Moderate Party: We're Turning the Corner in 2012

Dear Friend:

2011 was a hard year to watch in politics.  I would be just as pessimistic about 2012, but there's light at the end of the tunnel.  In many ways, all of the dysfunction that has led us to this point leaves us with no other choice than to fix the mess ourselves.

We didn't want to end the year, however, without saying goodbye.

So we made a video to memorialize where we've gone and to look toward where we're headed.

We're still at a point on this journey where few think what we're about to do is even possible.  But I know something they don't.  You'll be hearing more about what that is next month.

Click here to watch the 2012 Teaser Video.

And stay tuned because 2012 will be the year when we turn the corner...

Sincerely,

Ash Roughani

Founder, California Moderate Party

CRP Chairman Del Beccaro's Christmas Statement 2011

"Each year, Christmas brings together families and friends to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. The light the Christ Child brought into the world that glorious day continues to break through darkness more than two thousand years later.

 

"As we celebrate, let us all look to those less fortunate and affirm our humanity by showing grace to those in need. We should also show our continued appreciation to the men and women serving and sacrificing to protect our country and secure God's gift of freedom for others around the globe.

  

"On behalf of the California Republican Party, I offer best wishes for a very Merry Christmas and a more prosperous New Year."

Happy Holidays from Rep. Denham

Dear Friend,

 

Earlier this month, the nation kicked off the Holiday Season with the lighting of the Capitol Christmas Tree. A tradition at the Capitol since 1964, it was an honor to have the tree hand-picked from the Stanislaus National Forest in our district.

 

I would like to thank the thousands of volunteers who, for months, worked tirelessly planning the Sierra White Fir’s seamless trip across the country, and crafted nearly 3,000 ornaments to reflect this year's theme, “California Shines."  This was a true community effort.

 

I combined photos and sentiments about the Capitol Christmas Tree and the Holidays in a Youtube video I'd like to share with you called “Bringing Our Community Together For The Holidays.”

 

 The Holiday Season is a time to bring families and communities together and to welcome the joys of the New Year.  This year, let’s be thankful for the blessings we have and remember the servicemen and women who are not with their families and those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

 

I wish you all Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!

 

Sincerely,

 

JEFF DENHAM

United States Representative

ICYMI: Redistricting Bombshell - Just the Tip of the Iceberg

By CRP Chairman Tom Del Beccaro (as seen in FlashReport)

 

Yesterday’s bombshell report released by ProPublica, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalism website, entitled "How Democrats Fooled California's Redistricting Commission," systematically lays out the Democrats' manipulation of what should have been an open and transparent process, It also demonstrated exactly how the redistricting maps were corrupted by partisan activists working in cooperation with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

 

Here's what the San Jose Mercury News reported about the redistricting scandal:

 

"California's congressional Democrats ran a secret effort earlier this year to manipulate the work of the independent citizen's panel that drew the state's new political districts, foiling the intent of reformers who sought to remove the redistricting process from the control of party bosses.

 

"Democrats met behind closed doors at the party's Washington, D.C. headquarters, hired consultants, drew their ideal districts and presented maps to the panel through proxies who never disclosed their party ties or "public interest" groups created specifically for the purpose. In many cases, the panel responded by doing just what the Democrats wanted."

 

The ProPublica report vindicates my repeated contention that the redistricting process was hijacked. That report, however, is just the tip of the iceberg and the problems were not limited to the Congressional maps.

 

If you’re a regular Flash Report reader, you know that I've been petitioning the Redistricting Commission from the very beginning to conduct itself with openness and fairness, just like California voters asked when they voted in favor of Prop 11 and 20. In March, I recommended that the commission hire bi-partisan line drawing experts and Voting Rights Act counsel to assist them with re-drawing legislative lines to avoid the commission being cast as a partisan one. Instead, they chose to ignore my advice and hired Q2 Data and Research, a firm widely known for its ties to Democrats.

 

I chronicled the commission proceedings with a Flash Report exclusive, "The Redistricting Commission – Worse Than I Could Possibly Imagine." If the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, the road signs to Hell point directly to the partisanship showed by the DCCC and its Democrat operatives in California.

