Political Reform

In his January 2012 State of the Union address, President Barack Obama called for cutting taxes for companies that produce in the United States, especially high-tech manufacturers. He proposed eliminating deductions for firms that move jobs abroad. And he suggested a minimum tax on all multinational corporations.

This donation to the Republican Governors Association is notable for its size, but big media companies make political contributions all the time. As POLITICO and others have reported, GE (the parent of NBC and MSNBC), Disney (the parent of ABC), and CBS have all given through their political action committees in recent cycles. One can argue that GE and Disney have given to influence specific policies affecting other parts of their business, or that News Corp.

It's not a case of tilting rightward so much as it is a sign of Google growing up. This is a corporation with a wide range of interests to represent in Washington, and that requires good relations with both sides of the aisle.

Hidden in all the bad news about California’s troubles is this delightful paradox: Californians, while living in a state that experts say is ungovernable, have within their reach new tools that give them greater power to govern themselves than ever before.

If California were a country, it would be the 35th most populous nation in the world; all 34 countries bigger than California have some form of state, regional or provincial government. But California's distinct, state-like regions don't have governments, or representation. That has bred frustration -- and has sparked proposals by various regions and people, many of them in inland California, to break off regions or split the state in two. Is California too big for its own good?

(originally published at Fox & Hounds Daily)
Do you have ideas to offer on initiative reform? Great. Now should be your moment.

What's Next California, a documentary report produced by MacNeil/Lehrer Productions and hosted by Judy Woodruff, will air on PBS SoCal tonight at 8:30 pm and again at 7 pm on Tuesday, September 13th.

The program offers a glimpse into the deliberations of the 412 Californians who attended and participated in the Deliberative Poll in Torrance over the weekend of June 24-26, 2011.

For additional broadcast dates and times near you, click here:

http://action.nextca.org/schedule

Sacramento, Calif. – Californians want more oversight over elected officials, a clear and strong initiative process, and more power for local governments, according to the results of California's first-ever deliberative poll, organizers of which agree can – and should – guide efforts to fix state government.

More than 400 people – a scientifically selected random sample – came to Torrance in June for the What's Next California? deliberative poll.

The Golden State not only faces unprecedented demographic and economic changes, but does so with a governance system that is fundamentally broken, and arguably incapable of implementing the policy reforms that are so clearly needed. Recognizing this, the New America Foundation joined the What's Next California coalition to convene a deliberative poll with a scientifically selected random sample of California's registered voters.

After careful review and detailed tabulation of results from a larger-than-expected Deliberative Poll sample, What's Next California is pleased to announce a news conference on August 22 in Sacramento. Members of the What's Next California steering committee and representatives from the sponsoring organizations will unveil the full results and poll questionnaire.