In Chicago, escalating property taxes are headline news. With the average property tax bill due to go up by 13 percent – and more increases in …
California Commentary
Concealed Transparency: Legislature Tries to Fool the Public Again
You might have heard some news lately about legislative transparency, referring to efforts to subject what goes on in the California Legislature to …
Budget Deception: Weird Accounting Diminishes Accountability
This week, after reaching agreement with Governor Brown, the California Legislature will pass the state budget for the 2016-17 fiscal year. In so …
Howard, What Have You Done for Me Lately?
Many of those under 50 do not remember tax revolt leader Howard Jarvis, who passed away 30 years ago, and yet, perhaps unknowingly, they are …
TAXPORTATION PART 2: Response to Will Kempton
Last week’s column presented the case for strong opposition to any new transportation taxes in California. But on Thursday, the Executive Director of …
TAXPORTATION: Profligate Waste Negates Justification for Transportation Tax Hike
A personal digression: My father was head of the Iowa Department of Transportation (then called the Iowa Highway Commission) in the late '60s and …
Budget Primer for California Citizen Taxpayers
Average taxpayers in California are probably aware that the state budget was in the news again over the weekend. But even folks who follow both …
Just Four Weeks to Go
It’s election season and the media has made certain that voters’ attention has been focused on the presidential primaries. But there are hundreds of …
Will Average Californians Get Help from Sacramento?
So much of what comes out of the Capitol hurts average Californians. Efforts to impose new taxes, onerous regulations or laws that dictate lifestyle …
Breaking Good?
Those who value liberty, good government and a reasonable level of taxation have a lot to complain about if they are citizens of California. Not only …