 

I called for Dr. Gabianno Aguirre to step down as his involvement compromised the commission's integrity because he failed to disclose his advisory role and donations to a group that presented to the so-called Citizens Commission and then ensured that corrupted lines were used. Those calls fell on deaf ears, and Dr. Aguirre was allowed to maintain his position on the Commission.

 

In the Sacramento Bee, I stated that the Citizens Redistricting Commission 'failed to consistently apply the criteria mandated by law when drawing the Assembly, Senate, congressional, and Board of Equalization maps. And so on. Thankfully, a well-respected investigative team has finally exposed the depths to which Democrats have gone to leverage a loaded outcome.

 

However, the corruption of the process went far beyond what was disclosed in the ProPublica investigation. No fair minded person can now say the process or the result was fair. I am calling for an immediate and thorough investigation, by Congressional and State authorities, to get to the bottom of this obviously corrupted process. Beyond that, the Congressional and Senate lines as drawn by the Commission should not be used in any way for the upcoming elections. Enough should be enough.

 

Source: CA GOP

Statement of CA Democratic Chairman in Response to Unsubstantiated Pro Publica Report Charging Democratic Manipulation of Redistricting Commission

The article charging California Democrats with manipulating California's Redistricting Commission is pure fantasy. I've never had a single conversation about redistricting with any of the Commission's members and frankly I wouldn't recognize a single member of the Commission if I ran into one on the street.

 

Sadly, Pro Publica chose to recycle talking points from the Republican-funded Rose Institute without checking with the Democratic Party. The Rose Institute, which was knocked out of the redistricting process earlier this year because of its explicit ties to the Republican Party, tried to make these charges at beginning of the Commission's deliberations where they were clearly rejected. If the Rose Institute and the Republican Party believed the Democratic Party controlled the independent Commission, one would think they would have challenged all three redistricting plans in court, instead of just one.

DOD Takes Southern Border Support to Air

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

 

WASHINGTON  – Defense Department and National Guard support to southwest U.S. border security will change in the next few months from a ground effort to primarily air, Defense and Homeland Security officials said today.

 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the lead federal agency charged with defending the southwest U.S border with Mexico, but the Defense Department, specifically the National Guard, works closely in support of the effort, and has since 2010.

 

But the mission has changed, said Paul Stockton, assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and Americas’ security affairs. Customs, he said, has beefed up its manpower and technical abilities and no longer needs the numbers of National Guard personnel on the ground.

 

“CBP has changed the kind of support that it is asking the Department of Defense to provide,” he said, “and DOD is transitioning to much more effective support … that not only matches up to what CBP needs, but provides more flexibility against an adaptive adversary.”

 

The border is better protected because of the cooperative relationship between defense and homeland security, said David Aguilar, the Customs and Border Protection agency’s deputy commissioner.

 

“Over the last year, we had over 1,200 National Guard representatives on the line with us,” Aguilar said. Under the new system, he said, fewer than 300 Guardsmen are needed.

 

The Guardsmen worked with border police to man entry identification teams. These are fixed positions and were what was required at the time. But times change, and now the Border Patrol requires aerial platforms to provide intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and mobility ability.

 

This mission will begin around the first of the year and completely transition by March, Aguilar said.

 

“There will be a ramp down of the static [entry identification teams] and the boots on the ground related to those [teams], but a ramp-up on the aerial support and platforms,” he said.

 

Border Patrol Chief Michael Fisher said the patrol has grown to 21,450 officers. The aviation assets will focus at first on detection and monitoring capabilities, he said. Guardsmen will fly specially equipped OH-58 and UH-72 helicopters with a detection radius of 6 and 12 nautical miles, respectively. In addition, Guardsmen will fly RC-26 fixed-wing aircraft with detection and monitoring capability of 12 nautical miles.

 

Such capability will enable the Border Patrol to work in more challenging terrain and give the patrol a faster reaction time to prevent illegal activities. These airborne assets will be able to look way over the horizon of a person on the ground and be able to flow personnel into an area.

