After reading over the Governor’s draft Executive Order to reduce the salaries of around 200,000 existing state employees to federal minimum wage (see my post below this one – also see the draft order here) — it dawned on me that perhaps the bigger news is the part that says, "take immediate action to terminate the services of the following five catagories of employees and individuals: (1) Retired Annuitants, (2) Permanent Intermittent Employees, (3) Seasonal Employees, (4) Temporary Help Workers, (5) Individuals Providing Services Under Contract…"

According to press accounts, this is nearly 20,000 people who will be terminated.

This is huge. Perhaps it is the "lemonade" of the lemon that is our state budget crisis. We always see the size of state government grow larger and larger. Seldom do we see actual reductions, Unfortunately, when the budget is approved, it is likely that most if not all of those… Read More

Looks like the Governor is going to issue an Executive Order on Monday to reduce the pay of 200,000 state employees temporary down to the federal minimum wage. Once a state budget is approved, these folks will be issued back-pay for the difference. It’s all about preserving cash flow says this breaking story at the SacBee website.

This will jack up the anxiety of public employee unions who should think about this — they have very little cache with legislative Republicans since, for the most part, they work to defeat every Republican that they can. So the question is what kind of pressure can these unions bring to bear on legislative Democrats? Perhaps it’s time for the unions to roll up their sleeves and figure out how to give state government a healthy haircut — which will then allow for a budget to pass, and their members can once again get their full pay.… Read More

Last week, the Public Policy Institute of California released a study which piqued my curiousity because it talked about the decades-old political football — the peripheral canal. I asked the fine folks at PPIC if they would produce a blog-length intro to their study, which is below. At the bottom, there is a link to much more comprehensive information…

Peripheral canal can save ailing Delta, ensure reliable water supply Public Policy Institute of California Building a peripheral canal to carry water around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is the most promising strategy to balance two critical goals: reviving a threatened ecosystem and ensuring a high-quality water supply for California’s residents. That is the key conclusion of a report released this week by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC). Under current policy, water is… Read More

Wikopedia defines Kabuki is a form of traditional Japanese theatrical dance.. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make up worn by some of its performers.

I am reminded of these Kabuki dancers when we see acts like the one by State Senate President Don Perata — who has called for a budget vote next Tuesday in the Senate (h/t to CapWeekly). The thing is, there has been no successful negotiation to resolve the significant policy issues that divide liberals and conservatives in approach the huge financial hole in which the state find’s itself.

So this budget vote next week is Kabuki — political theatrical dance.

I guess it won’t be a complete waste of time. We can see if Senator Lou… Read More

Today the Congress is preparing to vote on a massive mega-billion dollar "bail out" of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae" – along with billions of other "gifts" to those impacted negatively by the mortgage crisis ("gift" – paid for with our tax dollars). Congressman Ed Royce (R-Orange County) just sent over this well written piece on this ill-advised legislation:

Socializing Risk While Funding the Left By U.S. Represenative Ed Royce Today the House of Representatives passed one of the largest taxpayer bailouts in decades. After advocating for strong GSE reforms for the better part of a… Read More

The Governor continues to stand firm on his demand that any budget must include real spending reform. That is outstanding.

While these days we need to take the Governor’s resolve on a day by day basis, it is heartening to see him continuing to advocate this needed reform of state government, to prevent future overspending.… Read More

The Newport Beach City Council voted 5-0-2 last night to rescind their campaign ordinance that makes failure to register a campaign mailer with the city in the last 14 days of the election a crime. We have called the ordinance a violation of free speech rights. Good for them. The two absentions came from members of the city council running for reelection in November, Councilmembers Curry and Rosansky, who said they did not want to vote on the matter because of thetheir pending election campaigns. The Council will need to take some subsequent actions, but the ordinance appears on its way to oblivion.

… Read More

Yesterday was a crazy day for seven members of the Texas congressional delegation routinely returning from Houston to Washington, D.C. for a vote on–among other things–an aviation safety measure. Reminds me of my friend Sam Dealey’s story in the Weekly Standard in 2002 about a certain member of Congress’ run-in with the same airline. Continental won praise from one Texas rep in response to yesterday’s emergency landing.

Politico has an interesting piece examining the use of the "MRA" a reimbursable program that funds members operating and office expenses. Elsewhere in the paper, Variety’s Ted Johnson pens a piece on the positive work of Hollywood pros in support of our troops. He writes Variety’s "Wilshire and Washington" blog,… Read More