This was published in today’s edition of Investor’s Business Daily. It outlines a few of my thoughtsand ideason the path towardsrestructuring our financial regulatory system.

Bold Changes Should Prevent Another CrisisBy REP. JOHN CAMPBELL

The credit markets continue to unfreeze. The general economy continues to sink. There are new stock market lows and unemployment highs and we don’t know where and how it will all end.

But it will end. And we need to start thinking about what regulatory structure will replace the one that failed us so miserably this time. We came perilously close to an abyss (or collapse or Armageddon, depending on who is describing it).

I looked down into that abyss and what I saw was way scarier than any Stephen King movie. Therefore, I think we need dramatic changes to ensure that this sort of calamity does not befall us again.… Read More

Despite what you are hearing in the news these days, taxpayers are not to blame for California’s recurring budget crisis. Trust me on this one.

Overspending is built into our state’s budget system and the Democrats have long insisted that Republicans in the Legislature are simply obstructionists blocking the passage of state budgets filled with spending increases. They argue that if the two-thirds vote requirement was abolished, California would have on-time and fully-funded budgets. Even Governor Schwarzenegger has suggested that he might support eliminating the two-thirds vote requirement for passing a budget bill.

The voters of California reaffirmed their strong support of the two-thirds threshold by rejecting Proposition 56 in March of 2004 by a resounding 66% to 34%.

Well, we have learned that in California politics, if at first you do not succeed, just rig the system to get what you want—that is exactly what the Democrats are trying to do with their budget proposal. They have devised and schemed up a proposals that rob or eliminate voter-supported initiatives—such as Proposition 42 funds for transportation projects—and added fees on the… Read More

Today I am pleased to offer this guest editorial from longtime FR friend State Senator Jeff Denham…

So California can’t sell its bonds because the outside world has no confidence in our leadership’s ability to manage the state’s finances. And now public works projects are shutting down—projects that the public approved at the governor’s urging. If only he had shown as much leadership throughout his tenure in fighting for budget reform. Instead, when that issue wasn’t an easy win and didn’t come with accolades from the Democrats and the media, he shifted his attention to global warming. For once, a politician’s chickens are coming to roost when he is still in office. I’m glad that the Schwarzenegger is having to deal with this mess. He could have avoided it—or at least the deficit wouldn’t be this big and his options would be better—if he had stayed true to his word when he first ran for office and shepherded through real budget reform early on.

… Read More

Today I am pleased to offer this guest editorial from longtime FR friend State Senator Jeff Denham…

One important step in solving the state’s budget crisis is to eliminate wasteful resources and look for potential opportunities to create new revenue without raising taxes.

One significant opportunity is to sell the 432 acres of pristine California land that houses San Quentin State Prison. This state property sits on a prime bay front section of Marin County and has the potential to provide the state with substantial revenue.

**There is more –… Read More

A reminder that once a year, the elves here at the FlashReport take our annual vacation. Every year, the FlashReport publishes daily through the Friday before Christmas, and we restart our daily routine on January 2. For those looking at a calendar, that means that this Friday will be the last time our main page is updated for the year. This is traditionally a very slow time for political news.

That said, this particular year, because of the chaos caused by the chronic overspending of legislative Democrats, and the resulting budget mess, we will be keeping the FR blog open through the holidays, and will encourage our readers to check in regularly (normally we would shut that down, too!).

When we come back after the holidays, look for one new major feature on the site, and we’ll also be revamping our blogger row, with some new, awesome contributors joining our blog team.

As always, if you have any thoughts or suggestions about how we can improve FR, please share them with us. You can e-mail me here.… Read More

Speaker Grinch hauled all of the State Assemblymembers down to the floor yesterday for a 6+ hour waste of time session. During their lengthy stay in the legislative chambers, care to guess what was achieved? The Democrats put up BILLIONS of dollars in tax increases for a vote — and only Democrats supported them. I am VERY PLEASED to convey to FR readers that 100% of Assembly Republicans voted against their blatant attempt to punish California’s taxpayers for their spending addiction.

Once again, Democrats put up these tax increases without putting up the votes for a permanent spending cap (you know, in order to make sure that the chronic overspending must come to a halt), nor any of the other major reforms in state law that would improve our state’s business climate, to stimulate growth in the economy.

I guess later today the GOP proposal will get a vote on the Assembly Floor, where we can predict that all of the Republicans will support it (I would hope so!) and all of the Democrats will oppose it.

And in the "upper" chamber, there is a disturbing rumor that they have concocted some scheme to increase taxes by calling… Read More

Last week, Assembly Speaker Karen Bass threatened that shemay very well "lock down" the California State Assembly next week, for the Christmas Holiday. In legislative parlance, a lock down is when the members of the Assembly are literally forced to stay in the Legislative Chamber and not allowed to leave. I know, it sounds very immature, but it is true. I guess Bass’ theory is that Republican resolve to not punish California taxpayers in response to the chronic overspending of the Speaker’s party is so fragile that the threat of missing church for Christmas mass, or missing a chance to sip eggnog, or not being able to watch their kids open presents under the family tree will cause some GOPers to suddenly embrace billions of dollars in devastating tax increase.

Below is a marquis that one of our loyal readers put together that really captures the essence of Speaker Bass and this very stupid idea.

You’re a mean one, Speaker Bass!!

Care to read comments, or make your own about today’s… Read More