May, 2011How California Prisons Got So BadMonday, May 30th, 2011 MAY 30, 2011 In the Assembly last week, legislators praised ethnic studies departments and had long-winded debates before voting to ban the trading of shark fins in California. But while state government becomes ever-more meddlesome in ever-expanding areas of private life, it's increasingly clear... Rail Program In Deep Doo-DooTuesday, May 24th, 2011 MAY 24, 2011 You know a massive government program is in trouble when even its hand-picked “working group” of insiders starts crying foul. This is exactly what happened to the increasingly troubled California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHRSA) earlier this month. Already suffering under the... Arnold Is a Power-Loving PhonyMonday, May 23rd, 2011 MAY 23, 2011 Last weekend I watched one of my favorite movies, "Total Recall," a 1990 sci-fi flick based on a Philip K. Dick novel and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Is Schwarzenegger's character an intergalactic double agent who saves the mutants on Mars from the evil plans of a nasty profiteer... Dunce Cap On Charter SchoolsMonday, May 23rd, 2011MAY 23, 2011 Most parents of school-aged children who are familiar with charter schools clamor to get their kids into one. In some cities, the waiting list for charters is impossibly long, as demand is far greater than the availability of the alternative schools. But this doesn’t rest well w... State Threatens Parks ClosuresWednesday, May 18th, 2011 MAY 18, 2011 It was an unseasonably cool and rainy Sunday afternoon, and there were about two dozen of us standing under the entry porch of the Governor’s Mansion on Sunday. Usually just two or three tourists show up these days, and the tour guide couldn’t believe the size of the crowd. “Is... Unions Say: ‘Shut Up and Pay Us’Monday, May 16th, 2011 MAY 16, 2011 Yet another report confirms the enormous liabilities that California taxpayers must endure to pay for pensions for public employees. The study, released May 5 at a Pension Boot Camp for elected officials held near Sacramento by the reform group Californians for Fiscal Responsibility,... Long Goodbye to the Middle ClassThursday, May 12th, 2011 MAY 12, 2011 The middle class of California is deteriorating right before our eyes. And at the current pace of destruction imposed by the state’s lawmakers, it won’t be long before the gap widens between the ruling government class and the taxpayers. There is no great mystery why the middl... LAO Blows Up Bullet TrainWednesday, May 11th, 2011 MAY 11, 2011 There’s something truly exhausting -- no, dispiriting -- about reading the latest state Legislative Analysts Office (LAO) report on California’s immense high-speed rail undertaking. Released at noon on May 10, the document runs just 28 pages but utterly dismantles the current, hu... Prop. 13 Still Left’s BogeymanMonday, May 9th, 2011 MAY 9, 2011 California has become such a basket case that outsiders are starting to parachute in and report on the tales of woe from our deficit-racked, economically stagnant and politically dysfunctional state. It makes for good reading for a broader audience, and the reporters can enjoy themsel... Legislative Process Wrecking Calif.Thursday, May 5th, 2011 MAY 5, 2011 This week I witnessed first hand everything that is wrong with California, and it’s happening at the hands of many of the state’s 40 senators and 79 Assembly members. Sen. Roderick Wright, D-Los Angeles, has authored two very "good government" bills that were summarily killed i... |