Sacramento grocery shoppers are livid. Even the liberals.

While shopping Jan. 3 at two Sacramento stores, I witnessed mounting shopper anger as they were told they’d be charged .10 cents per grocery bag. One woman screamed back at the checker, “This is ridiculous!” as she tossed all of her items back into the cart on her way out of the store. She then angrily threw the same loose, un-bagged items into her trunk and drove off… with an Obama 2012 bumper sticker.

At another large retailer, most shoppers were also caught off guard, and angrily acquiesced to the bag charges. And they weren’t silent about their anger. “Ten cents for this piece of &*#t?” one woman asked another shopper, holding up a new bag. (No, I wasn’t at WalMart)

Wait until these shoppers discover that California’s coddled welfare recipients won’t be charged for… Read More

The attacks on Proposition 13 began within a few days after its overwhelming passage by California voters on June 6, 1978. Over the last three and half decades, this landmark taxpayer protection has been assailed in the legislature, the courts and by ballot initiatives sponsored by tax-and-spend interests. These assaults continue to this day.

In a development that has surprised taxpayer advocates and the business community, a new attack on Proposition 13 is quickly gaining traction. Filed as an initiative with the sympathetic title of “Lifting Children and Families Out of Poverty Act,” the proposal would impose a massive $6 billion property tax increase on both homeowners and business properties. Its primary backer is Conway Collis, a former member of the California Board of Equalization.

The fact that there is yet another attack on Proposition 13 is not much of a surprise. However, this proposal is as odd as it is dangerous. First, it is not being financed by the usual anti-Proposition 13 coalition of public sector unions and local government interests. Instead, the funding is coming from anti-poverty groups aligned with the Catholic Church, including the… Read More

From the State of California’s Department of Business Prevention comes another random minimum wage hike to help kill off more businesses.

The final phase of the 2013 Assembly Bill 10 went into effect Jan. 1, bumping the minimum wage to $10-per-hour statewide. AB 10 is the final step of a two-stage increase. California and Massachusetts are now the states with the highest minimum wage. Only California is also home to the highest income taxes, sales taxes, and high property taxes.

Bureaucrats Interfere

Work should be valued only… Read More

California will be sending 172 delegates of the total of 2,470 delegates that will be credentialed at the next Republican National Convention July 18-21 in Cleveland, Ohio. Since the days of Ronald Reagan, California has become a reliably “blue” state in Presidential elections, which has caused its percentage share of delegates to the GOP national convention to shrink, in comparison to reliably “red” states like Texas. This is because the Republican party rewards states that reliably vote Republican with a few extra delegates. When I attended the 1976 Republican National Convention in Kansas City as a delegate for Ronald Reagan, California had more influence on the process, but still not quite enough alone to propel Reagan to the nomination in THAT election. Nevertheless, today California’s shear size, plus its status as an essentially “winner-take-all” primary state, mean that even as a “blue” state in the Fall, its’ total delegate count is still equal to about 14% of the delegates needed to win the nomination in Cleveland. (The “magic number” is 1,236.) That is a large slug of delegates,… Read More

An horrifically inaccurate opinion article claiming fracking is making people sick in Kern County ran Saturday in the Sacramento Bee, without any fact checking, and without a counterpoint article.

In “Oil runs amok in Kern County,” author Rosanna Esparza, a community organizer in Kern County and Sierra Club member, takes issue with the Kern County Board of Supervisors’ November vote to approve a zoning change to streamline Kern oil and gas permitting. “California continues to be a leader on climate with actions such as the passage of SB 350 by the Legislature, which seeks to increase our renewable energy mix to 50 percent and double the energy efficiency of existing buildings,” Esparza wrote.

I am pro-environment and a… Read More

Good news! One of California’s tech giants is expanding! The bad news? Awww, shucks — you’re way ahead of me.

Yup, the expansion is NOT in California. It’s in Austin, Texas. No surprise, as Oracle already had set up an operation down there in recent years. See the “Business Relocation Coach” article below and the link to the full Austin article.

One interesting aspect caught my eye. The 2013 move to Texas received some subsidies from both the state and local governments. Combined that windfall came to $1,067,000 — about $5,335 per employee. To get that subsidy, the company had to commit to not only hiring 200 employees (they ended up hiring FAR more), but to spending at least $5.4 million on real estate improvements. While doubtless the windfall was welcome by the corporation, it’s not nearly enough to make a company expand outside of California, where the HQ is. Other factors (most the result of policies put in place by our CA state and local governments) were much bigger costs that the company faced.

In announcing this latest expansion, Oracle said they were expanding their Austin work force… Read More

As is my custom the past several years on this eve…

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David) to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For… Read More

After years ofintense government and union harassment by theAgricultural Labor Relations Board and the United Farm Workers labor union,Gerawan Farming Inc. notified its workers that effective February 25, 2016, the company will fully close its entire table grape operation, in the County of Fresno. Pursuant to the Federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, known as the WARN Act, Gerawan has been forced into a position of closing an entire arm of its farming operations because of California government assisting a labor union attempt to take over a large company.And Gov. Jerry Brown has not once intervened to stop the unlawful harassment by the union or his own state agency.

The table grape operation closure does not affect any of the employees’ employment in other Gerawan farming operations, but now thousands of farm workers will lose well-paying farm jobs because of California’s corrupt state government. Gerawan always exceeds industry average wages and are the first to increase wages. Gerawan’s website shows their hourly wage for grape packline as $16.27, and upwards of $20.00 per… Read More