By Howard Hyde
[Previously published in the July edition of the Newsletter of the Southern California Republican Women and Men.]
It was my honor and privilege to moderate our world-famous discussion and debate Forum in the absence of our past President and now Vice President Michael Lerew. The Forum is one of the features that makes our club truly unique and a training ground for leaders. Everyone is encouraged to participate, to articulate, to teach and to learn.
We covered a broad range of topics. We discussed ways in which Republicans may capitalize on the failures of Liberalism which even many on the Left are beginning to acknowledge. Honest liberals are concerned about the harm done to poor and minorities by anti-capitalist legislation like California's Cap and Trade bill AB 32. See http://online.wsj.com/articles/californias-cap-and-trade-revolt-1403908359. Patricia L. Dickson is a black female Christian conservative veteran who writes 'Why black voters should vote Republican' June 17 on AmericanThinker.com. Public school teacher tenure has been successfully challenged in the courts. see: http://www.capoliticalreview.com/top-stories/the-weeks-other-political-earthquake-in-california-naturally/.
So through the fog of bad news we can yet perceive some opportunity and cause for optimism.
The current fiasco in Iraq has re-opened a national debate on our role and strategy there, and members and guests shared their views on that. Among the most intense debates are between Republicans, particularly those that defend George W. Bush's decision to invade Iraq, and Libertarians. My article on this topic, 'Answering the Libertarian Indictments on Iraq' appeared on July 9 at:
http://www.westernjournalism.com/answering-libertarian-indictments-iraq/
Members and guests were asked, with the increasing talk of the possibility of impeachment of the President of the United States, how many of them would be willing to put bumper stickers on their cars reading 'Joe Biden for President 2015'? A surprising plurality responded positively. Then they were asked for their Republican picks to run for President in 2016. Scott Walker won our informal poll this time. The suggestion of Chris Christie was booed.
Resources for fighting Obamacare
The very important topic of how to win the communication war about Obamacare was raised. After the meeting we put together a partial list of resources.
One great group of doctors that has been fighting government intrusion into the practice medicine since 1943 is the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons or AAPS:
http://www.aapsonline.org
Docs 4 Patient Care is another organization that has outlined its Prescription for healthcare: http://www.docs4patientcare.org/prescription
I myself have written several articles on Obamacare and free market solutions that have been published on American Thinker and Frontpage Magazine including:
http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/howard-hyde/post-obamacare-reform/
http://www.americanthinker.com/article/2013/07/obamacare_and_then_a_miracle_happens.html
The Heritage Foundation has been articulating alternatives to socialized medicine for years: http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/10/after-repeal-of-obamacare-moving-to-patient-centered-market-based-health-care
There is a caucus of Republican doctors in Congress who have been offering bills with alternatives in the House for years: http://doctorscaucus.gingrey.house.gov/latesttopics
Excellent books currently available on Amazon include:
- Sally Pipes, The Pipes Plan: 10 Ways to Dismantle Obamacare.
- Betsy McCaughey. Beating Obamacare.
And, of course, Howard Hyde's Pull the Plug on Obamacare:
http://www.amazon.com/Pull-Plug-Obamacare-Citizen-Pamphlet/dp/0615765939
The resources are abundant. More can be found at http://www.hhcapitalism.com/p/obamacare.html.
The mainstream media that claims that there are no alternatives to Obamacare are simply wrong.
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
A Primer for GOP Candidates
By Burt Prelutsky
[Previously published in the July edition of the Newsletter of the Southern California Republican Women and Men.]
I get very discouraged when I come across polls that show Barack Obama’s job approval rate as high as 43.9% and a generic congressional ballot that has Democrats leading Republicans 43% to 42.3%, even though the percentage of those thinking that America is headed in the right direction stands at just 29.8%.
Apparently, about 14% of us are incapable of connecting even two or three dots. So much for public education!
Still, being an eternal optimist, I take some comfort from the fact that Obama is the only two-term president who ever received fewer votes the second time around, and that since 2008, the GOP has won most of the elections, whether it was Senate and House seats, or a governor’s mansion, that was up for grabs.
We Republicans would have done even better if we had kept just a few simple rules in mind. First off, no matter how enticing you, as a candidate, find a TV lens or how much you enjoy having reporters hang on your every word, never answer a question unless you happen to be appearing on Fox. Just about everyone else in the media is your mortal enemy.
Also, never go off script. Even Bob Hope didn’t become Bob Hope by ad-libbing. He had a stable of very expensive writers.
If you can’t avoid answering questions, learn from the opposition. On those very rare occasions when Democrats find themselves being asked a question they don’t wish to deal with, they pretend they were asked an entirely different question and that’s the one they answer.
So, whenever a reporter asks how you feel about some social issue, such as same-sex marriages, abortions or the legalization of marijuana, ask them how they feel about it. If the reporter replies that how he feels is unimportant because he’s not running for the Senate or the House, point out that you are, and the reason that you are is because you want to do something about ObamaCare, the EPA, taxes and unemployment, and finish up by mentioning that you intend to do everything in your power to restore America’s military might. By the time you stop talking, he’ll have probably forgotten his own silly question and so will everyone else.
Obama has been so badly damaged by the scandal at the VA and his pretense of knowing nothing about it until he read about it in some newspaper -- even after we saw footage of his talking about the problems at the VA as far back as 2009 -- that he was forced to don a military jacket and put his golf game on hold while he flew to Afghanistan for a photo op with the troops, laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns and gave a commencement address at West Point.
I know some people are put off by Obama’s obvious contempt for the military, a contempt shared by Secretary of State John Kerry. I, on the other hand, am more deeply offended when the alleged Commander-in-Chief feigns respect for those in uniform. At least the contempt has the saving grace of being sincere.
On the other hand, as much as I admire those who put their lives and limbs on the line in defense of America, the time has come to acknowledge that once they put those uniforms in moth balls and enter political life, as often as not they tend to show themselves to have feet of clay, if not something even grungier. I mean, everyone from John Murtha, Charley Rangel, Colin Powell and David Petraeus to John Kerry and Eric Shinseki, have worn the uniform with greater or lesser distinction, and all have proven themselves as civilians to be the moral equivalent of draft dodgers.
It seems that Mariel Hemingway is outraged because the brilliant muckraker, James O’Keefe, caught her and fellow pinhead Ed Begley, Jr., having lunch with an actor pretending to be an oil sheik looking to finance an anti-fracking feature film.
Even though the faux Arab confessed that he was only interested in the production because fracking would help make America energy-independent and would therefore cut into his oil profits, Hemingway and Begley seemed to be okay with it. At least neither of them skipped dessert and stalked out of the Beverly Hills Hotel, as I suspect they might have done had they known they were on camera.
