Opinion columnist

Dan Walters

Dan Walters is an opinion columnist for CALmatters. CALmatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California's state Capitol works and why it matters. For more by Dan Walters, go to Commentary.

California’s politicians overlook potential pitfalls in their zeal for new laws

August 22, 2025 at 6:26 a.m.

Sociologist Robert Merton coined the term “unintended consequences” in a 1936 essay, exploring how people take actions they believe will have positive outcomes, but later learn they have negative impacts. Someone could...

California’s finances face a perfect storm. It could eventually lead to another tax hike

August 21, 2025 at 6:19 a.m.

OPINION- A perfect storm of economic, fiscal and political trends is battering California’s already deficit-ridden state budget, leading public employee unions and other interest groups dependent on money from Sacramento to...

Newsom, lawmakers short on options to reduce California’s soaring electricity costs

August 15, 2025 at 6:08 a.m.

OPINION- If and when Gavin Newsom launches a campaign for president, economic and social conditions in the California he’s governed for two terms will be in the spotlight.

Deepfakes pose an obvious peril in politics, but California’s bans amount to censorship

August 8, 2025 at 6:57 a.m.

OPINION- A few weeks ago, a video popped up on YouTube, purporting to be a verbal clash between Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, and Gov. Gavin Newsom during a...

California is finally adopting phonics, fulfilling a grandmother’s dream

July 26, 2025 at 6:00 a.m.

Marion Joseph died in 2022 and therefore cannot celebrate what at long last is happening in California to improve children’s abysmal levels of reading comprehension.

California is finally adopting phonics, fulfilling a grandmother’s dream

July 22, 2025 at 6:43 a.m.

OPINION- Marion Joseph died in 2022 and therefore cannot celebrate what at long last is happening in California to improve children’s abysmal levels of reading comprehension.

New California budget papers over $20 billion deficit, ignores day of reckoning

July 19, 2025 at 6:36 a.m.

OPINION- When Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders were drafting a more-or-less final 2025-26 state budget last month, they were closing what they described as a $12 billion deficit, a...

Charter schools need reform. This proposal could kneecap them

July 15, 2025 at 6:20 a.m.

OPINION- The California Legislature deals with thousands of bills every year, and many are perennials that reflect long-running economic, ethnic and cultural conflicts.

Newsom’s South Carolina visit should remove any doubts about his political goals

July 11, 2025 at 6:48 a.m.

OPINION- If anyone still harbors doubts that Gavin Newsom is contemplating a run for the White House in 2028, this week’s sojourn into South Carolina for some schmoozing with local politicians and photo ops...

California’s politics drifts rightward while New York’s leans left

July 5, 2025 at 6:39 a.m.

OPINION- The Democratic Party’s eight months of internal debate, recriminations and soul searching that followed Donald Trump’s win and Kamala Harris’ loss in last year’s presidential duel got another jolt last month,...

All Stories