The Capitol Weekly

Maybe we Californians have such a hard time figuring out how to fix the state because we are too close to the problem. How might an analyst sent here from another world--think of him as an extraterrestrial Alexis de Tocqueville, well read in California history and deeply versed on political practices elsewhere on this globe--diagnose California's ailments?  

One of these is Mark Paul, senior scholar with the non-partisan New America Foundation. "I think it's silly to have a conversation about the future direction of California without talking about Prop. 13," Paul said. "I think it's fundamental. ...

The move away from the general fund is a predictable response to a pair of trends that have been chipping away at this money for years, according to Mark Paul, a senior scholar with the non-partisan New America Foundation. First is the tendency to rely ...

Seven hundred billion dollars to bail out the banking and financial industries is a lot of money. But let's not forget where this crisis started: in a failing housing market, the initial domino in the meltdown. The banks are being bailed out - but what about housing?

Too many people today are spending too much of their income on keeping a roof over their heads. Nearly half of Americans are "rent burdened," spending more than 30% of their income on housing. Whether it is… more

...But there is wide agreement that as the press corps diminishes, there is an increasing lack of quality state political information. "The importance of having an independent journalism that played a watchdog function is extremely important in keeping government honest and responsive," said Mark Paul, deputy director of the New America Foundation's California program... LINK

In the movie Groundhog Day, the Bill Murray character, a weatherman who is doomed to repeat the same day over and over, asks a question that haunts redistricting reformers in California: "What would you do if you were stuck in one place and everyday was exactly the same, and nothing that you did mattered?"

With the recent failure of the Legislature to place redistricting reform on the ballot -- for the second year in a row -- reformers are scrambling for… more

Governor Schwarzenegger was cheered when he recently talked about post-partisanship in Washington, D.C. But the post-partisan waters don’t run deep back home in California. Two state senators who just crossed the aisle to forward a creative solution to a pressing problem are getting more grief than glory.

Senator Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, and Robert Dutton, R-Rancho Cucamonga, held a press conference on February 28 to introduce their bill to create a California Kids Account for every newborn. The goal is to… more

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has sitting on his desk a bill that he ought to sign. Signing AB 2948 would establish California as a national leader in the effort to create a nationwide popular vote for president, which recent elections have shown would be a more democratic method than the 18th Century Electoral College.

Unfortunately, AB 2948 has become bogged down in the usual divisive partisan sand-box squabbling that afflicts our national politics. Democratic legislators voted to pass this bill with… more

New research reveals that California is dead last in bringing home the country's largest resource for working-poor families. By April 17, hundreds of thousands of Californians will miss out on applying for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), a source of sizeable refunds that give a financial boost to those at the low end of the pay scale. Golden State residents leave almost $1 billion in federal funds unapplied for. California families pay a big price when they leave these… more