The second fiscal year after the implementation of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s coronavirus lockdown for San Diego County’s 18 cities saw Del Mar bounce back up in fiscal rankings (see “City of San Diego Fell Behind $191 Million in First Year of Pandemic,” May 15, 2024). The fiscal year ending June 30, 2021, also saw the...
After the state unwisely expanding Medi-Cal in recent years, the program has descended into a fiscal crisis. Now Gov. Gavin Newsom proposes to roll back some of the expansions, but it may be too little too late given pending actions at the federal level. Covering more than one-third of Californians, the Medi-Cal program’s costs are projected to...
The state of California issued its annual comprehensive financial report some 15 months after the customary due date, making it the last of the nation’s 50 states to complete this required task (see Long Overdue Financial Report for California Brings Bad News, March 18, 2024). Don’t think for a minute that the Franchise Tax Board...
When Marc Molinaro takes up his position as the new federal transit administrator, he will have the opportunity to save taxpayers a quick $5.1 billion. All he has to do is decline to provide federal funding for what a high-profile transit advocate recently dubbed “the worst new transit project in the United States”: the extension...
Although public opinion, most private organizations, and the federal government have turned against Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), it remains deeply embedded in the culture of California state and local government. As a result, taxpayers and ratepayers are funding millions of dollars of government DEI-related expenditures annually, and the spending is likely to persist without...
California’s state and local governments are struggling to find the cash needed to pay government employees the retirement benefits they promised. As the League of California Cities observed, pension costs for many of their members have been rising to “unsustainable levels”. Now, remarkably, the state Assembly is ready to make that problem far worse –...
I’ve become a big fan of The History Channel’s series “Alone” and “Alone Australia.” The goal is for one of ten contestants to survive the longest in the fall and winter months above the Arctic Circle or near the Antarctic Circle. Living off the land is not as easy as it seems, but the winning...
The taxpayers are always the ‘deep pockets’ that public leaders depend on. There is nothing more infuriating to me than adult predators who exploit and sexually abuse children. As a former president of the board of a summer camp, I know that it had to pay high premiums for liability insurance. Not for the mud...
California is the prime battleground between transportation innovation and legacy mass transit. While Silicon Valley is rolling out driverless taxis and testing flying cars, urbanists and transit unions are seeking more taxpayer funding to buttress money-losing train and bus systems around the state. If history is any guide, the new transportation technologies will ultimately replace...
Elected Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia has issued a dire warning about the city’s finances. It’s not the first time he’s been direct in the two years since he has assumed the office. He is no stranger to addressing transparency concerns, especially on the hot topic of auditing homelessness expenditures. And he’s unafraid to...
California’s major cities, especially the seat of its major counties, are falling apart at the seams. The city and county of San Francisco announced that its newly elected mayor is facing an $840 million budget deficit over the next two years. San Diego’s Mayor is stressing over a $250 million budget deficit. And the controller...
The misguided quest for efficient government As the wildfires raged in southern California last month, we witnessed bipartisan support for the reintroduction of The Fix our Forests Act, ostensibly designed to reform forest management. At the same time, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power announced that it will submit to outside investigations to...
Conservatives often wonder why California’s 13.3 percent top marginal income tax rate has not driven out more of its affluent residents. Indeed, a family earning $10 million annually stands to save over $1 million each year by moving to Texas, Florida, or another state that does not levy an income tax. But many high earners...
Pushing back against the winds of change in Washington, DC, California Governor Newsom reiterated his commitment to the state’s high-speed rail (HSR) boondoggle while tacitly lending support to a new effort to incinerate taxpayer funds: a 54-mile high-speed connector line that would join HSR with Brightline West service planned for the I-15 corridor. Newsom participated...