to United States Department of Veterans Affairs, there are roughly 3,000 homeless Veterans in the City and County of San Francisco. Many suffer from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and a variety of other afflictions and disabilities as a result of service to our country, and have extreme difficulty assimilating into civilian life. Many within the homeless Veteran population were as capable as you or I before they volunteered to serve in the armed forces, yet there is inadequate support for them upon return from service.

I sit on the Veterans Affairs Commission for San Francisco, and serve on the subcommittee to aid homeless and disenfranchised Veterans. The Commission recently sent the Mayor and Board of Supervisors a plan to assist homeless Vets. The plan projects increases in the number of homeless Veterans, based on trends observed at the County Veteran Service Office. The needs of homeless Veterans are similar to other homeless populations, except that there are a higher percentage of men,… Read More

I commend the Governor for suggesting a solution to a tough problem. I just don’t think any economic theory supports the outcomes he desires. And I definitely don’t believe his is a "centrist" approach. A centrist approach would be devoid of tax increases, employer mandates and mandated spending by providers, and be full of market based incentives to lower the cost of private health plans.

My firm handles over $40 million in health and health related business, so I follow health insurance and health care trends as closely as possible. Diagnosing the reasons for 6.5 million uninsured workers isn’t that tough. Employer paid health plans are expensive. Treating doctors and facilities are grossly underpaid by government funders such as Medicare, Medicaid and MediCal. Those unreimbursed costs are mostly transferred to the private health plans when they contract for services with the health care providers. Thus, the "hidden tax" on us is primarily caused by the government because the cost of health plans is inflated, and out of reach to many employers, due to government rationing of health care dollars.… Read More

Founded in 2002, the Consumer Alliance for a Strong Economy is a grassroots organization that is made up of over 9000 members that include entrepreneurs, small business owners, farmers and consumers.

CASE is starting to run commercials alerting consumers to the dangers of the Governor’s newly proposal government incursion into healthcare. Here is what their spokesman, Chris Wysocki, has to say. Below, you can run the add, and then — make a call! “We applaud the Governor for his desire to address the need for healthcare reform, but the true problem of his proposal is a billion dollar tax increase on small businesses that provide the majority of jobs in the state,” Wysocki continued, “The state can utilize many of the components of the governor’s plan to encourage more people to purchase healthcare – including… Read More

Prior to the Recall, then-Senate Republican Leader Jim Brulte made a public pronouncement that should any Republican legislator vote for a tax increase, he’d personally lead the effort to find (and fund) a Primary challenge against them.

Given all of today’s brouhaha, and the fact that he still sits on close to a million dollars in his political account despite having been out of office for a few years, I wonder if the Senator’s challenge still stands?

And, might we see anything similar from Ackerman or Villines?

I really hope our opposition to tax increases still unites us.It’d sure be nice for Republicans to start acting like Republicans again.… Read More

California’s new Secretary of State, liberal Democrat Debra Bowen, has appointed Lowell Finley the Assitant Secretary of State for Voting Systems and Technology. Finley has wasted thousands of taxpayer dollars by teaming up with conspiracy paranoid groups like Black Box (a.k.a. "Cynthia McKinney’s race loss was rigged" whackos) voting to sue those who have purchased touch screen voting machines which help county governments and the state complywith the federal Help America Vote Act.

Not only do these machines allow state and local governments to comply with HAVA but they allow voters who are disabled the opportunity to cast their votes privately and independently– something that was previously impossible.

This move by Bowen (pictured to the right) could signal that she plans to decertify electronic voting machines certified by her predecessor, Bruce… Read More

There is a report today in the Sacramento Bee that Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez has dished out some pretty hefty raises for the New Year for key members of his staff.

I noted deep in the story that one of these raises went to his Deputy Chief of Staff and spokesman Steve Maviglio. I wanted to congratulate Steve on his raise, and come to its defense. Clearly, as a fiscal conservative, I believe it is important to be prudent with taxpayer funds. At the same time, however, I also understand that if you are going to hire and retain capable, qualified staff members — you have to be willing to pay them a competitive wage. I seldom agree with Steve’s politics. As a matter of fact, I am not sure that I ever have or ever will. But I respect Steve’s talent, ability, moxie and work ethic. While I can’t say that I agree with Steve’s dedication to raising taxes, increasing regulations and generally trying to increase the size and scope of state government, I will say that he is very… Read More