George Skelton is the dean of the Capitol Press Corps — the left-of-center columnist for the Los Angeles Times started writing about the politics of the Golden State well before my parents even thought about conceiving my older brother, and I’m in my forties. To say that I often disagree with George would be an understatement — but that’s okay, he’ll tell you that it is mutual. Still, I have enjoyed a positive relationship with him going back to my rabble-rousing days back in the late 80’s and early 90’s as a conservative youth activist. As both an observer and a participant in the California political scene, I always read George’s columns — which are always well written, and fit well with the ideological “leftness” of his employer.

George’s column today is focused on state budget politics, and is mostly devoted to a political and policy play by Senate President Darrell Steinberg to put pressure on Republicans to agree to re-hiking all of the income, sales, and car taxes which end on June… Read More

Remember back in the early 2000’s when then-President George W. Bush proposed reforming Social Security with an option to set up “private accounts”? In spite of Republican control at the time of the White House, the House and the Senate, the proposal failed to garner the requisite 60 votes in the Senate and therefore did not become law. Democrats used this to some success in the next election by relentlessly pounding Republicans for trying to “end Social Security”.

It is now 10 years later and no reforms of any significance of any of the entitlement programs have been enacted. Like 10 years ago, Republicans are proposing another reform. But, unlike 10 years ago, the country’s financial situation is far more dire, with record deficits and record debt and all of the entitlement programs facing collapse. However, the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) political playbook remains unchanged. They are excoriating Republicans around the country for “voting to end Medicare” by supporting the Paul Ryan budget. Never mind that Medicare taxes currently only cover about half the cost of the program today. Never… Read More

I brought cameras behind the scenes before I went into the House Armed Services Full Committee Markup of the NDAA for FY 2012. You can watch here:

CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO

… Read More

A key Senate tax committee today voted 9-0 to advance legislation I am sponsoring to empower California’s tax agencies to better assist struggling taxpayers.

The bill will help California’s job creators who are survivors of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression and give tax agencies the needed flexibility to deal fairly with taxpayers who are victims of California’s economy.

More specifically, Senate Bill 228 (Wyland) would permit the Board of Equalization, Franchise Tax Board and State Controller to “withdraw” a lien when a taxpayer pays an outstanding liability in full—removing the lien from the taxpayer’s credit record.

Under current law, when a taxpayer falls behind on payments, California’s tax agencies may place a lien on that taxpayer’s personal property.

Once a taxpayer pays the outstanding liability in full, California tax agencies may “release” the lien. However, the release does not remove the lien from a taxpayer’s credit record,… Read More

There are a lot of publications worth reading — but none is as enlightening, and as filled with works of gravitas as the Claremont Review of Books. The CRB, which is published by the Claremont Institute, is a “must read” for those serious about public policy in America, and in California. Don’t take my word for it — today we feature a staggeringly insightful article, The Tao of Jerry Brown, from Claremont scholar William Voegeli that appears in the latest addition of CRB (reprinted with permission, of course). My first thought when I heard the news about Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver separating was to make light of it — Schwarzenegger, of course, would make jokes at the most awkward of times while Governor. But then, after thinking about it, I realized that there is nothing funny about a couple having marital problems. The entire Schwarzenegger family is in my prayers. Last week our friends over at Randle Communications rolled out the announcement that longtime Sacramento … Read More

I am delighted today to present “The Tao of Jerry” — an outstanding, substantive perspective on our state’s governor, as offered by Claremont Institute scholar William Voegeli. The piece is lengthy, and even that may be an understatement. That having been said, once you have read it, I’m sure you will agree that to edit it down to a shorter length would have been to have lost precious insights into this complex man who is once again atop the Golden State’s political structure. My only reading “tip” for you would be that if you do not have the time to read this at your computer, the essay is available in .pdf format here — so you can print it to read at your leisure. Voegeli is a frequent contributor to one of the most significant and important publications to which I subscribe, the Claremont Institute’s Claremont Review of Books.… Read More

[Publisher’s Note: We are pleased to present this original commentary from Jennifer Kerns. Kerns is a taxpayer advocate and Republican strategist – Flash]

CTA, Code Pink and Cindy Sheehan…Oh, My! By Jennifer Kerns

It wouldn’t be the official start to May Revise season without a little rancor at the State Capitol.

But this week’s hysteria reached an all-new “circus” atmosphere when Cindy Sheehan, Code Pink AND the California Teachers Association all converged at the same hour to shout about everything from the State budget to war in the Middle East.

On one side of the Capitol, the California Teachers Association gathered with a few hundred of their closest well-paid friends to hold a press conference to kick off their

“State of Emergency” campaign against an all-cuts State budget. Whether it… Read More

Faithful FlashReport readers know that when it’s merited, I opine on the biased reporting of many of the MSM publications in California. To be honest, I don’t call out egregious stories often enough — sometimes it’s too much of a burden (how many times to do I have to see stories that refer to Governor Brown’s proposed NEW taxes as merely tax extensions?). This morning I am aiming my sights at a story that ran on the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle yesterday, “Koch brothers may fight California oil tax.”

Do not be confused by the headline. The Koch Brothers (as is clear to anyone who actually reads the story) are likely not even aware of this oil tax measure that is apparently the brain child of a community college professor from Cypress – it is a long way from qualifying for the ballot. Yet the paper saw fit to print a front-page story about it based on rumors and speculation. Despite the misleading headline, nothing in the story indicates that the Koch brothers even know there is an oil severance tax initiative… Read More