We all know what a sore loser is — someone who lacks grace in defeat. But strangely, in California politics, we have sore winners. Last month, …
California Commentary
The fight to limit taxation continues
Regular readers of this column undoubtedly know what Proposition 13 is, but they may not know it does more than set property taxes at 1% of the home’s …
Newsom budget: The good, the bad and the ugly
The governor’s budget is a tale of the good, the bad and the ugly. We won’t see a real state budget until it emerges from the smoke-filled backroom …
Rewarding failure in the K-12 system
California spends a lot on education. Ever since the passage of Proposition 98 in 1988, which guarantees to education a minimum of 40% of the general …
Inflation is a tax on us all
Pinned on my office wall is a Zimbabwe $10,000,000,000,000 note. (That’s 10 trillion for those of you tired of counting zeroes). The currency is real, …
Setting aside all the bah humbug
A little-known fact about Howard Jarvis is that, long before achieving fame as the author of Proposition 13, he ran for the United States Senate in …
Lack of money isn’t California’s problem
California’s rate of education spending continues its rapid escalation but expected increases in performance remain lagging. While taxpayers are doing …
Beware of California’s obscene budget surplus
Here’s a cautionary tale for California politicians who think voters will forever tolerate rising taxes as Sacramento swims in budget …
Court approves lying to voters to pass bonds
If ever voters needed a reason to vote no on every single bond measure that appears on the ballot, here it is: The Court of Appeal for Third Appellate …
The SALT fight is coming to a head
In April, this column reported on the great SALT controversy and how it impacts California taxpayers. SALT stands for “state and local taxes,” and for …