Blog

Wall Street Journal too nervous about bullet-train ruling

Over the weekend, the Wall Street Journal’s editorial page continued its excellent coverage of California issues with an editorial (behind pay wall) about the July 31st appellate court ruling that overturned a trial court ruling essentially blocking concrete steps toward

DMV crashes due process

John Seiler September 14, 2014

One of the most crucial elements in the development of liberty was that every man deserves his day in court. As described by Harvard professor Harold J. Berman in his crucial “Law and Revolution: The Formation of the Western Legal Tradition,”

Controller: No CalPERS controls on pension spiking

John Seiler September 13, 2014

With the state facing $500 billion in unfunded pension liabilities, you might think the state’s pension funds would do everything they could to make sure the liabilities would not go even higher. To quote the late John Belushi, But nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

China surpassing USA economy

John Seiler September 12, 2014

Business Insider ran a map provided by Deutsche Bank about the rise and fall of some of the world’s largest economies, showing China’s return to global preeminence. This is crucial because we’re on the Pacific Rim and enjoy vast trade.

Super PAC $ floods Peters vs. DeMaio congressional race

Chris Reed September 12, 2014

San Diego residents can’t watch a major sporting event without seeing repeated ads paid for by national super PACs trashing congressman Scott Peters, a moderate Democrat, or his Republican opponent, former City Councilman Carl DeMaio, an outspoken libertarian. The flood

Chart shows government healthcare takeover

John Seiler September 11, 2014

This chart shows how the U.S. government took over healthcare from the private sector — sharply reducing our control over our own health. And it began long before Obamacare/Covered California, which will increase the takeover even more. Even if you somehow

Missing from CA’s economic ‘comeback’: Los Angeles

Chris Reed September 11, 2014

Gov. Jerry Brown’s daily push to depict California as being in a sharp rebound from the 2007-2009 economic meltdown ignores the fact that the recession never went away in a majority of the state’s 58 counties, especially those in inland

Arnold returns for ‘climate change’ confab

John Seiler September 10, 2014

While restarting his acting career and going through numerous personal crises, Arnold Schwarzenegger has avoided reminding people he was the governor for seven disastrous years. He returned to Sacramento this week to sponsor a confab on what he once called “global

CSU fee addiction shows value of Props 13, 26, 62, 218

Chris Reed September 10, 2014

The newsrooms of California appear to have collectively decided that the state props that make raising taxes and fees more difficult for elected officials — starting with 13, 26, 62 and 218 — are irrational. This is regularly reflected in the

CalSTRS shows how to cut debt

John Seiler September 9, 2014

It turns out public pension debt can be reduced. And the California State Teachers’ Retirement System is showing how. CalPensions reports: CalSTRS was bracing to report the nation’s biggest pension debt under new government accounting rules that take effect this