Comments on: Prosperity agenda can overcome U.S., CA problems

By: Ed Ring

Ed Ring — Fri, 02 Aug 2013 18:56:18 +0000

Susan: Senator Romero is a conscientious political moderate who understands the greatest threat to our public education system, the financial health of our public institutions, and even our civil liberties, is the out-of-control power of public sector unions. And what she has had the courage to acknowledge publicly, we have heard countless moderates and left-of-center politicians acknowledge privately. We welcome her participation in our efforts to educate Californians.

By: Susan

Susan — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 03:22:54 +0000

I was surprised to see former State Senator Gloria Romero listed as “adviser and contributor” at the website of the California Public Policy Center, where the author of this article, Ed Ring, is apparently Executive Director.
Former State Sen. Romero is someone who, as a sociology professor at UCLA in the late 1980s, embraced and pushed Marxist theory and was an apparent mentor to radical campus activists (I know because I was there) and as far as I can tell remained a Leftist during her many years as a California legislator.
Recently, however, I’ve noticed that she has tried to re-fashion herself as a “moderate” Democrat and “education reformer” in what I suspect is a bid to run for Governor in 2014. As far as I know she has neither acknowledged nor regretted publicly her past leftist stance and thus her new face as a “moderate” should be regarded with suspicion.
Because Sen. Romero now appears to be making a methodical effort to infiltrate conservative organizations in an attempt to gain credibility as a “moderate reformer” I wonder if the Public Policy Center is aware of these issues in welcoming her as an “adviser and contributor” to their organization.

By: Wayne Lusvardi

Wayne Lusvardi — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 22:14:35 +0000

California will need more than prosperity ideology — in either conservative, liberal or libertarian forms — for a long-term recovery. But Ed Ring is on to something big. If oil prices stay high that will continue to drive investments in hydraulic fracking. There are reports of some former U.S. based industries returning home from overseas to take advantage of low energy rates. But Gov. Moonbeam is in China trying to lure Chinese investments here instead.

At the base of the economic pyramid is a demographic imbalance — not enough intact young families to take out mortgages and small business loans to pay retirements and medical care for the Baby Boomers. California needs a cultural recovery as well as an ideological or technological recovery. Gov. Moonbeam comes from the youth counter culture and is a postmodernist who believes that 16th and 19th century technologies are better than low-tech tracking that produces natural gas that cuts air pollution by two thirds over coal fired power. Force placing the renter class into homeownership is no solution to creating enough economically productive families to support the inter-generational economy.

Austerity could work if the political pork barrel programs of the state were cut to fully fund public pensions. But that will never happen (stay tuned for an article on this soon posted on this website).

By: stolson

stolson — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 14:39:43 +0000

The only way an austerity agenda can be persuasive, much less implemented, is if it is accompanied by a prosperity agenda. And since additional debt formation is unsustainable, the austerity agenda is inevitable.

I just read where Idiot Brown is taking 100 people to China to convince them to invest and bring business to successful CA. Now, why wouldn’t China overlook the massive debt and unfavorable business climate – plus the ever growing regulations- to come here? Are they big on fat unions? Big on high pay for little work? Would they demand good infrastructure? Or, Does Brown think they are naive? Just thinking….