Not one presidential candidate, apart from Gov. Walker’s last-ditch rhetoric prior to dropping out, has discussed the problems with unionized government as a major issue. That’s too bad, because these problems are bigger than even most critics acknowledge.

When people discuss the need to reform, if not eliminate, public sector unions, the only reason typically cited is that their demands are bankrupting our cities and states. And reformers also usually fail to communicate the fundamental differences between government unions and private sector unions, or emphasize the bipartisan urgency of public sector union reform. Government unions don’t merely drive our cities and counties into service insolvency if not bankruptcy, they are distorting policy decisions of fundamental importance to the future of America.

With a focus on California, and in no particular order, here is an attempt to summarize how this is occurring:

(1) The Economy

California has the highesttaxes and fees in the U.S., and is consistently ranked as the worst state in America to do business. California also has the highest paid public employees in the… Read More

Last week marked the conclusion of the 2015 Legislative Session, which ended on an overall positive note.

One Legislative victory was toning down Senate Bill 350, another big government environmental bill which would have required a 50% reduction in California’s petroleum usage by 2030. Thanks to an amendment taken close to the end of session, California drivers will not be forced to comply with the unrealistic task of cutting their gasoline use in half over the next 15 years.

Republicans also held the line against taxes, and I am happy to report no new taxes were created this year.

But even with victories like these, our work is… Read More

Scott Walker is gone.

Walker’s presidential campaign is out of money, though his super PAC (not the official campaign) has raised more than $26 million. Major donors will properly demand refunds of the mostly unspent money. That’s what donors to former Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s $17 million super PAC ($12 million on hand) did, when Perry ended his presidential campaign ten days ago.

Walker and Perry each “suspended” the formal campaign, which is distinct from their super PACs. Suspension means each candidate can still get Federal matching funds to pay campaign debts. Walker now can use your tax dollars to fully pay his prescient campaign strategists. This is yet another aspect of wonderful campaign reform, the fiction that tax dollars purify the process.

Given the seductive allure of those Federal dollars, and the super PAC resources available for advertising, Walker and… Read More

Introduction from FR Publisher Jon Fleischman

When we go through hundreds and hundreds of bills to find the ones that we consider to be the most egregious, harmful or inappropriate, it is our hope that a responsible Governor would veto all of them. Remember, we’re talking about the worst bills. If the Governor signs any of the bills listed below, it is bad news for the people of California. This is our tenth year in a row featuring this column. Each year, we partner with two conservative members of the State Legislature — this year is no different. Our thanks go out to both State Senator Joel Anderson and State Senator John Moorlach, and to their staff members, for their hard work in selecting the terrible bills below out of hundreds and hundreds on the Governor’s desk.

Normally our legislative partners compile 20 bills to veto — but this year I took some personal privilege and picked one bill that truly makes me nauseous to highlight first, and so below it are 19 other bills compiled by the Senators. Let me also give an “honorable mention” to a particularly heinous bill… Read More

Former Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach won his Senate race in March, and already has become a standout. Now-Senator John Moorlach, R-Costa Mesa, has waged challenges to Democrat Gov. Jerry Brown’s May Budget revise, minimum wage hikes, Democrats’ lack of fiscal restraint and perpetual overspending.

Moorlach, eloquently, but authoritatively, has become the Legislature’s outspoken expert on California’s Department of Transportation’s 3500 unneeded engineers and gross careless spending, while the governor simultaneously asked taxpayers to foot the bill for even more transportation taxes.

In 1994,… Read More

A coalition of government employee unions has filed an initiative that would extend the temporary income tax hikes that were contained in Proposition 30 and approved by voters in 2012.

If this seems like, in the immortal words of Yogi Berra, “déjà vu all over again,” it’s not your imagination. This is just the tax raisers running their favorite play from “The Book of Dirty Tricks on Taxpayers.” First they persuade taxpayers to accept a tax by marketing it as temporary. Once taxpayers have become inured to paying it, the tax raisers move in to extend it or make it permanent.

Big spending politicians and their allied government employee unions count on taxpayers having short memories to make this scam work. For example, look at the 1.25% sales tax increase political elites pushed in 1991 to deal with a budget gap. A half-cent was supposed to be temporary but when it came time to expire the Legislature placed it on the ballot promoting it as necessary for “public safety.” Voters — by then used to paying the higher tax — swallowed the hook and we continue to pay the entire 1.25% increase initiated almost twenty-five years ago.

To… Read More

Every Four Years, A Golden Opportunity for Revenue Enhancement

November 8, 2016 will likely be a triumphant day for Californians who believe individuals, households, and businesses aren’t giving enough of their money to the government.

The recent deliberation and turmoil in the California legislature about tax increases will be handed off to voters, who will make quick decisions based primarily on deceptive ballot titles. Meanwhile, as many as 150 local K-12 school and community college districts will ask voters for authorization to borrow money for construction via bond sales. In addition, voters will get to consider local parcel taxes, utility taxes, transportation taxes, San Francisco Bay Restoration taxes – all sorts of taxes.

Why is this election going to be so special? Political consultants assume that Californians inspired to vote because of the historic candidacy of Hillary Clinton for President will extend their excitement to the approval of taxes, borrowing, and spending farther down the ballot.

This assumption is based on performance of bond measures and proposed tax increases in the past two presidential… Read More

When the 2015 legislative session began, 13 Republicans entered the Senate and Assembly chambers as California Trailblazers alumni. While they are all very different individuals, their success was based on a shared commitment to running smart, running hard and never letting up until all the votes were counted. It wasn’t easy, but today, it’s paying dividends for their constituents and all Californians.

Young Kim, Janet Nyguen, Catharine Baker and David Hadley illustrate how California Trailblazers is making a difference in the state legislature. Trailblazer candidates stopped Democrat supermajorities in both houses, and just last week, they helped block Democrat… Read More