SJ City pols regularly decry our homelessness epidemic, and taxpayer money is liberally dedicated to “solutions”—yet public safety problems persist. Using an LA case study, the Westside Current’s Tim Campbell identifies two failures of insufficient strategies: twisting semantics to justify a soft-on-crime approach, and quickly developing housing without addressing key factors of addiction/mental illness.
Read MoreRespected commentator Edward Ring discusses California’s alarming shift to union-controlled elections, under which the dominant Leftist party is often the only one with (far-above) sufficient funds for a successful campaign. Ring’s comments excerpted below.
Read MoreEven as calls increase around the Bay for effective city employees to be coerced out of their jobs in the name of racial equity, London Breed has had enough, and is making a stand for meritocracy and rewarding success. Reason magazine explains.
Read MoreEnergy policy expert Ronald Stein dissects the folly of Sacramento pols’ decision to shutter existing oil refineries (converting several into “renewable” diesel facilities), which forces local Californian taxpayers to subsidize expensive foreign oil. A Heartland Institute excerpt follows.
Read MoreThe OC Register’s Steven Greenhut outlines how local progressive policies are driving CA’ns out of state (and encouraging them to cultivate smaller families). Boasting high taxes, inadequate zip code school systems, and overrun public unions, CA needs meaningful city- and state-wide changes to retain its most valuable assets: its citizens.
Read MoreBefore it goes down the Memory Hole, it's important to remember that in the last election, the local progressive political infrastructure bended—if not outright broke—lots of democratic norms in some truly bad-faith efforts to sway the election. Jackson Reese, VP at the California Policy Center, explains why it happens, and why it’s hard to effectively manage in this exclusive interview with Opportunity Now’s Christopher Escher.
Read MoreIn 2003, San Jose released a Homeless Strategy plan, which promised it would “eliminate homelessness in ten years.” Whoops. It’s been 20 years, billions spent, and homelessness only rises in our fair burgh. Scott Beyer of the Market Urbanism Report untangles the flawed thinking that contributed to our ongoing housing catastrophe. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreBattalions of local left-wing nonprofits advocate for extremist policies while at the same time benefiting from taxpayer and ultra-rich funder largesse. Joel Kotin at Philanthropy Daily suggests that this dynamic will lead to an ever more radical and well-funded nonprofit agenda, putting it on a collision course with centrist and mainstream communities.
Read MoreCA School Choice Foundation president Michael Alexander addresses the longstanding elephant in the room re: local school choice movements: Do Californians—parents, families, voters—actually want these policies? Though one initiative failed to get enough signatures for 2022’s ballot, Alexander highlights recent research data to suggest: If qualified in 2024, a CA’n school choice program would pass with flying colors, on both sides of the aisle.
Read MoreMarc Joffe analyzes the controversial BART downtown San Jose extension, critiquing transit officials’ statements that the project will effectively—and efficiently—reduce local greenhouse gas emissions.
Read MoreIf state law encouraged competition between charter and traditional schools, might lower-income families have a better array of options? Lee E. Ohanian of the Independent Institute discusses California AB 1505 (passed in 2019), under which new charters can be denied application if they’re deemed too corrival with existing schools — and emphasizes that a market-driven educational system would more effectively serve diverse students.
Read MoreEven Gov. Newsom acknowledges that throwing more taxpayer money at the homelessness epidemic hasn’t dented—anything. Dan Walters from CalMatters’ write-up highlights Californians’ (and our governor’s) mounting frustration with existing homelessness approaches, such as SJ’s focus on “Housing First.”
Read More
