For the past week conservative talk show hosts have been following the unfolding scandal of President Obama’s firing of AmeriCorps inspector general Gerald Walpin. Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson is actually at the center of this scandal, as it was his non-profit organization Walpin discovered was abusing federal grants.

It was alleged that Johnson’s charity St. HOPE Academy misused the federal money for political purposes and personal errands—such as car washes—for Johnson. Johnson and his charity agreed to pay back $847,000 worth of grants they received from AmeriCorps between 2004 and 2007. Sacramento voters will recall that last year during the campaign for mayor, this scandal threatened to derail John’s bid to unseat incumbent Heather Fargo. But Johnson was able to survive the bad publicity and ultimately defeat Fargo.

Late last week Fox News Channel host Glenn Beck brought national attention to the fact an independent inspector general had been unceremoniously fired from his job and questioned the possible political motivation behind it. It was suggested that the firing… Read More

Los Angeles County came out with a proposal to cut welfare costs today, or at least that is what they called it. In the world of government, where black is white, and a spending increase is a cut, these bureaucrats think they are helping "balance the budget." Their proposal, however, is an example of just how far off the reservation our government has gone. These bureaucrats want to use the child care money to pay parents to take care of their own children. Think of it this way, welfare recipients get their welfare money to stay home, and then, on top of that, they get child care money to take care of their own kids. What an idea. Does anyone really think that welfare recipients will make any effort to get off the rolls, once they hit this gravy train?

I was the Vice Chair of the Committees that oversaw welfare policy for 12 years. It is the worst job for a Republican in the Legislature. Thousands of whining bureaucrats trot out the sob stories of society for hours on end, demanding more government spending. Truth is, 75% of the money spent on our welfare programs are spent on bureaucrats, administrators, or wealthy vendors, while the… Read More

Today on the Assembly floor, Democrats tried to push through some legislation that would have authorized the State Controller John Chiang to, in essence, issue junk bonds for California — where we would borrow on the short-term at huge interest rates. Governor Schwarzenegger has said that he opposes this kind of borrowing, which is costly and does not solve our state’s problems.

Assemblyman Pedro Nava (who aspires to be California’s next Attorney General) and his Democrat colleagues apparently think this kind of borrowing is a good idea — not a surprise, as they will do anything to avoid telling union bosses that real cuts are coming.

Assemblywoman Diane Harkey, we was tapped recently by Assembly Republican Leader Sam Blakeslee as the Republican Lead for Solvency Strategies, took to her microphone in the Assembly Chambers to make the case for why this kind of borrowing is bad, and why Nava’s bill should be rejected.

The bill required a two-thirds vote to pass. Did Harkey prevail on enough of her colleagues to kill the bill? You’ll have to watch this video to find out… … Read More

Assembly Republicans have one representative* on the Joint Budget Committee who has consistently opposed tax increases as part of solving the state’s fiscal crisis — Assemblyman Jim Nielsen. Nielsen serves as the Vice Chairman of the Assembly’s Appropriations and Budget Committees, and he has shared with us some thoughts about what has been taking place in that key committee.

Less than a month ago, Californians went to the polls and soundly rejected tax increases, gimmicks and massive borrowing to solve California’s budget crisis. In spite of that resounding message to the Legislature, the majority has turned a deaf ear to voters and repeated the tired mantra of more taxes and increased spending.… Read More

Op ed from today’s Union Tribune here.

California is facing a 24 billion dollar deficit. While there is no shortage of ideas for how to deal with it, I suggest we learn a lesson from Clyde Jennings, the CEO of J&W Lumber. On a recent visit to his facility, Clyde told me about the difficult cuts he has been forced to make in our declining economy, the efficiencies he has found, and how every member of his 50-year… Read More

ASSEMBLYMAN NIELSEN ENDORSES WHITMAN This morning, Assemblyman and former Senate Republican Leader Jim Nielsen announced that he has decided to switch his loyalties and endorsement in the contested Republican primary for Governor. He had earlier endorsed Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner. He is now throwing his support to former eBay CEO Meg Whitman. Nielsen was recently tapped by Assembly Republican Leader Sam Blakeslee, a Poizner supporter, to serve in a newly created "Ways and Means Committee Chairman" position for Assembly Republicans — serving as Vice Chairman of both the Assembly Ap propriations and Budget Committees.

While Poizner has a vast edge over Whitman when it comes to endorsements from elected Republican federal and state legislators, this is the second legislator in a week’s time who had been supporting him that has now moved to Whitman. Congressman John… Read More

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is deserving of praise this morning, for his quick and public rejection of the billions of dollars in tax increases that are included in the package of changes in the state budget introduced by Democrat legislative leaders yesterday. Key provisions of the Democrats’ plan include a 50% hike in state cigarette taxes as well as the creation of a tax on oil. Governor Schwarzenegger has made it clear that he will veto this package if it is placed on his desk as proposed. Of course, even before the Governor gets legislation to fix the budget deficit, there is the question of whether Democrats will work with legislative Republicans – their track-record for doing so isn’t so good, and it was not a positive sign that Republican legislators pretty much found out about the details of this proposal at the same time as the rest of us. A bi-partisan fix is important because without a 2/3 vote in the Senate and Assembly, it will be several months before any of the changes are enacted. With the supermajority support, changes go into effect immediately.

I am sure that many will scrutinize the details of this latest proposal, which purports to… Read More

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is deserving of praise this morning, for his quick and public rejection of the billions of dollars in tax increases that are included in the package of changes in the state budget introduced by Democrat legislative leaders yesterday. Key provisions of the Democrats’ plan include a 50% hike in state cigarette taxes as well as the creation of a tax on oil. Governor Schwarzenegger has made it clear that he will veto this package if it is placed on his desk as proposed. Of course, even before the Governor gets legislation to fix the budget deficit, there is the question of whether Democrats will work with legislative Republicans – their track-record for doing so isn’t so good, and it was not a positive sign that Republican legislators pretty much found out about the details of this proposal at the same time as the rest of us. A bi-partisan fix is important because without a 2/3 vote in the Senate and Assembly, it will be several months before any of the changes are enacted. With the supermajority support, changes go into effect immediately.

I am sure that many will scrutinize the details of this latest proposal, which purports to… Read More