I’m sure that the two Hollywood drips had no problem tarring Donald Sterling or Mitt Romney when their private conversations were transmitted to the world at large, but it was quite a different matter when it was their own oxen being gored in the public arena.
After listening to Ms. Hemingway bemoaning the invasion of her privacy to Fox’s Howard Kurtz, it’s obvious she doesn’t grasp that sting operations are often the only way to nail drug dealers, child porn producers and arrogant, self-congratulatory, Hollywood hypocrites, who put their own nutty environmental agenda ahead of the nation’s essential energy needs.
The irony of the situation is that in 2012, Matt Damon co-wrote, co-produced and starred in a stinker titled “Promised Land.”
The sole purpose of that film was to propagandize against the alleged evils of fracking. The movie was financed at a cost of $12 million by Image Productions, but was such a dud that apparently even a pair of loony tree-huggers like Hemingway and Begley avoided it.
Image Productions, by the way, is solely owned by the government of Abu Dhabi.
burtprelutsky@aol.com
[Previously published in the July edition of the Newsletter of the Southern California Republican Women and Men.]
I get very discouraged when I come across polls that show Barack Obama’s job approval rate as high as 43.9% and a generic congressional ballot that has Democrats leading Republicans 43% to 42.3%, even though the percentage of those thinking that America is headed in the right direction stands at just 29.8%.
Apparently, about 14% of us are incapable of connecting even two or three dots. So much for public education!
Still, being an eternal optimist, I take some comfort from the fact that Obama is the only two-term president who ever received fewer votes the second time around, and that since 2008, the GOP has won most of the elections, whether it was Senate and House seats, or a governor’s mansion, that was up for grabs.
We Republicans would have done even better if we had kept just a few simple rules in mind. First off, no matter how enticing you, as a candidate, find a TV lens or how much you enjoy having reporters hang on your every word, never answer a question unless you happen to be appearing on Fox. Just about everyone else in the media is your mortal enemy.
Also, never go off script. Even Bob Hope didn’t become Bob Hope by ad-libbing. He had a stable of very expensive writers.
If you can’t avoid answering questions, learn from the opposition. On those very rare occasions when Democrats find themselves being asked a question they don’t wish to deal with, they pretend they were asked an entirely different question and that’s the one they answer.
So, whenever a reporter asks how you feel about some social issue, such as same-sex marriages, abortions or the legalization of marijuana, ask them how they feel about it. If the reporter replies that how he feels is unimportant because he’s not running for the Senate or the House, point out that you are, and the reason that you are is because you want to do something about ObamaCare, the EPA, taxes and unemployment, and finish up by mentioning that you intend to do everything in your power to restore America’s military might. By the time you stop talking, he’ll have probably forgotten his own silly question and so will everyone else.
Obama has been so badly damaged by the scandal at the VA and his pretense of knowing nothing about it until he read about it in some newspaper -- even after we saw footage of his talking about the problems at the VA as far back as 2009 -- that he was forced to don a military jacket and put his golf game on hold while he flew to Afghanistan for a photo op with the troops, laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns and gave a commencement address at West Point.
I know some people are put off by Obama’s obvious contempt for the military, a contempt shared by Secretary of State John Kerry. I, on the other hand, am more deeply offended when the alleged Commander-in-Chief feigns respect for those in uniform. At least the contempt has the saving grace of being sincere.
On the other hand, as much as I admire those who put their lives and limbs on the line in defense of America, the time has come to acknowledge that once they put those uniforms in moth balls and enter political life, as often as not they tend to show themselves to have feet of clay, if not something even grungier. I mean, everyone from John Murtha, Charley Rangel, Colin Powell and David Petraeus to John Kerry and Eric Shinseki, have worn the uniform with greater or lesser distinction, and all have proven themselves as civilians to be the moral equivalent of draft dodgers.
It seems that Mariel Hemingway is outraged because the brilliant muckraker, James O’Keefe, caught her and fellow pinhead Ed Begley, Jr., having lunch with an actor pretending to be an oil sheik looking to finance an anti-fracking feature film.
Even though the faux Arab confessed that he was only interested in the production because fracking would help make America energy-independent and would therefore cut into his oil profits, Hemingway and Begley seemed to be okay with it. At least neither of them skipped dessert and stalked out of the Beverly Hills Hotel, as I suspect they might have done had they known they were on camera.
I’m sure that the two Hollywood drips had no problem tarring Donald Sterling or Mitt Romney when their private conversations were transmitted to the world at large, but it was quite a different matter when it was their own oxen being gored in the public arena.
After listening to Ms. Hemingway bemoaning the invasion of her privacy to Fox’s Howard Kurtz, it’s obvious she doesn’t grasp that sting operations are often the only way to nail drug dealers, child porn producers and arrogant, self-congratulatory, Hollywood hypocrites, who put their own nutty environmental agenda ahead of the nation’s essential energy needs.
The irony of the situation is that in 2012, Matt Damon co-wrote, co-produced and starred in a stinker titled “Promised Land.”
The sole purpose of that film was to propagandize against the alleged evils of fracking. The movie was financed at a cost of $12 million by Image Productions, but was such a dud that apparently even a pair of loony tree-huggers like Hemingway and Begley avoided it.
Image Productions, by the way, is solely owned by the government of Abu Dhabi.
burtprelutsky@aol.com
Bill's (Sacramento) Bills - July 2014
By William Saracino
[As published in the July 26 edition of the Newsletter of the Southern California Republican Women and Men]
We have a little of the good and the bad from the Capitol Clown Car, and some of the truly ugly from the national scene. First, from the pointy building in downtown Sacramento, to start off with a change of pace – a couple of actual beneficial pieces of legislation. The good:
Assembly Bill (AB) 1711 - Cooley. Requires an economic impact assessment for regulatory acts passed either by the legislature or a state agency. What a concept.
AB 2723 – Medina. Modifies the state rulemaking process to require state agencies to consider the effect of regulations on sole proprietorships and other small businesses when assessing the economic impact of a proposed regulation.
AB 2362 – Grove. Authorizes the forfeiture of unemployment insurance (UI) benefits whether the individual was prosecuted for UI benefit fraud under the penal code or the UI code.
AB 2866 – Brown. Prevents an employer from being financially penalized through the assessment of statutory civil and criminal penalties, fines, and interest if the employer relies in good faith on written advice from a stage agency and a court determines the agnecy’s advice was wrong.
The bad:
AB 1522 – Gonzalez. Increases employer mandates by requiring all employers, large and small, to provide all employees - including part time and temporary - with paid sick leave, and threatens employers with statutory penalties and litigation.
AB 483 – Ting. Thwarts the will of the voters when they passed Prop 26 ( 2010) that reuires all local taxes must be approved by voters.
Senate Bill (SB) 241 – Evans. Imposes a 9.9% of value tax on each barrel of oil severed. Just the thing to discourage oil exploration in California and raise gas prices even more.