 

Defense officials will continue to work with Customs and Border Protection officials to figure the mix of aircraft and capabilities and where the aircraft and ground stations will be.

 

The new National Guard mission will end Dec. 31, 2012, officials said.

ICYMI: House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy On Fox News' “America's Newsroom” & “On the Record”

Fox News’ "America’s Newsroom"

 

On The Bipartisan Support For Middle Class Tax Relief & Job Creation Act:

"Well, yesterday we passed a bipartisan bill that made sure everyone who is working would not get a tax increase, put accountability into unemployment insurance. We fixed a cut of 27 percent to doctors when it came to Medicare to make sure the health care providers are still there. We also put in Keystone, a pipeline for job creation that they have to make a decision, not just one way or another."

 

On Leader Reid’s Obstructionism And The Need For Senate Action:

"What Leader Reid is doing is playing politics with this. He’s saying ‘dead on arrival,’ not allowing people to vote on it. You have a number of members on both sides of the aisle that want to vote on it. This is the same tactics he used with more than 25 job creation bills the House passed in a bipartisan manner that are sitting on the Senate."

 

"There are things in there the President asked for, things in there the Republicans asked for. The House passed it on a bipartisan vote and now sent it to the Senate. So, everything hinges on Senate Democrats."   

 

On the Keystone Pipeline Provision And Job Creation:

"The number one issue in America today is jobs. Because the President refuses to make a decision and waits until after the election, 61 people were laid off yesterday in Arkansas. It is going to happen more. We're not saying you have to say yes to Keystone. What we're saying is, here's job creation, make a decision. Don't postpone it. Just like the President says, America can't wait. If we don't do this pipeline, what will Canada do? Canada will sell the oil to China. The price for oil will go up in America like we see time and time again. If we get an energy source that is at lower cost, our economy can work. If we create jobs here that can start right now, people will be back to work instead of being laid off."

 

"The President has looked at the pipeline and said, ‘no decision until after the election.’ Well you know what? Stop playing politics. What we're saying is, make a decision. The process is there. The protections are there where you have all the reviews. One way or another –

 

America can't wait for job creation. We can't sit back and continue to have people laid off. We've got to have this country moving again. If Senator Reid wants to continue to play politics he will put a tax increase on every working American, and we think that's wrong."

 

Fox News’ "On the Record" with Greta VanSusteren

 

On Senate Democrats Holding Back Tax Relief For The Middle Class:

"We just took a vote that was bipartisan, Democrats voted for this bill as well.  It takes things the President asks for, it takes things Republicans ask for and low and behold that’s how the founders created the government. Now nothing ever moves in the Senate, it is sitting on the Senate Democrats’ lap. The only thing that is holding America back from tax relief for the middle class is the Senate Democrats."

 

On Inclusion Of The Keystone Pipeline For Job Creation:

"Here’s a president that campaigns around the country saying ‘we can’t wait’, and then says I can’t make a decision.  This is a pipeline that comes from Canada and goes all the way down to Louisiana, supplying energy, and lowers our energy costs. You know what Canada says? If we don’t make the decision they will sell it to China, this will create more than 100,000 jobs."

Source: CA GOP

Governor Releases Updated Schedule of Climate Conference

SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today released additional details on panel participants and the issues that will be covered at the Governor’s Conference on Extreme Climate Risks and California’s Future.

 

The conference will be held tomorrow, December 15, 2011 at the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Due to space limitations, attendance is by invitation only. The entire conference will also be webcast live on Governor Brown’s website at www.gov.ca.gov and conference viewers can submit questions to conference speakers through this site.

 

 Event registration will open at 8:30 a.m. and the conference will begin at 9:30 a.m. See below for additional media information, a full agenda with speech and panel times and parking information.

 

The Governor’s Conference on Extreme Climate Risks and California’s Future

 

 Participants (partial list):

 • California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr.

 • Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

• Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, Chair of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

 • Sir Richard Branson, Founder of the Virgin Group

 • Nancy Sutley, Chair, White House Council on Environmental Quality

 Other participants include public safety, insurance industry, public health and climate change experts, emergency response officials, public utility experts and farmers.

