Last night I took my wife and our two young grandchildren to Applebee’s. It went great — our 4 and 2 year old charges were more decorous than half the patrons.

But I digress. Here’s what caught my attention: Applebee’s is testing a new ordering policy — using the technology that is rapidly becoming prominent in fast food restaurants. Every table had an online electronic tablet, with the menu, ordering and payment process built in. One can place the order and have the busboy bring your food.

For now, one can still use a waiter for service, but obviously the plan is to reduce or eliminate that service. That makes PARTICULARLY good sense in California, which is rapidly becoming the home of the $15 minimum wage. Moreover, California is one of only 7 states that requires “tip” employees to be paid a FULL minimum wage IN ADDITION TO all tips collected. That can make a meal too pricey — reducing the number of times patrons choose to dine out.

Because of the hectic nature of two tykes seeking guidance in meal selection, we opted to use the waitress — much to her delight. I had a nice salad as my… Read More

California Governor Jerry Brown inherited the Golden State, the land of opportunity. However, everything he touches turns Brown.

Climate change has been the top priority of his governorship… not the flailing economy, or California’s largest-in-the-country-and-growing poverty class, or the 47th in school performance issue, or the $600 Billion in unfunded public employee pension and health liability, or the desperate need for water storage, or even the illegal immigrant problem.

For Brown who has said “Latin makes you smarter than everybody,” Climate change is his ignis fatuus – his fata… Read More

The City of Stockton filed a petition for Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy relief on June 28, 2012, and the petition was accepted onApril 1, 2013. Earlier this year, on February 25, the City of Stockton exited bankruptcy protection.

Stockton’s city manager declared that “We emerge from bankruptcy a renewed city, perhaps better prepared for our future than any other city in the State, with a new value system, a thorough understanding of our operations and finances, and the tools to maintain solvency and adjust to economic conditions for decades into the future.”

With that inconvenience out of the way, the Stockton City Council is proceeding to implement a “value system” similar to what brought it to bankruptcy in the first place. It is giving its most favored constituency –unions –a potentially costly monopoly… Read More

When considering the labor movement in the United States, there is a huge distinction between government unions and private sector unions. Government unions elect their own bosses, they operate within agencies that collect taxes instead of having to make a profit by enticing consumers to buy their products, and they operate the machinery of government which means their more zealous members have the ability to intimidate their political opponents. Private sector unions have none of these advantages. They negotiate with managers hired by CEOs who report to shareholders. They negotiate with companies that will go out of business if they over-compensate their workers. And with rare exceptions, workers in private companies are not approving our business permit applications, inspecting our workplaces, or auditing our tax returns.

So where does this put construction unions who compete for government contracts?

This question matters a lot to reformers, because private sector unions, properly regulated, not only have a vital role to play in American society, but their members have the potential to lobby effectively against many of the special interests who are killing… Read More

I’ve just updated here a salient comparison of the median household income of California vs. hated Texas. My last figures were from 2009. Since then it’s gotten even better — for Texas.

According to recent U.S. census figures, the 2014 median household income in California is significantly higher than Texas.

CA — $60,487

TX — $53,875 — 10.9% less than CA (vs. 18.1% less in 2009), though slightly above the national average of $53,657

https://www.census.gov/hhes/www/income/data/historical/household/2014/h08.xls

But, ADJUSTED FOR THE COST OF LIVING, the Texas median household income is significantly higher than California.

TX — $58,816

CA — $44,706

https://www.missourieconomy.org/indicators/cost_of_living/index.stm

BOTTOM LINE: TX COL-adjusted median household income is 31.6% higher than CA.… Read More

Notice: Undefined index: file in /srv/www/blog.flashreport.org/releases/20130218155602/wp-includes/media.php on line 1676

Californians running their own businesses are accustomed to having an invasive government. They are also used to the government taking the side of their employees and being considered guilty until proven innocent on any claim asserted against them. But when your company is outside of California, you certainly do not expect these things to happen to you. That is apparently no longer true.

I was contacted by a man named Ben from New Jersey who was referred to me by a client from New York. Ben tells me he had contracted a man to do a website for him that happened to originate from California. He tells me that the man had his own corporation, but for a time during the contract the Computer Maven (Maven) had to be paid directly because his corporation was in formation. Ben tells me he was contacted by Jennifer McPeak from the Employment Development Department (EDD), who asked him a series of leading questions that made him very uncomfortable. Ms. McPeak was asserting Maven had been an employee of Ben’s company and that he had to file for payroll for Maven. My first instruction to Ben was never speak to a California employee as a businessman without a hired gun like… Read More

Sacramento Sheriff Scott Jones Announces Bid For Congress

Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones, one of the most outspoken critics of President Obama’s lackadaisical immigration policy, announced Monday he is running for Congress as a Republican against Rep. Ami Bera, D-Elk Grove.

Jones was elected sheriff in 2010. While Jones said today’s immigration and national security issues are a priority, his platform includes economic issues.

Following the deadly shootings and murders of two Sacramento Sheriff deputies last… Read More

Finally, those leaving property to their heirs will be able to avoid the expense of hiring an attorney. There is no need to make the inheritance of real estate so costly that it becomes a hardship on homeowners, especially low income families and seniors.

Currently, for a single person to pass on property to designated heirs requires a will or trust. A will, of course, must be administered through a Probate Court, a process that can be both costly and time-consuming. Trusts – for those who seek to avoid probate – usually require legal advice from an attorney and should be updated periodically. For homeowners on a fixed income, both methods can be prohibitively expensive. (Married individuals can avoid probate when passing property on to the surviving spouse by holding title to their home as community property with right of survivorship or joint tenants with right of survivorship.)

To read entire column click here http://www.hjta.org/california-commentary/%E2%80%8Blawyer-tax-on-real-estate%E2%80%8B-removed-for-now/… Read More