Ask 1000 random Californians of all political stripes to list what they believe should be the state’s spending priorities, and you’ll probably see education, public safety and transportation at the top of almost every list. After that, priorities will vary depending on the individual’s point of view.

What you won’t see on anyone’s list is taxpayer financing of political campaigns, yet that’s just what Prop 15 on the June ballot would do. With a mammoth budget deficit, taxes going up, a crumbling infrastructure, and a host of assorted problems facing California, it’s not surprising that voters can think of plenty of things to spend their money on besides junk mail and negative TV ads.

Four years ago, 74 percent of voters said NO to Prop 89, a plan to tax businesses to finance political campaigns. In 2000, when the state was flush with tax revenue from the dot-com boom, two-thirds of voters rejected another public campaign financing scheme, Proposition 25.

**There is more – click the link**… Read More

Some days I really love my job! On April 15 of this year I got a "two-fer."

First, I got to speak to nearly 10,000 tax protesters in front of the Capitol, who were exercising their right to tell lawmakers they are not getting good value for the excessive taxes they pay. And second, in front of these patriots, I had the privilege of presenting the "Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association Taxfighter of the Year" award to Marcia Fritz, the president of the California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility.

We make this award annually to honor someone in our state who has worked tirelessly on behalf of taxpayers. Often the recipient goes little noticed because they focus on the work at hand, not on any publicity it may bring.

This year, I am happy to say, we found many who deserved the award, but first among equals is Marcia Fritz for her tireless work promoting reform of California’s out-of-control government employee pension system.… Read More

We ran a column from Assemblyman Cameron Smyth this morning on some good legislation that he had coming up in Committee. Curious how that went? This just in from Smyth…

This morning, I presented AB 2196 to the Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy. Whoever named that committee had an ironic sense of humor. I should clarify that I actually presented the bill to three of the six members of the committee. Those three members – Dan Logue (R-Linda), Bill Berryhill (R-Ceres), and the chair of the committee, V. Manuel Pérez (D-Coachella) – all voted in support of the bill. The other three members of the committee – Jim Beall (D-San… Read More

While a small minority of Americans celebrates the passage of ObamaCare, one pesky – and unanswered –problem is the impending shortage of doctors, which is projected to top 150,000 in 15 years according to the Wall Street Journal.

I’ve said it before and I will say it again: Just because the government can provide health care insurance, doesn’t mean it can provide enough doctors to serve the insured. In other words, possessing a government-issued health insurance card does not mean adequate medical attention will be provided. That’s why patients in medically socialized countries wait to seedoctors for months – sometimes dying before the “doctor is in.”… Read More

If you weren’t able to make it to the Democrat State Convention last weekend in Los Angeles, here is your chance to see ersatz Governor-again Jerry Brown fumble through appearances at the LGBT Caucus (courting the transgender vote made the candidate so nervous – watch him drop his cell phone!) and then the Labor Caucus. Enjoy…

… Read More

Today we publish an interview we conducted yesterday with political strategist Arnold Steinberg. He has served as a campaign strategist and adviser for countless campaigns. He has created hundreds of campaign advertising materials for print, television and radio media and conducted more than 1800 polling and focus group projects. The author of two graduate textbooks on campaign management and media, Steinberg is a court-recognized expert witness who has testified repeatedly on public opinion and attitudinal formation, demographics and voting patterns, media and advertising, and elections and ballot issues, and other aspects of political campaigns. He has been on several foundation boards as well as Federal boards in the Reagan and Bush Administrations. He also served on the California Coastal Commission. He also represented the United States… Read More

Today we publish an interview we conducted yesterday with political strategist Arnold Steinberg. He has served as a campaign strategist and adviser for countless campaigns. He has created hundreds of campaign advertising materials for print, television and radio media and conducted more than 1800 polling and focus group projects. The author of two graduate textbooks on campaign management and media, Steinberg is a court-recognized expert witness who has testified repeatedly on public opinion and attitudinal formation, demographics and voting patterns, media and advertising, and elections and ballot issues, and other aspects of political campaigns. He has been on several foundation boards as well as Federal boards in the Reagan and Bush Administrations. He also served on the California Coastal Commission. He also represented the United States… Read More

Been out out of the office all day, but this piece was in today’s Wall Street Journal Political Diary E-mail… … Read More