Unstated in California Assemblywoman Toni Atkins’ proposed new annual $52 DMV driving “fee” for infrastructure is the bogus assumption that Californians pay too little taxes. False.

Consider:

* CA has by FAR the highest state income tax rate.

* The highest state capital gains tax rate (2nd highest combined capital gains rate in the WORLD).

* The highest state sales tax rate.

* The highest gasoline and diesel taxes.

* The 10th highest homeowner property taxes.

* The 6th highest state corporate tax rate.

* The 2nd highest insurance premium sales tax rate (only 7 states even CHARGE such a tax).

* Traffic ticket “fees” that are over TRIPLE what other states charge.

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

CA state and local governments are AWASH in funds, but the Big Spenders willalwaysclaim that they need MORE. Tax dollars are fungible. By raising taxes for roads, that frees up EXISTING tax dollars to spent on… Read More

[Publisher’s Note: As part of an ongoing effort to bring original, thoughtful commentary to you here at the FlashReport, we are pleased to present this column from Scott Blackburn.]

If you are new to the FlashReport, please check out the main site and the acclaimed FlashReport Weblog on California politics.

Sony Pictures was recently the victim of a cyber-attack thought to be the handiwork of the North Koreans. The communist nation was purportedly retaliating for an upcoming movie release in which actors James… Read More

Why would a Los Angeles Unified School District board member ask the board to influence a legal battle between a large Fresno fruit grower and the United Farm Workers labor union?

Rather than offer support to the Gerawan Farming companyworkersin their fight to oust the United Farm Workers labor union from their Fresno area farming employer, Steve Zimmer, a LAUSD 
Board Member
has authored a Resolution calling for… Read More

If you drive by Palm Lane Elementary School in Anaheim, California, nothing seems amiss. With modern buildings, partially surrounded by a park, the school seems like a tranquil refuge. Like so many settings in sunny Southern California, palm trees and sycamores compete for space on the spacious lawns, beckoning skyward, swaying in the warmth of a slight breeze. By appearances, Palm Lane seemsa perfect place to send your children to get an education.

Appearances can be deceiving. Palm Lane does not deliver educational excellence to its students, and it is the latest epicenter of an escalating war for control of California’s failing public schools.

Despite investing to create and maintain an impressive campus, academic achievement at Palm Lane has been sadly deficient. According to a report earlier this month in the Wall Street Journal,“In 2013 a mere 38% of students scored proficient or better on state standardized English tests and 53% in math. About 85% of its students are Latino and 60% aren’t native English speakers.”

… Read More

Yesterday I voted to repeal Obamacare, a law that will inexorably lead to the takeover of our health care system by the federal government.

Just this past week, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that Obamacare will cost taxpayers a net $1.35 trillion dollars over the next 10 years. Where does the “affordable” in the “Affordable Care Act” come from?

The budget office also points out that 10 million workers will lose their employee-based insurance plans to Obamacare endorsed plans over the next 6 years, a tenfold increase… Read More

The 2008 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ozone regulations were halted in 2011, and have not been implemented. Yet the EPA is planning to push forward even stricter smog rules, demonstrating that public hearings allowing public testimony are just window dressing.

The air we breathe today is the cleanest air since the Clean Air Act was passed in the 1970s. Despite this fact, the day before Thanksgiving, the EPA released its proposal to “strengthen” ground level ozone emissions known as smog.

Current EPA ozone regulations set the nationwide limit at 75 parts per billion. The EPA is considering lowering it to 60 parts per billion,making the… Read More

[Publisher’s Note: As part of an ongoing effort to bring original, thoughtful commentary to you here at the FlashReport, we are pleased to present this column from Wayne Winegarden.]

If you are new to the FlashReport, please check out the main site and the acclaimed… Read More

Is California “back,” as the liberal press and our governor so proudly proclaim? No. Not hardly. Especially if you’re looking for work — or for a better job.

In November, California was tied for the 2nd highest/worst state unemployment rate. In December, we’ve got 2nd place all to ourselves at 7.0%. The December national unemployment rate was 5.6%. Only “Deliverance” Mississippi was worse. The national unemployment rate not including CA is 5.4%, making the CA unemployment rate 29.4% higher than the average of the other 49 states. http://www.bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm — We were at 4.8% in Nov, 2006 – vs. national 4.6% Using the 2014 U-6 measure of unemployment (includes involuntary part-time workers), CA is just behind Nevada at 15.2% vs. national 12.0%. National U-6 not including CA is 11.6%, making CA’s U-6 31.4% higher than the average of the other 49 states. http://www.bls.gov/lau/stalt.htm

Remember that in December,… Read More