When California voters barely approved a $9.95 billion bond measure for High Speed Rail in 2008, they had no idea how soon they would learn the true meaning of the phrase “being railroaded.” As more about this project is revealed, the backlash from the public and political leadership is sure to grow.  Read more >>

Sacramento lawmakers are unhappy with their jobs. Recent complaints by members of the Legislature include: People don’t appreciate them; solving problems is hard work; they don’t have the power they think they deserve; their retirement is mandated by term limits; there is no lucrative pension; and their pay is being cut – although they will remain the highest paid lawmakers in all 50 states at nearly $100,000 annually along with a car and another $30,000 a year in tax free expense money.  Read more >>

Last month, the Legislative Analyst Office predicted a budget shortfall for California's next fiscal year so large it shocked even seasoned observers. The projected $20 billion shortfall is larger than the entire state budgets of all but a handful of other states. The LAO also excoriated the continued use of budget gimmicks, including unrealistic assumptions of new revenue and accounting tricks employed to effectively borrow from future years.  Read more >>

Last week the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association sent the AB 32 Economic and Allocation Advisory Committee (EAAC) a letter spelling out the reasons why we believe that the state has no legal authority to impose a new AB 32 auction tax on California companies and consumers. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the Governor have asked the EAAC to provide advice to CARB on how to spend up to $143 billion in new government revenue. We thought it would be wise for the EAAC to consider whether CARB actually has the authority to raise this revenue in the first place.  Read more >>