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Richard Nixon, in a moment of wisdom many will find incongruous, is reported to have observed, “When you’ve said something so many times you can’t stand the sound of your own voice saying it, that’s when people hear you for the first time.” We’ve come to that point with President Obama’s Common Core Standards (CCS), which I and many others have been criticizing for several years to an uninterested bipartisan audience. The criticism may make an impression now, however, because the you-know-what is hitting the fan in every California school district, and the story is the same in the other 44 states that bought into CSS. The implications for the California GOP become clear when the facts are reviewed.

The Common Core Academic Standards were forced on the states (arguably in violation of the Tenth Amendment) when money was promised via Obama’s signature education initiative, Race to the Top (RTTT), if the states purchased the standards. One fly in the ointment (the first of many) is that the RTTT money doesn’t begin to cover the cost of the standards, and is not supposed to be used for that purpose anyway. That cost is $10 billion nationwide. The… Read More

At the end of September, Assembly Bill 8 was signed by Governor Brown and became law. This is horrible news for taxpayers because California motorists will now be paying $2.3 billion in additional taxes and charges. Adding insult to injury, taxpayers will find their hard earned dollars being used to subsidize programs such as the purchase of all electric cars, like the Tesla that, even with the taxpayer provided discount, can be afforded only by a handful of wealthy individuals. Money will also be lavished on the hydrogen network designed to service vehicles of which, about 250 currently exist.

The bill for ordinary California drivers may not be immediately noticeable because these “surcharges” are buried in vehicle registration and charges for the disposal of tires and other auto services. But they are there nonetheless and, like a death by a thousand cuts, working class Californians are paying for questionable programs that citizens in other states simply don’t have to suffer.

With all the burdens Sacramento imposes on taxpayers – we already have the highest state sales in all 50 states, the highest marginal income tax rate and the highest gas tax –… Read More

Some passing thoughts on the political scene…

IDIOT OF THE WEEK: Francine Godoy is the former Deputy Chief of Staff to Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar. She has filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against her former boss. Huizar’s spokesman released a statement saying that allegations by Godoy are, “absolutely false and malicious.” — His version of facts? I wasn’t harassing her, I was having an affair with her! This guy has been hanging out too long with Anthony Villaraigosa. Huizar: Idiot. __

The fact that former Assemblyman and former Republican Nathan Fletcher has been revealed as a political quisling is a source of great personal angst for me, as he has been a friend for many years. When I read the questionnaire he filled out when seeking the San Diego Labor Council endorsement I got physically ill. When I… Read More

It’s over…….for now.

The mainstream media (MSM) would have you believe that this was a “bipartisan agreement”. It was…..in the same way that Lee and Grant reached an agreement at the Appomattox Courthouse in 1865. It was a complete surrender on the part of Republicans. All that was “negotiated” were the terms of that surrender.

President Obama, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi got what they wanted. They employed an admittedly risky strategy a month ago centered on the basis that they would not negotiate, not compromise and not talk. Taking this position and holding it meant that it was certain the country was going to go close to “the brink” of the debt ceiling. Boehner repeatedly said that “default” was not an option. The Democrat troika never said that. They were willing to risk the future of this nation in pursuit of their socialist dreams. Their strategy left only two possible outcomes: Republican surrender or we find out what happens if a modern government runs out of money. They got the former.

The battle is lost. But, the war is far from over. The nature and timing of future battles… Read More

For most individuals, California’s expensive home prices are a far bigger problem than our highly progressive tax structure. For the really well-to-do who carry most of the CA income tax load, housing costs are a secondary problem. But for the middle class, it can be a dream killer.

Below is a key excerpt from a current, informative article comparing the affordability of homes for the middle class in 100 national markets — recently summarized in a U-T article I can’t replicate here. Not surprisingly, California ranks poorly. We have the worst local market in the nation by far (San Francisco). But we also have the 2nd(Orange County), 3rd(Los Angeles), 5th(my San Diego), 6th(San Jose), and 7th(Ventura County) worst housing markets.

What makes theses homes so expensive is the subject of another post. But suffice it to say that intense government opposition to housing (reflected in VERY limited available land), massive housing “fees” and environmental regulatory and litigation madness make California housing anything but a free market.

What makes this housing survey particularly… Read More

“Public employees have a private interest in taking more and more of the taxpayer-generated revenue for themselves. In other words, public employees have a private interest in diverting public funds from public services to their wages and pensions. In this sense, the increasing numbers of public employees and their increasing wages and benefits threaten to hollow out public services in our country.” – Roger Berkowitz, Executive Director, Hannah Arendt Center

The above quote explains quite well the intrinsic conflict of interests that accrues to public sector unions. This conflict of interest is the primary distinction between public sector unions and private sector unions. It is the reason that private sector unions can muster strong arguments for their continued relevance in society, whereas the very legitimacy of public sector unions is questionable. And lest anyone suggest that calls for reform – if not abolition – of public sector unions emanates solely from the “extreme right wing,” consider the provenance of the above quote, and go away. The highly regarded, intellectually elite… Read More

For the eighth year in a row the FlashReport once again highlighted the Top Twenty Worst Bills on Governor Brown’s desk. As we have done in the past, we enlisted the aid of two members of the State Legislature to help us in compiling this list. I would like to once again thank State Senator Joel Anderson and Assemblywoman Marie Waldron for their assistance with our 2013 Rogues Gallery of bad bills.

Last Sunday Governor Brown completed action on all of the bills on his desk, which means we can now report back to you how he did on the very worst bills on his desk.

We present the 2013 Top 20 Bills to Veto list which we respectfully submit to the Governor’s attention…

Drum roll, please….

This year Governor Brown signed 14 of 20 worst bills, and vetoed six! That means that he only vetoed a paltry 30%!

… Read More

One of the overwhelming challenges facing fiscal conservatives is how to cut government spending without harming economic recovery. It may seem obvious that governments eventually have to stop relying on borrowing to finance their deficits, but eliminating government spending deficits can only partly rely on spending cuts. Economic growth is the other essential element.

To explore and catalog worthy prescriptions for economic growth, the California Public Policy Center has launched a new project, theCalifornia Prosperity Forum. We seek informed and constructive policy ideas and analysis from any source,guided by our core belief that prosperity and opportunity will return to California through a combination of common sense reforms in Sacramento, greater freedom for the private sector, and innovation in our public schools.

Opponents of austerity are not only concerned about the potentially negative impact of reduced government spending on the economy, but also the ability of individual government workers or beneficiaries of government entitlements to pay their bills. This concern is… Read More