SUBJECT

ARTICLE

Sacramento After Oracle: Don’t Lynch Technology, Embrace It. Joe Rodota, CEO of Forward Observer, which examines trends in government use of technology, and former Cabinet secretary and deputy chief of staff to Governor Pete Wilson, writes that tech is becoming a four-letter word in Sacramento, but the Oracle contract scandal is a lesson on what can go wrong and an opportunity to get it right in future deals.

Pro: High-Speed Trains are Right for California’s Future. Medhi Morshed, executive director of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, presents merits of the proposed San Diego-to-San Francisco passenger train service, a “cost-competitive alternative” to more gridlock on the state’s freeways.

Con: High-Speed Rail for California: The Unasked Questions. David Levinson, professor, University of Minnesota, believes high-speed trains are too expensive and cannot survive without public subsidy. Would the poor (payers of a potential statewide sales tax) be less likely to ride the train, and therefore be subsidizing those who do? he asks.

TAXES

Job Killers/Tax Threats. This is a Cal-Tax report on job-killing proposals floating in and around the state Legislature, threatened new or higher taxes that amount to billions of dollars. Job-killer tax increases would have a damaging impact on the California economy as it makes a slow recovery.

It’s a Spending Crisis. Greg Turner, Cal-Tax general counsel and legislative director, writes that mushrooming government spending – not tax relief – is the primary culprit as California’s budget problems mount.

A Greenhouse Trapdoor Built Into AB 1058. Larry McCarthy, Cal-Tax president, and Allan Zaremberg, president of the California Chamber of Commerce. Originally published in the Sacramento Bee (May 9) as a response to The Bee's endorsement of AB 1058, the authors warn that giving the state Air Resources Board expanded authority to police carbon dioxide emissions could lead to huge tax increases or other burdens on motorists.