America’s summer of fiscal discontent is coming to a close on a downbeat note. The California legislature is preparing to wind up its session having stirred up a lot of controversy but done almost nothing to address the state’s ongoing pension crisis. The burgeoning shortfall now adds up to $139 billion in the CalPERS fund Read More →
The fires raging up and down the Central Coast remind us of the vulnerability we all face and the historical importance of the environment we pay taxes to protect. The Chimney Fire that briefly threatened the Hearst Castle and the Rey Fire, which appeared to envelope the Santa Ynez Valley in smoke and flame when Read More →
If you want more evidence for my theory that small businesses are simply being thrown under the bus in the current political season, just look at the farmworker overtime bill that nearly passed the General Assembly on Aug. 23. The proposed rules, which were pulled from a final vote on Aug. 25, would mandate higher Read More →
It seems crazy to write about Christmas in August. But as the shopping season starts earlier and earlier, there’s more and more trouble brewing for retailers. News that Macy’s is closing another 100 stores — after announcing 36 exits earlier this year — got raves from Wall Street as the nation’s flagship chain battles online Read More →
News from breast implant maker Sientra that it had secured a contract with a unit of lubricants maker Lubrizol to have its silicone breast implants produced in the U.S. sent the stock soaring on Aug. 9. In an ironic twist on the Rio Olympics, Sientra has been running away from Brazilian manufacturer Silimed after European Read More →
So far the 2016 election campaign has been about a lot of things — immigration, treatment of Gold Star families, tax returns, emails and email hacks. But one thing it has not been about is enabling the real people who make America great, our more than 3 million small business owners. You get the feeling Read More →
This has been a big year for green energy. Anti-nuclear groups are celebrating an agreement to close Diablo Canyon nuclear plant near San Luis Obispo, solar costs are on par with conventional resources and a big wind turbine project offshore at Morro Bay is moving rapidly through the approval process. The Public Policy Institute of Read More →