And for the truly ugly – the situation at the Mexican border. There are two iron-clad rules in politics. The first is that there are no coincidences in politics. The second is that there are no exceptions to the first rule. The chaos at the border is no coincidence. It is a pre-planned attempt to flood the border, overwhelm the border patrol, disperse the hundreds of thousands (yes, that will be the final number) of illegals untraceably throughout the country and institute de-facto amnesty for them. This has been the clear intent of Obama from several months ago up to his recent refusal to go to the border.
After being surprised by the vehemence of the bi-partisan backlash to the de-facto open border policy, Barry O. said several times in recent days that all the illegal minors would be sent back to their home countries. He’s lying. None of them will be.
Truth is they will be “ticketed” for future appearances before immigration courts – then sent throughout the country and expected to show up of their own volition months from now to face deportation hearings. Can I see the hands of anyone who thinks the illegals will show up for these hearings? Anyone with a raised hand please see me later for a terrific bargain on a bridge.
This is a pre-planned strategy from the Regime to create the liberal dream, totally open borders, without Barry O. having to issue the executive order to do so. My gumbas the ancient Romans had a saying “cui bono”, or “who benefits” to explain how to find the truth. Applied to the current border situation there is only one answer, and it isn’t the American people or our Republic. There are no coincidences in politics.
[As published in the July 26 edition of the Newsletter of the Southern California Republican Women and Men]
We have a little of the good and the bad from the Capitol Clown Car, and some of the truly ugly from the national scene. First, from the pointy building in downtown Sacramento, to start off with a change of pace – a couple of actual beneficial pieces of legislation. The good:
Assembly Bill (AB) 1711 - Cooley. Requires an economic impact assessment for regulatory acts passed either by the legislature or a state agency. What a concept.
AB 2723 – Medina. Modifies the state rulemaking process to require state agencies to consider the effect of regulations on sole proprietorships and other small businesses when assessing the economic impact of a proposed regulation.
AB 2362 – Grove. Authorizes the forfeiture of unemployment insurance (UI) benefits whether the individual was prosecuted for UI benefit fraud under the penal code or the UI code.
AB 2866 – Brown. Prevents an employer from being financially penalized through the assessment of statutory civil and criminal penalties, fines, and interest if the employer relies in good faith on written advice from a stage agency and a court determines the agnecy’s advice was wrong.
The bad:
AB 1522 – Gonzalez. Increases employer mandates by requiring all employers, large and small, to provide all employees - including part time and temporary - with paid sick leave, and threatens employers with statutory penalties and litigation.
AB 483 – Ting. Thwarts the will of the voters when they passed Prop 26 ( 2010) that reuires all local taxes must be approved by voters.
Senate Bill (SB) 241 – Evans. Imposes a 9.9% of value tax on each barrel of oil severed. Just the thing to discourage oil exploration in California and raise gas prices even more.
And for the truly ugly – the situation at the Mexican border. There are two iron-clad rules in politics. The first is that there are no coincidences in politics. The second is that there are no exceptions to the first rule. The chaos at the border is no coincidence. It is a pre-planned attempt to flood the border, overwhelm the border patrol, disperse the hundreds of thousands (yes, that will be the final number) of illegals untraceably throughout the country and institute de-facto amnesty for them. This has been the clear intent of Obama from several months ago up to his recent refusal to go to the border.
After being surprised by the vehemence of the bi-partisan backlash to the de-facto open border policy, Barry O. said several times in recent days that all the illegal minors would be sent back to their home countries. He’s lying. None of them will be.
Truth is they will be “ticketed” for future appearances before immigration courts – then sent throughout the country and expected to show up of their own volition months from now to face deportation hearings. Can I see the hands of anyone who thinks the illegals will show up for these hearings? Anyone with a raised hand please see me later for a terrific bargain on a bridge.
This is a pre-planned strategy from the Regime to create the liberal dream, totally open borders, without Barry O. having to issue the executive order to do so. My gumbas the ancient Romans had a saying “cui bono”, or “who benefits” to explain how to find the truth. Applied to the current border situation there is only one answer, and it isn’t the American people or our Republic. There are no coincidences in politics.
Seriously, Why be a Republican?
In the February 2014 edition of newsletter of the Southern California Republican Women and Men, I wrote a message entitled 'Why Be a Republican?' It is a theme that comes up again and again as I make the rounds of various conservative groups, Tea Party organizations, party central committees, Liberty Caucuses, Republican Women Federated clubs and informal and unaffiliated social encounters. Almost everyone acknowledges that the status quo with Leftist Democrats dominating City Hall, Sacramento, and Washington D.C. (including our corrupt and unaccountable administrative agencies) is a disaster, yet there is a remarkable lack of unity around the alternative.
"I'm not a Republican, I'm a Conservative", "I'm not a Republican, I'm a Constitutionalist", "Those Republicans are just as bad as the Democrats", I hear every day. And we can all point to one or more failings of the official party at the county, state or national level as well as those of individual prominent Republican politicians. Anyone want to re-elect the Governator to save the planet again?
(Incidentally, Dawn Wildman, a prominent California Tea Party leader, recently pointed out at a meeting of the San Fernando Valley Patriots that the term 'Constitutional Conservative Republican' would have been considered redundant not too long ago. 'Republican' ought to mean implicitly and unambiguously, constitutional conservative. But I digress.)
This disappointment and disaffection is understandable. But it does not excuse honorable citizens from getting involved and seeking ways to find common cause with people with similar if not identical concerns and viewpoints. 'Republican' is not some eternal, fixed, abstract, self-animating entity that exists and acts unconnected to the people who volunteer their time, talent and treasure to make it work. 'Republican' is simply the common center of all of the diverse individuals and groups that stand in opposition to the political Left in America today.
If you are not a Democrat; if you believe in low taxes, light regulation, private property rights and Constitutional separation of powers; if you don't believe in the redistribution of wealth or the concentration of government power over our personal lives; if you don't believe that courts should legislate sweeping social policies; if you believe that America is exceptional in the world and in history and that the good of the world requires America to project confident leadership, including military power; if you believe in Liberty without privilege or prejudice with regard to race, ethnicity or birth; if you think that scientific inquiry should be free of political coercion and blackmailing, and that the debate on something as complex as the earth's climate over the course of decades can never be pre-emptively declared to be 'over'; if you believe that America is a Judeo-Christian nation; if you believe that the free market, capitalism, personal responsibility and economic growth are the best means of coping with the challenges of poverty, inequality and environmental stewardship; if you believe that life begins at conception; if you are not a disingenuous socialist, Progressive or Keynesian; if you agree with the majority of the above -- then you are a Republican.
Acknowledging that you are a Republican leads to understanding that the party of that name depends on your involvement and participation to make it more aligned with your particular concerns, values, issues and principles.
