Brown the Elder & Brown the Younger

At a wide-ranging meeting with reporters to discuss his accomplishments in 2011, Gov. Jerry Brown “invoked” — his verb — his father, Gov. Pat Brown several times.

Discussing the role of the chief executive and the Legislature and how, in the interest of “comity” the governor sometimes signs bills with little impact or import merely to forge a better working relationship with lawmakers, Brown noted that his father was “very hesitant to veto” bills that had a “strong vote” in the Legislature.     Read more »

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Will the State Reach Its December Income and Corporate Revenue Projections?

More than $5.7 billion in income tax collections and $1.4 billion in corporate taxes are supposed to flow into California coffers during the month of December.

So says the predictions in the state budget enacted June 30, which the Brown administration and legislative budget writers say is already $2.2 billion to $3.7 billion, respectively, short of estimates.    Read more »

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Happy Birthday Governor Merriam!

Born December 22, 1865, Frank Finley Merriam – nicknamed “Marble Top” because of his bald pate – became California’s 28th governor on June 2, 1934.

At 68, the Long Beach Republican was the oldest man to become governor until the current occupant of the Capitol’s corner office began his third four-year turn in the wheelhouse at age 72.    Read more »

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Yet Another Word That Deserves Revival: “Cousin-Betty”

“A deranged woman. ‘Cousin Tommy’ is applied to a man in that melancholy situation.”

— William Carr’s Dialect of Craven, 1828

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For the Edification of Governor Brown: “Income Inequality in the Roman Empire”

A subscriber forwards this article by Tim de Chant, a science writer.

In the piece, he examines an academic study that measures how much wealth was concentrated in how few hands during the height of the Roman Empire in 150 C.E.*

At a December 13 press conference, Gov. Jerry Brown, holder of a 1961 degree in classics from the University of California at Berkeley, said the current gulf between America’s haves and have-nots is akin to Ancient Rome where “it was the same fight between the aristocrats and the plebians.”     Read more »

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California Unemployment Rate Falls in November

California’s unemployment rate fell to 11.3 percent in November.

Non agricultural jobs increased by 6,600 during the month for a total gain of 211,400 jobs since January, according to data released December 16 by the California Employment Development Department.

The U.S. unemployment rate also fell in November to 8.6 percent.

In October, the California’s unemployment rate was 11.7 percent.    Read more »

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Understanding Is Always Eased by Well-Defined Terms

For those Californians who think their tax dollars are squandered or ill-spent, visit the “Glossary of Legislative Terms” at www.leginfo.ca.gov/guide.html#Appendix_B.

It’s Appendix B but deserves far higher billing.

Among it’s “Across the Desk” to “Voice Vote” listings – no legislative terms worthy of inclusion apparently begin with W, X, Y or Z – is “lobbyist.”    Read more »

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Not Just Millionaires Affected by Governor’s Tax Increase Plan

Gov. Jerry Brown wants his next budget, which he will unveil in early January, to be largely balanced by increasing state income taxes on wealthier Californians and boosting the state sales tax by one-half percent.

The increases would bring an additional $7 billion into state coffers annually until they expire at the end of 2016.    Read more »

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As Expected, Lower-Than-Hoped Cash Triggers $1 Billion Budget Cuts

Confirming what had already been predicted, Gov. Jerry Brown said Dec. 13 that lower-than-expected revenue estimates required imposing $1 billion in additional budget cuts on public schools, universities and aid for the developmentally disabled and the elderly.

But while the reductions won’t fall as heavily ion public schools as initially thought, the Democratic governor stressed this round of cuts, which mostly take effect January 1, is just the beginning.    Read more »

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Today’s Latin Lesson Comes from The Governor of The Great State of California

Gov. Jerry Brown’s 1961 undergraduate degree from the University of California at Berkeley is in Classics.

Lest there was some doubt, at a December 13 Capitol press conference explaining that California must exercise fiscal disicpline and spend within its means, Brown said:

“Nemo dat quod non habet.”

Translated: “No man gives what he doesn’t have.”    Read more »

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