 

 Topics:

 • California and the Global Climate Challenge

 • Climate Change’s Human and Economic Impacts on California

 • A National Perspective on Climate Action

 • Climate Solutions to Protect California Communities and Help our Economy

 • Perspectives on California's Leadership on Climate Change

 

 Media interested in attending the conference should RSVP to Richard.Stapler@resources.ca.gov or call 916-653-9402. All press attendees must have current, valid media credentials.

Born from humble beginnings, the National Guard celebrates its 375th birthday

By Bill Boehm

National Guard Bureau

 

Note: California has continued this citizen-soldier tradition since the first militia units organized in 1846 during the Mexican-American War and continued serving through the Gold Rush and after California was granted Statehood.  Today, California has an Army and Air National Guard as well as the State Military Reserve.

 

ARLINGTON, Va. (12/12/11) – The Massachusetts Bay Colony was founded in 1630. More than 5,000 men, women, and children made the two-month voyage to the New World, leaving the relative comfort and safety of England behind in an effort to break free of religious intolerance, and to manage their communities the way they saw fit. In doing so, their actions tread new ground in the country that would become the United States of America.

 

The military organization we know today as the National Guard came into existence with a direct declaration on December 13, 1636. On this date, the Massachusetts General Court in Salem, for the first time in the history of the North American continent, established that all able-bodied men between the ages of 16 and 60 were required to join the militia. The North, South, and East Regiments were established with this order. The decree excluded ministers and judges. Simply stated, citizen-soldiers who mustered for military training could be and would be called upon to fight when needed.

 

Laws often evolve from well-intentioned actions, yet sometimes prove themselves to be ineffective. Given such odds, how could this possibly work?

 

Owing to many failures in the time that English settlers had attempted colonization in the Massachusetts frontier and elsewhere in North America, leaders decided that a proactive and ready state of mind must be kept by all citizens, particularly those training in military tactics. Being part of citizenry in the small villages meant that a price must be paid for the freedoms that could potentially be enjoyed, were the colony to ultimately succeed. That price exacted meant taking responsibility for defending the settlements of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

 

The settlers of the new outposts experienced austere surroundings. With no established or familiar conventions upon which to rely, the colony relied upon male pioneers to provide food, shelter, and defensive protection for the women and children present, as well for themselves. Even with all available hands working, this was a difficult task. Worse, the nearby Pequot Indian tribe proved a restless and unpredictable neighbor, leaving the Massachusetts colonists vulnerable to guerilla-style attacks that could decimate the fledgling settlements. In an environment rife with disease, poor sanitation, and harsh weather conditions, all able-bodied members of the Massachusetts colony pulled together out of necessity.

 

Self-sufficiency proved instrumental. In a new land, hiring mercenary fighters in the European tradition to ward off Indian attacks would be impossible. For one thing, the colonists had no money. Other foreign interests in the New World such as the French or Spanish, even if they were available for defensive purposes, did not share English views on religion and political matters. They would have seriously undermined the stability of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Governing and policing the settlement would have to be left to the colonists themselves. Therefore, the militia system of self-defense brought from England had the best chance of succeeding for the colonists.

 

And it did succeed. Soon after the establishment of the militia in Massachusetts, the entire New England region defended itself against the aggression of the Pequot nation. Other colonies such as Connecticut and Rhode Island mustered militia units to fight the Indian tribe, and succeeded in forcing the Pequots to capitulate in 1638. Ultimately, the militia enlisted from the many small villages proved a strong component in building confidence for the settlement as a whole.

 

Although other colonial settlements in North America such as those in Florida, Virginia, and New Mexico that would become part of the United States utilized military protection in order to allow settlers safe passage and to defend against aggressors, Massachusetts proved to be the first entity to have its government establish and raise a militia. Nor did these other colonies’ militia service remain continuous. The tie to legal precedent in this manner remains to this day. That record of service has remained continuous and unbroken, no matter the change in each unit’s function as a part of the militia or the National Guard.