At SCRW&M, we strive to keep you informed, entertained, educated and engaged. But this is only the beginning. Your Assembly district central committee needs you. Republican candidates for office need volunteers to walk precincts and make phone calls. We will succeed in pulling our society back from the cliff that the liberals and progressives are driving us over precisely in proportion to our own engagement. And remember, whatever your opinion or even disappointment may be with "those"Republicans, realize that in the end there is no "them"; there is only us, right here, me and YOU. That's how it works.
"I'm not a Republican, I'm a Conservative", "I'm not a Republican, I'm a Constitutionalist", "Those Republicans are just as bad as the Democrats", I hear every day. And we can all point to one or more failings of the official party at the county, state or national level as well as those of individual prominent Republican politicians. Anyone want to re-elect the Governator to save the planet again?
(Incidentally, Dawn Wildman, a prominent California Tea Party leader, recently pointed out at a meeting of the San Fernando Valley Patriots that the term 'Constitutional Conservative Republican' would have been considered redundant not too long ago. 'Republican' ought to mean implicitly and unambiguously, constitutional conservative. But I digress.)
This disappointment and disaffection is understandable. But it does not excuse honorable citizens from getting involved and seeking ways to find common cause with people with similar if not identical concerns and viewpoints. 'Republican' is not some eternal, fixed, abstract, self-animating entity that exists and acts unconnected to the people who volunteer their time, talent and treasure to make it work. 'Republican' is simply the common center of all of the diverse individuals and groups that stand in opposition to the political Left in America today.
If you are not a Democrat; if you believe in low taxes, light regulation, private property rights and Constitutional separation of powers; if you don't believe in the redistribution of wealth or the concentration of government power over our personal lives; if you don't believe that courts should legislate sweeping social policies; if you believe that America is exceptional in the world and in history and that the good of the world requires America to project confident leadership, including military power; if you believe in Liberty without privilege or prejudice with regard to race, ethnicity or birth; if you think that scientific inquiry should be free of political coercion and blackmailing, and that the debate on something as complex as the earth's climate over the course of decades can never be pre-emptively declared to be 'over'; if you believe that America is a Judeo-Christian nation; if you believe that the free market, capitalism, personal responsibility and economic growth are the best means of coping with the challenges of poverty, inequality and environmental stewardship; if you believe that life begins at conception; if you are not a disingenuous socialist, Progressive or Keynesian; if you agree with the majority of the above -- then you are a Republican.
Acknowledging that you are a Republican leads to understanding that the party of that name depends on your involvement and participation to make it more aligned with your particular concerns, values, issues and principles.
At SCRW&M, we strive to keep you informed, entertained, educated and engaged. But this is only the beginning. Your Assembly district central committee needs you. Republican candidates for office need volunteers to walk precincts and make phone calls. We will succeed in pulling our society back from the cliff that the liberals and progressives are driving us over precisely in proportion to our own engagement. And remember, whatever your opinion or even disappointment may be with "those"Republicans, realize that in the end there is no "them"; there is only us, right here, me and YOU. That's how it works.
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Answering the Libertarian's Indictments on Iraq
Keeping the peace and honoring our service men and women is not warmongering.
Read the full article by Howard Hyde at: WesternJournalism.com.
Read the full article by Howard Hyde at: WesternJournalism.com.
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Our Intolerable Success in Iraq
Of the opportunities in Iraq squandered in our national insistence on our own inadequacy or even evil, few rank as highly as religious freedom and plurality.
Read the complete article by Howard Hyde at WesternJournalism.com.
Read the complete article by Howard Hyde at WesternJournalism.com.
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Peace Requires a Permanent Commitment
Achieving peace and democracy requires more than knocking down a couple of walls and bringing the boys home before Christmas.
Read the complete article by Howard Hyde at WesternJournalism.com.
Read the complete article by Howard Hyde at WesternJournalism.com.
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Obama and Maliki Sold Iraq Down The River in 2011
The Men Who Sealed Iraq's Disaster With a Handshake
Obama's rush for the exit and Maliki's autocratic rule ensured that much hard-won progress would not last.
Obama's rush for the exit and Maliki's autocratic rule ensured that much hard-won progress would not last.
- Read the full article at The Wall Street Journal
Monday, June 02, 2014
Fire the Real Boss of the VA
Our veterans should not be held captive to any monopolistic agency.
Read the complete article by Howard Hyde at WesternJournalism.com.
Read the complete article by Howard Hyde at WesternJournalism.com.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
A “Left-Right Alliance” Against Public Sector Unions?
Several vital public policy issues, among them corporate welfare, Crony capitalism, charter schools, pension reform and public employee union privileges, represent opportunities for sincere persons on both sides of the political divide to unite for reform.
Read the complete article at FlashReport.org.
Read the complete article at FlashReport.org.
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Political Correctness Run Too Amok Even for the Grown-up Left
Conservatives and Republicans are appalled by the depths to which political correctness has sunk on college campuses, to the point where even a liberal's liberal like Robert Birgeneau, Chancellor of UC Berkeley, is considered beyond the pale because he cleared Sproul Plaza of Occupy protesters.
Dan Henninger of the Wall Street Journal documents the absurdities in Bonfire of the Humanities. Brett Stephens reminds the graduating kindergarteners that they don't have the right not to be offended, and that they'd better get over that soon in To the Class of 2014.
But to their credit, prominent intellectuals of the Left, notably of the New York Times, also see the ridiculousness and danger in how far the censorship has gone. While reserving their right to criticize (and freely exercising their skills of derision of) Republicans and conservatives, they too warn of the consequences of such a closed-eared public square. See the unsigned editorial Tongue-tied on Campus, Condi's Lesson, by Maureen Dowd and/or The Commencement Bigots, by Timothy Egan.
Maybe we can yet preserve a pluralistic society with a diversity of opinion.
Dan Henninger of the Wall Street Journal documents the absurdities in Bonfire of the Humanities. Brett Stephens reminds the graduating kindergarteners that they don't have the right not to be offended, and that they'd better get over that soon in To the Class of 2014.
But to their credit, prominent intellectuals of the Left, notably of the New York Times, also see the ridiculousness and danger in how far the censorship has gone. While reserving their right to criticize (and freely exercising their skills of derision of) Republicans and conservatives, they too warn of the consequences of such a closed-eared public square. See the unsigned editorial Tongue-tied on Campus, Condi's Lesson, by Maureen Dowd and/or The Commencement Bigots, by Timothy Egan.
Maybe we can yet preserve a pluralistic society with a diversity of opinion.
Monday, May 19, 2014
India Gets Economics
The electorate of India has decisively rejected socialist welfare politics and corruption and instead embraced free-market Capitalism and growth.
Someone wake me when California voters do the same.
