(This article originally appeared in the San Jose Mercury News)
While America has always been a place where a person could get rich, it used to be that you got rich a bit more slowly, and everyone benefited in the process. This is because we used to have very high tax rates [...]
Moderate and conservative Democrats want [...]
Here at Speak Out California, we're trying to bring some clarity and varying perspectives to the water wars that have been the hallmark of California politics since statehood. With the fight for precious water resources dividing the state along geographic as well as ideological lines, it is important that' [...]
... the G.O.P. has been taken over by the people it used to exploit. ... Once elections were [...]
There are a few lessons to take away from last night's elections. The main one is that Democrats should act like Democrats if they want Democrats to show up and vote. Low-turnout elections are base elections: you have to turn out your base or you will lose.
Virginia: The Democrat [...]
This post originally appeared at Campaign for America's Future (CAF) at their Blog for OurFuture. I am also a Fellow with CAF.
The Supreme Court may decide as soon as today on the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission case involving a corporate-funded anti-Hillary smear ad. It [...]
Private contractors' work often shoddy
Be careful what you wish for. As a municipal employee, I spent 20 years redoing and fixing work' [...]
This is a guest post by Senator Loni Hancock. Just when you think you've seen it all, the Governor and his cronies pull another one on the people of California. While the economy created by the Bush "free-marketeers" has sent the country on an economic free-fall; while California sees its unemployment rate hit over 11% and while the' [...]
When Assembly Speaker Karen Bass announced she was going to create a special committee to consider reforming the tax structure in California, the Governor decided that he would beat her to the punch and announced, with his typical over-the-top braggadocio, that he was setting up a special commission to [...]
With the passing of Senator Edward M. Kennedy this week, we have come to the official end of an extraordinary era and family legacy. There are still many of us left who cut our political teeth on the Kennedy's-- listening to the newly elected, handsome young man with the appalling Boston accent' [...]
While most of the country, including California, is immersed in the highly controversial health care debate, we here in California are facing our own very significant debate on key reforms that will impact everyone in the State for years to come.
In addition to talk about a Constitutional Convention to attack our [...]
In recent weeks, the public discourse in this country has moved from simple dishonesty to mob rule, exemplified by the threatening and hysterical frenzy created by the right-wing talk shows. This extremely disturbing development has been orchestrated by former Congressman and Republican leader Dick Armey and other politicians who are making millions as [...]
This article was produced as part of Commonweal Institute's Progressive Op-Ed Program
Progressives believe in a "we're all in this together" philosophy while conservatives follow a "you are on your own" philosophy. The differences between these approaches can be clearly seen in the battle over how we share' [...]
During my first term in the California Legislature back in 1998, I was reminded regularly that the state budget is a moral document, setting forth the priorities and values of its people. If what we are seeing today is such a set of priorities, we have clearly lost our moral compass. [...]
State leaders must find more money
Our [...]
Governor Schwarzenegger has talked about the need to act responsibly and pass a budget.
So the legislature is trying to do just that. According to the Sacramento Bee, "... the Legislature's joint budget conference committee, on a party-line vote, adopted a plan that included about $2 billion" [...]
Hannah-Beth Jackson, Dave Johnson, Guest
