Kerry Jackson

California

Rush to get out of California is accelerating

California hasn’t changed much in quite a few years. Voters put the dominant party back in power in November’s elections while businesses continue to flee the state. What’s different, though, is the pace of the commercial outflow has picked up. Departures have been ongoing for more than a decade. Businesses ...
Blog

Another San Francisco Treat

The network is in such straits that local transit agencies are looking at a grim scenario in which BART cancels weekend service and closes “nine stations just to keep the lights on elsewhere,” the San Francisco Chronicle reports. When they do run, trains won’t arrive in 15-minute intervals – instead ...
California

US should avoid Gov. Newsom’s ‘California model’

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is touted as the Democrat of the future, the man who could step up if Joe Biden decided not to run again. He has the hair, the teeth, the Hollywood aura, the raspy voice that shows he means business. But if his pitch is that he ...
Blog

And So It Came To Bass …

“I ran for mayor to urgently confront the crises our hometown faces,” Bass tweeted. “To the people of Los Angeles, my message is this: We are going to solve homelessness.” Earlier this year Bass said “the bottom line is people will not be allowed to live on the streets. There ...
California

President Newsom? God Help The United States Of America

Not a week had gone by after the midterm elections before California governor Gavin Newsom’s presidential possibilities were being talked up. A Republican consultant even suggested Joe Biden ask for Kamala Harris’ resignation and appoint Newsom as his vice-president. Biden could then either resign himself, leaving Newsom president, or position ...
Blog

Microbusinesses are thriving in California – but for how long?

Microbusinesses are thriving. But for how long? They are the perfect targets to be taxed or regulated to death in California. According to Alexis Podesta, a small-business owner who was secretary of the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency under Govs. Gavin Newsom and Jerry Brown, microbusinesses are playing an ...
Blog

‘Free market’ cities give urban fiefdoms some competition

A tangle of encrusted bureaucracies and counterproductive regulations has made it inordinately difficult for urban residents to live productive and affluent lives. Rent control. Zoning. Central planning. ​​Tenant boards. Parking minimums. Most urban problems, from decrepit housing to street crime, are largely solvable, but politics is typically the enemy of ...
Blog

Solving Two Problems At Once: Desalination And Nuclear Go Hand In Hand

Two of California’s most pressing problems are a growing scarcity of both water and power. Solving them does not require two separate efforts, though. They can be done together. Declaring atomic energy to be a renewable source of energy and then embarking on a building campaign would relieve the strain ...
Blog

Would A Vacancy Tax Reduce State’s Housing Shortage? History Says No.

While it might seem impossible given the state’s perpetual housing shortage, there are empty homes in California. Some policymakers believe that forcing the owners to put tenants in their properties will help solve an unaffordability problem that has priced so many out of the market. Sounds simple. Of course it’s ...
Blog

The Latest (Useless) Addition To Municipal C-Suites

Never heard of a chief heat officer? Safe to say most people haven’t. Safer to say scarcely anyone has.   Yet here they come, the latest in politicians’ mad dash to do something – anything – that looks like an effort to “fight climate change.” “​​As global temperatures continue to ...
California

Rush to get out of California is accelerating

California hasn’t changed much in quite a few years. Voters put the dominant party back in power in November’s elections while businesses continue to flee the state. What’s different, though, is the pace of the commercial outflow has picked up. Departures have been ongoing for more than a decade. Businesses ...
Blog

Another San Francisco Treat

The network is in such straits that local transit agencies are looking at a grim scenario in which BART cancels weekend service and closes “nine stations just to keep the lights on elsewhere,” the San Francisco Chronicle reports. When they do run, trains won’t arrive in 15-minute intervals – instead ...
California

US should avoid Gov. Newsom’s ‘California model’

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is touted as the Democrat of the future, the man who could step up if Joe Biden decided not to run again. He has the hair, the teeth, the Hollywood aura, the raspy voice that shows he means business. But if his pitch is that he ...
Blog

And So It Came To Bass …

“I ran for mayor to urgently confront the crises our hometown faces,” Bass tweeted. “To the people of Los Angeles, my message is this: We are going to solve homelessness.” Earlier this year Bass said “the bottom line is people will not be allowed to live on the streets. There ...
California

President Newsom? God Help The United States Of America

Not a week had gone by after the midterm elections before California governor Gavin Newsom’s presidential possibilities were being talked up. A Republican consultant even suggested Joe Biden ask for Kamala Harris’ resignation and appoint Newsom as his vice-president. Biden could then either resign himself, leaving Newsom president, or position ...
Blog

Microbusinesses are thriving in California – but for how long?

Microbusinesses are thriving. But for how long? They are the perfect targets to be taxed or regulated to death in California. According to Alexis Podesta, a small-business owner who was secretary of the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency under Govs. Gavin Newsom and Jerry Brown, microbusinesses are playing an ...
Blog

‘Free market’ cities give urban fiefdoms some competition

A tangle of encrusted bureaucracies and counterproductive regulations has made it inordinately difficult for urban residents to live productive and affluent lives. Rent control. Zoning. Central planning. ​​Tenant boards. Parking minimums. Most urban problems, from decrepit housing to street crime, are largely solvable, but politics is typically the enemy of ...
Blog

Solving Two Problems At Once: Desalination And Nuclear Go Hand In Hand

Two of California’s most pressing problems are a growing scarcity of both water and power. Solving them does not require two separate efforts, though. They can be done together. Declaring atomic energy to be a renewable source of energy and then embarking on a building campaign would relieve the strain ...
Blog

Would A Vacancy Tax Reduce State’s Housing Shortage? History Says No.

While it might seem impossible given the state’s perpetual housing shortage, there are empty homes in California. Some policymakers believe that forcing the owners to put tenants in their properties will help solve an unaffordability problem that has priced so many out of the market. Sounds simple. Of course it’s ...
Blog

The Latest (Useless) Addition To Municipal C-Suites

Never heard of a chief heat officer? Safe to say most people haven’t. Safer to say scarcely anyone has.   Yet here they come, the latest in politicians’ mad dash to do something – anything – that looks like an effort to “fight climate change.” “​​As global temperatures continue to ...
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