Read Howard Hyde's first article for WesternJournalism.com at http://www.westernjournalism.com/india-gets/.
Someone wake me when California voters do the same.
Read Howard Hyde's first article for WesternJournalism.com at http://www.westernjournalism.com/india-gets/.
Throw the Bums...in!
The latest backlash against over-privileged public officials is taking the form of a bill known as the 'If our military has to fly coach then so should Congress' Act.
But elected official's perks are not the biggest problem. UN-elected and unaccountable arbitrary power is.
Read the complete article by Howard Hyde at AmericanThinker.com.
But elected official's perks are not the biggest problem. UN-elected and unaccountable arbitrary power is.
Read the complete article by Howard Hyde at AmericanThinker.com.
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Most Popular Week of March 11-17
Here below are the most popular posts on HHCapitalism.com for the past week:
Bill's Bills May 2014
William Saracino digests the latest legislative mischief emanating from Sacramento.
Taxes, Pfizer and Hostility to Capital Freedom
Extortionists on one side of the Atlantic, protectionists on the other.
California’s Golden Goose Getting Throttled
In case you’ve been asleep for 30 years, California’s economy is not what it used to be.
U.S. Internet Content Censored by Putin?
Unfriendly foreign governments may be able to restrict what content is available not only to their own people, but even to Americans.
Lift the Campaign Finance Restrictions
Surely money is bad for politics? But the attempt to remove money from politics has backfired.
The Unholy Trinity of Public Sector Unions, Environmentalists, and Wall Street
Three unlikely allies create a moral hazard to the fiscal health of the state of California.
Clueless King of TARP Bank Bailouts Trumpets his Record
According to Thomas Freeman of the Wall Street Journal, by Timothy Geithner's own admission, he (Geithner) "didn't see the mortgage crisis coming and didn't grasp the severity of the problems after it occurred."
The Tarnished Brass State
Even liberals are now talking about making California a more friendly place for business... but only for hot and sexy ones. Why don't we dump crony socialism and give breaks to everyone instead?
Post-Obamacare Reform
Obamacare is now a dead letter. Here's what we have to do next.
The Capitalist Bibliography
The Top Ten Easy-to-Read popular expositions on economics and capitalism
The Top Ten Hardcore Scholarly Treatises on economics
The Top Five Most Dangerous Anti-capitalist Rants
Other Books of Interest
Bill's Bills May 2014
William Saracino digests the latest legislative mischief emanating from Sacramento.
Taxes, Pfizer and Hostility to Capital Freedom
Extortionists on one side of the Atlantic, protectionists on the other.
California’s Golden Goose Getting Throttled
In case you’ve been asleep for 30 years, California’s economy is not what it used to be.
U.S. Internet Content Censored by Putin?
Unfriendly foreign governments may be able to restrict what content is available not only to their own people, but even to Americans.
Lift the Campaign Finance Restrictions
Surely money is bad for politics? But the attempt to remove money from politics has backfired.
The Unholy Trinity of Public Sector Unions, Environmentalists, and Wall Street
Three unlikely allies create a moral hazard to the fiscal health of the state of California.
Clueless King of TARP Bank Bailouts Trumpets his Record
According to Thomas Freeman of the Wall Street Journal, by Timothy Geithner's own admission, he (Geithner) "didn't see the mortgage crisis coming and didn't grasp the severity of the problems after it occurred."
The Tarnished Brass State
Even liberals are now talking about making California a more friendly place for business... but only for hot and sexy ones. Why don't we dump crony socialism and give breaks to everyone instead?
Post-Obamacare Reform
Obamacare is now a dead letter. Here's what we have to do next.
The Capitalist Bibliography
The Top Ten Easy-to-Read popular expositions on economics and capitalism
The Top Ten Hardcore Scholarly Treatises on economics
The Top Five Most Dangerous Anti-capitalist Rants
Other Books of Interest
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Taxes, Pfizer and Hostility to Capital Freedom
238 years since Adam Smith exploded the myths of beggar-thy-neighbor mercantilism in The Wealth of Nations in the same year as the United States declared independence from Great Britain, and 85 years since the Smoot-Hawley tariff precipitated the Great Crash, protectionists on both sides if the Atlantic are opposing and meddling in free international commerce.
The American drug company Pfizer wants to take over the British firm AstraZeneca. This would make Pfizer a U.K.-based company for tax purposes, effectively escaping an increasingly hostile and extortionist American tax policy. This of course does not please the US tax authorities. How dare Pfizer desert it's patriotic duty to cough up another billion?
Meanwhile, nationalist purists and unions in the UK object to this infusion of capital into their economy, largely because it gives them less control over other people's money. The general population of Britain should see through this phony concern for their well-being.
Read the complete article at The Wall Street Journal.
The American drug company Pfizer wants to take over the British firm AstraZeneca. This would make Pfizer a U.K.-based company for tax purposes, effectively escaping an increasingly hostile and extortionist American tax policy. This of course does not please the US tax authorities. How dare Pfizer desert it's patriotic duty to cough up another billion?
Meanwhile, nationalist purists and unions in the UK object to this infusion of capital into their economy, largely because it gives them less control over other people's money. The general population of Britain should see through this phony concern for their well-being.
Read the complete article at The Wall Street Journal.
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Clueless King of TARP Bank Bailouts Trumpets his Record
Timothy Geithner, Regional Federal Reserve President for TARP (2008) and Treasury Secretary 2009-13, is making news waves with his new book and double-down defense of his actions, 'Stress Test'. According to James Freeman of The Wall Street Journal, the man at or near the center of the $800 billion bank bailout had no private-sector finance experience prior to becoming President of the New York Federal Reserve Bank.
Also according to Freeman, by Geithner's own admission, he (Geithner) "didn't see the mortgage crisis coming and didn't grasp the severity of the problems after it occurred."
Those of us familiar with Austrian Business Cycle theory, including the Wall Street Journal editorial board circa 2007, could not have seen it more clearly if we were tied to railroad tracks with a locomotive bearing down on us.
To understand what I'm talking about, see: How the Business Cycle Happens, by Murray Rothbard.
[Aside to Rothbard/Rockwell/Ron Paul haters: Get over it. We're not talking foreign policy here.]
To see what Freeman is talking about, see his book review: The Man Who Knew too Little.
For the antidote to TARP bailout apologists, see Thomas Sowell's 'The Housing Boom and Bust' and/or John Allison's 'The Financial Crisis and the Free-Market Cure'.
Also according to Freeman, by Geithner's own admission, he (Geithner) "didn't see the mortgage crisis coming and didn't grasp the severity of the problems after it occurred."
Those of us familiar with Austrian Business Cycle theory, including the Wall Street Journal editorial board circa 2007, could not have seen it more clearly if we were tied to railroad tracks with a locomotive bearing down on us.
To understand what I'm talking about, see: How the Business Cycle Happens, by Murray Rothbard.
