The independent commission that is drawing the state’s political boundaries for Congressional, BOE, State Senate and State Assembly Districts is only weeks away from publishing its first pass at new districts. This is part of the decennial process of redistricting, meant to ensure that all of the districts contain roughly the same number of citizens (of course to some interests, it is a time to make sure that districts are still drawn to produce specific political outcomes, such as electing people of a particular ethnicity).

Anyways, at this final stage, various groups are submitting “suggested” maps for the commission to consider — maps containing districts that their authors believe comply with all of the necessary mandates placed on the commission by the voters that created it, and that also are in compliance with the various court orders that pertain to the redistricting process.

One such interest group, the California Institute for Jobs, Economy, and Education (which is “code” for the California big-business community), has submitted their maps. Laboring (for God knows how long) to actually crunch the data and produce… Read More

Here’s an unsettling thought: We have been comparing CA unemployment with the national average. But what we SHOULD be comparing is CA vs. the average of the other 49 states.

This distinction is important. California holds about 12% of the entire nation’s population, and thus materially impacts the national average figure.

Consider the latest employment figures for the month of April, 2011. If you take California’s dismal 11.9% unemployment number out of the national average, the average for the other 49 states is not the 9.0% national average, but rather 8.6%. http://www.bls.gov/news.release/laus.nr0.htm

BOTTOM LINE: In actual percentages, the CA unemployment rate is a full 3.3% higher than the average for the other 49 states. In terms of percentage difference, that makes CA unemployment on average 38.4% higher than the other states.… Read More

I have reviewed the Governor’s latest budget proposals related to Enterprise Zones, and they are as bad as the original proposal that would have eliminated the program altogether.

It’s Still a Tax Increase:

First of all, this would still impose a tax increase on thousands of California businesses that would be retroactive. Many of these businesses have survived thanks in large part to the Enterprise Zone program, and have kept their employees working in California during the economic recession.

High-Tech and Bio-Tech Industries Harmed:

The Governor’s limitations on tax credit carryovers would be particularly harmful to startup companies especially in the high-tech and bio-tech sectors that would be unable to utilize the Enterprise Zone tax credits.

Governor’s Enterprise Zone Plan Would Force Job Layoffs:

The small business community has reviewed the Governor’s plan and they are alarmed. A small printing firm in San Diego had this to say about it: “Thanks to Enterprise Zone tax credits, we were able to retain employees that we otherwise would have been forced to lay off… Read More

I’m still fuming about the Supreme Court’s decision forcing California to release 46,000 prisoners into our streets. The response from conservative, common sense pundits has been pretty universal: this is an outrageous decision that will result in more crime. The real travesty in all of this is that it could have been avoided. As I mention in the following video blog, money isn’t the issue. At least, not the amount of money, just how it’s being spent…

Even for jaded politicos, it’s shocking that Governor Brown’s initial response to the matter is to turn it into a blatant appeal for higher taxes. It’s almost like extortion: your wallet for your safety. Even the Sacramento Bee acknowledged the crass politicking with this headline: “Jerry Brown calls prison ruling a reason for taxes”

While it might be more frightening to be mugged by one of the thugs… Read More

With the appropriately named Brown vs. Plata up to 46,000 felons will be prematurely released from California state prisons. The vast majority of these criminals are gang members or those who received advanced criminal techniques that makes prisonersmost more predatory. The first duty of government is to protect its citizens.

Brown, the democrats and their government union allies are responsible for any murder, rape or mayhem that emerges from this artificially created crime wave. So long as California prisons cost THREE times more than Texas, we cannot build more facilities. The prison guards are the sloths here, paidoff Gov Brown, to get yet more raises, bonuses, concessions and bottomless pensions. The prison guards union successfully resisted any attempt to bring in ‘private’ less costly prisons for non-violent offenders. Suddenly, we have prison-crowding that bothers the liberal elites. Sadly, too often some… Read More

This morning I helped the USO stuff care packages for our troops. Here is a behind the scenes look:

Click here to watch video.

… Read More

Dana Point’s recent actions threatening to foreclose on four homeowners at The Strands beach development for failure to pay Mello-Roos taxes was predicted. By me! And that prediction and my opposition to those taxes in the first place probably cost me re-election to Dana Point’s City Council in 2006.

Howard Jarvis once told me that Mello-Roos fees were nothing more than a fancy legislative trick to get around the taxpayer protections of Proposition 13. I had worked for Jarvis as a young staff member during the passage of Prop. 13, a campaign where the politicians and the wealthy establishment pulled out all the stops to defeat the property tax reduction measure that has protected California homeowners from high taxation since 1978. But when Prop. 13 passed, the establishment didn’t just roll over. They sued all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. And the Legislature started coming up with all sorts of cute illegalities to collect tax revenue otherwise lost. One of those cute deals was to start collecting “fees” rather than taxes. Another was to empower so-called “Mello-Roos” districts to collect money from homeowners right… Read More

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The Taxpayer Protection Pledge was created by Americans for Tax Reform in 1986, with the blessings and endorsement of then President Ronald Reagan, as a way to provide clarity and unity as to which candidates for the United States Senate and House of Representatives were committing to opposing tax increases and any efforts to raise taxes. As of March of this year, 41 U.S. Senators and 231 Members of Congress (a solid majority) have signed the pledge, including every Republican on the large California delegation. Over the last quarter century, the pledge has spread broadly at the local level — much of it a dynamic process as candidates for non-federal offices wanted to sign the pledge as well. At the state level, there are over 1100 pledge signers that include many Governors and a vast array of state legislators. There is no doubt that the existence of the Pledge has been positive and constructive — and has helped to do what it says in its title — protect taxpayers.

Yesterday I had the good fortune to go up to Sacramento (I’m still here, actually) and… Read More