California economy

Some crucial context on Brown’s new energy policy and AB 32

Gov. Jerry Brown’s decision to seek to extend the state of California’s push against global warming to 2030 with a further embrace of costlier-but-cleaner energy got a positive response from many environmental groups and journalists. The idea that California would

Martin Anderson, RIP

John Seiler January 11, 2015

One of the architects of American prosperity died last week, economist Martin Anderson. He was a key architect of Reaganomics in the early 1980s, which provided the foundation of prosperity in America, and worldwide, until the 2008 Great Recession. Anderson long was

Oxy CA energy spinoff has bumpy launch

Chris Reed January 11, 2015

When energy giant Occidental launched a spinoff to focus on California energy exploration on Dec. 1, the circumstances facing California Resources Corp. were daunting. The plunging price of oil made unconventional energy extraction methods, which cost more, less attractive. And

Mercedes also flees to lower-tax state, shuns CA

John Seiler January 8, 2015

Toyota’s HQ last year fled high-tax California for low-tax Texas. In 2005, Nissan split the Golden State for the Volunteer State, Tennessee, for the same reason. Now Mercedes is moving its HQ from high-tax New Jersey — basically, California with

Brown budget drops Friday

John Seiler January 6, 2015

Gov. Jerry Brown’s Inaugural Address, delivered yesterday, promised frugality while advancing ambitious goals on climate change, health care, education and the high-speed rail program. Rhetoric aside, the rubber hits the road on Friday with the numbers in his budget proposal for

$Report may force CA media to admit Obama backs fracking safety$

Report may force CA media to admit Obama backs fracking safety

Chris Reed January 4, 2015

As Cal Watchdog has repeatedly noted over the past two years, the California print media — with the exception of the U-T San Diego editorial page (my edits) and a San Francisco Chronicle reporter — never note the Obama administration’s

CARB draws sharp fire on AB 32 — from the left

Chris Reed December 29, 2014

David Roberts — a Grist.org journalist who has an easy command of energy issues that makes his NRDC-style environmentalism easier to take — has written a sharp piece about AB 32. Roberts details what he calls an “avoidable mess” in the

Record DOW? Not so fast

John Seiler December 27, 2014

The Dow Jones Industrial Average has been setting new records. It soared above 18,000 for the first time on Tuesday. But is it really a record? Not if we score it by gold, the only real money. Then it’s clear

$Will NY fracking ban trigger ‘domino effect’ that reaches CA?$

Will NY fracking ban trigger ‘domino effect’ that reaches CA?

Chris Reed December 26, 2014

California environmentalists and government regulators have long prided themselves in pioneering new rules and restrictions. But now it appears a liberal East Coast state has taken the lead in dealing with one of the day’s most controversial environmental issues. This

State government’s computers so primitive they’re tough to hack

Chris Reed December 25, 2014

The hack of Sony Pictures by shadowy types believed associated with the North Korean government took another twist on Christmas Eve when Sony went ahead and released “The Interview” on YouTube after initially caving to hackers’ demands and scrapping plans