State Budget
Blog
Who are winners and losers of 2023 legislative session?
Progressives Dominate Legislative Session, But Will Newsom Spoil the Party?
Late Thursday evening, the Legislature wrapped up its business for the 2023 legislative session. As bleary-eyed lawmakers travel home today for the fall recess, what is the biggest story of this year’s legislative session? This year’s legislative session will go down as perhaps the most successful legislative session ever for
Business & Economics
Read about latest tax hike push at State Capitol
California’s Already High Taxes Could Increase if Democratic Legislators Prevail
Following this formula, legislators are kicking around Assembly Constitutional Amendment 1, a proposal that would undermine the protections of 1978’s Proposition 13. Should ACA 1 become law, it would lower the two-thirds voter-approval requirement of Proposition 13 for passing special local tax hikes to only 55%. The threshold was strengthened
Blog
Read latest from Free Cities Center
Misusing ‘externality’ theories to bolster government power
In a recent article, economist Timothy D. Terrell pointed out problems in modern economic theory that deal with what economists call externalities, or spillover costs, noting that in a world in which value is subjective, attempts to find objective ways to allay costs are elusive and generally end in failure.
Blog
Read latest about state pension problem
ESG and CalPERS Sub-par Investment Returns
CalPERS has one core social responsibility – maximizing returns to help secure the retirement of millions of current and future pensioners. The pension fund is also a major proponent of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing. CalPERS claims that ESG “disclosures provide important metrics to understand how a company’s practices
Blog
Read about proposed ballot measure
‘Transparency’ Measure Would Paint False Picture of What’s Happening at State Capitol
Consumer Watchdog, the self-appointed group with a history of waging controversial ballot measure fights, announced this week that it was launching a 2024 ballot initiative campaign aiming to, according to Politico, “forc(e) unprecedented scrutiny into lobbying activities at the Capitol.” The proposed “Government Transparency Act”, according to a campaign press
Blog
Read about new legislative caucus
‘End Poverty in California’ Caucus Poised to Worsen State’s Poverty Problem
You may have missed it, but a new legislative caucus has just been announced to address California’s status as the worst-in-the-nation state for poverty. With visions of Upton Sinclair dancing in their heads, the “End Poverty in California” legislative caucus is the brainchild of former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs. It
Blog
How local governments can prepare for a possible recession
A recession is beginning now, according to the June 22 Chapman Economic Forecast Update, the most accurate in the country for GDP prediction. Said President Emeritus Jim Doti at the event, “We’re pointing to a negative change in the third quarter and the fourth quarter and that’s the stuff of
Blog
Biden’s Cash Is Merely A Drop in the Bucket of What an All-Renewable Future Needs
President Biden headlined a Palo Alto event this week touting what Gov. Newsom’s office called “new investments in climate action and clean energy.” In between a series of high-priced Bay Area fundraisers for his re-election campaign, Biden, with Newsom by his side, announced “$67 million (in federal funds) to help
Free Cities
Marc Joffe – How can California transportation policy better serve customers?
Transportation expert Marc Joffe of the Cato Institute joins Steven Greenhut of PRI’s Free Cities Center for a discussion of how to transform transportation policy in California to better serve customers and focus on transportation engineering rather than social engineering. They also discuss the current state budget debate over a
Blog
City services will get slammed as public pay goes up
Consider these recent increases: University of California Health. In February, unionized medical residents at UC’s six urban medical centers (in Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside and Orange) were prescribed 16-percent raises over two years. Los Angeles. In April, teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School district went
Who are winners and losers of 2023 legislative session?
Progressives Dominate Legislative Session, But Will Newsom Spoil the Party?
Late Thursday evening, the Legislature wrapped up its business for the 2023 legislative session. As bleary-eyed lawmakers travel home today for the fall recess, what is the biggest story of this year’s legislative session? This year’s legislative session will go down as perhaps the most successful legislative session ever for
Read about latest tax hike push at State Capitol
California’s Already High Taxes Could Increase if Democratic Legislators Prevail
Following this formula, legislators are kicking around Assembly Constitutional Amendment 1, a proposal that would undermine the protections of 1978’s Proposition 13. Should ACA 1 become law, it would lower the two-thirds voter-approval requirement of Proposition 13 for passing special local tax hikes to only 55%. The threshold was strengthened
Read latest from Free Cities Center
Misusing ‘externality’ theories to bolster government power
In a recent article, economist Timothy D. Terrell pointed out problems in modern economic theory that deal with what economists call externalities, or spillover costs, noting that in a world in which value is subjective, attempts to find objective ways to allay costs are elusive and generally end in failure.
Read latest about state pension problem
ESG and CalPERS Sub-par Investment Returns
CalPERS has one core social responsibility – maximizing returns to help secure the retirement of millions of current and future pensioners. The pension fund is also a major proponent of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing. CalPERS claims that ESG “disclosures provide important metrics to understand how a company’s practices
Read about proposed ballot measure
‘Transparency’ Measure Would Paint False Picture of What’s Happening at State Capitol
Consumer Watchdog, the self-appointed group with a history of waging controversial ballot measure fights, announced this week that it was launching a 2024 ballot initiative campaign aiming to, according to Politico, “forc(e) unprecedented scrutiny into lobbying activities at the Capitol.” The proposed “Government Transparency Act”, according to a campaign press
Read about new legislative caucus
‘End Poverty in California’ Caucus Poised to Worsen State’s Poverty Problem
You may have missed it, but a new legislative caucus has just been announced to address California’s status as the worst-in-the-nation state for poverty. With visions of Upton Sinclair dancing in their heads, the “End Poverty in California” legislative caucus is the brainchild of former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs. It
How local governments can prepare for a possible recession
A recession is beginning now, according to the June 22 Chapman Economic Forecast Update, the most accurate in the country for GDP prediction. Said President Emeritus Jim Doti at the event, “We’re pointing to a negative change in the third quarter and the fourth quarter and that’s the stuff of
Biden’s Cash Is Merely A Drop in the Bucket of What an All-Renewable Future Needs
President Biden headlined a Palo Alto event this week touting what Gov. Newsom’s office called “new investments in climate action and clean energy.” In between a series of high-priced Bay Area fundraisers for his re-election campaign, Biden, with Newsom by his side, announced “$67 million (in federal funds) to help
Marc Joffe – How can California transportation policy better serve customers?
Transportation expert Marc Joffe of the Cato Institute joins Steven Greenhut of PRI’s Free Cities Center for a discussion of how to transform transportation policy in California to better serve customers and focus on transportation engineering rather than social engineering. They also discuss the current state budget debate over a
City services will get slammed as public pay goes up
Consider these recent increases: University of California Health. In February, unionized medical residents at UC’s six urban medical centers (in Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside and Orange) were prescribed 16-percent raises over two years. Los Angeles. In April, teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School district went
