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Local Government

Three Californias? Integrating a Couple of Recent Proposals

  • California
April 5, 2012December 9, 2021
Author: Howard Ahmanson

It has often been proposed to split California into two states.  In the past, these proposals generally agreed on dividing Northern California from Southern California; the cultural differential between the two was strong in the Kennedy years.  The reader may […]

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Observations on California’s Political Geography

  • California
March 24, 2012December 9, 2021
Author: Howard Ahmanson

A recent series of political maps from PPIC, Public Policy Institute of California, provides some fascinating information. One of the maps inflates or shrinks the various regions according to population; it makes clear why the Democratic Party dominates the state, […]

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Stealth Democracy: A Summary of the Thesis of John R. Hibbing and Elizabeth Theiss-Morse

  • Politics
February 22, 2012June 8, 2018
Author: Howard Ahmanson

It was fashionable in the sixties to talk of ‘participatory democracy.’  But John R. Hibbing and Elizabeth Theiss-Morse, of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, claim, on the basis of much research and reading, that that is exactly what the […]

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Marijuana In Public Spaces

  • Culture
February 9, 2012July 17, 2018
Author: Howard Ahmanson

While I find the odor of marijuana a little less offensive than that of tobacco, a lot of people don’t, and I think the same standard should be applied to marijuana in public spaces as to tobacco. Related: “Marijuana dropped […]

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The Suburban Paradox

  • Culture
January 17, 2012July 17, 2018
Author: Howard Ahmanson

The attached article criticizes the effect of ‘greenbelts’ in Britain, and calls for ‘green patches’ instead of ‘green belts.’  The paradox is that a lot of what people move out to the suburbs for is precisely what these anti-suburban NIMBYs […]

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Will Riverside, Fresno, and Bakersfield Become Civilized?

  • California
December 15, 2011July 17, 2018
Author: Howard Ahmanson

Joel Kotkin and William Frey, in an article written before the crash, speculate that as Coastal California prices itself out of the market, Inland California may become a more civilized and upscale region.  In fact, the crash and the wave […]

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‘Smart Growth’ or Housing Opportunity

  • Politics
October 30, 2011July 3, 2018
Author: Howard Ahmanson

John Crawford, of Sierra Madre, misunderstands the proper purpose of SB 375.  Yes, it is a form of social engineering, but so are the existing policies in those towns forbidding high density housing.  Yes, it is mistaken if it is trying […]

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Why Non-Suburbanites Distrust Suburbanites

  • Economics
August 30, 2011July 17, 2018
Author: Howard Ahmanson

I’ve had the great Arcade Fire album, The Suburbs, on in my car recently, and have been inspired by it to a few thoughts. Most people, especially people with children, aspire to a real house and not a condominium or an […]

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And Republicans Were All So Pious About ‘Local Control’ . . .

  • Politics
July 9, 2011June 8, 2018
Author: Howard Ahmanson

And Republicans were all so pious about ‘local control.’  They don’t want local government to raise taxes or fees, but it seems to be OK with them – except for the ever-reliable Chris Norby – for local government to declare […]

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Who is tossing whom over a cliff?

  • Economics,
  • Politics
July 6, 2011July 5, 2018
Author: Howard Ahmanson

This column by Chris Laureys of New Jersey is one of the best I’ve ever seen on the distortions of our current welfare state. Related: “Who is tossing whom over a cliff?” by Chris Laureys at USAToday.com

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