Schwarzenegger breaks no-tax promise, calls for big hike in sales tax

By Chuck DeVore | 08/05/08

We had a recall almost five years ago.  California had a huge deficit.  And soon-to-be-governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was promising to "Cut up the credit card."In the March 2004 primary, Schwarzenegger, now Governor, was promoting the passage of Propositions 57 and 58.  Prop. 57 was a $15 billion deficit bond designed to refinance the short term debt California incurred under Gov. Gray Davis (with a few billion left over for... read more »

POLL: After 30 Years, Californians Support Nuclear Power

By Chuck DeVore | 07/17/08

High energy costs and a desire to do something about reducing greenhouse gas emissions has caused Californians to shift their opinion in favor of nuclear power for the first time in more than 30 years, according to a just-released Field Poll.  The San Francisco Chronicle covered this story today in a piece entitled, "Nuclear plants, offshore drilling gain support." The article mentions my two-year effort to lift California's 32-year ban on... read more »

Cell Phone Fascists Flout Freedom

By Chuck DeVore | 07/11/08

Liberty is the first casualty of the nanny state.I wish I could take some measure of joy in saying, "I told you so." But, I can't.  In fact, I'm just angry.What happened?  Scott Carpenter, one of my field representatives, was pulled over yesterday morning by one of Irvine's finest.  The crime?  Violating section 23123 of the Vehicle Code by talking on a cell phone without a hands-free device while driving.The trouble was, Mr.... read more »

Oops! California Overspent by $3.9 BILLION

By Chuck DeVore | 07/11/08

Almost five years ago on July 29, 2003 the Legislature passed a $70.8 billion General Fund budget.  A few months later, Gov. Gray Davis was recalled.  Today, we find out that California overspent its 2007-08 budget by $3.9 billion for a total of $107.3 billion, a 51.6 percent increase in government spending over the approved budget five years ago.  So, how did we spend almost $4 billion more than budgeted last year?  If the... read more »

$9 billion in New Taxes - DeVore on John & Ken at 5 PM

By Chuck DeVore | 07/10/08

Well, here we go again.  After years of overspending and borrowing to pay for it, California's Democratic lawmakers have proposed a massive $9 billion tax hike to partially cover a $15 billion deficit.  And, while they want to increase taxes to cover their overspending, they have the gall to propose spending even more at a time when most Californians are struggling to live within their means. Specifically, Democrats propose to increase... read more »

California's Self-inflicted Energy Wounds Hurt Working People

By Chuck DeVore | 07/02/08

Politics is all fun and games - until someone gets hurt.  I've been warning for some time now that California's environmental and energy policy were going to cause a big spike in electrical rates, a spike that would hurt hard working Californians and drive jobs out of state.  Today's Los Angeles Times contains further proof of this concern.  In an article entitled, "Sparks fly over rate plan by Southern California Edison," tells... read more »

An Exchange of Letters with China over Human Rights

By Chuck DeVore | 06/29/08

In April, I addressed the Human Rights Torch Relay in Santa Monica.  The Human Rights Torch Relay drew attention to human rights abuses by the government of China against its own people. The unelected communist government in Beijing sent me a warning letter in May, telling me that everything is fine in China and that I should cooperate so as not to hurt their feelings. I sent the government of China my formal reply earlier this month. ... read more »

The Air Resources Board's poorly thought out plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

By Chuck DeVore | 06/26/08

A Reuters piece just hit the wire on California's poorly thought out plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent in 12 years - without added nuclear power.  This plan is truly a fool's errand.  It cannot be accomplished and will only shift California jobs to more polluting states, or, worse yet, to China, thus increasing global greenhouse gas emissions in the long run.  The Reuters story, entitled, "California unveils... read more »

Public opinion shifts in favor of nuclear and offshore oil

By Chuck DeVore | 06/25/08

Public opinion on energy issues is shifting due to the rising cost of fuel.  Even in California, according to a recent SurveyUSA poll, 47 percent of the public supports the construction of modern nuclear powers plant while only 35 percent oppose.  Further, 59 percent of Californians want to drill for the vast amounts of oil off our coast while only 33 percent want to keep those resources off limits.    With this change in... read more »

Electricity costs going up 11 percent

By Chuck DeVore | 06/11/08

A little over a month ago I blogged on RedCounty about the coming spike in electricity prices ("Hang on for a spike in electricity costs made worse by poorly thought out energy and environmental policy.")  I predicted that we may soon see 20-30 percent increases in our electrical rates due to our overdependence on natural gas to power our grid.  Well, according to the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Jose Mercury News PG&E just... read more »