 

This distinction qualifies it as the birthplace of the militia in the United States. With the North, South, and East Regiments established, its exemplary military tradition continues through this day with four Massachusetts National Guard units – the 101st Engineer Battalion, the 101st Field Artillery, the 181st Infantry Regiment, and the 182nd Infantry Regiment. The tradition born in Salem continues today.

 

Today, Massachusetts’ population numbers 6.5 million people, and the Commonwealth figures prominently as a center of manufacturing, electronics/technology, and finance. Much has changed since 1636, but one thing has not: the National Guard still consists of Citizen-Soldiers and Airmen providing protection from natural disaster, training regularly to uphold high standards of readiness, and also deploying to far-away countries to protect the United States’ national interests abroad. Although the country’s growth and expansion has made it a large military force around the world, the National Guard still remains a community cornerstone – just as it did when it was given birth on December 13, 1636.

Interview - Waste Connections CEO Ron Mittlestaedt

From KFBK NewsTalk

 

Waste Connections, Inc., CEO Ron Mittlestaedt announced today that the Folsom based trash-hauling company is moving its headquarters from California to Woodlands, Texas. In an interview with KFBK Radio, Mittestaedt cites a hostile business climate as the reason for his company's departure to Texas, and the inability of Senate President Darrell Steinberg to grasp the severity of how discouraging California's business atmosphere has become.

 

Click HERE to listen.

 

If you're writing a broadcast story, CRP Chairman Tom Del Beccaro is available for comment. To set up an interview, contact CRP Communications Director Mark Standriff at (916) 529-9990.

McCarthy Statement On House Passage of the REINS Act 12/7/11

Washington D.C. – Congressman Kevin McCarthy released the following statement after the House passed the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act (H.R. 10):

 

"America's small businesses are the engine of economic growth and job creation, and Washington shouldn't be making it more difficult for them to succeed. Under Democrat-controlled Washington, the federal government has become a factory of red tape. Imposing burdensome and costly regulations on small businesses in this economy defies all logic. Already, federal regulations cost the private sector $1.75 trillion every year, many of which are unnecessary and duplicative.

 

"The REINS Act is part of the House Republican jobs agenda and will put in place crucial reforms to our regulatory process. Currently there are 4,257 new regulations in the pipeline, and 219 of these new rules would each have an economic impact of more than $100 million annually. The REINS Act would put in place Congressional oversight of all proposed regulations deemed 'major rules' to ensure small businesses aren't being unduly burdened. I hope Senate Democrats will join the House in passing this bipartisan bill and help get more Americans working."

Governor Directs Administration to Cut Costs, Increase Efficiency Using Honest, Common-Sense Budgeting Methods

SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today issued an Executive Order directing the California Department of Finance (DOF) to incorporate common sense program-evaluation methods into the budgeting process, in order to fund programs based on their necessity and effectiveness. The Order’s goal is to cut costs and increase efficiency in this and future year state budgets.

 

The program-evaluation methods directed in the Executive Order include zero-based budgeting, performance measures, strategic planning, audits, cost-benefit analyses and program reviews.

 

The administration is already using program-evaluation budget methods to cut costs and excess. Yesterday, the Department of Mental Health (DMH) announced its plan to establish the Department of State Hospitals (DSH) along with reforms to its structure. These changes are the result of Governor Brown’s 2011 May Revision, which directed streamlining and efficiency measures at DMH to enhance patient care and overall safety.

 

“We examined spending at the Department of Mental Health and used zero-based budgeting to lower costs while maintaining appropriate treatments and enhancing safety,” said Department of Finance Director Ana Matosantos. “As a result, DMH will achieve total General Fund savings in the current budget year of about $120 million and about $183 million in the 2012-2013 budget year.”

 

Under today’s Executive Order, DOF must present a plan within 90 days to modify the budget process to incorporate program-evaluation methods.

 

 The Governor committed to issuing this Executive Order in his October 9, 2011 veto message of Senate Bill 14 (Wolk).