[Aside to Rothbard/Rockwell/Ron Paul haters: Get over it. We're not talking foreign policy here.]
To see what Freeman is talking about, see his book review: The Man Who Knew too Little.
For the antidote to TARP bailout apologists, see Thomas Sowell's 'The Housing Boom and Bust' and/or John Allison's 'The Financial Crisis and the Free-Market Cure'.
Good, Bad and Ugly California Legislative Agenda
By William Saracino
[Published in the March 2014 newsletter of the Southern California Rebublican Women and Men]
The legislative session still being young, the usual plethora of mutant legislation has not yet started its long march through the process. Hence below I offer you another installment of the good, bad and ugly from the political arena.
The Ugly
Legislation co-authored by a dozen Democrats that would extend mandatory pre-K pre-school starting at the age of one. Yes, one, as in 12 months after birth. The Democrats blather on about the need for healthy children, proper nutrition, etc., apparently forgetting that there are people called parents and societal units called families that are supposed to provide these things and in fact do provide these things in the vast majority of cases. Make no mistake about it, this push has nothing to do with the well being of children and everything to do with extending the control of the government over children at as young an age as possible.
The Bad
Dear Leader – that would be Mr. Obama to the Democrats – recently tried to defend his “if you like your doctor you can keep him” lies during his campaign to pass Obamacare. His answer is a classic in double speak, to which I cannot possible do justice. So here is his quote (emphasis added):
“What we have said is, for example, if you’re in the middle of life-saving treatment with a particular doctor, then we will work to make sure that you can keep, uh, that treatment, and not shift. But for the average person, many folks who don’t who don’t have health insurance initially, um, you know, they’re gonna have to make some choices, and, they might end up having to switch doctors, in part because they’re saving money. But that’s true, you know, if, if, your employer suddenly decides: we think this network’s gonna give a better deal, we think this is gonna help keep premiums lower, uh, you gotta use this doctor as opposed to that one, or this hospital as opposed to that one. Uh, the good news is, in most states, people have more than one option. And, you know, what they’ll find, I think is that their doctor, or network, or hospital that’s conveniently located is probably in one of those networks. Now, you may find out that that network’s more expensive than another network. And then you’ve gotta make a choice in terms of what’s right for your family. Do you want to save on cost, or do you want to save on convenience?”
Just like “If you like your doctor you can keep your doctor, period.”…right?
The Good
Republicans won a special election for a Florida congressional seat that was widely considered a probably Democrat pick-up. Neutral observers, as well as the spin-doctors in both parties spent the week leading up to the election forecasting a Democrat win…the Democrat spinners crowing and the Republican spinners making in-advance excuses. The Republican won – which is important. Even more important is how he won – but making the repeal of Obamacare the center piece of his campaign, as well as having a concrete, positive proposal to replace Obamacare. Equally important, all GOP factions united to defeat the Democrat instead of take shots at the Republican nominee…an example we can only hope spreads to California.
Over and out for now – hope to see you all at our next meeting so we can discuss these topics and many more.
[Published in the March 2014 newsletter of the Southern California Rebublican Women and Men]
The legislative session still being young, the usual plethora of mutant legislation has not yet started its long march through the process. Hence below I offer you another installment of the good, bad and ugly from the political arena.
The Ugly
Legislation co-authored by a dozen Democrats that would extend mandatory pre-K pre-school starting at the age of one. Yes, one, as in 12 months after birth. The Democrats blather on about the need for healthy children, proper nutrition, etc., apparently forgetting that there are people called parents and societal units called families that are supposed to provide these things and in fact do provide these things in the vast majority of cases. Make no mistake about it, this push has nothing to do with the well being of children and everything to do with extending the control of the government over children at as young an age as possible.
The Bad
Dear Leader – that would be Mr. Obama to the Democrats – recently tried to defend his “if you like your doctor you can keep him” lies during his campaign to pass Obamacare. His answer is a classic in double speak, to which I cannot possible do justice. So here is his quote (emphasis added):
“What we have said is, for example, if you’re in the middle of life-saving treatment with a particular doctor, then we will work to make sure that you can keep, uh, that treatment, and not shift. But for the average person, many folks who don’t who don’t have health insurance initially, um, you know, they’re gonna have to make some choices, and, they might end up having to switch doctors, in part because they’re saving money. But that’s true, you know, if, if, your employer suddenly decides: we think this network’s gonna give a better deal, we think this is gonna help keep premiums lower, uh, you gotta use this doctor as opposed to that one, or this hospital as opposed to that one. Uh, the good news is, in most states, people have more than one option. And, you know, what they’ll find, I think is that their doctor, or network, or hospital that’s conveniently located is probably in one of those networks. Now, you may find out that that network’s more expensive than another network. And then you’ve gotta make a choice in terms of what’s right for your family. Do you want to save on cost, or do you want to save on convenience?”
Just like “If you like your doctor you can keep your doctor, period.”…right?
The Good
Republicans won a special election for a Florida congressional seat that was widely considered a probably Democrat pick-up. Neutral observers, as well as the spin-doctors in both parties spent the week leading up to the election forecasting a Democrat win…the Democrat spinners crowing and the Republican spinners making in-advance excuses. The Republican won – which is important. Even more important is how he won – but making the repeal of Obamacare the center piece of his campaign, as well as having a concrete, positive proposal to replace Obamacare. Equally important, all GOP factions united to defeat the Democrat instead of take shots at the Republican nominee…an example we can only hope spreads to California.
Over and out for now – hope to see you all at our next meeting so we can discuss these topics and many more.
Monday, May 12, 2014
Bill's Bills April 2014
By William Saracino
[Published in the April newsletter of the Southern California Rebublican Women and Men]
The clown-car known as the California Legislature is picking up steam as Spring advances – with Democrats never losing their zeal to push California ever further down the lists of desirable states in which to live. We are currently at or near the top in tax and and regulation burden on citizens and business, and near the bottom for student performance and business climate. Our Democrats are trying very hard to make things even worse.
SB 935 – Leno – D – San Francisco. Raises the minimum wage $13 an hour – thereby insuring that the first rung of the job ladder is even more inaccessible to young people entering the work force.
AB 1897 (Hernández; D-West Covina). Unfairly imposes liability on a general contractor entity for the a sub- contractor’s wage and hour violations, lack of worker’s compensation coverage, and/or failure to remit employee contributions. Penalties can be applied to the general contractor without any evidence that the contracting entity controlled the working conditions or wages of the sub-contractor’s employees.
AB 2416 (Stone; D-Scotts Valley). Creates a dangerous and unfair precedent in the wage and hour arena by allowing employees to file liens on an employer’s real or personal property, or property where work was performed, based upon allegations only, without having to wait for proof that violations exist.
