California’s budget situation is rosy for the first time in my more than three years in the legislature. I’d like to say “You’re welcome.” But I can’t for two reasons:

First, while my Republican colleagues and I have been fiscally responsible in our legislative priorities, it is you, not me or Gov. Brown or anyone else in Sacramento, who is fiscally responsible for the surplus. You paid the additional income, sales, and capital gains taxes that gave us the healthy budget we enjoy today. You are responsible for the surplus, not the politicians.

Second, it won’t last. That is not me talking, that’s the governor’s own warning in the budget he put out last week. There is just no sense in any legislator taking credit for a temporary improvement in the state’s fiscal health unless . . . well, I’ll come back to that in a moment.

There are several things to like about the governor’s proposed 2014-15 budget. Most importantly, it admits that the surplus will be short-lived. It comes from – to use the governor’s words – a “windfall” in capital gains receipts and “temporary” tax… Read More

SUMMATION: Updated data from reputable (even pro-labor union) sources show that the mortality risk for police and firefighters is lower than most people think. It’s even significantly lower than I found in previous research just a few years ago — when the police and firefighter mortality figures were both about 16-17 deaths per hundred thousand — vs. the (current) national all-occupation average mortality rate of 3.5 per 100K.

Today the national mortality figure for full-time paid firefighters is about 11.1 per 100K. Certainly more dangerous than most people’s work, but now roughly on a par with “Athletes, Coaches and Umpires” (see chart below).

Even more dramatic, in California, the police and sheriff average mortality rate (2008-2012) was only 4.9 per 100K — only modestly above the 3.5 mortality average forall U.S. jobs. Millions of jobs are more dangerous than being a cop or firefighter — often MUCH more dangerous. A table of some of the more dangerous occupations is included below.

BACKGROUND:Periodically the defenders of big pensions for government employees… Read More

News media and California Republican Party activists are focused on which Republicans are running for Governor, and rightfully so.

But there is anotherelected statewide office that invites a campaign based on intellectual and popular arguments in support of fiscal responsibility.

That obscure but influential office is California State Treasurer.

And that office is quite winnable for a libertarian populist-styleRepublican who can credibly argue to The People against crony capitalism and build a majority coalition of support from voters on the Left and Right.

Why isn’t a smart, dynamic Republican with this kind of thinking jumping into this race? What an opportunity! Below are five winning issues for a Republican candidate for California State Treasurer.

Bonds are free money that comes from President Obama or somewhere, right?

Californians don’t know that state and local “bond measures” on the ballot authorize governments to borrow money from Wall Street and pay it back – with interest. The so-called “One Percent”… Read More

The hilariously mislabeled “Golden State” USED to be ranked “only” number two. But no more. The new Kiplinger study is out.

California is now ranked as the worst state to retire in. Easily the lowest percentage of people over age 65. We “beat” ’em all – NY, NJ, etc.

https://www.fidelity.com/insights/retirement/10-worst-states-to-retire-2014… Read More

I seriously debated whether or not to write anything at all about the departure of Abel Maldonado from the race for Governor of California. He really wasn’t much of a factor in the race, which is probably why he dropped out.

I guess I could write an entire column running through all of the problems with Maldonado. But they say that a picture is worth a thousand words. So here is an image of the pledge that then-Assemblyman Abel Maldonado made during his campaign for the State Senate — to the voters — that he “would vote against and oppose any efforts to raise taxes.”

I will keep this short and sweet. Never mind Maldonado’s ideological inconsistency over his legislative career, he will forever go down in infamy as the deciding vote to pass over $14 billion in higher taxes on Californians (increases in the state income, sales and car taxes, and a cut in the child tax credit) and for using his tax vote to then put the terrible Prop. 14 on the ballot, which he happily told people the purpose of which was, in part, to reduce the role and influence of political parties in California.

Maldonado has character issues… Read More

This article appears in tomorrow’s Ventura County Star. Since the reporter, Timm Herdt, quoted yours truly, I’m hauling it out from behind the Star’s paywall… Find the original here.

By Timm Herdt, The Ventura County Star

Moments after Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon announced Thursday that he is stepping down at the end of this year, the race to succeed him immediately kicked into gear.

The respected Rothenberg Political Report changed its evaluation of the district from “safe Republican” to “Republican favored,” the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee issued a statement saying McKeon’s retirement “puts yet another Republican-held seat into reach for Democrats,” and a potentially bruising primary matchup between two high-profile Republicans began to take shape.

Former Sen. Tony Strickland of Moorpark and current Sen. Steve Knight of Palmdale have previously said they intended… Read More

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[Publisher’s Note: I have had the pleasure of knowing Congressman McKeon since he was Mayor McKeon of Santa Clarita. His commitment and dedication to the people of his district, and to our nation, has been heartfelt and unflinching. I extent to both he and to his wife Patricia the best of luck in the next phase of their life, after this session of Congress is concluded — Flash]

This morning I made the announcement that I will not be running for Congress in the 25th District of California in 2014. Words cannot express the gratitude I feel for the humbling opportunity I have received from you, the people of the 25th, as your Representative. However, I have tried to put down just a few of my thoughts and I would like to share them with you. I look forward to a productive year- there is much work left to do!

Conressman McKeon Remarks-As Prepared for… Read More

Sometimes you wish you were wrong. In these pages last month, I worried that Attorney General Kamala Harris would bias the title and summary for Mayor Chuck Reed’s proposed pension reform measure before it could go before voters, a concern that proved prophetic with her summary. Once again, a single person has exerted incredible power over California’s ballot box. Mayor Reed is now considering whether to even move forward with signature-gathering because of Harris’ framing.

In the wake of several municipal bankruptcies and increasing unfunded public sector pension and benefit obligations, Reed’s measure is meant, not to automatically dismantle agreements (as union advocates howl), but to offer California governments the constitutional breathing room to re-negotiate these relationships prospectively – leaving current retirees unaffected, and allowing accrued benefits for current employees to… Read More