Legislative Democrats have proposed another one of their goofy tax swaps in an effort to lessen the gaping $19 billion budget deficit. Oh, pardon me, did I say “goofy.” Well, what else would you call a proposal that increases state income tax by 1% and lowers sales tax, claiming it will lessen the tax burden on Californians yet increase revenues by $1.8 billion?
Ballot propositions 19, 25, and 26 present California voters with some noticeably contradictory elements. Prop 19 would permit marijuana to be regulated and taxed as a legal drug, similar to alcohol. The legalization element, however, is not the problematic one – rather, the regulation and taxation elements are likely to clash with the anti-prohibition coalition supporting the initiative.
California’s November 2 election is going to receive national attention. Not just because of two high-profile races at the top of the Republican and Democratic tickets – Governor and U.S. Senate – but because of marijuana.
Earlier this week, California missed another constitutionally mandated deadline to pass a state budget. Policymakers are reeling from the enormous, seemingly impossible task of bridging an approximately $19 billion budget deficit.
The Reason Foundation is a libertarian, non-profit, public policy organization that was established "to advance free minds and free markets." This month, they published a report by David Osborne, a policy analyst and former Clinton Administration official, who says he has a solution to California's budget problems.
California's new early release program, authorized by Senate Bill 18, will result in the early release of over 6,000 prison inmates classified as "low-risk" offenders. Proponents argue that the new program will save the state hundreds of millions, but it still raises the perennial question when it comes to the state's prison policy: how safe is safe enough for Californians?
The following is a visual representation of data about the State of California and how its economic, geographic, and demographic characteristics measure up against other states and countries in the world. California's sheer size and scope make it quite noteworthy among the fifty American states.
Having faced some of the most agonizing budget decisions a State can make since the fairly mundane 2008 election, this November is the first time that Californians will have the opportunity to confront the wide array of proposed remedies and decide for themselves which of those remedies bears merit.
As a wave of populist anger sweeps the nation, the latest investigation by California's Fair Political Practices Commission is sure to ignite further grassroots discontent.
Many in the GOP are calling for a return to the era of Reagan's fiscal conservatism, but do they have the right man? Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity constantly tout themselves as "Reagan conservatives", and in the 2007-2008 primaries, the GOP presidential candidates frequently mentioned Reagan as the champion of conservatism.