SB 1188 (Jackson; D-Santa Barbara). Significantly increases product defect litigation and associated claims by allowing consumers to pursue claims after the warranty has expired for “material” omissions regarding the product that are unrelated to any health and safety concerns.
SB 404 (Jackson; D-Santa Barbara).Makes it virtually impossible for employers to manage their employees and exposes them to a higher risk of litigation by expanding the Fair Employment and Housing Act to include a protected classification for any person who is, perceived to be, or associated with an individual who provides medical or supervisory care to a listed family member.
ACA 3 (Campos; D-San Jose) Lowers Vote Requirement for Tax Increases — Adds complexity and uncertainty to the current tax structure and pressure to increase taxes on commercial, industrial and residential property owners by giving local governments new authority to enact special taxes, including parcel taxes, by lowering the vote threshold from two-thirds to fifty-five percent.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg – is it any wonder business’s are leaving California in droves? YOU have the power to help stop this nonsense – become an active member of the Southern California Republican Women and Men and help elect more republicans this November!
[Published in the April newsletter of the Southern California Rebublican Women and Men]
The clown-car known as the California Legislature is picking up steam as Spring advances – with Democrats never losing their zeal to push California ever further down the lists of desirable states in which to live. We are currently at or near the top in tax and and regulation burden on citizens and business, and near the bottom for student performance and business climate. Our Democrats are trying very hard to make things even worse.
SB 935 – Leno – D – San Francisco. Raises the minimum wage $13 an hour – thereby insuring that the first rung of the job ladder is even more inaccessible to young people entering the work force.
AB 1897 (Hernández; D-West Covina). Unfairly imposes liability on a general contractor entity for the a sub- contractor’s wage and hour violations, lack of worker’s compensation coverage, and/or failure to remit employee contributions. Penalties can be applied to the general contractor without any evidence that the contracting entity controlled the working conditions or wages of the sub-contractor’s employees.
AB 2416 (Stone; D-Scotts Valley). Creates a dangerous and unfair precedent in the wage and hour arena by allowing employees to file liens on an employer’s real or personal property, or property where work was performed, based upon allegations only, without having to wait for proof that violations exist.
SB 1188 (Jackson; D-Santa Barbara). Significantly increases product defect litigation and associated claims by allowing consumers to pursue claims after the warranty has expired for “material” omissions regarding the product that are unrelated to any health and safety concerns.
SB 404 (Jackson; D-Santa Barbara).Makes it virtually impossible for employers to manage their employees and exposes them to a higher risk of litigation by expanding the Fair Employment and Housing Act to include a protected classification for any person who is, perceived to be, or associated with an individual who provides medical or supervisory care to a listed family member.
ACA 3 (Campos; D-San Jose) Lowers Vote Requirement for Tax Increases — Adds complexity and uncertainty to the current tax structure and pressure to increase taxes on commercial, industrial and residential property owners by giving local governments new authority to enact special taxes, including parcel taxes, by lowering the vote threshold from two-thirds to fifty-five percent.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg – is it any wonder business’s are leaving California in droves? YOU have the power to help stop this nonsense – become an active member of the Southern California Republican Women and Men and help elect more republicans this November!
U.S. Internet Content Censored by Putin?
Last month we noted here that traffic to this site from Ukraine, which for years had been second only to that from the United States, had fallen off precipitously. (See Iron Firewall Descends on Ukraine).
Now Gordon Crovitz of the Wall Street Journal describes the brave new world we will be entering if the Obama administration's plan to cede control of the basic address book of the Internet to foreign governments is allowed to go through. Unfriendly foreign governments may be able to restrict what content is available not only to their own people, but even to Americans.
Vladimir Putin has already seized control of the domains within his empire, requiring registration, licensing and censorship compliance for all sites of any significance. He would love to extend the reach of that control.
Will we surrender that easily?
Read the complete article at The Wall Street Journal.
Now Gordon Crovitz of the Wall Street Journal describes the brave new world we will be entering if the Obama administration's plan to cede control of the basic address book of the Internet to foreign governments is allowed to go through. Unfriendly foreign governments may be able to restrict what content is available not only to their own people, but even to Americans.
Vladimir Putin has already seized control of the domains within his empire, requiring registration, licensing and censorship compliance for all sites of any significance. He would love to extend the reach of that control.
Will we surrender that easily?
Read the complete article at The Wall Street Journal.
Bill's Bills May 2014
By William Saracino
[Published in the May newsletter of the Southern California Rebublican Women and Men]
Ah yes, it’s springtime and a young man’s fancy turns to…well…it’s baseball in the old saying, but if the young man – or woman – is a Democrat legislator in California their fancy turns to running our once golden state further into the ground. The imagination of liberals in Sacramento on ways to destroy our state is amazing. Here for your dining and dancing pleasure are a few recent examples.
SB 1021 by Wolk of Davis. The “split roll” concept – allowing local governments to tax “business property” at a higher rate than residential. Definitions are loose of what is and isn’t business or residential, and the bill allows double tax increases by permitting both a parcel tax based upon use as well as a parcel tax based upon square footage, thereby allowing a district to impose layers of taxes. Should be titled the “run even more business out of California” act.
AB 2416 by Stone of Scotts Valley. This bill would cripple California businesses by allowing any employee, governmental agency, or anyone “authorized by the employee to act on the employee’s behalf” to record super priority liens on an employer’s real property or any property where an employee “performed work” for an alleged, yet unproven, wage claim.This bill would severely disrupt commercial and personal real estate markets in this state as AB 2416 would allow a wage lien to take precedence over almost all other liens or judgments.
SB 1381 by Evans of Santa Rosa forces farmers and food companies to implement costly new labeling, packaging, distribution and recordkeeping for genetically engineered food products sold in California, adding significantly to the cost of food for Californians. The bill also includes a private right of action, (also known as the “bounty hunter provision”) which further raises the specter of liability issues, adding to the cost of compliance for farmers, grocers and food manufacturers.
The bounty hunter lawsuit provision in SB 1381 will allow trial lawyers to file predatory lawsuits against family farmers, small grocery stores, food producers and practically everyone associated with the food distribution chain. This provision closely mirrors Proposition 65, which spawned numerous lawsuits that resulted mostly in settlements benefiting litigators. There is no reason to think that the same thing won’t happen again under SB 1381. Bounty hunter provisions cost the business community millions of dollars defending baseless suits when those resources would be better spent on research and development, expansions and employee compensation or benefits.
Whatever your view of GMO, California citizens already decided this issue when they voted to reject Proposition 37 in 2012. That proposition was very similar in content and intent to SB 1381.
And getting away from the bill mill for a moment, you may have noticed a lot of happy talk recently about California’s fiscal situation. The smiles were brought on by a “balanced budget”. Unmentioned is that the budget is “balanced” by borrowing $500 million from a “cap and trade” carbon reduction special fund. Sort of like “balancing” your VISA card debt by paying it with your Mastercard.
