Rowena Itchon
Blog
New Year, New Laws
It’s been a tough year, and we hope that Californians can get back on their feet in 2021. Unfortunately, many of the new laws that took effect on January 1 won’t be helping. To borrow from Kermit the frog — it’s not easy being Blue. I’ve picked out a few ...
Blog
California’s Scandal-Plagued Unemployment Agency
The number of Californians certified for unemployment insurance is now at 1.6 million compared to October last year before the pandemic, when just 260,000 Californians received unemployment checks. Going into the holidays, a heart-breaking one in 10 Californians are unemployed. Even more anguishing, the state’s Employment Development Department (EDD), the ...
Blog
Heroes Act Gave Millions to California’s Poshest Cities
Coronavirus relief funds are back on the negotiation table, but the three sides have a huge chasm to close. Speaker Nancy Pelosi originally proposed a $3.4 trillion package, then $2.2 trillion, and has now settled on $900 billion. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin bargained down further to $1.9 trillion, followed by ...
Blog
Living in Fear in LA – What Defunding the LAPD Means for Angelenos
If rapidly rising cases of COVID-19 haven’t stopped Los Angelenos from stepping out of their homes — this will. To carry out the LA City Council’s decision to bow to mob violence and cut $150 million from the Los Angeles Police Department’s budget, the LAPD over the next several months ...
Blog
A Work-at-Home Tax?
Ronald Reagan once described the government’s view of the economy like this: “If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.” From his last point, even the Gipper couldn’t imagine that government would tax something that just stayed put. Fast forward ...
Blog
Californians Reject Racial Preferences
In an election result that astonished the country, Californians voted down an initiative that would have returned racial preferences to state college admissions, hiring, and contracting. In a margin of 56% to 44%, one of the most diverse and deepest blue states in the nation voted a resounding No to ...
Blog
Who’s Better for the Stock Market? Republicans vs. Democrats
Free marketers often assume that between the two political parties, Republicans are better for the stock market. It makes sense. Republicans believe that economic growth can be achieved by reducing regulation and costs for businesses and relying on competition to encourage innovation. In contrast, Democrats believe that government should take ...
Blog
Rename San Francisco’s Schools? Try these…
While San Francisco parents struggle to help their kids keep up with their education during the coronavirus school closures, San Francisco school district officials are worrying about how to rename 44 schools out of the 125 in the city. The names of these schools are “inappropriate,” according to the San ...
Blog
Prop 16 – No Truth in Advertising
One of the most disturbing political ads airing across the state this election season is a television ad urging a “yes” vote on Prop. 16, the ballot initiative that asks voters to overturn Prop. 209, the landmark California law that ended racial preferences in university admissions, government employment and contracting. ...
Blog
Prop 23 – Do we really need a doctor in the house?
Back in the November 2018 election, California voters were forced to pretend to be health care executives when they were asked to decide whether to require dialysis clinics to give refunds to patients (or patients’ insurers) if profits were above 115 percent of the costs of patient care and healthcare improvements. ...
New Year, New Laws
It’s been a tough year, and we hope that Californians can get back on their feet in 2021. Unfortunately, many of the new laws that took effect on January 1 won’t be helping. To borrow from Kermit the frog — it’s not easy being Blue. I’ve picked out a few ...
California’s Scandal-Plagued Unemployment Agency
The number of Californians certified for unemployment insurance is now at 1.6 million compared to October last year before the pandemic, when just 260,000 Californians received unemployment checks. Going into the holidays, a heart-breaking one in 10 Californians are unemployed. Even more anguishing, the state’s Employment Development Department (EDD), the ...
Heroes Act Gave Millions to California’s Poshest Cities
Coronavirus relief funds are back on the negotiation table, but the three sides have a huge chasm to close. Speaker Nancy Pelosi originally proposed a $3.4 trillion package, then $2.2 trillion, and has now settled on $900 billion. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin bargained down further to $1.9 trillion, followed by ...
Living in Fear in LA – What Defunding the LAPD Means for Angelenos
If rapidly rising cases of COVID-19 haven’t stopped Los Angelenos from stepping out of their homes — this will. To carry out the LA City Council’s decision to bow to mob violence and cut $150 million from the Los Angeles Police Department’s budget, the LAPD over the next several months ...
A Work-at-Home Tax?
Ronald Reagan once described the government’s view of the economy like this: “If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.” From his last point, even the Gipper couldn’t imagine that government would tax something that just stayed put. Fast forward ...
Californians Reject Racial Preferences
In an election result that astonished the country, Californians voted down an initiative that would have returned racial preferences to state college admissions, hiring, and contracting. In a margin of 56% to 44%, one of the most diverse and deepest blue states in the nation voted a resounding No to ...
Who’s Better for the Stock Market? Republicans vs. Democrats
Free marketers often assume that between the two political parties, Republicans are better for the stock market. It makes sense. Republicans believe that economic growth can be achieved by reducing regulation and costs for businesses and relying on competition to encourage innovation. In contrast, Democrats believe that government should take ...
Rename San Francisco’s Schools? Try these…
While San Francisco parents struggle to help their kids keep up with their education during the coronavirus school closures, San Francisco school district officials are worrying about how to rename 44 schools out of the 125 in the city. The names of these schools are “inappropriate,” according to the San ...
Prop 16 – No Truth in Advertising
One of the most disturbing political ads airing across the state this election season is a television ad urging a “yes” vote on Prop. 16, the ballot initiative that asks voters to overturn Prop. 209, the landmark California law that ended racial preferences in university admissions, government employment and contracting. ...
Prop 23 – Do we really need a doctor in the house?
Back in the November 2018 election, California voters were forced to pretend to be health care executives when they were asked to decide whether to require dialysis clinics to give refunds to patients (or patients’ insurers) if profits were above 115 percent of the costs of patient care and healthcare improvements. ...
