Taxes
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Economist called genius by left backs Prop. 13-style wealth protection
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,
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Santa Ana considers taxing … free Skype calls! Oh, the insanity
California is known as the world leader in lots of things — pop culture, technology and wacky lifestyles. Now the Santa Ana City Council is helping the Golden State be seen as the world leader in Maniacally Stupid, Excessive Taxation.
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Tax Day lamentations
Today is government workers’ favorite day, the ultimate pilfering of taxpayers to pay for all the lavish public-employee pay, perks and pensions. It’s the Day of Reckoning for the rest of us. Pay up or go to prison. Give our
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Subsidize opera?
I think everything should be privatized. But as the April 15 Day of Tax Doom approaches, if I’m going to be taxed to death, it might as well be for something useful, such as opera. The San Diego Opera is
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Puerto Rico experiments with tax cuts
California is experimenting with high taxes. Seventeen months after voters passed Proposition 30, which raised taxes $7 billion a year, California’s unemployment rate remains high at 8 percent, fourth worst in the country. While the government got the taxes to
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Californians: Government is a ripoff
I’ve been wondering when most people would figure out that government is nothing but a ripoff, with the swag going to billionaire crony capitalists and highly paid public “servants.” As the dreaded April 15 approaches, when government gets serious about
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CA media: GOP dysfunction bigger topic than mass poverty
The Los Angeles Times’ news analysis about how recent controversies are likely to hurt California Republicans with two constituencies they are trying to woo — Latinos and women — isn’t loaded or biased. It’s likely true. Here’s a bit of
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CA Dems back tax cut
Will wonders never cease? Three years ago, Democrats in the Legislature were upset when Republicans denied them the two-thirds votes needed in the Assembly and Senate to put a tax increase on the ballot. Led by Gov. Jerry Brown, they
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CA taxes 150% higher than Washington state’s — to what benefit?
A new survey of state and local taxes finds California and New York take the biggest bite out of their residents’ pocketbooks. The average Californian forks over $9,509 a year; the average New Yorker, $9,718. Alas, the mainstream media coverage
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Why Prop. 13 is more crucial than ever
Every year brings attempts to gut Proposition 13, the 1978 tax limitation measure. It limits yearly increases in property taxes to 2 percent of the assessed value, beginning when the property was purchased. The original rate is 1 percent of
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