Welcome to the California Legislature

An interesting fact about California is that though it is only one of fifty states, it is responsible for 13% of the United States GDP.  Were California its own country, the CIA World Factbook states that it would be the tenth largest economy in the world.

Great for the American economy.  Not so great for American politics.

Because of its size and power, California is often excluded from American laws preventing states from regulating companies that conduct interstate commerce. The state is also such an intense bastion of liberalism that in it we can see first hand a microcosm of the policies that leftists would like to see implemented nationally.

The LA Times list of new laws includes the following

1.    Blueberries: Creates a California Blueberry Commission, to be funded by an industry fee of up to $0.025 per pound of berries sold
2.    Fat in food: Requires restaurants to use oils, margarine and shortening with less than half a gram of trans fat per serving of regular foods. The standard will apply to deep-fried bakery goods next year. Trans fat has been linked to heart disease.
3.    Office bets: Changes the penalty for participation in a non-commercial or office “sports betting pool” from a misdemeanor, punishable by fines up to $1,000, to an infraction, punishable by a fine not to exceed $250.

These are just three of the laws that stuck out as needing commentary.

For starters, let’s talk about a blueberry commission.  I can do nothing more than raise my eyebrows and wonder at this.  As if the FDA, state Department of Heath, state department of agriculture and the other litany of regulatory agencies weren’t enough a new industry fee (read into that “passed on to consumers”) must be levied to form a state blueberry commission.

How ridiculous.  In a recession, most people would think its time to do things to reduce prices and attract more sales.  But then again, this is the government we’re talking about.

As for the fat in food, I’d like to know how many California Assemblymen are certified chefs!  Who cares that trans fat has been linked to heart disease. If people want to eat it, cooks will cook with it!  If people are more concerned about their weight they won’t.  Diet is one of the most obvious personal choices and yet California has decided to regulate that too!

If the regulation of diet wasn’t enough, California also continues to regulate “office pools” on sports teams.  Thank God they saw fit to lower the penalty for such a crime. But one must ask why this is a crime at all.  A $250 fine for office pools?  Where do they Assemblymen get off regulating that?

The insanity seems to never end.  These are just three instances of obviously and deliberate power grabbing by state officials. In 2010 we have an opportunity to fight back.  First through protests and lobbying and second through campaigns.

There is still time in the 2009 tax year to donate to non profit political charities.  The Intercollegiate Studies Institute, The Rand Foundation, Cato Institute, Heritage Foundation, the Leadership Institute are just a handful of the very important non profit 501c3’s that will help fight these and other government assaults on private life.  While your donations can still count on 2009’s taxes, think about making a donation.