If insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result, then the California Legislature is indeed an "institution" in more than one sense of the word. Any notion that, because of the recession and related budget crisis, the Legislature would finally "get it" and become fiscally prudent and transparent, is dashed on the rocks of political reality.  Read more >>

Not long ago, a major California newspaper ran an editorial cartoon depicting pith-helmeted explorers peering through jungle growth at a crumbling temple where worshipers bow down before a stone alter on which is carved, "Prop. 13." One of the explorers is saying to the other, "I believe we've stumbled upon the origins of the demise of California's civilization."

At the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, founded by the principle author of Proposition 13, we are accustomed to seeing attacks running from dubious to frivolous on the landmark 1978 tax limitation initiative.  Read more >>

Imagine an election where a proposal to increase taxes is declared by the taxing agency to have passed with fewer than 70 votes after the agency disqualified more than 1,500 ballots that would have swung the election the other way. Then imagine that the decision to invalidate these ballots was made by the agency after opening them and seeing how they had voted.  Read more >>

The rapidly approaching impact that state and local debt will have on government services and taxpayers is likely to be as subtle as a suicide bomber's belt of C-4 explosive.

Highly regarded political pundit Dan Walters has compared our state's debt situation to both Enron, "which cooked its books to fool investors and lenders," and a "Third World country whose rulers run up a mountain of debt while squandering revenues."  Read more >>