This just in from Assemblyman Martin Garrick who last week was named Assistant Assembly Republican Leader:

Television: the new human right! But don’t take my word for it.

Today’s Los Angeles Times front page (on the web version) joined the plea for rights exclaiming: "250,000 Southland Households not ready for digital TV switch."

At first glance, 250,000 seems like quite a lot — or does it?

If you look at Los Angeles County, this listing claims the population is 10 million. Put another way, 250,000 is .025 of the total population. Taken another step further (the story reports on the total within the "Los Angeles region") so let’s look at the entire Southern California population. This listing reports the "greater Los Angeles area" has a population of 17 million, of which 250,000 is .014.

We’re not told how many get coverage from cable, internet or simply choose to own televisions but watch only movies or online content. Helpful little things, those… Read More

Pravda means "truth" in Russian and for years Pravda was the leading newspaper in the Soviet Union, as the "official organ of the Communist Party.’ It still operates today, has been online since 1999, and in late April it reprinted an article by Stanislav Mishin originally writing for Mat Rodina that concludes, in light of the General Motors fiasco, Obama’s economic policies andalso those of "Senator Barney Franks,"that Russian owners of American companies should consider closing their facilities and "fleeing the land of the Red as fast as possible." Red, in this context, means Communist, not Republican. There is clearly more than one irony reflected in this Pravda article.… Read More

The Governor proposed, and the Legislature is considering, imposing a 9.9 percent severance tax on oil production in California.

The chart(shown below) shows where California compares to other oil generating states. The bottom line is that California is already among the most heavily taxed states in the country relative to oil production. If the Legislature agrees to impose this new oil tax, California’s combined taxes on petroleum would make it far and above the highest taxed state in the nation.

In addition, the new oil tax will reduce the supply of oil produced in California, result in close to 10,000 lost jobs in California, and increase our dependency on oil imports (including from Venezuela, which is presided over by despotic leader Hugo Chavez). Since the transportation, distribution and refining cost of importing oil are greater than the costs associated with California oil production, consumers will pay higher gasoline prices as a result of the severance tax.

Source: An economic and… Read More

The SEIU, one of California’s largest public employee unions has sprung a million bucks towards a completely tone-deaf campaign to advocate for billions in higher taxes – so says Peter Hecht over on the SacBee Capitol Alert website.

Another union, the AFSCME (American Federation of State County Municipal Employees) has come up with over $40 billion in new potential “revenue increases” for state government. U.S. Senate candidate and State Assemblyman Chuck DeVore profiles them on a new website, www.31newtaxes.com.

That’s because unions exist for ONLY TWO REASONS. The first is to advocate for increases in wages and benefits for their members to whatever height is politically attainable. The second is to advocate for the hiring of more state employees into their unions. THAT’S IT. Repeat reasons one and two over and over again, and you have the entire mission down.

Given how deadly tax increases would be to the economy right now, and the need to downsize state government spending, the way the unions are acting… Read More

Yesterday the city of Arcadia voted by a 76% percent margin to continue with a tax on communications. Of course Arcadia voted overwhelmingly to defeat Proposition 1A just a few weeks ago.

It was billed as way to keep services in difficult times and a way to be "modernize" the collection. Whenever you see the word "modernize" or "equally" charge folks, it means that new things are being taxed, like in this case VOIP and other things the city fathers couldn’t foresee when they first started taxing stuff.

People like their local services. This June four school districts are holding tax elections. It is a referendum on the management of the local districts. How much taxing can local people take. Stay tuned.… Read More

I am going to make two predictions – one about the California economy, and the other about the projections for future revenues coming into state coffers. Hold onto your seats here folks, because what I am going to say it going to shake the very underpinnings of your understanding of state finances

California legislative Democrats, are you reading this?

Prediction #1 – The recession is getting worse, not better. At a time when the public sector should be shrinking so that as much burden as possible can be lifted from a struggling private sector can recover and turn around the state (and national) economy – public spending is up. In Washington, D.C., Democrats seem to be crazy-drunk in their spending orgy, telling the public that more government spending is going to actually help the economy. Not. Of course, as the economy continues to sputter, this will continue to have a detrimental impact on the various taxes and fees that provide the income stream for state government. We’ve already seen a huge-drop off in state and local government revenues – and there is no reason that such a contraction will not continue has severe belt-tightening… Read More

I am going to make two predictions – one about the California economy, and the other about the projections for future revenues coming into state coffers. Hold onto your seats here folks, because what I am going to say it going to shake the very underpinnings of your understanding of state finances

California legislative Democrats, are you reading this?

Prediction #1 – The recession is getting worse, not better. At a time when the public sector should be shrinking so that as much burden as possible can be lifted from a struggling private sector can recover and turn around the state (and national) economy – public spending is up. In Washington, D.C., Democrats seem to be crazy-drunk in their spending orgy, telling the public that more government spending is going to actually help the economy. Not. Of course, as the economy continues to sputter, this will continue to have a detrimental impact on the various taxes and fees that provide the income stream for state government. We’ve already seen a huge-drop off in state and local government revenues – and there is no reason that such a contraction will not continue has severe belt-tightening… Read More