I am not the world’s greatest negotiator. If I were, I would be rich. I have however learned one thing in life. Negotiating in the government sector is not like negotiating in the private sector. Every deal in the private sector is a win/win deal (or at least it is perceived to be so at the time the deal is made). It has to be win/win, since both sides enter into the deal voluntarily. Yes, any person wants to get the best deal possible, but in the end, both sides have to get something for the deal to be consummated. That is why voluntary transactions are preferable. By definition, if both sides perceive themselves to be better off from the deal, the result to society is a net positive, all of the time.

Government deals, however, are win/lose, or maybe even lose a little/lose a lot. The only reason government intervention is necessary is when one side or the other thinks they will lose something from the deal. If they are going to lose in the deal, they have to be forced to enter into it, and government is the only party that has the right to use force to require people to interact. Since the best that a deal can be with government intervention… Read More

Governor Arnold, heard at a town hall meeting in Northern California this week:

"’The way we are taxing. I mean, we are missing a lot out there,’ the governor said. ‘There’s whole new economies that are developing, service-oriented economies. Manufacturing is going down.’"

Wow. That is deep stuff. I mean, there is lot’s of stuff out there we can tax.

Milton Friedman, where are you when we need you?… Read More

With an out-of-touch majority in the capitol, the underrepresented (minority) viewpoint in Sacramento has been forced to use the initiative process to protect our freedoms. Because of the success in using initiatives, liberals have decided to protect their concentrated power by reining in the initiative process. Assemblyman Alberto Torrico has introduced AB 1914, a bill that will deter average citizens from participating in initiative, referendum, or recall campaigns. The bill will be heard in the Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee this afternoon.

Under current law, it’s a misdemeanor for petition circulators to “intentionally misrepresent or make any false statement” about a petition’s content or effect in order to obtain signatures. Torrico wants to invalidate every signature collected by a circulator convicted under the existing law. This means that an average citizen volunteering for a campaign could be charged with a crime for simply misstating the content of their petition. Going even further, he then wants the proponents of the… Read More

[Cross-posted from OC Blog]

I wanted to follow up on my earlier posts — here and here — regarding the denouement of powerhouse consulting firm Cerrell Associates‘ peculiar straddle regarding 241 toll road advocacy.

On one hand, Cerrell provided public and media relations services to the Southern California Association of Governments to the tune of at least $250,000 a year. SCAG is a important proponent of completing the 241.

On the other hand, Cerrell Associates is also a consultant to the California State Parks Foundation (CSPF) and its campaign to stop completion of the 241.

This biting of the hand that feeds you $250K a year… Read More

San Francisco’s City Hall is going to install a ten-foot-long chunk of history and it’s projected to cost over $1.1 million dollars.This new wheelchair ramp has to be gold-gilded Yellow Brick Road that leads to the Land of Oz.How else can one explain the extravagant costs?

According to The San Francisco Chronicle (February 27th), “[t]hanks to a maze of bureaucratic indecision and historic restrictions, taxpayers may shell out $100,000 per foot to make the Board of Supervisors president’s perch in the historic chambers accessible to the disabled.”There is no truth to the rumor that the only way to enter the chamber is by clicking the heels of one’s red ruby slippers. “[T]he little remodel job that planners first thought would take three months has stretched into more than four years – and will probably mean the supervisors will have to move out of their hallowed hall for five months while the work is done.”As in Oz, time is relative when it comes to city money.… Read More

A week ago today, Ameriquest founder and mortgage magnate Roland Arnall passed away from cancer at the age of 68. Arnall was a major contributor to GOP and conservative causes over the years, in additional to many philanthopic efforts that included co-founding the Simon Weisethal Center in West Los Angeles. I had an opportunity to meet and talk to Mr. Arnall a few times, and came away from those chats very impressed with the depth of his passion and love for this country. My good friend Jeff Miller (not the Assembly candidate, but the policy advocate and Co-Chairman of fundraising efforts at the Republican Governors Association) worked closely with Mr. Arnall for many years, and had a close friendship with him. Jeff forwarded me an obituary of Arnall that ran this last Saturday in the Wall Street Journal, the link to which can be found below. I asked Jeff if he would be willing to share some thoughts with… Read More

A week ago today, Ameriquest founder and mortgage magnate Roland Arnall passed away from cancer at the age of 68. Arnall was a major contributor to GOP and conservative causes over the years, in additional to many philanthopic efforts that included co-founding the Simon Weisethal Center in West Los Angeles. I had an opportunity to meet and talk to Mr. Arnall a few times, and came away from those chats very impressed with the depth of his passion and love for this country.

My good friend Jeff Miller (not the Assembly candidate, but the policy advocate and Co-Chairman of fundraising efforts at the Republican Governors Association) worked closely with Mr. Arnall for many years, and had a close friendship with him. Jeff forwarded me an obituary of Arnall that ran this last Saturday in the Wall Street Journal, the link to which can be found below.

I asked Jeff if he would be willing to share some thoughts with FR readers on the passing of Roland Arnell. Jeff, who traditionally stays "behind the scenes" demonstrated how much this… Read More

From today’s Wall Street Journal Political Diary E-mail…

What Did They Expect from the ‘Terminator’?

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is not much one for sentiment. He has bounced both his brother-in-law Bobby Shriver and his fellow actor and friend Clint Eastwood from the State Park and Recreation Commission.

Mr. Shriver, who chaired the commission, and Mr. Eastwood, who was his deputy, both opposed the Governator’s plan to build a toll road between Orange County and San Diego that would have cut through a corner of a state park.

"It shows you how strong these developers were that [they] were able to… Read More