“Pension-change advocates failed to find funding for a measure during the depths of the 2008 recession and the havoc it wreaked on government budgets, so they won’t pass (a measure) when the economy is doing well.” – Steve Maviglio, political consultant and union coalition spokesperson,Sacramento Bee, January 18, 2016

It’s hard to argue with Mr. Maviglio’s logic. If the economy is healthy and the stock market is roaring, fixing the long-term financial challenges facing California’s state/local government employee pensions systems will not be a top political priority. But that doesn’t mean those challenges have gone away.

One of the biggest problems pension reformers face is communicating just how serious the problem is getting, and one of the biggest reasons for that is the lack of good financial information about California’s government worker pension systems.

The California State Controller used to release a “Public Retirement Systems Annual Report,” that consolidated all of California’s 80 independent… Read More

Last night’s dramatic and decisive victory in the Iowa caucuses wasn’t just a victory for Senator Ted Cruz — it was a victory for the American people who have spent nearly eight years suffering under the failed leadership of President Obama. Now, we are past the end of the beginning of the process to elect a new Republican president, one who will put our country on a new, and better, path.

Ted Cruz proved that he could take on a powerful special interest — in this case, the ethanol lobby, which threw everything it could at him — and prevail. That’s the kind of leader I want to see in the White House. Not a leader who is intimidated by entrenched and powerful interests, but one with the courage to challenge them when we have better ideas rooted in our party’s principles.

In the days leading up to the vote, it was clear that others were getting desperate. Canadian! Loans! He’s not nice! Give me a break. I wondered what would be next — unreturned library books? Most of those claims came from Donald Trump, who clearly didn’t have a good night. It’s never a good idea to build your… Read More

Rocky Chavez, a CaliforniaGOP candidate for U.S. Senate,isn’t just another empty suit or pretty face in politics. Chavez, a Republican Assemblyman from Oceanside, CA,served 28 years in the United States Marine Corps, rose to the rank of Colonel, and commanded 22,000 troops.

He later served as the acting Secretary of the California Department of Veterans Affairs, and then as the Vice… Read More

It’s not often that taxpayers get good news, especially in tax-happy California. Even more surprising is when the good news is an official opinion from the state’s Attorney General, someone not normally associated with friendly treatment to taxpayers.

Last November, this column noted that local governments, especially school districts, were prone to engage in questionable campaign activity to secure an unfair advantage in bond elections. Although it is illegal for officials to use public resources (including public funds) to urge a vote for or against a political issue, consultants frequently advise tax proponents to wage one sided “informational” campaigns. This includes sending out material stating all the good things a bond or tax measure will do, but usually they stop just short of violating the law by telling people how to vote. (Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association has had multiple successes in obtaining court injunctions against school districts that cross the line into advocacy, but by the time the court rules, the political damage has already been done). And to top it all off, the “consultants” compensated with taxpayer dollars are frequently… Read More

Not long ago, I said I believe that Donald Trump will be as President just as Arnold Schwarzenegger was as California Governor. Leaving aside the recent brouhaha about the debate (I will only say that if Trump cannot handle a little attack from Megyn Kelly, Vladimir Putin and ISIS will eat him for lunch), everything that Trump has done since I wrote the article has convinced me I was exactly correct. Once again, I start with the disclaimer I support Ted Cruz. That, however, does not change my observations and comparisons.

Schwarzenegger’s leftist lackeys rejected my premise, claiming Schwarzenegger practiced the politics of “inclusion,” whatever that means. They said Schwarzenegger reached out to his opponents, wanted to include his opposition, not demonize them as Trump has done. Schwarzenegger, say his apologists, was nice and fuzzy.

I don’t know how calling your opponents “girly men” is being inclusive. In fact, when he was running for office, Schwarzenegger called the Sacramento crowd corrupt, and he was going there to clean it up. I was at a rally in Sacramento, where the theme song was the Twisted Sister song… Read More

The alternative title for this post could be, “What is going on that the Deputy’s Union doesn’t want made public?”

I think we all can agree that transparency in government is a critical component of the public being able to exercise our rights to interact in an informed way with their elected officials, and of course cast informed votes at the ballot box. It was an unfortunate blow to transparency when the COIN ordinance at the County of Orange was shelved due to legal reasons — that was the measure specifically designed to make sure that the public would be informed about the details of labor negotiations in an ongoing manner, so that… Read More

California was once the State that everyone looked up to. With the best weather and natural resources, we were full of hope and innovation. We had the best public schools, a world class system of higher education, the best freeways, infrastructure to provide fresh water to our growing population, which also doubled as a source of clean energy through hydro-electric power, a business-friendly environment where entire industries grew in entertainment, aerospace, and technology, making our economy virtually recession-proof.

Then in 1978, then-governor Jerry Brown signed an executive order that imposed union-shop collective bargaining on public agencies in California, and the rise of public sector union power began.

Today, public sector unions are the most powerful political force in our State. They control a majority of our State Legislature and might control a supermajority in November if a few swing districts fall their way. No politician, Democrat, Republican or Independent, acts without considering how it will affect the union agenda.

These government unions press 100% for a progressive agenda, and they consistently agitate for increased spending. In two… Read More

By Megan Barth and Katy Grimes

Betrayal is the only truth that sticks

Arthur Miller

The rise of Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are a direct reflection of the anger and pain of the electorate and the capitulation of conservative principles by the GOP. The electorate and conservatives are demanding change, and the GOP, for the sake of saving the grand old party, must change.It is necessary for therestoration of the party, conservatism,… Read More