John McCain has taken issue with it. Russ Feingold lent his name to it. Nary a day goes by without someone taking issue with it. What on earth is the “it” alluded to? Campaign contributions, of course! Whether an individual is agitating for stronger reform or cursing the day any sort of political and financial reform was put into law, the topic of campaign finance reform is never too removed from the day-to-day political debates.

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 $403.  “It’s a tax increase on students.

Fox News lightning rod, Bill O'Reilly, criticized Republicans and Democrats in an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulus.  Claiming that each side possesses a valid concern in the healthcare debate, O'Reilly urged both parties to reject partisanship and craft a plan that addresses the real needs of average Americans, though he doubts that will actually happen.  He also called out the "loons" on both sides of the political aisle and directed a few critical remarks toward Democrats Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid, as well as Republicans Sarah Palin and John Boehner.

Ever since humans first understood the power that flowed from the sun, they have wanted to harness it for their own purposes.  It all seemed so simple – capture the sunlight, use it to warm our homes and power our communities.  The fact that solar power barely makes a dent in today’s mix of power grid sources is a testament to the difficulty of turnin

Panic and resentment can be a deadly combination in politics, and never do the two coincide more frequently than during a time of economic peril. Recent attacks on the IRS by an insane anarchist are a particularly extreme instance, but more dangerous are the seemingly prosaic instances of equally resentful behavior – behavior which prompted the great British journalist Malcolm Muggeridge to declare that “Eleanor Roosevelt was worse than Josef Stalin and Adolph Hitler” because while fascism and communism were discredited, Ms.

Datamar Surveys polled 794 voters and found that 57% ranked the Top Two Open Primary initiative as an important reform option.  Specifically, the poll offered four, major reform options with the Top Two Open Primary drawing the strongest support as an "important reform".  64% of Independents, 56% of Democrats, and 54% of Republicans considered the initiative to be an important reform option, which is somewhat surpr

California Democratic Senate Majority Leader, Dean Florez, has introduced legislation that would tax sodas and sweetened beverages as an assault against the obesity epidemic. Senate Bill 1210 would levy a one cent tax on every teaspoon of sugar or caloric sweetener added to beverages. Revenues will go directly to cities for funding parks, recreation, and obesity prevention programs in public schools throughout the state.

Apparently, Mitt Romney and many conservatives haven't learned their lesson.  During CPAC, the former Massachusetts governor devoted a segment of his well-delivered speech to extolling President George W. Bush.  He praised Bush for pulling the nation out of recession after 9/11, taking on the teachers' unions, taking down the Taliban, waging war against jihadists, and keeping America safe.  Unfortunately, Romney neglected a pool of contradictory data and the powerful lessons of 2006 and 2008.

Why is it that state politicians can’t seem to understand that water is a necessity, and not a game? US Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) recently decided to take up the clarion call of water for needy Central Valley farmers, in a proposal attached to the AgJOBS bill currently in the Senate.

Creative destruction, as any economist knows, is a healthy feature of a capitalist economy, especially when it comes to the eradication of failed ideas. However, as any economist also knows, in order for the destruction involved to be truly “creative,” not only must old paradigms fall by the wayside, but new ones must invariably take their place, and there must be a healthy environment for those paradigms to exist, otherwise they will whither and die.