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California relying on one gimmick after another for deficit fix

By Troy Senik on May 23, 2012 5:42 PM

Perhaps the most overused cliche in California politics is "kicking the can down the road," the expression invoked every time that the state's budget or pension travails are addressed in a manner so superficial that it ensures another crisis will soon emerge on the horizon. When he took office, Governor Jerry Brown -- facing the sunset of his political career -- pledged to be a different kind of executive; one who wouldn't resort to one-time gimmicks and cosmetic fixes. Now, facing a $16 billion budget deficit, the governor can't find fiscal band-aids fast enough.

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California Killing Its Economy with Green Statism

By Troy Senik on October 30, 2011 1:15 PM

In years past, the operative cliche for California politics has been that it provides a coming attraction of national policy. But as the Golden State has continued drifting well to the left of the nation at large, it now seems to be modeling a bizzaro world in which progressive fantasies get to run wild without meaningful checks from an opposition party.

Nowhere is that clearer than in the state's "damn the costs, full speed ahead" environmental policies. For proof, just take a look at recent headlines. Last week, the California Air Resources Board signed off (unanimously) on the first statewide cap and trade program in the nation, which will cover 85 percent of the state's carbon emissions within four years. The California Small Business Association estimates the costs of implementation at $183 billion, "one and a half times the total budget for the state of California." Needless to say, the increase in energy costs will hit the state's poorest citizens the hardest.

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