While the Legislature dithers on real cuts and Congress blows through cash like it was carbon credits, local leaders are taking action to reduce budgets without putting a tax-boot on the throats of struggling businesses and taxpayers.

Sacramento County Supervisor Roberta MacGlashan, after ceremoniously crumpling and hurling yet another incomplete staff budget memo into the trash, assembled a citizen’s panel to review and make recommendations on budget cuts, efficiency and vital programs.

And unlike the photo-op commissions created by the state, this group – Kitchen Conversations Citizen Budget Committee – will meet for only a few weeks, make specific recommendations, then go back to living regular lives.

Unlike California’s Citizen Performance Review, which came up with a pretty good series of recommendations to save California taxpayers money but then was mostly shelved – a waste of time, money and paper; MacGlashan has a reputation of being tenacious in protecting taxpayers.

While budgets were still flush several years ago, MacGlashan took an unpopular stand to cut a $2.5 million program giving free healthcare to… Read More

Tax dollars being used to create "fun experiences" for students in the form of "amusement parks." That certainly means taking someone for a ride. Somehow, I’m not thinking most San Diegans would be amused if they knew.

Where is the oversight of public funds? Let’s look at yesterday’s hard-hitting letter from the San Diego County Taxpayers Association to one of the largest school districts in the state…

April 21, 2009 The Honorable Shelia Jackson President, Board of Trustees San Diego Unified School… Read More

One of my big frustrations in the State Assembly is that the connection is not made between overzealous regulators and draconian rules and that Californiahas an over 11% unemployment rate.

Today, Gregg Industries, which operates a foundry and machine shop in El Monte, announced it is closing early. Can you say AQMD?

After the downturn Gregg Industries announced they would close the foundry part of the operation. In 2008 Gregg Industries had an agreement with the AQMD on controlling pollution. It required independent verification of its efforts. After the closure announcement they actually gave incentives to the last employees to comply with the agreement.

AQMD’s response was to send inspector after inspector for the last month it was open.

Gregg’s staff outlined abuses that included a threat from an AQMD employee that at least one security guard interpreted as a threat to use force to enter and inspectors entering he facility without protective measures and without proper escort. I still haven’t got a response to my inquiry about the harassment.

The result is Gregg is closing… Read More

Happy Earth Day everybody. It is also Lenin’s Birthday and Planned Parenthood Day at the Capitol, but I digress.

Everyone knows of the Governor’s commitment to stopping “greenhouse gases”. He receives a lot of praise and attention for his efforts.

Did he hurt the environment in the meantime? The California Air Resources Board (CARB) thinks he did. And I just don’t mean the carbon dioxide expelled discussing this issue.

The CARB is considering a Low Carbon Fuel Standard that would measurethe direct release of carbon into the atmosphere from the production, transportation and use of motor fuels AND land-use changes resulting from ethanol production.

Ethanol producers are upset, because it looks like corn to ethanol is bad for the environment, when you include all the production, land and transportation costs.

In 2006 the Governor issued an executive order onthe use of biofuels. He has spent money getting grants for Ethanol producers. He has campaigned vigorously for its use, to find out that they may be hurting the environment.

Maybe, just maybe government doesn’t know… Read More

Last Saturday, the members of the Executive Committee of the California Republican Party met at the Sacramento Convention Center and voted overwhelmingly to oppose all of the ballot propositions, 1A-1F, that are on the May Special Election ballot. These measures appear as a result of a budget deal that saw California taxpayers smacked with higher income and sales taxes, as well as higher car taxes and, for those with children, a significant reduction in the child tax credit that taxpaying parents now enjoy. The ballot package rejected by the State GOP includes extending those taxes even longer. In total, if advocates get their way, every family in California will be paying nearly $4,000 on average in higher taxes. And for what? Simply put, the package of measures on the ballot does not solve the structural problems of our state, according to the Legislative Analyst, there will be at least an $8 billion shortfall, even if they fail (and he presumes an increase in revenues from increasing tax rates).

First and foremost, I… Read More

Last Saturday, the members of the Executive Committee of the California Republican Party met at the Sacramento Convention Center and voted overwhelmingly to oppose all of the ballot propositions, 1A-1F, that are on the May Special Election ballot. These measures appear as a result of a budget deal that saw California taxpayers smacked with higher income and sales taxes, as well as higher car taxes and, for those with children, a significant reduction in the child tax credit that taxpaying parents now enjoy. The ballot package rejected by the State GOP includes extending those taxes even longer. In total, if advocates get their way, every family in California will be paying nearly $4,000 on average in higher taxes. And for what? Simply put, the package of measures on the ballot does not solve the structural problems of our state, according to the Legislative Analyst, there will be at least an $8 billion shortfall, even if they fail (and he presumes an increase in revenues from increasing tax rates).

First and foremost, I have read some… Read More

I am trying to think whether California voters will feel more or less inclined to vote themselves an increase in sales, income and car taxes when they hear that over a hundred legislative employees just got raises. Well, I guess if the taxes DO pass, the raise will help the lucky staffers to pay for it. If the taxes fail, well, what's a few hundred thousand more bucks in debt?… Read More

I think that if we as a people are going to discuss the various memorandum about interrogation tactics, we have an obligation to review the memorandum as to what these tactics did or did not accomplish. From what I understand, these tactics prevented the planned attack on Los Angeles. Maybe they did more, maybe they did less. Open the files.

(Thanks to Drudge Report for the following)

CHENEY:

“One of the things that I find a little bit disturbing about this recent disclosure is they put out the legal memos, the memos that the CIA got from the Office of Legal Counsel, but they didn't put out the memos that showed the success of the effort. And there are reports that show specifically what we gained as a result of this activity. They have not been declassified.”

“I formally asked that they be declassified now. I haven't announced this up until now, I haven't talked about it, but I know specifically of reports that I read, that I saw that lay out what we learned through the interrogation process and what the consequences were for the country.”

“And I've now formally asked the CIA to take steps to declassify those memos so… Read More