Unconventional Wisdom: Election Pre-mortem
It certainly seems appropriate that disgraced former Congressmember Anthony Weiner is surfacing in the middle of the latest Presidential campaign kerfuffle. After all, the dominant themes of this fracas have been sex and emails. Will this latest soap opera episode qualify as an October surprise that will completely upend the race? Probably not, although it […]
Betting Elections & Consequences of Overlapping Taxes
Betting the Election Polls are fine in trying to determine potential election results but the smart money may be a better barometer of election outcomes. Smart money is a term used in professional sports betting for the bettors who do better research and supposedly have better knowledge of the field in which they bet on the outcomes. And, yes, […]
Raising the White Flag to the “Tax and Spend” Interests Behind Prop. 55
There are some who believe that the passage of Prop. 55 is inevitable, the measure can’t be beat. Maybe these folks have been right all along. But maybe they have really been just too afraid to take a strong stand against Prop. 55, for fear of fighting a losing battle. However, I would argue that […]
California’s Attempt at Fleecing Shoppers
California is known for having some of the most stringent consumer protection laws in the nation. Nonetheless, the state’s fight against the fleecing of consumers apparently ended when Senate Bill 270, a statewide ban on plastic bags, was passed by the legislature and signed by Gov. Brown. Many California counties and municipalities have enacted their own plastic […]
“California Can’t Go Back”: Why Proposition 55 Will Increase Sales Taxes
“The best things in life are free, but sooner or later the government will find a way to tax them.” – Anonymous The most recent Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) poll shows that a majority of likely voters backs Proposition 55 on the November 8th ballot. Proposition 55, the “Tax Extension to Fund Education […]
What Will the Propositions Cost?
All statewide ballot measures receive an analysis from the Department of Finance and the Legislative Analyst’s Office as to the fiscal effects of the initiatives. That got me wondering what it would cost Californians if in the unlikely event an unrestrained electorate decided to vote Yes on all 17 measures. Truth be told, it is […]
When Californians Dumped the Diversity Dogma
On November 5, 1996, California voters approved Proposition 209, the California Civil Rights Initiative, by a margin of 54 to 46 percent. Twenty years later this vote should be recalled as a victory over racial prejudice and politically correct dogma. According to this dogma, all institutions should precisely reflect the racial or ethnic diversity of […]
Don’t Dismiss Stockton
Here’s a new maxim for Californians to live by, courtesy of this election: Don’t dismiss apocalyptic warnings from Stockton. If you’re a Californian with a television or a mailbox, you’re encountering a barrage of ill-advised Stockton dismissals. Specifically, Gov. Jerry Brown, labor unions and Sacramento building and infrastructure lobbies are trying to defeat a November […]
On the 2016 Campaign Trail, Candidates Are Miles Away from Main Street
Hacked emails and old videos have dominated the news of the presidential election lately. While salacious revelations and inside politics are interesting and motivating for some voters, there are important candidate positions voters need to know about. For us at Kabateck Strategies, how the candidates plan to improve conditions for small business is of upmost […]
The Power of Editorials—Amplified
I was once told that only 3-percent of newspaper readers read editorials. I suspect that figure is low, but when I mentioned this to a Los Angeles Times editorial writer yesterday he responded: “It depends who the three percent are.” True enough. Influencers and decision makers read editorials and editorial arguments and positions often become […]