As we noted back in 2013, when 8,000 government employees rallied at California’s capitol, Service Employees International Union boss Yvonne Walker proclaimed “We’re letting them know this is our house!” The SEIU and other massive government unions were clamoring for a pay hike at the time. In 2015 we noted two costly bills that…
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President Obama has signed the United States Appreciation for Olympians and Paralympians Act, which “eliminates a tax penalty imposed by the Internal Revenue Service on medals or other prizes awarded to Team USA athletes during the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” according to a press release from Bob Dold (R-IL). Olympic athletes with adjusted gross…
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Finding a job in California is difficult but government makes it tougher still, according to Jobs For Californians: Strategies to Ease Occupational Licensing Barriers, a new report from the state’s Little Hoover Commission. “One out of every five Californians must receive permission from the government to work,” Commission Chair and former assemblyman Pedro Nava…
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The southern part of California’s capital city of Sacramento is home to many Asian immigrants, and during the past year, according to news reports, violent criminals have been preying on innocent residents. Muggings, robberies and home invasions have victimized 300-400 Chinese immigrants and prompted some to sell their home at a loss and move…
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The California Court Reporters Association (CCRA) has introduced legislation, AB 2629, that would raise court reporters’ fees for producing transcripts of trials. CCRA president Brooke Ryan believes this raise is long overdue, but she ignores key issues of interest to taxpayers. Court reporters are highly paid government employees and according to courtreporteredu.org, their average…
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California’s Legislative Analyst has released Common Claims About Proposition 13, the People’s Initiative to Limit Property Taxation 65 percent of California voters approved in 1978. The LAO examines whether Proposition 13 stabilizes property taxes, discourages new business creation, increases home ownership, and so forth. Prop 13 opponents, primarily government ruling-class types, claim it reduces…
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Chris Evans, superintendent of the Natomas Unified School District, bears a strong resemblance to the late Chris Farley of “Saturday Night Live,” but for students, parents and taxpayers, Evans’ latest happy meal is no joke. As Diana Lambert notes in the Sacramento Bee, the district’s board just boosted Evans’ pay by $46,130, a raise…
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Government corruption is a staple of the news, with politicians such as San Francisco Democrat Leland Yee, a consort of gangsters such as Raymond “Shrimp Boy” Chow, recently landing in prison. Chris Reed of Calwatchdog has charted corruption in the California city of Bell, which “was being run like a criminal enterprise.” In the…
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Last year an independent audit revealed that the City of Sacramento, California’s capital, had overpaid city retirees by $2.8 million. The overpayments, which had been going on since 2005, prompted the Sacramento Bee to editorialize that “a mistake can balloon into sizable money,” citing a $60 million gap between projected payouts and expected revenue…
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As we noted, California’s $3 billion Stem Cell Research and Cures Act, Proposition 71, promised life-saving cures and therapies for a host of afflictions including heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Celebrity promoters included Christopher Reeve, Michael J. Fox and Arnold Schwarzenegger. In 2004 voters approved the measure, which created the California Institute for…
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