California Burning – How the Greens Turned the Golden State Brown
California Burning – How the Greens Turned the Golden State Brown
In October 2016, in a coordinated act of terrorism that received fleeting attention from the press, environmentalist activists broke into remote flow stations and turned off the valves on pipelines carrying crude oil from Canada into the United States. Working simultaneously in Washington, Montana, Minnesota, and North Dakota, the eco-terrorists disrupted pipelines that together transport 2.8 million...
By Edward Ring
Thanksgiving for California Taxpayers – An Uncertain Future
Thanksgiving for California Taxpayers – An Uncertain Future
In this season of Thanksgiving, taxpayers in California have reason to pause when asked for what they are thankful. Considering the costly plans of the newly elected Legislature and governor, taxpayers may be most grateful for the fact that the state hasn’t yet built a wall encircling the state to keep them from leaving. After...
By Jon Coupal
Cal Policy Center to UTLA: ‘See you in court’
Cal Policy Center to UTLA: ‘See you in court’
“I have asked the ULTA repeatedly to stop taking money out of my paycheck, and they simply will not stop”: Thomas Few, left, with attorneys Bucher and Kelsey, and Illinois state social worker Mark Janus, at the U.S. Courthouse in Los Angeles. LOS ANGELES – A federal judge on Dec. 17 will hear teachers union...
By Editorial Staff
To Reduce Wildfire Dangers, Focus on What Matters
To Reduce Wildfire Dangers, Focus on What Matters
Political leaders and pundits have been quick to link this month’s horrific wildfires to climate change, leading to the conclusion that California should continue and even double down on its carbon reduction policies. But the evidence suggests that these policies will make little difference in the frequency and severity of these disasters, and our scarce...
By Marc Joffe
Rejection of Proposition 6 doesn’t end the taxpayer revolt
Rejection of Proposition 6 doesn’t end the taxpayer revolt
It is understandable that many California taxpayers are disappointed with the election results. The defeat of Proposition 6 means that last year’s big increases in both the car tax and the gas tax imposed on us by Sacramento politicians will remain in effect and California’s drivers are stuck having the second-highest gas tax in the...
By Jon Coupal
California’s Legislators Lack Private Sector Experience
California’s Legislators Lack Private Sector Experience
Back in the days of adding machines and manual ledgers, final election results in California were usually done by midnight on election day. Sometimes there would be a few precincts counting ballots into the wee hours of the morning, and you wouldn’t know a result till the next day. Fast forward to 2018, and the...
By Edward Ring
Despite Janus, unions still forcing workers to pay annual dues
Despite Janus, unions still forcing workers to pay annual dues
Sacramento The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision from June in Janus v. the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees was clear: Public employees no longer are required to pay union dues, even for collective-bargaining purposes. This was no technical or ambiguous point. The court declared it an infringement of the First Amendment when the...
By Steven Greenhut
California’s Voters Approve New Taxes and Reject Tax Repeal
California’s Voters Approve New Taxes and Reject Tax Repeal
Although hundreds of election results remain to be decided across California, thanks to millions of vote-by-mail ballots still being counted, we can already project with reasonable accuracy the total amount voters approved in new taxes and borrowing. At the local level, new taxes nearly always are approved by voters. In 2016, out of 224 local...
By Edward Ring
How to NOT Solve California’s Housing Crisis
How to NOT Solve California’s Housing Crisis
There are obvious reasons the median home price in California is $544,900, whereas in the United States it is only $220,100. In California, demand exceeds supply. And supply is constrained because of unwarranted environmental laws such as SB 375 that have made it nearly impossible to build housing outside the “urban service boundary.” These laws have...
By Edward Ring
California Ed-doctrination
California Ed-doctrination
Indoctrination in government schools is a big problem; giving parents choices can solve it. Recently in southern California, a public high school student was given an assignment in English class to pick an issue and make an argument for and against it. The 16-year-old decided to do her essay on the Dreamers. But her teacher...
By Larry Sand
The FPPC Finally Charges a Government Agency with Illegal Political Advocacy
The FPPC Finally Charges a Government Agency with Illegal Political Advocacy
This column has, over the last several years, exposed multiple examples of government entities using taxpayer dollars for political advocacy, a practice that is clearly illegal under both state and federal law. The free speech clauses of the federal and state Constitutions prohibit the use of governmentally compelled monetary contributions (including taxes) to support or...
By Jon Coupal
Teachers’ unions appalled at idea of paying teachers like rock stars
Teachers’ unions appalled at idea of paying teachers like rock stars
Sacramento — If you’re looking for a stellar example of teachers’ unions ongoing commitment to mediocrity or worse, then you need only look at their reaction to California GOP gubernatorial candidate John Cox’s idea of paying top-notch teachers much higher salaries – perhaps even rivalling those earned by ballplayers and rock stars. The unions, of course,...
By Steven Greenhut
California Local Government Websites – A 2018 Report Card
California Local Government Websites – A 2018 Report Card
The internet has enabled unprecedented transparency in government, but have governments fully adopted the technology? Specifically, how well are government websites providing the most important information to their constituents? Is the information intuitively categorized on these websites? Are the posted reports and notices easy to understand? Is information posted promptly? Are important categories of information...
By Research Team
This November, Will California Voters Approve $3.6 Billion Per Year in New Taxes?
This November, Will California Voters Approve $3.6 Billion Per Year in New Taxes?
With the 2018 general election a few weeks away, it’s time to review just how many tax increases are on state and local ballots in California. And while media attention focuses on the statewide tax measures, even bigger money is represented by the sum of hundreds of proposed local tax increases. Every election cycle, the...
By Edward Ring