Legislature

ARTICLE: Legislative Employees Still Get a Sweet Deal

tgaul — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 09:50:28 -0700

As the state economy continues to plunge, Legislators retain some of the "cushiest" employee benefits imaginable. These include, lifetime health coverage after five years, $50,000 life insurance funds, paid vacations of up to six weeks a year and, of course, six-figure salaries. This article in the Sacramento Bee reports.
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ARTICLE: New Bill Could Expand CRV Charge

tgaul — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:32:07 -0700

HJTA president Jon Coupal is quoted on ABC7 news regarding the new bill that could double the CRV charge to bottles and cans. Though California already has a relatively high recycle rate, lawmakers have submitted this bill to add an extra $300 million to the CRV fund. As Coupal states, this bill looks and acts like a tax.

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ARTICLE: Rules Strangling Economy

tgaul — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:43:39 -0700

This article in the Santa Maria Times describes how California’s mounding debt is threatening to tip over into state bankruptcy. Even with the recall of Governor Gray Davis, state spending has continued to grow and the economy has continued to shrink. This is due in large part to the state's stranglehold on business activities through extensive environmental regulations.

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ARTICLE: Legislators' Car Budgets Cost Millions

tgaul — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:29:13 -0700

This article in the Los Angeles Times exposes the millions of taxpayer dollars being spent on personal vehicles and transportation for state lawmakers. Meanwhile, budget cuts are beginning to affect programs in the fields of health and education, leaving thousands unemployed. What’s wrong with this picture?

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ARTICLE: Unions Must Loosen Grip on Legislature

tgaul — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:01:28 -0700

This article on Reuters.com explains how workers unions—wielding full legislative veto power—are the major obstacles to finding a solution to California's budget crisis. As the article shows, something must be done to limit the influence of these unions if we wish to avoid a total financial meltdown.

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ARTICLE: Lawmakers Debate Blueberries Over Budget

tgaul — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 17:38:04 -0700

What is the California Legislature doing during this enormous budget crisis? As this article reports, legislators are processing dozens of peripheral bills on topics such as a blueberry commission and educating 9th graders about organ donation. Meanwhile, state officials expect a complete “meltdown of state government” if the budget crisis is not solved.

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Contact Your Representative

jmonma — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 17:42:55 -0800

Make your voice heard!

You can make a huge difference in protecting Propositions 13 and 218 by contacting your Assembly and State Senate representatives yourself.

Every year, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association battles with tax-and-spenders at the State Capitol in order to protect taxpayers' rights. But it really gets their attention when their own constituents contact them. Read more >>

Surprise Attack on Proposition 13

gforster — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 19:24:41 -0800

In perhaps one of the most brazen political moves in California history, Democrat leadership last week unveiled a budget proposal that would shred the California Constitution by raising billions of new taxes without the required two-thirds vote. Read more >>

The Millionaires' Tax -- A Double Failure

gforster — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 19:26:40 -0800

Milton Friedman's maxim that few things are as mobile as rich people and capital is proven starkly by data showing the wealthy are leaving California in record numbers. It is probably no coincidence that, while California has been punishing the successful for the sin of being rich, Maricopa County in neighboring Arizona gained 23,000 new millionaire households in the same time period. Read more >>

Government for the Government

gforster — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 19:28:44 -0800

If Abraham Lincoln were delivering his Gettysburg Address today, he might feel compelled to conclude, "... that government for the government shall not perish from this earth." Read more >>