Unless aliens abducted you to their planet this week, you are probably aware of the "deal" struck between the President and Congressional Republicans and Democrats to extend the 2001/2003 tax cuts for 2 years for everyone. However, it is not just an agreement to extend current tax rates. The plan pegs the death tax (currently at zero) at 35% for estates over $5 million. It also includes a one year reduction in the employee’s share of the social security tax by 2%; a 13 month renewal of unemployment benefits, which maintains the 99 week total cap; a 2 year extension of most of the tax provisions from the 2009 stimulus bill, including the earned income tax credit which gives people a "tax rebate" when they have not paid any taxes; and various other provisions, like a 100% write-off for business equipment for one year.

As I write this, the bill to reflect this agreement has just come out. But, of course, no one has read it yet. So, all analysis of this bill must necessarily be an estimate. It appears, though, that the "cost" of this bill will be close to $1 trillion over the next 2 years. Some of this is the "cost" of letting… Read More

The recent "budget forum" of Governor-elect Brown (speaking of fodder for a Monty Python skit, didn’t they do one about him in the 1970’s?) reminded me of that famous line from the old Monty Python television show, when they could think of no easy way to transition from one skit to another, they just punted with the line "And now-for something completely different" and of course, it wasn’t.

So looking for a way to distinguish himself from Governor Schwarzenegger, Brown held a summit, like that hasn’t been done before, about budget issues, as if no one has ever had a discussion about that before, where he suggested that voters should choose between higher taxes or less services, like no one has ever used that line before. It was the same ol’, same ol’, packaged by the old packager who created most of these problems when he was Governor the first time around.

Did you know that 80% of California residents could afford a median priced home in 1974? That number down to 17% by 1982 (after the once and future Governor was done with his first two terms), and has stayed there ever since. Do you… Read More

Since the late 1980’s Kevin McCarthy has been involved in California GOP youth politics. Even with his election to the Assembly, and now to Congress, his interest in trying to maintain control over a California Young Republicans group could be characterized as an obsession. McCarthy (pictured, right), rather notoriously strong-armed State GOP Chairman Ron Nehring with a threatening phone call during the last state party convention, unhappy with a decision of the CRP Rules Committee on an obscure YR issue.

To the surprise of many observers, the handpicked leaders of the McCarthy/Abernathy (Mark Abernathy is a Bakersfield-based political consultant who, along with McCarthy, continues to be very engaged in YR politics) operation — Jenniffer Rodriguez and Rohit Joy — rebelled against them. The new California Young Republican leaders supported someone other than the McCarthy/Abernathy pick for the national chair… Read More

On Monday of this week, I stood in the back of the State Senate Chambers and watched, in somewhat stunned disbelief, as I watched the leadership election for President Pro-Tem of the Chamber — not happen. Ultra-left-wing Democrat Darrell Steinberg’s name was placed into nomination by some of his Democrat colleagues, as he should have been as he is the elected leader of State Senate Democrats…

But not one Republican legislator rose to place into nomination the name of Bob Dutton, the Senate Republican Leader, into nomination. On the contrary, not only was Steinberg the only name placed into nomination, but he was elected on a unanimous voice-vote of the entire Senate. Not an objection was sounded by any of the Republicans in the Chamber. So, effectively, the first vote this session by Republicans was to put their stamp of approval on Darrell Steinberg (the five new freshman Republicans can put that in their inaugural newsletters).

This didn’t just happen in the Senate by the way, I am told that over in the Assembly, John Perez was re-elected Speaker on a voice vote as well, with not one GOPer asking to have a vote of… Read More

When the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors voted last month to ban plastic bags in unincorporated areas of the county, it was forced at the last moment to deal with an unfolding controversy about toxic levels of lead contained in reusable bags recommended as an environmentally-friendly alternative.

Experts warn that exposure to lead in reusable bags could harm the intellectual and neurological development in children and infertility in adults, among other serious health issues. Senator Chuck Schumer has called for investigations of the bags and according to a press release from the Senator’s office, “When disposed of in landfills, these bags can leak toxins into the soil and water and have the potential to create even more environmental problems.

”Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas introduced an amendment to address the potential health crisis regarding exposure to toxic lead in reusable bags: “Reusable bags should not contain levels of lead, cadmium or heavy metals in toxic amounts, as defined by applicable State and Federal standards and regulations for packaging or reusable bags.”

In their quest to appease environmentalists… Read More

California is about to embark on an interesting adventure. It is an adventure of the voters’ own choosing. They went retro with Jerry Brown. They decided to put an entire state government in the hands of the most leftist leadership, if not in the country, certainly in the history of this state. The voters, while handing the day to day operations of the executive branch into the hands of these collectivist comrades, also enacted a majority vote requirement for the budget. Since that majority is also mainly leftist Democrats, it appears that the state and its operations are in the control of those who believe that there is no limit to the good government can do, if it is just in the right hands. Since they think they are the ones with the right hands, be careful, we are in for a wild ride.

The voters, however, didn’t fall completely off the turnip truck. While handing over responsibility for day to day operations, and well as the policy functions, to a bunch of utopia-crats, they left some adult supervision of that effort, by putting a veto over the "tax-raising" function in the hands of the Republicans.… Read More

The whole issue of illegal immigration is so thorny, and everyone is seemingly "in their corners" (I’m in mine) that I don’t really write about it that much. That said there is a lot of chatter going on about the so-called "Dream" Act. The policy that would be enacted with this federal legislation, to my understanding, is to provide amnesty, legal residency, and a pathway to citizenship for certain illegal aliens. Specifically, people in this country illegally who came into the United States at the age of 15 years or younger, who complete high school, and who agree to either serve in the United States military or go to college would qualify (for at least two years of a six year period).

The prevailing arguments in support of this bill include that these minors are not responsible for the actions of their parents (or grandparents) who committed the crime of entering our country in violation of our laws, and thus they should not be held responsible for that criminal activity, and that given that these kids are here, they should be encouraged to go to school and go on to have productive lives.

Let me make it… Read More

Eight citizen members of the California Redistricting Commission held their first meeting last Tuesday at the Secretary of State’s offices in Sacramento. The commission so far is made up of 3 Republicans, 3 Democrats and 2 Decline to state voters chosen randomly from a pool of 36 people. Those 36 are the survivors of 120 applicant/semifinalists who were vetted thru the complicated process required by the Voters First Act. Four partisan legislative leaders got to strike two people each from the final pool of applicants. Now the final 8 will chose an additional 6 members from the final pool of 36, to finalize the commission membership at 14. It is all a little like the finals of “Dancing With The Stars,” except Bristol Palin would have been cut by now. Soon the commissioners will begin work on dividing up all of California’s partisan legislative districts based on Census data soon to be provided by the Obama Administration. When they are done, we will really learn what “random” and “nonpartisan” actually mean.… Read More