“We're going to close the unproductive tax loopholes that have allowed some of the truly wealthy to avoid paying their fair share,” Ronald Reagan said in 1985.  “In theory, some of those loopholes were understandable, but in practice they sometimes made it possible for millionaires to pay nothing, while a bus driver was paying 10 percent of his salary, and that's crazy. It's time we stopped it….”

In an era when data is steadily moving to the Internet and the cloud, the sad truth is that State of California websites are too often inadequate and archaic. Information should be easy to find on state websites. It’s not. Californians should be able to fill out forms online to be processed by the state. Too often, they can’t. Given that California is the most populous state and the home of Silicon Valley, you might think that state websites would be state-of-the-art, filled with easily accessible information, and easy to use. But the opposite is mostly true.

Press Secretaries in Washington, DC have an interesting job. They have their finger on the pulse of the media, the American people, and must speak on behalf of powerful individuals. Enter, Michael Steel, Speaker of the House John Boehner’s Press Secretary.

shortformblog:

Two candidates and two voters from the Green and Libertarian parties are seeking to intervene on the side of the plaintiffs in Chamness v. Bowen, one of three lawsuits pending against California's top two open primary system. In their motion to intervene, filed with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this month, the Greens and Libertarians argue that unless the top two primary system is struck down, they will be deprived of their rights to participate in the June primary election (of their respective parties), as well as the November general election.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says it wants to broaden its regulatory powers over agriculture in the name of “sustainable development”. In response, agricultural leaders are pleading with Congress to protect farmers from the possibility of being regulated out of business.

Critics often claim that the libertarian worldview is nice in theory, but won't really work in the real world.  This Christmas, Dr. Ron Paul's army of libertarian-minded supporters put this criticism to the test.  Based on an official press release, grassroots volunteers collected over 12,000 pounds of food to donate to charity in thirty-six different cities.