It’s almost Tax Day, and in California that means paying the highest state income tax in the nation.

And if, as seems likely, two tax-increase initiatives qualify for the November ballot, California’s income tax could skyrocket — putting it 44% higher than Hawaii, which has the second highest income tax.

Already the tax burden in California is so large that it’s become a significant factor in the high cost of living here in the Golden State.

Each election cycle there emerges one issue that is most salient with voters. Thus far, inflation seems to be that issue, but in a recent PPIC poll 72% of California voters identified housing affordability as a big problem and 67% stated homelessness is also a big problem.

Another issue that has gained traction in California is crime — specifically organized retail crime.

The State Legislature has an opportunity to arrest the issue by passing legislation before the November election, but will it?

Do you remember the last time you saw a gallon of gas for under a dollar?

For me, it was around 1999 at a gas station on Highway 99 in California’s Central Valley. Since then, gas prices in California have risen by about 500%.

While the entire nation is currently experiencing a surge in pump prices, gas in California is still the highest in the nation — averaging $0.75 more per gallon than the second highest-priced state, Hawaii, according to AAA.

Did you watch the Super Bowl? I know it’s been a few weeks, but it still has me thinking. Not of the game itself, but the spotlight it shined on California …

… a sunny, 84-degree day — perfect weather. The iconic shots of Venice Beach and the Griffith Observatory overlooking the L.A. skyline. The $5 billion, privately-funded SoFi Stadium whose field lies 100 feet below ground level. And, of course, the halftime show that showcased SoCal’s hip-hop scene.

Last week, billionaire developer Rick Caruso shook up the race for mayor of Los Angeles — filing the paperwork for his candidacy just hours before the deadline.

While the spotlight and tens of millions of dollars will be focused on the mayoral race, the arguably more consequential elections will occur for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

Mayoral elections in America’s second-largest city have historically been real snoozers, punctuated with turnout as low as 17% … but that is about to change.

In 2022, Los Angeles will hold its first election for mayor in an even-numbered year since 1906.

There has been much attention paid to the higher than usual rate of Americans quitting their jobs in 2021.

California hasn’t been immune to the phenomenon known as the Great Resignation. As a result, employers here, like elsewhere in the U.S., have struggled to fill a record number of job openings.

But additionally, in California, the Great Resignation has spread to the state capitol.

Much has been said about California losing a Congressional seat for the first time in its history. In another first, California experienced a decline in population between January 2020 and January 2021 — losing more than 180,000 people.

However, the bigger story to pay attention to is the largest in-state migration of Californians from the coast to inland communities in its history.

Two weeks ago, the West Hollywood city council approved the highest minimum wage in the country — $17.64 per hour plus annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) adjustments.

For many local governments and labor activists, California’s phased-in $15 minimum wage increase is too little, too late.

In 2007, just fourteen years ago, California-based Apple released its first iPhone. One year later, then California-based Tesla released its first electric vehicle (EV). Both companies would come to dominate their respective markets.

Yet, while smartphone adoption by Americans grew to 85% as of this year, just 7% of Americans own an EV or hybrid vehicle according to Pew Research Center.

However by 2035, in just another 14 years, California will require all new cars and passenger trucks sold in the state to be zero-emission vehicles.

The deadline for Governor Newsom to sign or veto bills just passed. And like the recall election, it was a bit anticlimactic.

In a one-party dominated state like California, sometimes the real action is which bills get the governor’s veto.

In this case, the number of bills vetoed by Governor Newsom were the fewest since … hmm, interesting parallel … 2003, the year Governor Davis was recalled.

There are just over 22 million registered voters in California — representing nearly 90% of Californians who are eligible to vote.

California’s liberalization of the electoral process in the past four years — from automatic voter registration to ballot harvesting — has drastically changed the campaign landscape.

On September 9, 1850, California entered the Union as the 31st state.

On September 14, 2021 — 171 years later — California held its second gubernatorial recall election in just the past 20 years.

The political fault lines that run through the state have been active as of late. But what do Tuesday’s recall results foretell about the future happenings in California?

While the wildfire threatening the Tahoe Basin and the recall election threatening Governor Gavin Newsom are commanding a lot of attention, the field is quietly being set for California’s biggest political battle of 2022 — statewide ballot initiatives.

Last Thursday was the final day for proponents to submit initiatives and receive a full 180 days to gather roughly 600,000 to one million valid signatures from registered voters.

There are currently 21 initiatives that are in the process of qualifying for the November 2022 ballot and one has already qualified. Many of these initiatives will fail to collect enough signatures and no doubt, there will be more filed in the coming weeks and months. However, the longer proponents wait, the steeper the cost in a truncated timeframe.

California’s legislative session ends in less than a month and the scramble is on to get bills through to the governor’s desk.

Each year there are a handful of seemingly well-intentioned bills that become law, but quickly go awry. For example, AB 5 (the 2019 gig-worker bill) changed the classification for independent contractors; it turned into a $200 million plus ballot measure funded primarily by Uber and Lyft. And even now, the Legislature is still cleaning up the mess by passing exemptions for various industries.

It’s the big question everyone is asking this summer: will Governor Gavin Newsom be recalled on September 14?

The odds seem rather long, but events shape elections. And here in California, quite a few “events” are beginning to pile up that could impact the recall.

You’ve heard it before, all politics is local. Well out here in California, it’s taking on a whole new dimension.

Local governments have become the epicenter for progressive public policy proposals that when established at the local level, often work their way up to the state and eventually influence other states and federal policy. And the consequences on affected businesses is huge.

I grew up on the north shore of Lake Tahoe. My jobs in high school were typical of a touristy area — working on the ski hill selling lift tickets, parking cars at hotels, and flipping burgers at the beach. Two lessons stuck with me: the importance of tourism for the local economy and that lifeguards got all the dates.

While the latter seemed to matter more at the time, the significance of tourism as an economic driver has only grown. The pandemic devastated the tourism industry, but here in California a unique public-private partnership is helping weather the blow and leading the comeback.

California has it all: the ocean, warm sunny beaches, rolling hills, majestic mountains, and HIGH TAXES. It was just four decades ago when Californians led a historic taxpayer revolt. Today, many of its taxpayer protections have eroded — exposing businesses and all classes of citizens to some of the highest taxes in the nation. So then, is another taxpayer revolt in the making?

It’s been observed that California’s culture and politics runs ahead of the rest of the country. So then, do California’s Democratic supermajorities in state government foretell the future for Congress and the country at large? Well, there’s more to the story ...