Rude and Loud Minority Seeks to Stifle Open Democratic Discourse
Rude and Loud Minority Seeks to Stifle Open Democratic Discourse
Whether one is speaking of First Amendment-protected speech on university and college campuses or efforts of elected congressional representatives to conduct dialogues with their constituents, America has become messy indeed. While we weren’t looking, groups were organizing to take away our most fundamental civil liberties. Organized and paid political activists mingle among honest citizens seeking...
By Hector Barajas
Questions for Someone Who Supports Superior Benefits for Government Workers
Questions for Someone Who Supports Superior Benefits for Government Workers
“Without disputing the figures, Monique Morrissey, an economist with the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., said the findings are misleading because they do not compare specific classes of employees or account for differences in education levels and total hours worked.” California Is Golden State For Public Employees, by Michael Carroll, AMI Newswire, Jan. 31,...
By Edward Ring
Analysis of 2001 Bush Executive Order Allowing Federal Funds for Project Labor Agreements
Analysis of 2001 Bush Executive Order Allowing Federal Funds for Project Labor Agreements
In early 2001, President George W. Bush issued two executive orders related to a prohibition on federal funding for construction contracts that included a requirement for contractors to sign a Project Labor Agreement with trade unions. The first executive order – Presidential Executive Order 13202, signed on February 17, 2001 – received national news coverage and Congressional attention....
By Kevin Dayton
Environmentalism Provides Moral Cover for New Taxes to Fund Pensions
Environmentalism Provides Moral Cover for New Taxes to Fund Pensions
There are two intertwined themes that define unionized government in California. First, funding government retiree pensions will soak up every new source of tax revenue they will ever collect. Second, cloaking new taxes and fees – and new agencies – in the virtuous raiment of environmentalism will deflect criticism and demonize critics. Here’s why: Now...
By Edward Ring
Will Taxpayers Be Mugged by Unionized Government?
Will Taxpayers Be Mugged by Unionized Government?
Governor Brown has just released his spending proposal for 2017-18 and taxpayers should not be blamed if they feel like they are walking down a dark alley in a high-crime neighborhood. While the governor’s proposed budget has been described as austere, it still represents a spending boost of five percent, a rate of increase only...
By Jon Coupal
Explaining Dysfunctional Illinois in One Word, One Idea, One Person
Explaining Dysfunctional Illinois in One Word, One Idea, One Person
Editor’s Note: Why is commentary about Illinois relevant to California? Because if you read this, written by economics blogger Mike Shedlock, all you have to do is substitute “California” into every sentence where “Illinois” appears, and it would still be accurate. The only thing missing from California is an entrenched speaker of the state legislature –...
By Mike Shedlock
Public Sector Pay Continues to Increase Thanks to Union Power
Public Sector Pay Continues to Increase Thanks to Union Power
Editor’s Note: Back in the early years of the 21st century, when California’s tech sector had collapsed and the stock market was down sharply, local government budgets were so strapped that they started closing their offices on Fridays, and applied “furloughs” to their employees to save money. But no public worker took an actual pay...
By Jon Coupal