While California’s economy continues to produce some impressive headline numbers, its trajectory is becoming increasingly dependent on the tech sector. And now that tech has gone all in on artificial intelligence, the state’s finances are vulnerable to either a bursting of the “AI Bubble” or an exit of AI innovators to other states. Gov. Gavin...
Las Vegas is pioneering a new form of underground transportation that could one day benefit congested California cities at low cost. The Boring Company, founded by Elon Musk, is digging a series of narrow tunnels and transporting passengers through them in Tesla sedans. Ultimately, the Boring Company’s Vegas Loop can evolve into a viable alternative...
One would think that a few years after the COVID-19 lockdowns in California, things would settle down for school districts. But in Los Angeles County, for the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2024, 10 of the districts moved up or down the annual fiscal rankings by double digits. It’s a time-consuming chore to go...
Out of the 79 school districts in Los Angeles County, 11 made double-digit moves in the fiscal rankings for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, over 2022. Was your district one of them? It is important for you to know the fiscal standing of your school district and where it stands among its peers....
Preparing school budgets is a monumental task. Julie Hamill, former trustee on the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District Board, recently recommended a great book on the subject. I’m sure most school trustees in California have heard of it. “Smarter Budgets, Smarter Schools” (2022) is by Nathan Levenson, and it was a great read. Levenson...
SEIU (the Service Employees International Union) is at it again. After failing three times to use California ballot initiatives to shake down dialysis providers, the union is now turning its ballot warfare to a new target: California’s 200 or so billionaires. SEIU is sponsoring the “2026 Billionaires Tax Act”. The measure, recently listed on the...
During this month’s government shutdown, Bernie Sanders has been repeating the standard Progressive shibboleth: “Healthcare is a Right!” While this slogan appears to be sufficient to silence opposition, it does not receive sufficient examination. But as this month’s strike at Kaiser Permanente shows, union rights, another major Progressive cause, can and does trump the alleged...
The California High-Speed Rail Authority has finally recognized the obvious: there is no path to connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco with trains running at 220mph. With state rail officials now accepting reality, the question is whether northern California transit planners will do so as well by cancelling their plan to extend California High-Speed Rail...
About four months have passed since most local government agencies adopted FY2025‑26 budgets, and roughly four months remain before leaders begin planning FY2026‑27. But waiting to think about budget decisions until the official start of the budget process is a costly mistake. Every day that passes with inaction is a lost opportunity to improve both...
For partisan Democrats and Republicans, deciding how to vote on Proposition 50 is simple, since it is likely to shift five House seats into the Democratic column in what promises to be a closely fought 2026 Congressional election. But for decline-to-state and third-party voters, as well as less passionate major party registrants, the choice will...
The 80 school districts in Los Angeles County had something unique happen during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021. Lowell Joint School District, which borders Orange County, moved out from under the authority of the Los Angeles County Department of Education to that of the OC the previous year. Consequently, Orange County went from...
Those of us who prefer smaller, more cost-effective government often applaud privatization. But if private companies can profit by making the public sector bigger and more expensive, they will do so. That’s the case with the private engineering firms that profit from such costly California rail boondoggles as the high-speed rail project. The phenomenon of...