With the advent of the Covid-19 Delta Variant, there has been an explosion of demands for people getting vaccinations. Private companies are imposing rules for their employees which are perfectly legal. But the government solutions to this problem are typical of government solutions – insipid and nuts and punish the wrong people.

I am forced to put in a qualifier here because of the great lie that Republicans are the true problem regarding obtaining vaccinations. I have had Covid and both my Pfizer shots. I have never met a vaccination I have not taken. When my physician tells me to get a shot, I get a shot. Two years ago, my Doc told me to get a pneumonia vaccination because I was 65+ years of age. The Beautiful Wife and I went Walgreens and did that the same day.

I tried to understand why people don’t want to get a Covid shot. The argument that it is still experimental is nonsense. Hundreds of millions of people have gotten the shots and Covid deaths plummeted. There are cases where it has not worked for people or caused problems, but the vaccines have worked and work against the Delta Variant.

We now have a new term – breakthrough cases. That is… Read More

Many people (including myself in times past) have often complained that “economics is not taught in the schools.” But that’s a false assertion. Economics IS taught in today’s schools — taught in a very selective, all pervasive manner in just about EVERY class — not just in some economics class.

What is “taught” today throughout the education process by economically illiterate teachers is that: 1. Businesses make huge profits. Excessive profits. Downrightevilprofits. 2. Businesses can “afford” to pay more — more taxes, more mandated labor costs, more whatever. 3. CONCLUSION: Businesses need to pay their “fair share” — whichalwaysmeans MORE.

Of course, the MSM AND the movie/TV shows preach the same gospel. Facts be damned. So we really should not be surprised it how little most people know about business, costs and profits.

A 2015 survey found thatpeople think that businesses make about 36% profit on every dollar of sales.The real profit margin is 6.5% to 7.5%. Roughly 7 cents of every sales dollar… Read More

I have talked about the problems with the recently adopted budget (assuming the Legislature is done with it, a large assumption given their previous cavalier attitude toward the budget deadlines). Just to repeat my previous criticisms:

(1) The budget for the current and predictions for future year budgets are based on unstable revenue; (2) The spending increases in the current budget fix in spending patterns that are unsustainable in the future; (3) The Legislature completely failed to comply with the budget deadlines, and in their tardiness, they didn’t fix the real problems in the budget; (4) In addition to the unsustainable spending patterns, the programs upon which the money is spent are themselves questionable and little value to Californians. The fact is the Legislature doesn’t care about most Californians, they waste the tax dollars they collect, pay off their political donors, endanger public safety with their spending priorities, and they have built in entitlement and spending to such an extent that within the next two to five years, the entire system will collapse, and the Democrats in the Legislature will again demand tax increases… Read More

Regular readers of this column know by now that I think Thomas Sowell is possibly the greatest American of the last century. It is hard to imagine an American with whom I have been more impressed over my lifetime. The fact that he wrote a fabulously enlightening book published at age 90 (he is now 91) is enough of a statement. Jason Riley (WSJ contributor) has released a biography of Sowell entitled Maverick. Riley’s book in its way is as great as any of Sowell’s 40+ books. Allow me to explain.

First, Riley writes the book in a readable fashion much like Sowell, even though both tackle complex subjects. Riley understands like Sowell (except for his pure economic treatises) that the reader needs to comprehend what he is writing; otherwise, the book is just an act of egotism. Additionally, despite writing about a person who has had a long, full life, Riley brings the book in at 248 pages. So many of those pages illicit a “wow” that there is extraordinarily little not totally fulfilling in this book.

You do learn of Sowell’s meager beginnings which he did not allow to color or taint his outlook. You also learn that while gathering his post high-school… Read More

I have not been a big fan of the recall election. I am friends with the people who are behind it, so I do not think they are doing a bad job. I think to win the first vote, the actual recall to move on to the second vote and determine Newsom’s replacement is a much higher hurdle than in 2003.

The main part of ousting Newsom successfully is the necessity of an attractive alternative to replace him. You cannot defeat someone without an attractive alternative. We now have that candidate once Larry Elder was cleared to be on the ballot. I now believe the recall can win.

When I heard Larry was running (we have been friends for 25 years and I am very fond of him), my initial reaction was what in God’s name is he thinking? He has become a nationally syndicated radio host, earns speaking fees, appears on national news shows, writes books and made a movie (the excellent Uncle Tom if you are not familiar). Many people would characterize Larry as a superstar.

That is why Dennis Prager has a standard offer regarding Larry. Prager will personally make a $10,000 donation to the charity of a person’s choice for any… Read More

In my previous discussions on the budget, I pointed out that the budget has numerous problems, and we haven’t even gotten to the details:

(1) The budget for the current and predictions for future year budgets are based on unstable revenue; (2) The spending increases in the current budget fix in spending patterns that are unsustainable in the future; and (3) The Legislature completely failed to comply with the budget deadlines, and in their tardiness, they didn’t fix the real problems in the budget.

We are now faced with a fake budget, enacted at a fake time, with fake revenue estimates. The time bomb is ticking. All of this might be excusable if the budget actually solved the state’s problems, but it doesn’t. It continues legislative priorities that don’t solve the real problems of the state of California. One of my observations during my time, as I saw the budgets take shape, was that Democrats always wanted to spend more on health, welfare, and education, and Republicans wanted to spend more on public safety and transportation. The compromise, when Republicans mattered, was to raise spending on… Read More

In my last two comments on the state budget, I pointed out: (1) the state budget is based on highly volatile and unstable revenue sources; and (2) the increase in spending in this budget will lead to significant negative future year budget impacts, that is, we are not far from a budget so unbalanced that it will make the budget crises of the past look like a walk in the park. We will then be told that tax increases are necessary to solve the budget problems, and that it would be “irresponsible” to enact the tax increases. As one of my colleagues noted in the budget crisis that occurred at the turn of the century, “we call them ‘tax and spend’ liberals, but they are really ‘spend and tax’ liberals.” First they spend everything they can put their hands on, then, when the budget collapses from the weight of their spending, they claim they have to raise taxes. Today is when the mistake of overspending occurs, tomorrow is when they use the “excuse” of a budget crisis to raise your taxes. Note this now, in one, two or three years, when the budget collapses, Republicans will be attacked for not… Read More

It has taken 72 years since the publication of the book 1984 for us to finally arrive at being led by President Orwell. He has been sending out his shock troops to convince Americans not to believe their own eyes and ears and blame Republicans for defunding the police and surging crime. They are truly shock troops because Americans are dazed and confused by the bewildering arguments that blame Republicans. Only the most desperate Democrats are adopting this line. I am here to tell you as bad as the lawlessness being unleashed on Americans by Democrat mayors and district attorneys it can and will most likely get even worse.

The trashing of our laws to allow criminals to walk out of stores with hundreds of dollars of goods without legal recourse or allowing violent criminals out after arrest without bail to further their personal crime wave, bafflingly can get even worse. We know that because it is going on in France.

Kobili Traore was an immigrant from Mali who obtained French citizenship. He had been arrested and sentenced by French courts 20 times for violent assaults. His only known means of support was as a drug dealer. Despite that the French government made… Read More