CEO Cal Policy Center, cohost National Review's Radio Free California podcast, founding editor OC Weekly. USC football. Opinions may change with new info.
California
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I talk with Mike Rowe about how California wound up with sky-high gas, energy, and tax rates—and bottom-tier education outcomes.
Says Mike: "Consider this an ad hoc public service announcement that might help save America in '28."
@mikeroweworks
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas…
And yet the district, a wholly owned subsidiary of its teachers union, JUST agreed to a massive pay hike.
"Overspent and under-enrolled: State fiscal crisis experts issue severe warning to LAUSD" latimes.com/california/story…
Will Swaim retweeted
It costs businesses a fortune to litigate against government overreach, but the politicians involved in the overreach suffer no such penalty. Consumers, of course, pay no matter what.
Last time I heard Democrats make this claim about states’ rights and voting was in the Jim Crow South in the 1960s. In fact, Federal law prohibits non-citizen voting in federal elections. So does state law.
“I assume all temporary taxes will be permanent.”
Will Swaim retweeted
No matter how strong the expiry language is, it’s always easier to extend a tax once it’s in place than to create it initially. The argument — “you won’t pay any more than you are now” — is easier than “you’ve got to pay more.” I assume all temporary taxes will be permanent.
Will Swaim retweeted
Will — When l was in Maine, they passed a temporary one-year one percent increase in the sales tax, 5 to 6%. Still 6%… that 30 years ago.
Will Swaim retweeted
Great article here. Not only was Newsom’s ban on hydraulic fracturing illegal but he shut down CalGEM from issuing permits on new wells for many years.
All of it was illegal.
Blue bars show new wells drilled.
California’s governor tried to outlaw oil production by executive fiat. A state judge has exposed the deception.
“Gavin Newsom’s Secret Fracking Ban Comes Undone” nationalreview.com/2026/10/g…
Nothing so permanent as a temporary government program. 2012: Prop. 30 imposed an “emergency” tax, promised to be temporary. 2016: Another school-funding “emergency.” Prop. 55 extended it. 2026: Prop. 3 would make it permanent, marketed as merely extending an existing tax.
Will Swaim retweeted
And this is the third time they’ve tried to extend Prop 3, right? We need a proposition that incentivizes our Legislature to eliminate waste and if they achieve certain savings milestones, we will let them write more checks.
Will Swaim retweeted
By @WillSwaim
Gavin Newsom’s Secret Fracking Ban Comes Undone nationalreview.com/2026/10/g…
California’s governor tried to outlaw oil production by executive fiat. A state judge has exposed the deception.
“Gavin Newsom’s Secret Fracking Ban Comes Undone” nationalreview.com/2026/10/g…
Will Swaim retweeted
We’re also tired of the old bait-and-switch routine with taxes approved for a limited duration that they later try to guilt us into extending.
Will Swaim retweeted
The pro-tax side can demonize us opponents and spread all the scare stories it can think of, but they are climbing a wall of tax fatigue.
Long-time Californians have been there and done that. It's always just one more tax and everything will be fine.
Will Swaim retweeted
Asset seizure tax destroying California
You can bet they will keep trying to do it because it’s all the same goal: eat the Golden Goose
Better off just enjoying unlimited golden eggs but no, gotta eat that goose
California's Billionaire Tax Act would collect roughly $30 billion. Accounting for lost income taxes from departures, the mean Net Present Value is negative $39 billion, from Benjamin Jaros and Joshua Rauh nber.org/papers/w35899
