PRESIDENT TRUMP DROPS IN WHILE THE SF MAYOR MAY SOON DROP OUT 

Good morning!

President Trump visited the Golden State this week, traveling to the Central Valley to highlight new federal rules to finally allow California farmers to get the water they need. Due to misguided state rules to protect the smelt and salmon, billions of gallons of water have been diverted from farmers’ fields out to the Pacific Ocean. Gov. Newsom has promised to sue to block Trump’s efforts.  

San Francisco Mayor London Breed has entangled herself in the federal corruption probe of former SF Public Works director Mohammed Nuru, who was arrested last month in an FBI probe into several schemes and bribes. Breed admitted to accepting $5,600 worth of car help from Nuru, with whom she had a previous romantic relationship. City supervisors called the transaction “likely illegal” and demanded her resignation. "The culture of this low-level, ‘acceptable’ corruption in San Francisco is so entrenched, and so widespread," said Supervisor Hillary Ronen. "You hear the same things over and over: ‘You have to pay to play in San Francisco,’ and that is so deeply wrong."

On Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom used his State of the State stump speech to call for more homeless shelters and a sustainable funding stream to tackle homelessness, likely meaning another tax increase. He also seemed to belatedly support the recently failed SB 50, promising to work with legislators to facilitate "affordable, multi-family homes, especially near transit and downtowns." Where was this support when it mattered? 

However, the Legislative Analyst’s Office has found that Newsom’s housing proposal “falls short of articulating a clear strategy for curbing homelessness in California.” CPC fellow Edward Ring explains how the lack of a clear strategy to address the issue has made housing even less affordable. Read more. 

While state lawmakers must take action on homelessness, shoveling boatloads of money into the coffers of the homeless industrial complex has not worked. Homelessness is a complicated issue, but it can be tackled. CPC contributor Chris Reed lays out a number of bad policies that are making the homelessness crisis worse. Read more.

Gov. Newsom recently signed into law a bill that allows voters to switch their party affiliation on Election Day. While the intention behind it may be good, this move will likely drag out election reporting longer than necessary. As the Wall Street Journal notes, it may take the state one month to confirm results. 

Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders was blasted this week by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1425 for suggesting that the state should take over PG&E. This rebuke came days after several California government unions endorsed Sanders for President.

CPC contributor Larry Sand takes on the argument that public education is underfunded in California. In his piece, “Leveling with Louie,” Larry presents the facts of current spending in a conversational way. Read more.

The Center Square covered CPC’s perspective on SB 37, proposed legislation to increase taxes on companies with large pay gaps between their executives and employees: “Ironically, raising taxes on companies with wide pay gaps will leave these businesses with lower earnings to increase employee wages. Perhaps California lawmakers should be paid based on their knowledge gap of the rule of unintended consequences.” Read more. 

CPC President Will Swaim and CPC Board Member David Bahnsen discuss the pardoning of California investor Michael Milken, California’s ruling class condemning body shaming in PE classes, and an LA councilmen pushing for more rent control on this week’s episode of National Review’s Radio Free California. Click here to listen.

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].

Upcoming Events:

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, will be available for purchase. To register for this free event, click here.

Documentary Screening and Book Signing
The Richard Nixon Presidential Library will host Dennis Prager and Hollywood producer Mark Joseph for a screening and discussion of the documentary No Safe Spaces on Monday, March 9. 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.

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 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.

Crisis: Housing and Homelessness in California
Cato will host a day-long conference on the growing homelessness epidemic plaguing the Golden State on Friday, April 17. This conference will also mark the premiere of a series of short documentary films featuring Kelley Cutler, with the Coalition on Homelessness. To register for this event, click here.

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.