 

The full text of the Executive Order is below:

 

EXECUTIVE ORDER B-13-11

 

WHEREAS substantial steps have been taken to reduce California’s fiscal deficit, but additional measures are necessary both to cut state spending and improve operational efficiency; and

 

WHEREAS the State’s budgeting method focuses on incremental changes to the prior year’s funding, rather than a deeper review of a department or program; and

 

WHEREAS California needs a better approach to its budgeting; and

 

WHEREAS there are many methods, including zero-based budgeting, performance measures, strategic planning, audits, cost-benefit analyses, and program reviews, that can assist in increasing effectiveness and achieving a balanced budget; and

 

WHEREAS many departments have effective methods to evaluate and improve programs, yet these successes are often not shared with the public or other departments; and

 

WHEREAS employing these methods requires close collaboration with the Legislature to establish mutual agreement on establishing program goals and how to measure performance.

 

 NOW, THEREFORE, I, EDMUND G. BROWN JR., Governor of the State of California, issue this Order to become effective immediately:

 

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Director of Finance shall create a plan for modifying the budget process to increase efficiency and focus on accomplishing program goals. The plan should be developed in collaboration with agency secretaries and department directors and submitted to the Governor’s Office within 90 days of this Order.

 

It should outline the following:

 

 1. A strategy to incorporate program-evaluation methods into the budget process for selected activities and programs. These methods include zero-based budgeting, performance measures, strategic planning, audits, cost-benefit analyses, and program reviews.

2. Ways to ensure transparency about program goals, outcomes, and funding.

3. A process for collaborating with the Legislature, particularly in establishing program goals and measuring program outcomes.

4. A structure to work with local governments to develop methods to measure and evaluate performance of state-funded, locally-administered programs.

5. An implementation timeline beginning with the release of the 2012–13 Governor’s Budget.

 

This Executive Order is not intended to create, and does not create, any rights or benefits, whether substantive or procedural, or enforceable at law or in equity, against the State of California or its agencies, departments, entities, officers, employees, or any other person.

 

I FURTHER DIRECT that as soon as hereafter possible, this Order shall be filed with the Office of the Secretary of State and that it be given widespread publicity and notice.

 

 IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 7th day of December, 2011.

 

EDMUND G. BROWN JR.

 Governor of California

 

ATTEST:

 

DEBRA BOWEN

Secretary of State

CRP Statement in Response to Governor Brown's Call for Massive Tax Increases

SACRAMENTO — California Republican Party Chairman Tom Del Beccaro today issued the following statement in response to Governor Brown's latest call for massive new tax increases:

 

"For more than a decade, Sacramento Democrats have been coming up with one tax raising scheme or another - none of which have worked.  The answer to our budget and revenue problems lies not in taking more money from those already working but in finding work for those that are not.

 

"The fact that Governor Brown refused to present his tax hike to the press today demonstrates that he knows it is an unworthy proposal. Rather than simply sending Californians invoices for his spending sprees, he should go about reducing the size of the California government."

An Open Letter to the People of California

SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today issued the following open letter to the people of California:

 

December 5, 2011

 

When I became Governor again—28 years after my last term ended in 1983—California was facing a $26.6 billion budget deficit. It was the result of years of failing to match spending with tax revenues as budget gimmicks instead of honest budgeting became the norm.

 

In January, I proposed a budget that combined deep cuts with a temporary extension of some existing taxes. It was a balanced approach that would have finally closed our budget gap.

 

I asked the legislature to enact this plan and to allow you, the people of California, to vote on it. I believed that you had the right to weigh in on this important choice: should we decently fund our schools or lower our taxes? I don’t know how you would have voted, but we will never know. The Republicans refused to provide the four votes needed to put this measure on the ballot.

 

 Forced to act alone, Democrats went ahead and enacted massive cuts and the first honest, on-time budget in a decade. But without the tax extensions, it was simply not possible to eliminate the state’s structural deficit.

