California homeowners will be getting a badly-needed break in the form of tax relief due to the deflated housing market this year. For the first time since Proposition 13 passed in 1978, homeowners are likely to see a lower property tax bill. The State Board of Equalization announced recently that due to deflation in the value of real estate statewide, they will be reducing the rates this year, by about $2.60 per every $100,000 in assessed property value.

That may seem insignificant, but any decrease in taxes should come as welcome news to homeowners in California who have been saddled with some of the highest taxes in the nation. For all but 5 years since the passage of Prop. 13, the property taxes have increased at their limit of 2 percent per year. To actually have a tax bill decrease is something to celebrate.

After all, California has the 4th highest state income tax in the nation, the highest state sales tax in the nation, one of the highest corporate income tax rates in the nation, and the highest gas taxes of any state.

This is a good time to reflect on the benefits of Proposition 13, which often comes under attack when state revenues fall… Read More

It’s being reported that State Assembly Democrats are in the process of selected a new leader to succeed Karen Bass. Apparently the two "finalists" vying for the position are Assemblymen John Perez and Kevin DeLeon.

Because the voters of California have elected a healthy majority of Democrats in the Assembly (with the help of some "insider baseball" drawing of legislative districts to their extreme advantage) — the leader of Assembly Democrats is also elected to be the Assembly Speaker.

I thought I would take a quick look at how Perez and DeLeon differ on their voting record on key issues of importance to FlashReport readers — so that we could determine if, perhaps, there is a "lesser of the two evils" between these two liberal Los Angeles area Democrats…

How did Perez and DeLeon differ on these important votes?

Supporting the largest tax increase in the history of any state – $16 billion. Supporting a special election and putting before voters a similar sized additional tax increase. Criminalizing the owning of too many pets. Allowing counties to keep … Read More

It’s being reported as newsworthy that a "recall attempt" against State Senator Bob Huff failed to turn in enough signatures to qualify for the ballot — actually ZERO signatures were turned in.

My question is — why is this news? Elected officials are smacked with "Notice of Recall" forms fairly frequently, because doing this is not a difficult process, involving really an afternoon’s elbow grease. It’s the subsequent process, in the case of state legislators, of collecting tens of thousands of signatures that is a major endeavor.

It was clear to anyone observing the process that except for the attempted recall against Anthony Adams, that no other recalls were potentially viable.

Let’s be clear — Huff may have supported Proposition 1A on the May special election ballot (I spoke with him about it at the time, and he felt that the modest revenue smoothing measure contained within it was worth the trade-off on higher taxes — we agreed to disagree) but he opposed the February budget deal that brought us the… Read More

On his Fox News Channel show yesterday Glenn Beck had an interesting conversation with Columbia University professor David Buckner about the similarities between Dubai’s economic meltdown and California ’s financial crisis. It’s an interesting exchange and reiterates the fact that California cannot continue on its current path without impacting the rest of the world economy.

… Read More

This just off the transom from the Steve Poizner for Governor Campaign…

TO: Campaign Grassroots Team FROM: Jim Bognet, Campaign Manager RE: Poizner Campaign Update DATE: December 1, 2009 With 2010 on the horizon, it is important to recap our efforts and successes in 2009 and update you on our plans for the coming year: The Campaign Organization… Read More

There is a saying goes something like, "Adversity Breeds Opportunity."

This came to mind as I was reading stories in the SDUT, on the website of the Voice of San Diego, as well as a great column from FR friend Vince Vasquez on the up and coming SDRostra website — stories all about the massive budget deficit facing the City of San Diego, and the proposal of Mayor Jerry Sanders to try and address the $190 million shortfall.

First and foremost, let me commend Mayor Sanders for putting forward a package that does not seek an increase in taxes. Sanders (pictured), a Republican, understands that in a recession, you simply cannot ask taxpayers to reach deeper into their pockets. While the… Read More

There is a saying goes something like, "Adversity Breeds Opportunity."

This came to mind as I was reading stories in the SDUT, on the website of the Voice of San Diego, as well as a great column from FR friend Vince Vasquez on the up and coming SDRostra website — stories all about the massive budget deficit facing the City of San Diego, and the proposal of Mayor Jerry Sanders to try and address the $190 million shortfall.

First and foremost, let me commend Mayor Sanders for putting forward a package that does not seek an increase in taxes. Sanders (pictured), a Republican, understands that in a recession, you simply cannot ask taxpayers to reach deeper into their pockets. While the… Read More

State Senator Abel Maldonado sat down with the liberal editorial board of the Los Angeles Times. The paper has put online various short audio-clips from that interview.

I wouldn’t call the interview news-worthy in that Maldonado continues to throw the problems that California government faces not at the feet of the big spending liberals who control state government, but rather all "all of the partisans" — Republicans included.

I’m sure that Republicans in Sacramento, who are largely relegated to the sidelines by the Democrats, are equally to blame for our overspending mess.

It will be interesting to see the politics of Abel Maldonado’s confirmation. His strategy for getting confirmed seems to be to attack just about everyone with a vote.

I’m not sure that personal attacks are going to win you any votes, Senator. And when you have the nerve to trivialize an elected officials belief system, that is personal. When you imply that elected officials are only voting the way they are because of partisan politics, that is personal.

Senator, you may not be burdened with the inconvenience of uncompromising… Read More