Blog

Who’s to blame?

I was listening to Rush Limbaugh this morning. He was blaming voters for installing President Obama in the Oval Office. But he missed a step. Shouldn’t we first be blaming himself and other Republicans for nominating such duds as the

Economist called genius by left backs Prop. 13-style wealth protection

Chris Reed April 25, 2014

It may seem wonky and obscure now, but I bet it’s going to emerge as a strong, enduring counterpunch to Proposition 13 critics. I refer to the fact that French economist Thomas Piketty — the hottest, in the media sense,

Map: Still the Anaheim Angels of Anaheim

John Seiler April 24, 2014

Back in 1996, I remember writing editorials in the Orange County Register against Disney grabbing $30 million from Anaheim taxpayers to renovate Angels Stadium. The city council, which Disney basically owned, approved the subsidy. But Disney agreed in the contract to

Push for sharp minimum-wage hike under way in San Diego

Chris Reed April 24, 2014

California’s second-largest and the nation’s eighth-largest city appears sure to have a six-month-plus debate over whether to raise the minimum wage much more than the state government has in store. The Democratic majority of San Diego’s City Council is going

Chart shows stock-market not at new highs

John Seiler April 23, 2014

With the stock market soaring again, it seems that happy days are here again for the economy. Except a new Chart of the Day shows that the Dow Jones Industrial Average, when charted against the price of gold — the

Supreme Court effectively upholds CA affirmative-action ban

John Seiler April 22, 2014

Today the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Michigan’s ban on affirmative action. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote: “There is no authority in the federal constitution or in the [courts’] precedents for the judiciary to set aside Michigan laws that commit to the

Trash train fiasco illustrates private vs. public double standard

Chris Reed April 21, 2014

This story in the Orange County Register illustrates a common CalWatchdog theme: In the private sector, incompetence leads to companies failing and people getting fired. But in government, all too often incompetence comes without consequence: “The Sanitation Districts of Los

On energy resources, will CA ignore lessons of North Dakota?

Chris Reed April 20, 2014

It was just less than two years ago that City Journal had the first high-profile story laying out the enormous economic potential of certain of California’s natural resources: “The biggest onshore story is the potential of the Monterey Formation (also

Al Gore: Global warm doubters ‘immoral, unethical and skeptical’

John Seiler April 20, 2014

Whenever you read about Al Gore, keep in mind that he frolics in a compound in Montecito valued in 2010 at $8.875 million. Now it’s probably worth at least $12 million. Reported the Huffington Post at the time: “Records show

LAT: All hail ‘economic stability,’ surpluses achieved by Gov. Brown

Chris Reed April 19, 2014

The ability of Gov. Jerry Brown to convince the state press corps that he has righted California’s listing ship continues to amaze. The Golden State has by far the highest poverty rate in the nation. One in six adults can’t