Today a judge ruled that the city of Stockton California is indeed bankrupt and that the city acted in good faith. Creditors asked the judge to void the bankruptcy, saying the city could raise taxes instead. I have been watching this story for a while. Here is some background on the Stockton bankruptcy as reported by Arizona Central....
Few non-local people pay much attention to the goings-on in Stockton, a hard-pressed Gold-Rush-era industrial city of 300,000 that sits in the agriculturally rich San Joaquin Valley at the eastern edge of the California Delta. But bondholders, taxpayers and government officials throughout the country will be listening to U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein’s expected ruling...
During my recent trip to Washington D.C. I was asked to speak to the Republican Whip Committee, a group of approximately 50 Republican U.S. House members charged with the responsibility of preparing and securing support for passage of “priority” legislation. I used this time to provide the Whip Committee with the background of my battle against...
Here are links to the top stories available online over the past week reporting on union activity including legislation, financial impact, reform activism, etc., from California and across the USA. Georgia Senate Pushes Union Dues Reform March 26, 2013, Associated Press The Georgia business lobby won another victory Monday as the Senate approved a change...
The San Francisco Bay Area is probably the most liberal in America. Democrats are typically favored over Republicans in elections by an 40 to 50 percent margins. The SF Bay is also perhaps the wealthiest region in America, with a GDP of over $500 billion, and more than 10% of the nation’s billionaires. Not least,...
Schlitz may be the beer that made Milwaukee famous, but recently the spotlight has been shining on the city’s school choice efforts. Back in 1990, the Pleistocene Era of education reform, the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program became the nation’s first publicly funded school choice program for low-income children. Born of an interesting political marriage –...
Once again the mainstream media and our elected officials have given the SEIU and its ally in the White House (see Puppeteer) a free pass with regards to their socialistic/communist leanings. The recent passing of Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez made international news, but very little was heard in the mainstream media from the President or...
There is no doubt that Americans owe a great deal to ancient Greek civilization that once dominated the Eastern Mediterranean, including the island of Cyprus. It is to them and their experiment with democracy that we can trace the roots of our own democratic institutions. Of course, a lot can change in 2,500 years and,...
Not many of my friends or neighbors are sitting on pins and needles, worrying that the world as we know it will end as the federal government “slashes” spending as part of the automatic sequester cuts mandated by a previous budget bill. And not many people have been thinking, “Geesh, there’s nothing we need more...
Unions were supporting a bill. This meant taxpayers were about to give unions more money. That’s what I thought when I saw this notice for a press conference at the California State Capitol on the morning of March 19, 2013: Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and others announce legislation to “foster increased business and industry investment...
Prepared by Golden Together, a Movement to Restore the California Dream Edward Ring, California Policy Center Steve Hilton, Founder of Golden Together Published March 20, 2025