Introducing competition to the public sector is an essential part of delivering cost-effective services to taxpayers. What happened earlier this year in Placer County is just one example of how millions of savings can be realized by privatizing a public service. By replacing county employees with a private firm to provide inmate food services to...
Sacramento — One of California’s burgeoning “new economy” business models is the meal-subscription plan, by which companies such as Blue Apron send recipes and prepackaged gourmet ingredients to subscriber’s homes – everything they need to prepare a fresh meal. It’s great for folks who like to cook, but have little patience for grocery shopping. Blue...
The City of San Jose was a pioneer in reforming their rules governing binding arbitration, rules that may seem obscure and complex to the uninitiated, but which have profound consequences. Until the San Jose city council put arbitration reform on the ballot in 2010, unelected arbitrators could end labor negotiations with decisions that were devastating...
You’ve just been elected to the city council. You’re 34 years old and you’ve been attending your city council meetings for almost a decade. You’ve served on some civic improvement commissions. You’ve been a concerned activist for most of your life. But the firefighters union contract is being renegotiated this year, and you’re about to...
The San Diego District Attorney last week charged John Collins with misuse of hundreds of thousands of dollars over several years as superintendent of Poway Unified School District. The allegations would be shocking if they weren’t so common. In Placentia, Bell, Compton, Pasadena, Beaumont, and elsewhere, California cities have needlessly lost millions, and for a time, nobody knew....
Despite what union leaders say, competition makes everything better. A 1995 interview with the late Apple founder Steve Jobs has just resurfaced and is available on YouTube. While the interview, conducted by Computerworld’s Daniel Morrow, went on for 75 minutes, the 3:42 Jobs spent talking about education is memorable. The Silicon Valley visionary knew as...
California is not just any “blue state.” By many measures, California is a blue nation. It boasts the world’s sixth largest economy, isolated from the rest of the nation by mountains and deserts that were virtually impassable before modern times. It is blessed with diverse industries, abundant natural resources, and the most attractive weather in...
Occupational licensing has been receiving a lot of attention recently with Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta calling for state legislators to roll back burdensome licensing requirements. No place is this needed more than in California, the breeding ground of strong unions and stiff occupational licensing requirements. While occupational licensing is viewed as a way to ensure...
By Colby Mills – 26 July 2017 On June 27, 2017, Governor Brown signed Assembly Bill 119 into law, effective July 1, 2017. AB 119 requires public employers (including school districts, transit agencies, and county offices of education) to provide union representatives “mandatory access” to any new employee orientation, regardless of whether that orientation is...
Sacramento – Municipal governments exist to provide essential services, such as law enforcement, firefighting, parks and recreation, street repairs and programs for the poor and homeless. But as pension, health-care and other compensation costs soar for workers and retirees alike, local governments are struggling to fulfill these basic functions. There’s even a term to describe...
Union leader sinks to a new low by hyping a worthless report and insulting millions of parents. When some people become frightened, they’ll say and do some amazingly asinine things. Utilizing that as a guide, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten is apparently scared spitless. With Supreme Court decisions on the horizon that could...
Through the courts and legislation, Americans are telling the unions where to stick their privilege. Via weak-kneed and corrupt elected officials, unions have been taking advantage of American citizens left and right for years now. But in ever greater numbers, people are standing up to the bullies and fighting back. “Release time” is a practice...
Last week, my friend Ethan announced that he is moving to Ohio. Ethan is an extremely bright entrepreneur in his mid-thirties, who grew up in Southern California. He’s civic minded – joined non-profit boards, gave to charities what he could afford, and was even been elected to his local water board. He’s moving because his...
It is easy to see how tightly the state micromanages our lives and businesses. Our high tax burden, powerful unions, government debt, and overbearing regulations all speak to California’s low economic freedom. Whether one examines the United States, California, or each of its counties, Californians live in an economic prison. Country Freedom The United States...