On Taxes: Few things bother us more than folks who write us about an objectionable piece of legislation but don’t get in the trenches with us. Tax increases such as AB 2088, about which the WSJ has an opinion piece today, really get them going. GFC leads the efforts to kill such bills and to enact the fiscal and other reforms required to govern CA well but we have only as much power as you give us. So here’s some tough love for anyone reading this who is not already a financial supporter: Either get in the war or leave us alone. In January, we will send a slate of 16 GFC Courage Committee chapters to which one will be able to donate up to $8,100 per chapter per year. Money managers subject to SEC Pay to Play rules who cannot make political donations may make non-political donations at anytime here towards operating costs (ie, lawyers, lobbyists, staff*, etc) running >$1mm per year and en route to $2mm.
On Persistence: We’ve long admired No Labels and this week it looks like we have even more reason to do so as Congress nears adoption of a COVID relief package led by NL-backed legislators. Like us, NL is entering its second decade and the success of its persistent, professional and unemotional approach to representing the general interest bodes well for our country. On the other hand, this week the New York Times reported that Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo was denied a position in the Biden Administration because of the “forceful opposition” of public-sector unions still angry about the pension reform Ms. Raimondo led eight years ago. You can be sure Democratic politicians in Democratic-run California took notice of the risks political careers face when taking on public sector unions. That makes our job tougher. But of course we will persist. Good governance requires no less — and people willing to get into the trenches.
*GFC President David Crane takes no salary, volunteers his time and is a financial supporter to GFC.
