One of the biggest unreported, blockbuster stories in modern America is the alliance between public sector unions and the speculative banking industry. It is a story saturated in greed, drowning in delusion, smothered and marginalized by an avalanche of propaganda – paid for by taxpayers who fund both the public sector unions and the public employee pension funds.

The problem with public sector defined benefit pensions can be boiled down to two cold factors: They are too generous, and they rely on rate-of-return assumptions that are too optimistic. The first is the result of greed, the second of delusion. To indulge these vices requires corruption, and it is a rot that joins public sector unions with the most questionable elements of that Wall Street machine they so readily demonize.

If you honestly review the numbers, the greed is obvious. The average pension for a public servant who has worked 30 years or more in public service is more thanfour timeswhat the average social security benefit is for someone who has worked 40 years or more in the private sector. To cite… Read More

It seems like every time we turn on the television today, we see elected officials fighting about President Obama’s health care law.

What’s missing from this debate is any real discussion about fixing the problems with health care. Democrats and Republicans seem more interested in scoring political points than finding common-ground on bipartisan solutions.

However you look at it, the Affordable Care Act is hurting Californians. When they sign up, individuals expecting promised savings are instead facing the sticker shock of sky-high premiums. Approximately 59,000 Californians have signed up for a plan through Covered California since October 1st. Nationwide, just 106,000 people have signed up for coverage – including those who had to navigate through a broken website to do so.

The experiences other countries have had with government health care show what we will soon see in the United States. In Canada, the median wait time to see a doctor is 18.2 weeks. In France, the health care system is facing a 5.1 billion Euro deficit. One analyst called the French system, “unaffordable, unsustainable and the manner in which it’s… Read More

Last Wednesday brought news of jubilation to California’s Golden Dome – the LAO has officially given word that California will see fiscally happy days through FY 2020.

While the LAO is a very valuable entity in Sacramento, all too often it doesn’t fully take into consideration some of the Golden State’s most challenging fiscal issues, which enables our elected officials to continue to ignore those challenges.

According to the LAO, for FY 2014, it is now projecting a $2.2 billion surplus rising steadily to $3.2… Read More

This is a tale of coattails. The coattails of an 800 pound gorilla known as Proposition 13.

In 1978, support for Proposition 13 swept 17 new legislators – nicknamed “Prop 13 Babies” – into office. It was clear, at the time, that Proposition 13 had very long coattails.

Over the years, the professional political class has tried to downplay the influence of Proposition 13 on electoral politics, even though polls show that it would pass by the same two-thirds margin as it did in 1978. Political consultants have advised candidates, in all but the most left leaning districts, to pay lip service to Proposition 13 but then to move on to other issues. Few candidates have been willing to make the defense of Proposition 13 the centerpiece of their campaigns.

The thinking that Proposition 13 really doesn’t matter to today’s voters has been turned on its head by the recent results from the Special Election in 45th Assembly district, located in the Los Angeles suburbs in the southwest San Fernando Valley,

When Representative Bob Blumenfield resigned in the middle of his term to take a seat on the Los Angeles City Council, voters chose as the top two… Read More

Former Gov. George Deukmejian, alternately animated and emotional, offered a simple, arresting thought at the dedication of the impressive new Long Beach Superior Court complex that carries his name:

“I’m not sure what all the fuss is about,” California’s 35th governor told a bipartisan gathering of 500 jurists, elected officials, friends, family, and alumni from his 28 years of public service. “I just did my job.”

Typical Duke. Humble, self-effacing, and reflective. No bragging. The voice of a man who viewed himself, first and foremost, as a public servant. Well into his fourth quarter, he seems almost disbelieving that his life journey… Read More

The California Department of Water Resources announced this week that the Central Valley may only get five percent of the water it needs next year.

The Central Valley, the heart of California,is the state’s top agricultural producing region, often called “the nation’s salad bowl” for the great array of fruits and vegetables grown in its rich soil.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge, author of theRime of the Ancient Mariner, wasn’t thinking about California’s Central Valley when he wrote:

However, if the water resources department gets its way, the Central Valley may as well get used to this poem.

I talked with… Read More

[Publisher’s Note: We are pleased to offer this original column submitted to the FlashReport by Mark Vafiades, Chairman of the Republican Party of Los Angeles County.– Flash]

The San Fernando Valley is used to feeling a shifting of the ground and tremors that arrive without warning. That’s why the final results of this week’s special election for a vacant seat in the State Assembly’s 45th District – no matter the winner – should be seen in their proper context.

From the beginning of this contest, conventional wisdom held that Republican Susan Shelley didn’t have a chance and repeated a pessimistic drumbeat: Registration is against her. She will be heavily outspent. And the issues favor Democrats.

And yet, something extraordinary happened: An energetic Shelley campaign that stressed common sense issues, challenged outdated political assumptions and reached out to diverse voters brought about a virtual dead heat.

Less than 200 votes out of more than 26,000 cast separate Shelley and her Democrat opponent. We are eager to have all the votes counted, and we are closely monitoring the… Read More

This holiday season, nothing says Happy Holidays like health insurance. And nothing says health insurance like government health care, according to the Obama administration.

“This holiday season, millions of Americans have a chance to get quality, affordable health insurance—many for the first time,”barackobama.comsays.

“If you have family members who are uninsured, you can play a big part in helping them find coverage that works for them. It might not always seem like it, but your family listens to you. So have the talk.”

To help you “have the talk,” Barackobama.com has put out a new video called, “… Read More