Sales taxes not best way to balance state budget
Nov. 23 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger unseated Gray Davis five years ago, one of his rallying cries was his pledge to cut taxes. Just last month, the governor called Barack Obama a “socialist” for his plan to raise taxes on the rich to cut taxes for the middle class.
Nevertheless, when Schwarzenegger last week proposed an emergency “action plan” for the budget, it included a wide array of tax hikes, including a significant boost in the sales tax.
Nov. 16 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Economic recovery is a matter of principles: “There is no rule book for an economic crisis,” former Federal Reserve economist Douglas Elmendorf recently wrote.
Nov. 9 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
U.S. isn't even close to rescuing the economy: It'll be more than two months before Barack Obama is sworn in as president, but already his allies in Congress are itching to draft new stimulus bills to revive the economy.
Nov. 2 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Plan in works would help homeowners, lenders alike: The government has gotten a lot of practice this year coming up with halfway measures to edge us out of the Great American Mortgage Crisis.
Oct. 26 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
'Spreading the wealth' is nothing new to U.S.: As the presidential election draws to a close, the campaign trail has come alive with allegations that Barack Obama is a “socialist” because he proposes to raise taxes on the wealthy while lowering them for the poor and middle class.
Oct. 5 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
What does 'live within your means' mean today?: During the vice presidential debate last week, a telling moment came when moderator Gwen Ifill asked Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin who was at fault for the nation's credit crisis: “greedy lenders” or “risky homeowners who shouldn't have been buying a home in the first place”?
Sept. 14 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Both parties warming up to oil drilling off U.S. coast: Amid the growing silliness of the political campaign – including all that inane wackiness about lipstick on pigs and sex education for kindergartners – there appears to be growing consensus on at least one major issue.
Sept. 7 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Some firms are islands of stability in downturn: “No man is an island,” John Donne once wrote, as a poetic way of saying that we're all so interconnected that we're affected by what happens to those around us.
Aug. 24 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Port is more important than many may realize: In a recent column, I mentioned how Texas oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens was using the California initiative process to float a referendum to provide subsidies for natural gas use that would probably end up providing some pretty handsome benefits for his natural gas company.
Aug. 17 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Olympics showcase our biggest creditor: Over the past nine days, the world has been entranced by the Beijing Olympics. For Americans, of course, the Olympics are more than a chance to see the world's greatest swimmer grab another gold, or to debate when those “16-year-old” Chinese gymnasts were born.
Aug. 10 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
With no paid sick leave, workers face grim choices: In every war there is collateral damage, and in the legislative battle to pass the long-delayed state budget, one of the casualties last week was a bill that would have provided paid sick leave to workers.
Aug. 3 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
In mortgage crisis, look for the signs of recovery: Happy anniversary! It was one year ago this month that the Great American Mortgage Crisis boiled over into the Great Global Credit Crisis, with banks in Paris, London and Frankfurt seizing up because of their investments in the U.S. housing market.
July 27 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Referendum process now being used by wealthy: When California's reform-minded Gov. Hiram Johnson launched the referendum process in 1911, his idea was to give common citizens more of a voice in setting state policy.
July 20 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Weighing in with other ways to cut driving costs: After more than a year and a half of writing this column, I've found that sometimes the best ideas come from readers.
July 13 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
As gas costs keep rising, look at ways to fight back: With gas prices hovering above $4.50 per gallon and with the growing likelihood that those prices may rise to $7 or more in the near future, the time has come for America to declare war.
July 6 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Homeowners suffer while mortgage bill sits in Senate: Like many Americans, our legislators in Washington have been enjoying a nice holiday break for the Fourth of July. In fact, they've been enjoying a longer break than most of us – more than a week, which is good practice for the monthlong vacation that awaits them just six weeks from now.
June 22 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Mortgage rates on rise, as are fears for housing: As if the local housing market weren't bad enough, there's another storm cloud on the horizon: rising mortgage rates.
June 15 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Rising costs affect China, plus firms that import: As if skyrocketing oil and food prices weren't enough, Americans might soon find they're paying more for another item on their shopping lists: Chinese imports.
June 8 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Utilities need to reward solar power generation: When the Kingston Village apartment complex in Coronado toyed with the idea of installing solar panels on the roofs of its seven carports last year, San Diego Gas & Electric dissuaded it for a curious reason.
June 1 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Mayoral race full of hot air, but also has worthy ideas: Judging from some of the latest TV commercials, the presidential primary season has been rubbing off on our local politicians, since their campaigns seem more appropriate for a national office than the not-so-strong mayoralty of America's Finest City.
May 25 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
As stimulus checks arrive, so do higher food, gas costs: Six weeks after the federal income tax deadline, most Americans are just beginning to get those much-vaunted tax rebates that are supposed to stimulate the economy.
May 18 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Senate, Bush need to act on bill to help homeowners: After more than two years of declining home prices and rising foreclosures, Congress has finally come up with a proposal that could keep hundreds of thousands of borrowers from losing their homes.
May 11 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Mothers still eye equality on issues in workplace: It surely must have warmed the hearts of American mothers when Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb., stood on the floor of Congress last week and offered a resolution supporting the goals and ideals of Mother's Day.
May 4 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Examining 'emergency' insurance regulations: “Socialized car insurance.” That's what insurers said would happen if California's Proposition 103 passed in November 1988.
April 27 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
'Renewables' a magic word to sell public on Powerlink: Two weeks before Christmas 2004, a handpicked group of 12 movers and shakers met at Lou & Mickey's Seafood and Steak Restaurant in the Gaslamp Quarter to talk about San Diego Gas & Electric's plans to build a new power line.
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 Dean Calbreath is a weekly financial columnist for The San Diego Union-Tribune
He can be reached at dean.calbreath@
uniontrib.com.
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