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With California's budget in crisis mode, the solutions have been presented by lawmakers and the media in strictly zero-sum terms. You can think of a zero-sum game as a pie. If one piece of that pie gets bigger, another piece necessarily has to become smaller. In other words, you either cut spending (by cutting services and reducing the quality of life in California) or raise taxes (which comes with its own set of drawbacks). Democrats support raising taxes- mostly on corporations- while Republic

The Monte Vista Christian School in Watsonville has replaced its history textbooks with the iPad for use in the classroom.  Introduced as a pilot project among AP students last week, competition between the iPad and a traditional heavy and expensive textbook is formally underway. The belief is that the iPad offers features that will enhance the curriculum such as photos, access to newspapers and other resource material that a traditional text book does not have.  Moreover, the access to electro

Obstacles facing third party candidates for state office have always been great, and for a time seemed all but impossible to overcome in California. As Green Party gubernatorial candidate, Laura Wells relates, “I ran in 2002 and 2006 for State Controller... One effect of running twice was experiencing how much the doors closed to independent parties during those four years.” However, there is a rising tide of political disenfranchisement expressed through the caffeinated beverage movements th

In a Larry King Live interview, Jesse Ventura, the former Independent Governor from Minnesota, warned that the two major parties were "leading us down the road to ruin".  In classic Ventura style, the Navy veteran urged Americans to wake up and stop voting for Democrats and Republicans since they have repeatedly demonstrated that party politics comes before the best interests of the people.  And when asked about the Tea Party, Ventura challenged their silence on critical constitutional issues in

The 550,000 students enrolled at the University of California and the California State University system have been served a steady diet of tuition and fee increases over the past few years.  In part to cope with a $350 million net cut in state support to both systems this year, a 32 percent increase for UC students -- $1,929 -- is scheduled to take effect in September – on the heels of a 9.3 percent increase in 2009. CSU increased tuition 30 percent in 2009. In September, tuition climbs another

Over at Free & Equal, ballot access expert, Richard Winger, delivered a point-by-point rebuttal of Jonathan Alter's advocacy of a top-two, open primary system in Newsweek.  Here is the full text of Winger's press release: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Newsweek Column Spreads Common Misconceptions About "Top-Two" Primaries  Ballot Access Expert Richard Winger Writes Editorials Against Measure In June of 2010, the voters of California will vote on a measure to institute a Washington-Style "Top-Two" Prima

Governor Schwarzenegger's proposed sales tax hike isn't what meets the eye, says JosephHenchman of the Tax Foundation. The governor says that the state tax rate iscurrently 5 percent, but this isn't entirely true. "Schwarzenegger can get away with calling the current tax '5 percent'because carved out special taxes can become essentially autonomous fundingsources, like Minnesota's new 3/8th sales tax for wildlife refuges and arts andculture programs or Colorado's failed 0.2% sales tax for develo