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Back to homepageTax increases boost jobs?
Do tax increases boost jobs? Or kill jobs? Here’s the take of David Cay Johnston in the Bee: Dire predictions about jobs being destroyed spread across California in 2012 as voters debated whether to enact the sales and, for those near
Read MoreState peddles idea that bullet train contractors are investors
On Jan. 11, 2010, the Legislative Analyst’s Office issued a report on the latest iteration of the business plan for the California High-Speed Rail Authority. It contained a game-changing conclusion — a predictable conclusion but still a crucial one. Here’s
Read MoreApollo 11 after 45 years
I still remember in wonderment watching the Apollo 11 moon landing on TV 45 years ago this week. Here’s what we saw, as Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the lunar surface: A great deal of the Apollo 11 program was
Read MorePension bigger than salary?
Most people understand that your pension will be less than your salary. You don’t have to commute any more, so your car expenses are down. You can downsize your house because your kids moved out — or at least that
Read MoreIn Silicon Valley, liberal pols look to drive up cost of housing
The emergence of Silicon Valley as one of the wealthiest places in the world has led to plenty of media coverage that points out how it has become a poster child for income inequality. This is from a March Associated
Read MoreSpeed promises for bullet train? CA says ‘never mind’
In 2008, California voters narrowly approved $9.95 billion in funds for a statewide high-speed rail network. When they voted for Proposition 1A, they didn’t think there was much doubt about what they were getting — a “safe, reliable, high-speed passenger
Read MorePort of San Diego turns permit process into profit center
The Port of San Diego is breaking crazy new ground. The agency — which has 500-plus employees and a $97 million annual budget to oversee maritime cargo and cruise ship facilities in a coastal area covering San Diego and four smaller
Read MoreParallels between Australia, Assembly AB 32 revolt are obvious
One of the most universal findings in the social sciences has been the uniform way that humans at all stages of history have been for something that they think reflects well on them until they perceive that it costs them
Read MoreCA fossil-fuel foes want to ban more than just fracking
California foes of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, have been surprised and disappointed at their inability to get Gov. Jerry Brown or the Legislature to ban the practice. Brown’s support for a law regulating but permitting the newly improved drilling technique
Read MoreBoard chair’s upbeat take on bullet train at sharp odds with MSM
When James Fallows of The Atlantic came out last week in strong support of the California high-speed rail project, I responded with an unnecessarily snarky piece — sorry, James — headlined “7 ways James Fallows is wrong about the CA bullet
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