The rain and snow storms that have pummeled California for weeks have taken nearly two dozen lives and caused billions of dollars in damages to public and private property. The flip side, however, is that they dropped immense amounts of water on a state that has suffered through severe drought...
Californians’ Patience on Homelessness Wears Thin: Walters
Last week, a viral video showed the owner of a San Francisco art gallery using a water hose to spray a homeless woman camped outside the doorway of his business. The gallery owner, Collier Gwin, semi-apologized later, telling a television interviewer, “I totally understand what an awful thing that is...
Hypocritical Newsom Touts Freedom While Disrespecting Reporters
A reporter for West Virginia’s public broadcasting system was fired last month after exposing the state health agency’s abuse of disabled people. Amelia Ferrell Knisley said she was axed after ignoring orders to stop reporting that the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources was hiding information about treatment...
California’s Boom or Bust Tax System Strikes Again
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s penchant for braggadocio was in full flower eight months ago when he declared that California had a $97.5 billion budget surplus and boasted that “no other state in American history has ever experienced a surplus as large as this.” He and the Legislature then wrote a 2022-23...
Walters: Pending Bill Opens Door to CalPERS Corruption
Assembly Bill 386 sailed through the Assembly Judiciary Committee last week on a unanimous vote with virtually no discussion about its provisions. The measure also received express treatment a few days earlier from the Assembly committee that deals with public employee matters. Given its cavalier handling, one might think that...
Walters: Is Newsom Making Any Difference on Fracking?
British journalist James Bartholomew is widely credited with creating the phrase “virtue signaling” to describe positioning oneself on the popular side of an issue without actually doing anything about it. Politicians are particularly prone to uttering words or making token efforts on difficult issues to stave off criticism about their...
Walters: Biden’s Tax Plan Could Hit California Hard
A cosmic convergence of events in Washington and Sacramento last week demonstrated how strongly federal and state tax systems are interconnected. President Joe Biden, it was revealed, will ask Congress this week to nearly double taxes on capital gains of the highest-income taxpayers, on top of an increase in taxes...
Walters: California’s Looming Showdown Over Crime and Punishment
Should California continue to reduce punishment for crimes large and small, or has it gone too far and implicitly allowed criminals to prey upon Californians without fear of imprisonment? The question has reverberated throughout the state over the last half-decade, ever since former Gov. Jerry Brown lunched a personal crusade...
Walters: Is Corporate Tax Hike Too Hot to Handle?
Assembly Bill 71 is one of the year’s most contentious pieces of legislation —a hefty increase in corporate and personal income taxes to finance new efforts to end homelessness. Assemblywoman Luz Rivas, an Arleta Democrat, is carrying the bill with backing from dozens of left-of-center social service organizations. “Now is...
Walters : As Drought Hits California, Long-Term Issues Loom
By the time this column is published, Northern California may be receiving some much-needed rain, and possibly some snow. However, late-season precipitation does not change the reality that California is in one of its periodic droughts after two dry years. Major Northern California reservoirs are only about half-full due to...