Take a look behind the happy talk and you'll see a $330 billion skyline of other liabilities threatening the state's financial health. It includes $80 billion needed to cover teachers' pensions and $64 billion to pay for state workers' health care in retirement -- two particularly troublesome liabilities because the state isn't even making the minimum payments
As a result -- similar to the debt of a homeowner who fails to make regular mortgage payments -- California's liabilities keep growing. For example, the money needed to fully fund the California State Teachers' Retirement System balloons by $22 million a day, or about $8 billion a year, financial analysts estimate.
According to the non—patisan Legislative Analysts Office, the state should first address the $80 billion shortfall in the teachers' retirement system, a debt that could cost the state, teachers and school districts a combined $5 billion a year to resolve over 30 years. Without changes, the system serving 868,000 members is projected to run out of money by 2046.
Paying down the $64.6 billion shortfall in health benefits for 277,000 retired state employees and their dependents should come next. That could cost the state $1.8 billion a year over 30 years, the analyst said, but getting started sooner would dramatically reduce costs over the long run.
Pardon me boy, is that the Jerry Brown Choo Choo? According to the California High-Speed Rail Authority, the estimated cost of building the 114-mile “bullet-train” route linking Fresno and Bakersfield has gone up $940 million — from $6.19 billion to $7.13 billion. That’s worrisome enough. But what makes it worse is that state officials allegedly didn’t want this 15 percent increase to be made public. I know that shocks you as much as it did me…ahem.
URS Corp. — the San Francisco engineering firm hired to determine the updated cost — reportedly complained in March that it had been “instructed” by the authority to have its numbers be in line with what was projected in the bullet train’s 2012 business plan. URS refused in a carefully worded message that clearly implied the authority wanted it to violate state ethical guidelines for licensed professionals.
Authority officials deny wrongdoing. But after years of deceptive projections and misleading rhetoric, it’s easy to believe they would pressure a consultant to avoid an embarrassing headline.
Are you angry enough now? Well don’t just sit there and stew – come to the next SCRWM meeting and find out how to elect more Republicans to the legislature and end this nonsense. See you there!
[Published in the May newsletter of the Southern California Rebublican Women and Men]
Ah yes, it’s springtime and a young man’s fancy turns to…well…it’s baseball in the old saying, but if the young man – or woman – is a Democrat legislator in California their fancy turns to running our once golden state further into the ground. The imagination of liberals in Sacramento on ways to destroy our state is amazing. Here for your dining and dancing pleasure are a few recent examples.
SB 1021 by Wolk of Davis. The “split roll” concept – allowing local governments to tax “business property” at a higher rate than residential. Definitions are loose of what is and isn’t business or residential, and the bill allows double tax increases by permitting both a parcel tax based upon use as well as a parcel tax based upon square footage, thereby allowing a district to impose layers of taxes. Should be titled the “run even more business out of California” act.
AB 2416 by Stone of Scotts Valley. This bill would cripple California businesses by allowing any employee, governmental agency, or anyone “authorized by the employee to act on the employee’s behalf” to record super priority liens on an employer’s real property or any property where an employee “performed work” for an alleged, yet unproven, wage claim.This bill would severely disrupt commercial and personal real estate markets in this state as AB 2416 would allow a wage lien to take precedence over almost all other liens or judgments.
SB 1381 by Evans of Santa Rosa forces farmers and food companies to implement costly new labeling, packaging, distribution and recordkeeping for genetically engineered food products sold in California, adding significantly to the cost of food for Californians. The bill also includes a private right of action, (also known as the “bounty hunter provision”) which further raises the specter of liability issues, adding to the cost of compliance for farmers, grocers and food manufacturers.
The bounty hunter lawsuit provision in SB 1381 will allow trial lawyers to file predatory lawsuits against family farmers, small grocery stores, food producers and practically everyone associated with the food distribution chain. This provision closely mirrors Proposition 65, which spawned numerous lawsuits that resulted mostly in settlements benefiting litigators. There is no reason to think that the same thing won’t happen again under SB 1381. Bounty hunter provisions cost the business community millions of dollars defending baseless suits when those resources would be better spent on research and development, expansions and employee compensation or benefits.
Whatever your view of GMO, California citizens already decided this issue when they voted to reject Proposition 37 in 2012. That proposition was very similar in content and intent to SB 1381.
And getting away from the bill mill for a moment, you may have noticed a lot of happy talk recently about California’s fiscal situation. The smiles were brought on by a “balanced budget”. Unmentioned is that the budget is “balanced” by borrowing $500 million from a “cap and trade” carbon reduction special fund. Sort of like “balancing” your VISA card debt by paying it with your Mastercard.
Take a look behind the happy talk and you'll see a $330 billion skyline of other liabilities threatening the state's financial health. It includes $80 billion needed to cover teachers' pensions and $64 billion to pay for state workers' health care in retirement -- two particularly troublesome liabilities because the state isn't even making the minimum payments
As a result -- similar to the debt of a homeowner who fails to make regular mortgage payments -- California's liabilities keep growing. For example, the money needed to fully fund the California State Teachers' Retirement System balloons by $22 million a day, or about $8 billion a year, financial analysts estimate.
According to the non—patisan Legislative Analysts Office, the state should first address the $80 billion shortfall in the teachers' retirement system, a debt that could cost the state, teachers and school districts a combined $5 billion a year to resolve over 30 years. Without changes, the system serving 868,000 members is projected to run out of money by 2046.
Paying down the $64.6 billion shortfall in health benefits for 277,000 retired state employees and their dependents should come next. That could cost the state $1.8 billion a year over 30 years, the analyst said, but getting started sooner would dramatically reduce costs over the long run.
Pardon me boy, is that the Jerry Brown Choo Choo? According to the California High-Speed Rail Authority, the estimated cost of building the 114-mile “bullet-train” route linking Fresno and Bakersfield has gone up $940 million — from $6.19 billion to $7.13 billion. That’s worrisome enough. But what makes it worse is that state officials allegedly didn’t want this 15 percent increase to be made public. I know that shocks you as much as it did me…ahem.
URS Corp. — the San Francisco engineering firm hired to determine the updated cost — reportedly complained in March that it had been “instructed” by the authority to have its numbers be in line with what was projected in the bullet train’s 2012 business plan. URS refused in a carefully worded message that clearly implied the authority wanted it to violate state ethical guidelines for licensed professionals.
Authority officials deny wrongdoing. But after years of deceptive projections and misleading rhetoric, it’s easy to believe they would pressure a consultant to avoid an embarrassing headline.
Are you angry enough now? Well don’t just sit there and stew – come to the next SCRWM meeting and find out how to elect more Republicans to the legislature and end this nonsense. See you there!
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