 

The good news is that our financial condition is much better than a year ago. We cut the ongoing budget deficit by more than half, reduced the state’s workforce by about 5,500 positions and cut unnecessary expenses like cell phones and state cars. We actually cut state expenses by over $10 billion. Spending is now at levels not seen since the seventies. Our state’s credit rating has moved from “negative” to “stable,” laying the foundation for job creation and a stronger economic recovery.

 

 Unfortunately, the deep cuts we made came at a huge cost. Schools have been hurt and state funding for our universities has been reduced by 25%. Support for the elderly and the disabled has fallen to where it was in 1983. Our courts suffered debilitating reductions.

 

The stark truth is that without new tax revenues, we will have no other choice but to make deeper and more damaging cuts to schools, universities, public safety and our courts.

 

That is why I am filing today an initiative with the Attorney General’s office that would generate nearly $7 billion in dedicated funding to protect education and public safety. I am going directly to the voters because I don’t want to get bogged down in partisan gridlock as happened this year. The stakes are too high.

 

 My proposal is straightforward and fair. It proposes a temporary tax increase on the wealthy, a modest and temporary increase in the sales tax, and guarantees that the new revenues be spent only on education. Here are the details:

 

• Millionaires and high-income earners will pay up to 2% higher income taxes for five years. No family making less than $500,000 a year will see their income taxes rise. In fact, fewer than 2% of California taxpayers will be affected by this increase.

• There will be a temporary ½ cent increase in the sales tax. Even with this temporary increase, sales taxes will still be lower than what they were less than six months ago.

• This initiative dedicates funding only to education and public safety—not on other programs that we simply cannot afford.

 

This initiative will not solve all of our fiscal problems. But it will stop further cuts to education and public safety.

 

I ask you to join with me to get our state back on track.

A PDF version of the letter can be found here.

 

Jerry Brown

ICYMI: Pension reform will free up dollars for schools

Pension Reform Will Free Up Dollars For Schools

BY ASSEMBLYMEMBER KRISTIN OLSEN

 

Recently, Governor Jerry Brown unveiled his state worker pension reform proposal to the public. He presented a plan that, at least on paper, is a good start, ending the worst abuses in the system and requiring future employees to more equitably share in the cost of retirement benefits.

 

It is a good sign that many of the ideas the Governor put forward are ideas that Republicans have pushed for years. Pension costs are consuming a larger chunk of the state budget each year, threatening classroom funding.

 

According to the bipartisan Little Hoover Commission, the 10 largest public pension funds in California – including CalPERS – faced a combined shortfall of more than $240 billion in 2010. Researchers at Stanford University have come up with an even more shocking number – they estimate unfunded pension obligations to be as high as $500 billion.

 

The nonpartisan… (Read more)

 

Source: Turlock Journal

CA Moderate Party: What Do You Think So Far?

Dear Friend:

 

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving!  I just wanted to touch base and ask you for a favor.  We're developing our strategy for next year and would love to be able to incorporate your feedback.

 

In January 2012, we'll be launching an agressive media strategy so that Californians can discover this nascent movement.  To that end, we're refining our message and want to be absolutely sure we're on point as we move forward.

 

Please contact me and let me know whatyou think so far. Specifically:

 

• What do you like?
• What do you not like?
• What’s missing?
• What would you change?

 

Thanks for your support and we look forward to hitting some major milestones in 2012.  Stay tuned.

 

Sincerely,

 

Ash Roughani

Founder, California Moderate Party

 

P.S.  We have a new donation page up.  If you're able to give any amount, no mattter how small, please visit: rally.org/CAMod/donate.

Source: e-letter from CA Moderate Party

Every year a national forest is chosen to provide the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree and this year, the Stanislaus National Forest was selected.

The 65-foot, white fir tree arrived in Sacramento on November 9 from Sonora. I had the opportunity to participate in the Christmas Tree celebration as part of a seven-day tour of California, prior to its 20-day journey across the country to Washington, D.C.

The national tree ceremony will take place on December 6 at the U.S. Capitol. It will be decorated by 5,000 ornaments handmade by Californians. House Speaker John Boehner will light it along with a child from Sonora, seven-year old Johnny Crawford.

Source: Olsen on the Issues - November 2011