This past Thursday I had the opportunity to welcome High Desert business owners to a “Business Survival” workshop.

I didn’t say, “I’m from the government and I’m here to help” – despite the fact that San Bernardino County and the Town of Apple Valley had assembled an impressive array of experts, services and information. It was because these folks know that, next to the national economy and their competitors, government is their biggest problem.

So in part because I have private-sector experience and an education in business and economic development, I explained, I’m one elected official who believes that government should simply get out of the way of business owner/employers as much as possible.

But as my audience was already painfully aware, in California, this has not been the prevailing view of state government for quite some time. And although San Bernardino County, especially the High Desert, has a lot to offer in the way of incentives – from affordable land and labor to business-friendly local governments – the limits of our local discretion are illustrated by the struggles of the City of Needles, which I represent.

A… Read More

The Americans for Tax Reform "no new taxes" pledge is a commitment and a promise that is made between an officeholder and the constituents they represent. No one is forced to take the pledge — signing it is a voluntary act that a candidate takes if they feel strongly enough that the tax burden on their constituents is too high.

The wording of the pledge is very straight forward: "I [candidate name] pledge to the taxpayers of the [#] district of the State of [California] and all of the people of this state that I will oppose and vote against any and all efforts to raise taxes.

The pledge is much maligned by the political left and the media elite who do not know how to cope with the idea that there can be a principle so critically important to a fiscal conservative that they would sign a pledge.… Read More

The Americans for Tax Reform "no new taxes" pledge is a commitment and a promise that is made between an officeholder and the constituents they represent. No one is forced to take the pledge — signing it is a voluntary act that a candidate takes if they feel strongly enough that the tax burden on their constituents is too high.

The wording of the pledge is very straight forward: "I [candidate name] pledge to the taxpayers of the [#] district of the State of [California] and all of the people of this state that I will oppose and vote against any and all efforts to raise taxes.

The pledge is much maligned by the political left and the media elite who do not know how to cope with the idea that there can be a principle so critically important to a fiscal conservative that they would sign a pledge.… Read More

I have added up the reported unpaid taxes by various Obama Cabinet nominees and note that without penalties and interest they amount to over $210,000. With penalties and interest, I think Obama’s cabinet owes or owed the Treasury about $300,000. We haven’t figured in what Bill Richardson owes in addition, as his own pay-to-play scandal works itself out in New Mexico.

What were these people, these Ivy League guys in Obama’s cabinet, thinking?

I recall in 1989 when Senate Democrats stopped cold Bush Senior’s Republican-nominee Senator John Tower from being Secretary of Defense, just because they could. Their biggest argument was that he liked to take a drink every few days of what Tower himself termed "beverage alcohol." Not a very apt description, but still, it was not that big a deal. He just liked to drink. (He also liked normal female companionship.) So does everybody else in Washington. And Republican Tower paid his taxes.

Bush Senior nominee Clarence Thomas was almost defeated from his nomination to the Supreme Court because of an alleged statement he made to… Read More

For those Democrat members of the state legislature who just don’t "get it" when it comes to the conviction of all Republican legislators to oppose raising taxes in California, think about it this way. Let’s create a hypothetical situation where the legislature was in a position to actually reverse Roe v. Wade. How many Democrat votes would be there to make that change? I suspect the answer is zero. And on our side we would say, "Come on, you have so many members, can’t just a few go up on this? We’ll make it a temporary measure, only lasting a few years…"

As a Democrat, you might say that you could never vote to reverse Roe v. Wade. I can hear it now, "That is a core issue for Democrats."

Well, guess what. Stopping new taxes is a core belief for Republicans — it is defining of who we are…… Read More

$200 billion for State bailouts – supported by GOP Governors. $42 billion in California State deficits – undera "GOP" Governor. State GOP Assembly members signaling willingness to increase taxes. Is it any wonder the GOP is at post Watergate lows? Contrary to some our critics, both inside and outside the Party, we have not been "too conservative". In fact, we have not been conservative at all – which is why we are in the shape we are in.

I have been heartened by the US House GOP and their unanimous opposition to the bailout. News analysis of this development has been incorrect. This has not been a partisan drill – but a vote for survival. The truth of the matter is that any GOP elected official voting for a bailout will be subject to a primary challenge in 2010 – and any GOP Assembly or Senate member will be subject to the same. Its time for the base to enforce the last issue we have left – taxes and spending.

Its also time for the State Republican Party to get off of the sidelines and quit dreaming about any progress unless we are active participants in a public campaign to praise our… Read More

(If this post seems familiar, we’ve used the "Disneyland" analogy below before, as this isn’t the first time that the liberals in the media have "lept" onto a briefly worded survey to assert informed public opinion.) As FR contributor and public opinion pollster Adam Probolsky likes to say, a poll is only as good as what you ask, and to whom you ask it. So I was quite amused to see so much enthusiasm erupt from the liberal media and left-wing Democrats when the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) released their latest survey response — where PPIC declares that the public supports (hold onto your chair) HIGHER TAXES.

If you go to Page 27 of the full report of the PPIC… Read More

(If this post seems familiar, we’ve used the "Disneyland" analogy below before, as this isn’t the first time that the liberals in the media have "lept" onto a briefly worded survey to assert informed public opinion.)

As FR contributor and public opinion pollster Adam Probolsky likes to say, a poll is only as good as what you ask, and to whom you ask it. So I was quite amused to see so much enthusiasm erupt from the liberal media and left-wing Democrats when the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) released their latest survey response — where PPIC declares that the public supports (hold onto your chair) HIGHER TAXES.

If you go to Page 27 of the full report of the PPIC survey, you can see the actual questions asked to those surveyed. What is most instructive if you read it is… Read More