Kerry Jackson
California
Road Funding Hits Sacramento Traffic Jam
The stretch of California Highway 1 that winds through Big Sur is considered by some to be the greatest drive in the world. Popular Mechanics praises the section between San Simeon and Carmel “for its staggering views over perilous cliffs, revealing the Pacific Ocean’s whitecaps as they rush past immense ...
California
CAPITAL IDEAS: State Shouldn’t Export “Only in California” Bad Laws
California has a long history as a bellwether state, a place where trends begin, then sweep across the nation. Many a fine idea has been produced by creative and gifted entrepreneurs and free-thinking Golden Staters.
California
New Asset Forfeiture Law Will Protect Property of Innocent Californians
In 2014, the owner of a janitorial company who paid her employees in cash was pulled over by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies on Interstate 5. Officers found $18,000 in her car. She presented paperwork showing the cash was from her business, but she was told they didn’t believe her. ...
Business & Economics
Consumers and Grocers Would Benefit Most By Preserving Bag Tradition
Grocery shopping in California isn’t what it used to be. Traditionally, customers carried their items away in paper bags provided by the store through an unspoken, but well-established and always understood, contract between seller and buyer. But then government got involved and turned a simple transaction into an irksome task. ...
California
CAPITAL IDEAS: Climate Change Bill Will Cost California Hundreds of Millions
A report from Energy and Environmental Economics in San Francisco says cutting emissions between 26 percent and 38 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 could cost $23 billion year. Read Full Brie
California
Temporary Taxes Become Permanent in Prop. 55
Economist Milton Friedman said, and was proved right many times over, that nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program. The same could be said for temporary taxes. They’re about as eternal as death. It’s actually a ghost we are considering here, though, tax hikes authorized by Proposition 30 ...
California
Prop 57 Contains a Loophole for Violent Criminals
With violent crime increasing in California, it seems reasonable to grant early release to inmates convicted of nonviolent offenses to make room in the prison system for truly dangerous felons. Most of us would be happy to trade an accountant guilty of bilking his employer for a serial rapist. One ...
Business & Economics
CAPITAL IDEAS: Reforming California’s Pension System
California governments owe their current and future retirees maybe as much as $600 billion. But the governments aren’t going to pay. Taxpayers will be handed the bill, and in some cities, each household is on the hook for more than $50,000. In at least one municipality, the household share of ...
Business & Economics
Cigarette Tax Hike Initiative A Bridge Too Far
It seems there is a never-ending war on “sin” and a desire by some to try and tax it away. This includes higher taxes on snacks and cigarettes, among other items. As to the latter item, California voters will weigh in with a November ballot proposal to hike California’s cigarette ...
California
CAPITAL IDEAS: Reforming California’s Environmental Policies
The roots of California’s environmental regulations can be traced back to 1884. That’s the year a federal judge ordered miners to stop using water cannons to batter the Sierra hillsides to separate gold from the soil and rock, but also left behind a broken and ugly landscape.
Road Funding Hits Sacramento Traffic Jam
The stretch of California Highway 1 that winds through Big Sur is considered by some to be the greatest drive in the world. Popular Mechanics praises the section between San Simeon and Carmel “for its staggering views over perilous cliffs, revealing the Pacific Ocean’s whitecaps as they rush past immense ...
CAPITAL IDEAS: State Shouldn’t Export “Only in California” Bad Laws
California has a long history as a bellwether state, a place where trends begin, then sweep across the nation. Many a fine idea has been produced by creative and gifted entrepreneurs and free-thinking Golden Staters.
New Asset Forfeiture Law Will Protect Property of Innocent Californians
In 2014, the owner of a janitorial company who paid her employees in cash was pulled over by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies on Interstate 5. Officers found $18,000 in her car. She presented paperwork showing the cash was from her business, but she was told they didn’t believe her. ...
Consumers and Grocers Would Benefit Most By Preserving Bag Tradition
Grocery shopping in California isn’t what it used to be. Traditionally, customers carried their items away in paper bags provided by the store through an unspoken, but well-established and always understood, contract between seller and buyer. But then government got involved and turned a simple transaction into an irksome task. ...
CAPITAL IDEAS: Climate Change Bill Will Cost California Hundreds of Millions
A report from Energy and Environmental Economics in San Francisco says cutting emissions between 26 percent and 38 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 could cost $23 billion year. Read Full Brie
Temporary Taxes Become Permanent in Prop. 55
Economist Milton Friedman said, and was proved right many times over, that nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program. The same could be said for temporary taxes. They’re about as eternal as death. It’s actually a ghost we are considering here, though, tax hikes authorized by Proposition 30 ...
Prop 57 Contains a Loophole for Violent Criminals
With violent crime increasing in California, it seems reasonable to grant early release to inmates convicted of nonviolent offenses to make room in the prison system for truly dangerous felons. Most of us would be happy to trade an accountant guilty of bilking his employer for a serial rapist. One ...
CAPITAL IDEAS: Reforming California’s Pension System
California governments owe their current and future retirees maybe as much as $600 billion. But the governments aren’t going to pay. Taxpayers will be handed the bill, and in some cities, each household is on the hook for more than $50,000. In at least one municipality, the household share of ...
Cigarette Tax Hike Initiative A Bridge Too Far
It seems there is a never-ending war on “sin” and a desire by some to try and tax it away. This includes higher taxes on snacks and cigarettes, among other items. As to the latter item, California voters will weigh in with a November ballot proposal to hike California’s cigarette ...
CAPITAL IDEAS: Reforming California’s Environmental Policies
The roots of California’s environmental regulations can be traced back to 1884. That’s the year a federal judge ordered miners to stop using water cannons to batter the Sierra hillsides to separate gold from the soil and rock, but also left behind a broken and ugly landscape.
