Steven Greenhut, Author at CalWatchdog.com

Posts From Steven Greenhut

Steven Greenhut

Steven Greenhut is CalWatchdog’s contributing editor. Greenhut was deputy editor and columnist for The Orange County Register for 11 years. He is author of the new book, “Plunder! How Public Employee Unions are Raiding Treasuries, Controlling Our Lives and Bankrupting the Nation.”

San Francisco sues Uber in battle over driver privacy

SACRAMENTO – The city of San Francisco filed suit last week against the ride-sharing service Uber after the company filed a motion in court to block the release of a drivers’ personal information. This sets up the latest battle between

Auditor spurs calls to combat disabled-parking spot abuse

Steven Greenhut May 9, 2017

SACRAMENTO – California has nearly 25 million passenger vehicles, yet hands out a whopping 2.9 million disabled-person parking plates and placards. Anecdotal evidence – i.e., watching those healthy seeming drivers parking in the disabled spot in front of the Wal-Mart

Do new Bay Area tobacco bans promote health or erode harm reduction?

Steven Greenhut May 2, 2017

Restrictive new anti-tobacco ordinances are spreading across the San Francisco Bay Area like a cigarette-sparked wildfire. Northern California cities already have some of the toughest anti-smoking laws in the nation, but a raft of new laws and proposals take aim

Emergency water restrictions will extend beyond end of California drought

Steven Greenhut April 25, 2017

SACRAMENTO – Former White House chief of staff and current Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s most quotable words are frequently cited as the apogee of cynicism, but they simply point to reality in the political system: “You never let a serious

California high court sets stage for major pension ruling

Steven Greenhut April 18, 2017

SACRAMENTO – The battle over reforming California’s underfunded system of pension benefits does not involve any particular legislative proposal or initiative idea at this time but is centered on a coming state Supreme Court battle over an arcane legal concept.

Transparency initiative shaped nature of road-tax debate

Steven Greenhut April 12, 2017

It’s no secret that the state’s legislative leadership is less than thrilled about an open-government initiative that California voters passed in the November election, and are doing what they can to undermine its clear intent. Yet, it’s a testament

How to fund infrastructure fixes: Tax hikes or rearranging spending priorities?

Steven Greenhut April 4, 2017

Gov. Jerry Brown and Democratic legislators are pitching a transportation-tax proposal they depict as the only means to fix California’s crumbling roads, freeways and bridges. One would be hard pressed to find any policy maker in California who doesn’t bemoan

Watchdog: Costly veterans’ homes not serving broad population

Steven Greenhut March 28, 2017

SACRAMENTO – The U.S. Veterans Administration has been a font of scandal in recent years, with various reports showcasing the way the agency charged with caring for our nation’s veterans has fallen down on the job. A new report from

Is California estate-tax proposal real or latest anti-Trump response?

Steven Greenhut March 21, 2017

SACRAMENTO – This year’s California legislative session has been thus far dominated by two persistent themes: The desire to stand up to the Trump administration and the pursuit of new tax dollars to fund infrastructure and other spending programs. Democrats

‘Gender injustice’ behind call to reduce taxes on tampons

Steven Greenhut March 14, 2017

SACRAMENTO – In his veto message of a series of tax-reduction bills last September, Gov. Jerry Brown explained that “tax breaks are the same as new spending – they both cost the general fund money.” He said such measures should