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Back to homepageBudget D-Day on Friday, May 14
Gov. Arnold’s May revision of his budget looks to be less fictional than his January offering. Is Arnold giving up the fiscal fantasies that have consumed him lo these past five years, and gone back to the near-realism of his first
Read MoreL.A.'s joke boycott of Arizona
Although I don’t back the new Arizona immigration law, I pointed out earlier that a boycott of the state would be a joke. That the parlous financial state of California and its cities would preclude any major attempt to raise
Read MoreMish on California's 'cuts'
Mike “Mish” Shedlock of the popular Global Economic Analysis blog allows CalWatchdog to cross-post his California commentary. Here’s a great analysis of the governor’s latest statement on the budget crisis: Now that growth in California’s tax revenue is widely understood
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Meg's problem
I admit I’m jaded about political campaigns. I’ve been watching them closely since 1964, when I was nine and supported the great Barry Goldwater against the ogre LBJ, who lied his way into re-election with a cynical campaign, especially the
Read MoreCampbell and Kagan
Bad luck for Tom Campbell that Elena Kagan just was nominated to be on the U.S. Supreme Court. Campbell’s weakness in the GOP primary is the “social issues”: abortion, gun control, same-sex “marriage,” etc. Here’s an AP story on Kagan’s
Read MoreCalPERS worse than Goldman Sachs
The hearing on the SB919 pension-reform bill is ending without a vote, because the committee lost its quorum, but it seems unlikely this is going to pass after hearing comments by committee Democrats. But Gov. Schwarzenegger’s pension adviser David Crane’s
Read MoreA rude, deluded union crowd
I spent a couple hours in the PERS committee listening to testimony over Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth’s SB 919 pension-reform bill and was stunned by the rudeness of the mostly union crowd as bill supporters spoke out. They laughed and chatted
Read MoreWorking Hard to Look Busy In Appropriations
Working hard or hardly working should be the motto of the Golden State. Instead of “jobs, jobs, jobs,” the favorite sound bite for California politicians, “spend, spend, spend” is what’s for dinner at the capitol. Dungeness crab, rendering plants and pets,
Read MoreActivists taint redistricting?
The state auditor’s office, which is handling the selection process for the Citizens Redistricting Commission, has been sending emails to applicants encouraging them to attend various training workshops, some of which are sponsored by political activist groups such as California
Read MoreWill Dems support pension reform?
On Monday, the Senate PERS committee will vote on much-needed pension reform — SB919 by Sen. Dennis Hollingsorth, R-Murrieta. As the state faces a $500 billion pension liability, according to a recent Stanford study, something must be done to fix
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