Manipulative Union Political Ads Continue in California

Redistributionist Politics California Style: From Private Citizens to Unionized Government

The terms “Blue State” and “Red State” were coined about a dozen years ago by journalist Tim Russert and were based on the colored maps being used by the television networks to graphically display presidential election results. Although originally based on the arbitrary decision to label Republican voting states red, and those supporting the Democratic...

By Jon Coupal

New Accounting Rules Will Double CalSTRS Reported Unfunded Liability

It’s been said that after Al Capone was sentenced to prison for tax evasion in 1931, his chief financial and legal advisor, Jake “Greasy Thumb” Guzik, told other mobsters how to avoid Big Al’s fate. They must keep two sets of books. One set, that could be made public, would show “honest income” from a...

By Jon Coupal

New Accounting Rules Force CalSTRS, Other Public Pension Plans, to Acknowledge True Liabilities

It’s been said that after Al Capone was sentenced to prison for tax evasion in 1931, his chief financial and legal advisor, Jake “Greasy Thumb” Guzik, told other mobsters how to avoid Big Al’s fate. They must keep two sets of books. One set, that could be made public, would show “honest income” from a...

By Jon Coupal

Union Sponsored AB 857 Calculated to Destroy Initiatives in California

Editor’s Note: California state ballot initiatives that begin collecting signatures before 12-31-2013 MIGHT be exempt from AB 857, which, if signed by Gov. Brown, will take effect January 1st. But it takes about 60 days to get ballot initiatives approved for circulation. That window is closing, and with it, the hope for anyone who isn’t...

By Jon Coupal

The Market, not Government Bureaucrats, Identifies Successful Products and Technologies

Suppose you are offered a bargain on a pair of well-made shoes. You can have the new footwear at half price. The catch? They don’t fit and the discount is partially paid for through your tax dollars. This is the kind of deal the public is being offered on some alternative energy vehicles. It is...

By Jon Coupal

California Unions Target Prop. 13 Rather Than Reform Pensions

DATELINE CHICAGO: Mayor warns property taxes could be going up 150%. Suppose the mayor of your city announced a property tax hike of 150% or, stated another way, two-and-a-half times your current tax. A homeowner accustomed to paying $2,000, would see their next bill increase to $5,000, while a bill of $4,000 would jump to...

By Jon Coupal

Union Controlled California Assembly Continues Assault on Prop. 13

Without a single public hearing, the California Assembly passed Assembly Constitutional Amendment No. 8 (ACA 8), the most egregious attack on Prop. 13 ever to come out of the Legislature. ACA 8 would repeal Prop. 13’s requirement that local “special taxes” (taxes intended for a specific purpose or purposes) be approved by a two-thirds vote....

By Jon Coupal

Why California’s Businesses Are Forced to Collude With Public Sector Unions

I’ve received a number of calls from reporters over the last few weeks seeking my reaction to the fact that many tax hike bills have stalled in the Legislature. Despite the passage of Prop 30 giving California both the highest marginal income tax rate and the highest state sales tax rate in America, the sheer...

By Jon Coupal

The Public Employee Union Assault on Prop. 13 Begins

Last week we alerted California taxpayers as to the immediate threats to Proposition 13 being heard by a California legislative committee. As fully anticipated, the Senate Committee on Governance and Finance approved all six of the anti-Prop 13 proposals. All of the bills in question would gut one of the most important provisions of Proposition...

By Jon Coupal

How California’s Union Controlled Legislature Plans to Increase Property Taxes

In a bunker somewhere in Sacramento, a secret committee meeting of state power brokers is taking place. Let’s listen in as the chairman addresses the members: “Welcome to this week’s meeting of the ‘Don’t Leave Them With Two Nickels to Rub Together Committee’ It is good to see that the public employee union bosses, who...

By Jon Coupal

California’s Public Employment Relations Board Thwarts Pension Reform

When it comes to state government, most people think of the governor and the members of the Legislature, those who are elected by the voters and do their business under the Capitol dome. However, there is an entire class of faceless, unelected appointees to the state’s hundreds of boards and commission who determine whether or...

By Jon Coupal

California Lawmakers Seek to Make it Easier to Raise Parcel Taxes

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,...

By Jon Coupal

Higher Taxes and More Government Borrowing Will Not Grow the Economy

As if taking a cue from California’s Governor Brown, President Obama has presented a 2013 budget to Congress that spends, taxes and borrows. It includes $1.9 trillion in new taxes and adds trillions more to our nation’s debt. Budgets which have as their foundation more government spending regardless of economic conditions, debt load or taxpayers’...

By Jon Coupal