Posts From Steven Greenhut
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Steven Greenhut
California's Mess Not Texas' Fault
June 27, 2011 As California’s budget battle continues, Republicans and Democrats have engaged in a rhetorical battle regarding the relative merits and demerits of our lovely state and one of the nation’s other megastates, Texas. This debate started after a
Read MoreRedevelopment Agencies on the Brink
JUNE 20, 2011 By STEVEN GREENHUT Hours before the midnight Wednesday deadline for passing a state budget, legislative Democrats rammed through a ridiculous, gimmick-laden, majority-vote spending plan that failed to reform anything and failed to impress Gov. Jerry Brown, who
Read MoreHigher Taxes Don't Make Us Better
JUNE 13, 2011 Gov. Jerry Brown’s recent talk to the California State Association of Counties was more meandering and disjointed than usual, but the governor stuck to his talking points: Unless California voters approve tax extensions, they must get used
Read MoreBureaucrats Don't Come to the Rescue
JUNE 6, 2011 As a tragic San Francisco fire that claimed the life of at least one firefighter Thursday has shown, public safety jobs at times can be very dangerous. But an incident from earlier in the week across the
Read MoreHow California Prisons Got So Bad
MAY 30, 2011 In the Assembly last week, legislators praised ethnic studies departments and had long-winded debates before voting to ban the trading of shark fins in California. But while state government becomes ever-more meddlesome in ever-expanding areas of private
Read MoreArnold Is a Power-Loving Phony
MAY 23, 2011 Last weekend I watched one of my favorite movies, “Total Recall,” a 1990 sci-fi flick based on a Philip K. Dick novel and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Is Schwarzenegger’s character an intergalactic double agent who saves the mutants
Read MoreUnions Say: 'Shut Up and Pay Us'
MAY 16, 2011 Yet another report confirms the enormous liabilities that California taxpayers must endure to pay for pensions for public employees. The study, released May 5 at a Pension Boot Camp for elected officials held near Sacramento by the
Read MoreProp. 13 Still Left's Bogeyman
MAY 9, 2011 California has become such a basket case that outsiders are starting to parachute in and report on the tales of woe from our deficit-racked, economically stagnant and politically dysfunctional state. It makes for good reading for a
Read MorePublic Servants Lack Accountability
May 2, 2011 Union arguments in favor of their members’ lush pensions are falling by the wayside as the public examines the facts. For instance, union officials argue that the average public-sector pension benefit in California is “only” $30,000 a
Read MoreStatists Fear 'Atlas Shrugged' Flick
APRIL 25, 2011 By STEVEN GREENHUT Editor’s note: The movie “Atlas Shrugged: Part 1” opened in California on April 15 and is currently playing at a number of theaters throughout the state. Check your local movie listings for times of
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