The latest studies, editorials, and investigative reports on issues affecting California’s democracy, economy, and opportunities.

February 14, 2020
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** NEWSOM FIDDLES WITH PHYSICAL FITNESS EXAM WHILE PENSIONS BURN BUDGETS
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Good morning!

During last week’s State of the Union address, President Trump spoke in favor of school choice, noting that parents should not be forced to send their children to failing government schools. CPC contributor Larry Sand writes about the teachers union backlash. Read more ([link removed]) .

California school districts are starting to include the New York Times’ “1619 Project” in their curriculum. According to Reason ([link removed]) , the project “portrays “the United States as irreparably stained by racism and the practice of human bondage, and free market economics as rooted in plantation slavery.” The American Institute for Economic Research is working ([link removed]) to inform the public about the shoddy research being taught as fact by government union teachers.

Governor Newsom is suspending the state physical fitness exam in California’s public schools next year, calling them discriminatory. While the California Department of Education states, “The main goal of the test is to help students in starting life-long habits of regular physical activity,” the governor claims ([link removed]) that the exam has hamstrung students with disabilities (fact check: they are exempt from the test) and students who identify as non-binary.

Meanwhile, in the State Capitol, legislators are working to ban the sale of all flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, and cigars. The reason: State lawmakers say that they must take action to curb smoking among millennials. As always, there are unintended consequences. According to the Orange County Register ([link removed]) , “History suggests that when something like menthol cigarettes are banned, people of color will be disproportionately affected when law enforcement selectively targets the people buying and selling them on the black market.”

Rather than focus on these sideshows, the state legislature should turn its attention to important issues like homelessness, corporate welfare, pension reform, and fiscal transparency. Unfortunately, as CPC fellow Edward Ring points out, California has become a one-party state. Yet, California residents can fight back. Read more ([link removed]) .

The Sonoma Press Democrat covered the pension lawsuit brought by retired Santa Rosa attorney George Luke that seeks to invalidate county pension increases passed in the early-2000s. “Since then, the annual taxpayer cost to support county employee pensions, including payments on pension bonds, has more than tripled, rising from about $35 million as of mid-2003 to more than $122 million, according to county data.” The lawsuit, supported by the California Policy Center, argues that these pension increases were illegally passed without proper actuarial analysis or public notice. Read more. ([link removed])

On Tuesday, the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) issued a report on Governor Newsom’s budget that dealt a blow to his homeless agenda. According to the LAO, the budget “falls short of articulating a clear strategy for curbing homelessness in California” by shifting the decision-making authority to the state from local governments. The Associated Press ([link removed]) notes, “While homelessness in most states declined between 2018 and 2019, California’s homeless population increased 16% to about 151,000 people as of January 2019.”

In three weeks, Californians will head to the polls to vote on a number of important issues ranging from presidential nominees to state and local representatives. However, perhaps the most important and overlooked part of ballots is bond measures. This year Californians are being asked to vote on Prop 13, a bond measure that seeks to raise money to “rebuild our crumbling school districts.” But, as CPC's Craig Alexander notes, this could not be further from the truth. Bonds are taxes and school districts are asking residents to raise their own taxes to fund pensions that are unsustainable. Read more ([link removed]) .

Finally, are you affected by AB 5, California’s new law that harmed the ability of people to work as independent contractors or in the gig economy? If you have been hurt by AB 5, we would like to know your story. Please contact me at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]?subject=AB%205%20Story) .

Upcoming Events:

Presidents Day at the Nixon Library
There will be half-priced admission to the Nixon Library and Museum on Monday, February 17 in honor of Presidents Day. The first 1,000 visitors receive a free slice of cherry pie compliments of Polly’s Pies and visitors will have an opportunity to meet and take pictures with Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt. A special “Meet the Presidents” program will begin at 1 PM in the historic White House East Room. Click here for more information ([link removed]) .

Documentary Screening and Book Signing
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum will host Dennis Prager and Hollywood producer Mark Joseph for a screening and discussion of the documentary No Safe Spaces on Tuesday, February 18. Admission to this event includes the purchase of one copy of No Safe Spaces. Additional copies of the book may be purchased during registration or at the event. To register for the event, click here ([link removed]∣=7210265&jb=528) .

The Real Class Privilege: Community and Connection
The Pepperdine School of Public Policy hosts Timothy P. Carney, who is a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and author of Alienated America: Why Some Places Thrive While Others Collapse, for an evening conversation on Wednesday, February 19. For more information, and to register for this free event, click here ([link removed]) .

Reagan’s Emergence as a World Statesman
The Pepperdine School of Public Policy hosts Reagan historian Dr. Gene Kopelson on Wednesday, March 4 for an evening conversation about Ronald Reagan's first quest for the presidency in the late 1960s. Kopelson’s book, Reagan's 1968 Dress Rehearsal: Ike, RFK, and Reagan's Emergence as a World Statesman ([link removed]) , will be available for purchase. To register for this free event, click here ([link removed]) .

Art Laffer & Emmanuel Saez Debate the Wealth Tax at Pepperdine
Art Laffer, Presidential Medal of Freedom award recipient and inventor of the Laffer Curve, will square off against Emmanuel Saez, UC-Berkeley economist and Elizabeth Warren advisor, in a debate over the wealth tax at Pepperdine University on March 12th. The event is hosted by The Steamboat Institute ([link removed]) as part of its Campus Liberty Tour, which brings debates on big issues to college campuses across the country. Find out more and register for free here ([link removed]) .

If you have any upcoming events in the state, please send them to me!

As always, if you’d like to join our movement to save California, we invite you to support us. Click here to donate to CPC ([link removed]) .


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