Apparently we are getting closer on agreement of a fix for the massive state budget shortfall. From what I hear, the deal does not include tax or fee increases, which is great news. That needs to be the first priority for budget negotiators as California taxpayers already are carrying too much of a burden with their current obligations to state government.

That said, I am wondering whether or not Sacramento politicians are tightening the proverbial belt enough. I recognize that trying to deal with a shortfall of over $26 billion is not an easy task. Especially for Sacramento Democrats who are either union-controlled and don’t have the latitude to make many needed cuts, or are liberal ideologues who would rather push California to the brink than see a decline in redistributive wealth policies.

The reason that I say this is that from talking to sources and reading newspaper reports, it would appear that borrowing and gimmicks will make up billions of dollars of “solutions” for this crisis. Current negotiations call for borrowing billions of dollars from local governments – which is a terrible idea (if raising taxes is the worst alternative,… Read More

Today, I am particularly proud of the candidate that I support for Governor – Steve Poizner. Steve was the only candidate running for Governor, from either party, who attended the meeting of Commission on the 21st Century Economy in San Francisco. The commission is responsible for reforming California’s tax system. After the meeting, Steve released a statement saying, “…there is one thing that is already very clear to me: we need to cut taxes in California. There is no better way to create jobs and grow the economy than through a tax cut and this will be a cornerstone of my campaign for governor.” I could not agree more. Increased taxes will not stimulate economic growth and they will not solve the budget crisis created by the irresponsible spending by the state. Steve spent years creating jobs as an entrepreneur in the Silicon Valley and he is the only candidate running for governor who has actually cut waste from the state budget — almost 15% at the Department of Insurance. I know that he is prepared to use his unique experience to tackle the tough issues and I cannot wait to … Read More

Apparently we are getting closer on agreement of a fix for the massive state budget shortfall. From what I hear, the deal does not include tax or fee increases, which is great news. That needs to be the first priority for budget negotiators as California taxpayers already are carrying too much of a burden with their current obligations to state government.

That said, I am wondering whether or not Sacramento politicians are tightening the proverbial belt enough. I recognize that trying to deal with a shortfall of over $26 billion is not an easy task. Especially for Sacramento Democrats who are either union-controlled and don’t have the latitude to make many needed cuts, or are liberal ideologues who would rather push California to the brink than see a decline in redistributive wealth policies.

The reason that I say this is that from talking to sources and reading newspaper reports, it would appear that borrowing and gimmicks will make up billions of dollars of “solutions” for this crisis. Current negotiations call for borrowing billions of dollars from local governments – which is a terrible idea (if raising taxes is the worst alternative,… Read More

Earlier this week, legislation that Assemblyman Paul Cook was carrying that would have prohibited registered sex offenders from driving those ice cream trucks that we all see in our neighborhoods was summarily killed in the Senate "Public Safety" Committee. The Committee’s Chairman, San Francisco’s Mark Leno, was quite unabashed in his opposition to the bill — reminding us all about the flap between he and former Assemblyman Todd Spitzer and the accusation that Leno is "pro-criminal" in his conduct on the committee. The defeat of this common-sense legislation certainly emphasizes how the biggest bleeding heart liberals (you know, the ones who see criminals as actually being "victims of a society that has let them down") are placed on the Public Safety Committee by leadership, ensuring a soft on crime sentiment in the key policy committee that looks at these important pieces of legislation.

Here are Assemblyman Cook’s thoughts on the demise of his legislation…

… Read More

In November 2008 television personality Marti "Troubleshooter" Emerald was narrowly elected to the San Diego City Council. The campaign had largely been waged over Emerald’s propensity to tell voters one thing, then get herself recorded telling her supporters the opposite.

This morning the San Diego Union Tribune broke the story that Emerald (1) is under investigation by the San Diego City Ethics Commission; (2) nominated a paid campaign worker to the Ethics Commission – a nominee that in fact might have been able to influence the investigation against Emerald. Under media scrutiny, and open pressure from her shocked Democrat and Republican peers, she withdrew the nomination Thursday. Emerald has yet to inform the public about the details of the ethics investigation.

The article speaks for itself: Emerald Pulls Ethics Panel Pick.… Read More

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

Grudge Match

… Read More

I was reading Assemblywoman Noreen Evans column in today’s Sacramento Bee and laughing out loud. She continues to live in fantasy land suggesting that “living within our means” is meaningless. I recommend that John Burton make her the spokesperson for the California Democratic Party and encourage her to keep on saying it. GOP majority, here we come.

But in all seriousness, during these tough times, government must live within its means and work to get the most from every taxpayer dollar. Local governments are particularly challenged as they must balance their budgets. Most are cutting services and employees, but are they getting the most from every dollar?

A report released today by the good folks at the Associated Builders and Contractors California Cooperation Committee (which you can download by clicking the link under this blog post) suggests that California’s charter cities – those with the most flexibility to bypass state regulations – aren’t taking advantage of the ability to exempt themselves from prevailing… Read More

I read with interest that Congress has created an "independent, bi-partisan panel" to probe the federal government’s (read: former President George W. Bush’s) handling of the financial crisis last year. Before you get hopeful that such a review would actually result in a positive outcome for taxpayers, FR readers should not that one of the appointees (by Republicans) to this panel is none other than former California Congressman Bill Thomas of Bakersfield. This appointment, frankly, makes a mockery of the entire panel. When Bill Thomas was in Congress (for decades), he was known as one of the best friends that big government had in the Republican Congress.

As the long time Chairman of the House Administration and then House Ways and Means Committee, Thomas was known in the former role for consolidated power away from conservatives in the conference, and in the latter role for empowering the growth of the federal government. The most specific and egregious example of Thomas’ quixotic quest to fatten government spending was the pivotal role he played in a massive expansion of… Read More