The San Francisco Examiner

Can California Import a British Plan?

Articles — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 00:56:00 -0400

Prime Minister Tony Blair swings through California next week to enjoy some down time with Governor Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver. No doubt he’ll want to take a break from a string of bad press in the U.K. Let’s hope he and the Governor find time to talk about one of his quiet but groundbreaking successes that holds great promise for California -- Blair’s new program to give every child a stake in Great Britain’s economic future.

Each British baby born after September 1st, 2002 receives a "Child Trust Fund" of 250 pounds (about $460) with the poorest one-third of… more

Real Solutions Needed for Small Businesses

Articles — Wed, 17 May 2006 16:20:01 -0400

The United States Senate is embroiled in a debate over SB 1955, a bill that purports to help small businesses purchase health insurance. Offered by Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., the dialogue on finding solutions for small businesses is critical.

While most Americans (61 percent) obtain health insurance from employers, this is true for just over half of Californians. Small businesses are California's economic engine, and yet, higher premiums and administrative barriers make it much more difficult for small businesses to purchase insurance. California insurance premiums have increased 60 percent between 2000 and 2004, and small businesses have seen… more

Ranked Voting: Less Money, More Turnout

Articles — Mon, 06 Feb 2006 03:00:00 -0500

Several recent studies show that the introduction of ranked-choice voting in San Francisco is off to a good start. The shift from December runoffs to RCV has saved millions of taxpayer dollars, and voter participation was much higher and more inclusive than would be expected using the old runoff system. The voters themselves, when polled, overwhelmingly preferred RCV to the old December runoff system.

In RCV, voters rank up to three candidates. If no candidate wins a majority of first rankings, the candidate with the fewest first rankings is eliminated. Voters who ranked this candidate now have their vote… more

Battle Royal Brewing Over Redistricting

Articles — Tue, 19 Apr 2005 00:00:00 -0400

In California, a political volcano is smoldering that is unusual for this time of the decade. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, has launched an effort for a mid-decade redistricting by a panel of judges, taking the line-drawing of legislative districts out of the hands of the Democratic-dominated legislature.

Democrats are calling the governor's actions a power grab, like GOP firebrand Tom DeLay's re-redistricting scheme in Texas. Schwarzenegger has responded by saying he will call a special election for November 2005 to let the voters decide. The volcano is building up steam and looks set to blow.

Yet… more

How to Get Clean, Complete Voter Rolls

Articles — Mon, 21 Mar 2005 00:00:00 -0500

Our country's strength flows from its willingness to innovate and improve upon the American experiment in democracy. Recent presidential elections underscore the importance of revamping the way we register citizens to vote.

Currently, there are two widespread failures. First, our voter rolls are not clean. That leads to uncertainty about voter fraud, such as people voting in two states and, in some places, like Alaska, having more registered voters than adults. Second, our voter rolls are not complete, with nearly a third of eligible voters-about 60 million Americans-not registered to vote. It's time to establish clean and complete voter rolls to preserve the integrity of elections and keep… more