Things are not so good out there. The unemployment rate, already stubbornly high, climbed even higher in May. Economists are revising economic growth predictions downward. Housing prices continue to drop, thereby further reducing household wealth. Real returns on bank deposits and Treasury Bills are negative. The dollar is dropping. Gas prices are up, inflation is up. There are some bright spots, certainly, but the overall picture is that of stagnation. Unfortunately, none of this is a great surprise given what the government has been doing of late. We are printing money and artificially holding down interest rates to try and spur recovery. But, this is creating those negative real (after inflation) interest rates, which are distorting capital flows. Most of the country’s tax policies expire in 18 months, so no one can do any long-term investment planning about taxes with any certainty. The government is retarding the development of almost all forms of economical energy (oil, gas, coal, nuclear), while subsidizing expensive wind and solar. We continue to run record deficits, which divert capital from other more productive uses and create the massive public debt overhang… Read More

A new PPIC poll confirms what many of us have suspected all along – Democrats don’t want to gather signatures for a special election to extend taxes because the idea is terribly unpopular in overtaxed California.

It is far easier to falsely accuse the GOP of being obstructionist (for simply disagreeing with Democrats) than it is to actually face voters and explain why an ineffective, dysfunctional government needs stable funding to do a lousy job.

PPIC confirms it. Democrats want to simply find and use weak Republicans to walk the plank – again, so that the blame for high taxes can be bipartisan. So far the GOP isn’t being stupid – which is a first for us since 2000.… Read More

The Public Policy Institute of California today has released a poll that shows 77 percent of Californians want a say in the state’s taxing and spending decisions, while 68 percent think a special election is a “good idea.” The PPIC spun this as support for Governor Jerry Brown’s plan to hold a special election for the sole purpose of placing a tax increase on the ballot to help cover the state’s $11 billion budget gap.

The PPIC goes on to report that it found poll respondents a bit schizophrenic regarding support for a special election and actual tax increases. While a majority like the idea of increased voter input in the budget situation and seem to favor a special election, only 41 percent would support Brown’s plan to increase vehicle and sales taxes.

Brown and his legislative cohorts have presented the tax hike as merely an extension of the 2009 Schwarzenegger Administration-era taxes, not a tax increase. But that’s simply a matter of public spin and semantics. In reality, the taxes are set to expire on July 1. Any “extension” would require increasing rates that are supposed to decrease.

Given their choice of areas to cut in… Read More

Be sure to check out my video located below this column…

“The formula for releasing prisoners and cutting cops is not a smart one.” Attorney General Jerry Brown, Los Angeles Times, August 9, 2009.

I agree, and I trust that now-Governor Brown will stand behinds those words. For without a doubt, the principle responsibility of government is to protect its citizens from those who would do us harm.

Yet, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that California must somehow reduce its prison population by approximately 33,000 inmates, and the first question becomes: Which ones?

Felons convicted of murder, manslaughter, violent or serious crimes against the person total 63,500. There are 19,000 inmates that are in prison for kidnapping and/or sex-related crimes. Property and theft related offenses account for 30,000 inmates. For drug related crimes, of the 23,000 serving time, 15,000 have been convicted of manufacturing or dealing drugs. Other offenses include arson, felons found in possession of firearms and driving the under influence.

Almost 60 percent of all inmates were on… Read More

[Publisher’s Note: With all of the growing controversy around the situation where a lewd picture was sent using the Twitter account of U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY), and the serious missteps of the Congressman in dealing with the situation, we reached out to one of California’s most respected crisis-communications experts to provide some analysis. Julie Soderlund is a partner with Wilson Miller Communications. She recently served as an advisor to the Carly Fiorina for U.S. Senate campaign – Flash]

“Weinergate” – Creating Your Own Media Crisis by Julie Soderlund

This is crisis communications 101 and today’s lesson: What not to do. Case study: Congressman Weiner and well…his Twitter issues.

Yes, I realize this is a complete sideshow compared to the things that really matter, like say the debt ceiling debate, the 2012 presidential primary, Republicans meeting with the President yesterday, starving children in Haiti, etc. But let’s be honest catnip is to cats what… Read More

Matthew K. Fong Remembered Matthew K. Fong, California’s 29th State Treasurer, former member of the California State Board of Equalization, respected attorney and businessman, devoted father and loving husband passed away today, June 1, 2011.

Fong, who had been battling cancer for several years, was a speaker at the commencement ceremonies at Southwestern Law School on Sunday, May 15 where he received an honorary degree and ovation from the graduates and friends and colleagues from his service in elective office.

Matt was a fiscal conservative who has brought strong academic and business skills to state government. Fong believed small business was the backbone of the California economy and should have an opportunity to compete with the bigger firms. In the State Treasurer’s office, Fong launched an initiative designed to encourage smaller firms to compete for the lucrative underwriting and advisory work on state financing deals. He created a pool of eligible and authorized financial firms. He constantly looked for ways to save taxpayer money. He initiated a shelf registration program that sped up the timeline and… Read More

On FlashReport’s main news aggregation page in the morning, you’ll see articles that are referencing a new survey by the Public Policy Institute of California.

As President of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association my official response to this survey is as follows…

“The poll shows Californians do not trust their Representatives with decisions on taxes. They do not want higher taxes imposed by the Governor and the Legislature. The real reason they want to vote is so they can turn down Jerry Brown’s menu of tax increases. The Governor ought to listen to the people, go back to the drawing board and present budget solutions that don’t hurt working families rather than wasting the people’s time and tax dollars on a special election whose negative outcome is predictable.”… Read More

From today’s Wall Street Journal Political Diary E-mail…

Obama’s ‘Green Evangelist’

It’s another marker of President Obama’s true inclinations that he has chosen to nominate a leading environmentalist to be his new secretary of commerce, a post designed to stimulate job creation.

John Bryson, the nominee, began his career as a top appointee of Jerry Brown back in the 1970s, when Mr. Brown first served as California’s governor. During that time, Mr. Brown preached “an era of limits” when it came to the economy and loaded up the state with onerous regulations. Before his stint as a state water and public utility commissioner, Mr. Bryson opened up the West Coast operations of the Natural Resources Defense Council. According to Republican Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana, the NRDC has filed more lawsuits seeking to block offshore oil drilling than any other group in the country.

No one doubts that Mr. Bryson, a former CEO of the Edison utility company in California who helped steer that state through its 2001 power crisis, will win Senate confirmation.… Read More