CALIFORNIA POLITICAL NEWS & VIEWS 11/20/2015

Sell the Post Office! U.S. Postal Service Lost $5.1B in FY2015 By Stephen Frank on Nov 19, 2015 08:29 pm Great news!! The United States Post Office, after losing money for nine straight years—many with deficits north of $8 billion, is coming back! In this fiscal year it only lost $5.1 billion—after a $1.1 billion increase in revenues. In total, your tax dollars have subsidized the Post Office by about $50 billions! You must be […] Read More and Comment: Sell the Post Office! U.S. Postal Service Lost $5.1B in FY2015 Berkeley imposes new laws on homeless behavior By Stephen Frank on Nov 19, 2015 08:26 pm Is Berkeley a joke? The University is designing and approving SEGRAGATED HOUSING for black students! Yup, the KKK has won at this formerly liberal institution. Now the city wants to create new rules for the homeless—Seriously. Such as, “The Berkeley City Council passed a series of measures early Wednesday morning to address issues raised by […] Read More and Comment: Berkeley imposes new laws on homeless behavior Prop. 98 guarantee could reach $80B by 2020 By Stephen Frank on Nov 19, 2015 08:25 pm Great news for the unions, the special interests, the vendors that use donations to bond measures to buy contracts—by 2020 Prop.98 will guarantee $80 billion to failed government education. Note the issue is not quality of education—otherwise Common Core would have been laughed at—no, it is about pay offs to the special interests. “The minimum […] Read More and Comment: Prop. 98 guarantee could reach $80B by 2020 Housing crisis continues to grip SF teachers, even after bond approval By Stephen Frank on Nov 19, 2015 08:23 pm The people of San Fran voted to approve a bond, so teachers in government schools can have “affordable” subsidized housing. Expect in the future the police, the street sweepers, the landscapers and other government workers demanding similar deals. With the way the bond was worded, it looks like ANY government worker qualifies. “The $310 million […] Read More and Comment: Housing crisis continues to grip SF teachers, even after bond approval Los Angeles Taxpayers Finance $11 MILLION Bike Sharing Program By Stephen Frank on Nov 19, 2015 08:20 pm Why is the cost of a bus ride in Los Angeles so high? Why do the taxpayers of California subsidize hundreds of millions to Los Angeles transportation? Where is it the roll of government to provide bikes, skates or skateboards for citizens to use? In Los Angeles government officials see your tax dollars as a […] Read More and Comment: Los Angeles Taxpayers Finance $11 MILLION Bike Sharing Program Can the Sharing Economy Make Politicians More Responsive? By Stephen Frank on Nov 19, 2015 08:18 pm When people are allowed to decide their spending habits and the firms they deal with, is there a bleeding of this on the political scene. Once you get the idea of freedom—Airbnb or a hotel, Uber or a taxi, you as a consumer may ask why elected officials are using government to limit and/or direct […] Read More and Comment: Can the Sharing Economy Make Politicians More Responsive? Money and clout on the line for teachers union in 2016 By Stephen Frank on Nov 19, 2015 08:16 pm Charter schools are educating children to a high measure. Teachers in these schools, mostly, do not pay bribes to unions. Republicans now control the governor’s office in 32 States and the GOP controls a vast majority of legislative bodies in the nation. Officeholders in these States are looking toward the education and welfare of the […] Read More and Comment: Money and clout on the line for teachers union in 2016 LAO Budget Report Proves Prop.30 Not Needed—Just a Slush Fund By Stephen Frank on Nov 19, 2015 08:14 pm According to the Legislative Analysts Office the State of California will have a “surplus” of $11.5 billion. Not noted is that $6 billion of that is from Prop. 30—which we now know was not needed. Plus, the Jerry Brown buddies are planning an extension of Prop.30—but to raise $9-15 billion a year!! This is not […] Read More and Comment: LAO Budget Report Proves Prop.30 Not Needed—Just a Slush Fund San Jose May Ease Up on Taxis to Level Playing Field with Uber, Lyft By Stephen Frank on Nov 19, 2015 08:12 pm Thanks to Uber and Lyft, silly, worthless but costly regulations on taxi services will be eased. Not because the government wants to, but thanks to government, and the consumer’s free choice, the government created taxi monopoly is losing customers and revenues. Soon, the monopoly firms will be learning about the bankruptcy courts. “Despite a two-day […] Read More and Comment: San Jose May Ease Up on Taxis to Level Playing Field with Uber, Lyft What Recovery? Santa Barbara Firm to FIRE 1,000 Employees By Stephen Frank on Nov 19, 2015 08:06 pm Working in the technology industry is not a minimum wage job. Good pay, great benefits and a chance for a bright future. In Santa Barbara County 1,000 of these best of the best are about to be fired. The good news is that a new burger joint is opening in Goleta, so expect smart people […] Read More and Comment: What Recovery? Santa Barbara Firm to FIRE 1,000 Employees   In Case You Missed It: State Treasurer: California Debt is $1.5 TRILLION (NOT a Typo) Guv Brown Can’t Stop Illegal Aliens From Killing Us—How Does He Stop ISIS Terrorists Imported by Obama? Buses, Tolls, Tunnels and Technology: Think Tank’s $700 Billion Plan to Target Southern California’s Bottlenecks and Reduce Traffic Congestion Cities and States Try to Crack Down on Distracted Bicycling Two Years Later, California is Still Cleaning Up Drug Rehab System