Republican lawmakers, it’s your moment to prove your worth to your constituents. Especially since Gov. Jerry Brown told a legislative committee Monday his $52.4 billion gas tax increase needs to be approved immediately – especially because they have “a governor willing to sign it.”

“All the guys running for governor, all want to be president, so they’re not going to want to raise taxes,” Brown said. “You got a guy who’s going nowhere. I have no future. I only have a past.” Another bizarre statement from Jerry Brown…

The latest bill to dramatically increase California gasoline taxes and car registration fees an estimated $52.4 billion over the next decade should be a career-ending crossroad for Democrat Gov. Jerry Brown, who as a gubernatorial candidate promised that he would not raise taxes without a public vote. Ahem.

That’s just Lie #1. There are so many other lies emanating from Brown’s lips.

However, this latest round of tax increases would not be possible without a feckless Republican Party. Rather than being an effective opposition party, California’s Assembly Republican leadership appears to… Read More

If high taxes guaranteed results, then California should have some of the best roads in the nation. For years we’ve had one of the highest gas taxes, yet our freeways consistently receive failing grades.

It makes no sense unless you admit that high taxes don’t guarantee good roads. That’s one of many reasons I had no trouble voting with my State Board of Equalization colleagues to approve a 6 cent cut to the state’s gas tax. Under a confusing and complicated law commonly known as the “gas tax swap,” the state has been over collecting tax dollars as gas prices have fallen. The new rate helps solve this problem.

Any tax cut is a rare bit of good news for overtaxed Californians. This gas tax cut also has the added benefit of partially offsetting the cost of a new hidden gas tax that took effect January 1 to help fund high speed rail and other so-called anti-global warming efforts.

California will still have one of the highest gas tax rates in the nation, but even so not everyone is pleased to see the tax go down. In fact, some government officials are devising new schemes—like mileage taxes and road user fees—aimed at getting even more of your… Read More

I mentioned in Episode V that infrastructure is important to secure and grow manufacturing. In fact, it is essential. You must be able to transmit energy, move goods and services, and have access to water and internet and all kinds of things in order to have an efficient manufacturing process. Regardless of what you are producing, infrastructure is key. And, at the risk of adding to the overusage of this trite phrase, our infrastructure is crumbling. One needs only to drive one’s car in Washington, DC or Los Angeles, California (as I do frequently) to feel that infrastructure crumbling beneath your tires. Our support systems in DC, LA, or wherever you live are in bad shape because the priorities for federal spending have shifted over the last 50 years. Social programs now eat up the bulk of government spending at the federal, state, and local levels. The cost of these social programs crowds out what used to be spent on infrastructure. In some cases, taxes or fees that were sold as “user fees” to pay for infrastructure have been diverted for social programs or used to try to maintain exorbitant government employee pensions. My home state of California has… Read More