In 1978, when Jerry Brown was governor, soaring property taxes were literally driving people from their homes. Embattled Californians responded with the People’s Initiative to Limit Property Taxation. This measure capped property tax rates for residential and commercial properties at 1 percent of the assessed value and prevented assessed value from growing more than…
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We have been keeping track, so to speak, of California’s high-speed rail project, the vaunted “bullet train.” In February, we noted that farmers are not eager to sell the land the project needs. The alleged cost of $68 billion was already more than double the $33 billion estimate before California voters approved $9.95 billion…
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In recent years, income equality has become an issue, with the discussion usually generating more heat than light. As Michael McGrady writes in The College Fix, income equality research has also become a lucrative pursuit. Drawing on a recent report from the California Policy Center, McGrady notes that several UC Berkeley economics professors who…
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The whopper government pension of Mike Wiley, outgoing boss of Sacramento Regional Transit, continues to make news, but not just because it draws on the RT operating budget. As Tony Bizjak notes in the Sacramento Bee, Wiley is eligible for a pension of $278,000, a full $48,000 more than Wiley’s final salary of $230,000…
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According to a report by Adam Ashton in the Sacramento Bee, California will net a large portion of Volkswagen’s $14.7 settlement for cheating on emissions. Some $10 billion will go to buy-back programs and $4.7 billion toward state and federal air-quality programs, and “California stands to gain $1.18 billion of that money.” Mary Nichols,…
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As we recently noted, the Regional Transit authority in California’s capital of Sacramento cut 20 administrative positions, saving taxpayers $1.5 million. In similar style, the salary of incoming business manager Henry Li is $14,000 less than that of outgoing boss Mike Wiley. Those reductions set a good example, but all is not well at…
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Back in 2013, some 8,000 members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) rallied at the California state capitol in Sacramento chanting, “We’re letting them know this is our house!” In 2012, the government employee unions had helped elect big-government, tax-hiking politicians such as Jerry Brown, and they were now clamoring for more money…
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As Craig Eyermann observed last year, veterans who survive combat face health care rationing by the federal Department of Veterans Affairs. Contrary to official proclamations, veterans wait months before they can even get on a schedule to receive care. In Phoenix, as many as 40 veterans died before receiving care, all due to a…
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The regional transit authority in California’s state capital recently laid off 20 employees, most of them administrators. “We don’t have business needs to justify these positions,” new business manager Henry Li told Tony Bizjak of the Sacramento Bee. In other words, the jobs were not necessary, and therefore wasteful. The staff reductions will save…
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As we noted back in January, the California Coastal Commission, the most powerful land-use agency in the nation, fired executive director Charles Lester. Since high-level bureaucrats seldom lose their lucrative jobs, this move hinted at the prospects for improved accountability. That didn’t happen, however, and the firing of Lester, an appointee beyond the reach…
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