Pork producers are speaking out against legislation that would give federal regulators the authority to mandate cage sizes for egg-laying hens. They’re worried it could lead to a slippery slope that increases red tape for farmers on a range of issues. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-OR), would impose costs between $4 billion and $10 billion on farm production, according to industry estimates. The legislation requires conventional cages to be replaced with new colony housing for hens — about double their normal size. Among the bill’s other requirements: …
Two well-connected government unions in California are teaming with Gov. Jerry Brown to support a multibillion-dollar tax increase. The California Teachers Association and Service Employees International Union were the top two spenders for lobbying in 2011 with combined efforts totaling more than $10 million, according to Sacramento Bee. Now they’re using their muscle to champion Brown’s tax hike. Brown’s plan “would raise tens of billions of dollars by temporarily increasing the sales tax and the income tax on wealthy Californians, generating about $35 billion over five years,” according to the …
A new poll shows that in one of the most liberal of states–California–charter schools are impressing voters by a wide margin, particularly among Latino parents. The Los Angeles Times reports: Among those surveyed in the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll, 52% had a favorable opinion about charters; only 12% had an unfavorable impression. Asked whether charter schools or traditional schools provided a better education, 48% gave superior marks to charters; 24% considered traditional schools more effective. The charter model appealed to Latino parents in particular. Overall, 52% of parents — those who …
Want proof that unions are doing everything they can to maintain their grip on power? Take a look at California, where Governor Jerry Brown (D) finished off the state’s legislative session with big gifts to Big Labor (after they campaigned heavily for Brown’s election) . The L.A. Times reports: When the dust settled on Gov. Jerry Brown’s first legislative session in nearly three decades, no group had won more than organized labor, which heralded its largest string of victories in nearly a decade. At the urging of the food workers’ union, Brown …
President Obama is touting his new mega tax on millionaires–a.k.a. “the Buffett Rule”–as the best thing since sliced bread (or since his plan to spend $447 billion on more stimulus), but not everyone agrees–namely, entrepreneurs and those who have seen the effects of soaking the rich in order to pay for more government spending. In today’s Washington Post, Eric M. Jackson, formerly of PayPal and now CEO of CapLinked, an online platform for private investing, explains how the President’s plan to set a minimum tax rate for those with annual income above $1 …
Last week, California passed a law that penalizes organizations that refuse to provide benefits to employees’ same-sex domestic partners or spouses on the same terms they provide benefits to employees’ opposite-sex domestic partners or spouses. Known as SB 117, the law excludes those organizations from competing for state contracts worth $100,000 or more. SB 117 further illustrates how nondiscrimination laws factor in to debates regarding same-sex marriage and other legal statuses for homosexual relationships. Same-sex marriage, domestic partnerships, and civil unions confer state recognition on same-sex relationships. Nondiscrimination laws force …
One day after solar company Solyndra closed its doors, two U.S. congressman are asking the White House for all documents related to the federal government’s $535 million loan guarantee. The probe also seeks correspondence between administration officials and the company’s investors, seeking to uncover if the White House engaged in cronyism to reward a major campaign donor. Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) was pursuing an investigation of the Department of Energy’s $535 million loan long before Solyndra announced plans to file for bankruptcy. Now, using his perch as chairman of the House …
First we showed you the photos, now there’s a video. Missing in both is the golf course that Rep. Darrell Issa’s district office supposedly overlooks. The New York Times described the California Republican’s office in the first sentence of Monday’s front-page article this way: “Here on the third floor of a gleaming office building overlooking a golf course in the rugged foothills north of San Diego, Darrell Issa, the entrepreneur, oversees the hub of a growing financial empire worth hundreds of millions of dollars.” Reporter Eric Lichtblau has defended the …
Can an environmentalist morally argue for overpriced, taxpayer-funded green energy technology if it means killing off a protected species? That’s what is happening now in California, where the state’s Golden Eagles are dying off by 67 each year from colliding with the blades of wind turbines. As government demands for more turbines and green wind energy technology increase, many fear that Golden Eagles may soon be at risk for extinction. According to the Institute for Energy Research, wind turbines provide only ½ of 1% of America’s energy. Additionally, green energy …
A warning to Californians: dangerous convicted criminals are coming soon to a neighborhood near you. That’s because last week, in the case of Brown v. Plata, the Supreme Court ordered the State of California to release approximately 46,000 convicted criminals onto the streets. That decision was issued just days before a scathing report was issued by the Inspector General for the California Department of Corrections which found that prison officials in that state failed to supervise 1500 California parolees, including 450 who were a “high risk for violence.” Worst of …
