Is there a “silent majority” that is tired of the tax hikes? California financial expert Tom Rubin joins an Opportunity Now exclusive series exploring where we’re headed this November. He warns local governments it might soon be much harder to keep raising taxes.
Read MoreIn an Opportunity Now exclusive series, local leaders weigh in on what this election cycle reveals about the bigger issues shaping Silicon Valley’s direction. We caught up with former SJ Councilmember and SVBA President Johnny Khamis, who marvels at voters’ trust in government no matter how dubious a tax hike may be:
Read MoreWhat does this November’s election say about where the state is going? As part of an Opportunity Now exclusive series, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association President Jon Coupal warns that a move toward even higher taxes and regs could further hollow out the middle class. He says an electorate so under informed by California’s struggling school system only perpetuates the downward spiral:
Read MoreIn an Opportunity Now exclusive series, we’re asking thought leaders about the bigger picture behind this fall’s election, and what direction California is heading in. Manhattan Institute fellow Tim Rosenberger opines:
Read MoreWhat does this election cycle say about which way Silicon Valley is heading? As part of an Opportunity Now exclusive series, municipal finance expert Mark Moses situates the role of local governments at the heart of affordability:
Read MoreIt’s as if local media imagines clouds of smog will miraculously disperse if only voters approve the RTM sales tax hike this November. But Los Altos Institution Research Fellow, Opp Now contributing editor, and High School Senior Athan Joshi argues there will be no health benefit. An Opp Now exclusive Op/Ed.
Read MoreBoo! For local gov't, it seems like every day is Halloween. Yet another chance to scare us all with monsters and ogres who can only be chased away with....more taxes or more density! Our Susie Murillo takes a close look at the costume. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreSometimes it's so obvious you can't help but laugh. The SF Standard, a large, well-funded online media outlet in that boutique suburb to the north, recently beclowned itself by employing a sad assortment of vulgar media-bias tricks in an effort to smear anti-transit tax advocates. Our Susie Murillo explores the comedy in this Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreYear after year, decade after decade, local gov't has asked county residents to shell out more and more for a mass transit fiscal sinkhole that has delivered less and less. Public policy prof and former SJ CM Pete Constant walks us through the sorry tale. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreIt was certainly one of the more eye-popping acts of legislative hypocrisy in recent years. East Bay state Assembly member Buffy Wicks on June 29 trumpeted on X how she both wrote and voted for advancing the revised Local Taxpayer Act (2/3 voter threshold for new taxes),while at the same time saying she "adamantly opposed" the bill. Lance Christensen of the California Policy Center and longtime Sacramento watcher unpacks the double-dealing in this exclusive Opp Now Q&A.
Read MoreA recent Mercury News article threatens the “sky is falling” if taxpayers don’t bail out transit, says Tom Rubin, who argues that ridership collapsed years ago. Where the Merc doesn’t look for cost savings, the former transit executive does: automate the trains like they did in Vancouver, hire way more part-time operators. Don’t like traffic? Encourage remote work because data show workers are driving, not riding, back to the office. An Opportunity Now exclusive rebuttal to the Merc.
Read More“People are leaving BART and other transit systems because they feel unsafe and because it's dirty,” says transit consultant Tom Rubin. While the Mercury News promotes a massive sales tax to rescue the troubled trains, Rubin asks of tax-happy government leaders: “why should they think if they give BART more money, that something will change? An Opportunity Now exclusive rebuttal to the Merc.
Read More
