Twelve Out of Fifteen Largest California Cities Don’t Have Money to Pay their Bills According to Accounting Study
Twelve Out of Fifteen Largest California Cities Don’t Have Money to Pay their Bills According to Accounting Study
Despite what some politicians in Sacramento might tell you, California is not known for its fiscal sustainability. Last year, the Golden State received an “F” for fiscal health from financial watchdog Truth in Accounting. The group calculated that California has a $264 billion deficit, which translates to $21,100 per taxpayer. The analysis turns the narrative...
By Brandon Ristoff
California is Rolling in Education Money
California is Rolling in Education Money
The governor of CA is about to go on a taxpayer-funded spending spree. Last week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced his education spending plan, which comes to $119 billion including local, state and federal sources. This would raise per-pupil spending to $20,855, and make California one of the highest spending states in the country. (That...
By Larry Sand
Why are we not talking about California’s pension problems?
Why are we not talking about California’s pension problems?
It is no secret that California has its own myriad of economic issues: high taxes, a bloated government, overly powerful unions, and many more. However, one issue that is a product of all of these, but does not get nearly enough attention, is skyrocketing public pensions. For as long as I can remember, unions and...
By Cecilia Iglesias
Defining an omni-shambles: California’s unemployment agency
Defining an omni-shambles: California’s unemployment agency
By: Thomas Buckley, Guest Contributor The organization’s crisis response has opened a window into how it truly feels about the public it serves On January 1, 2021, 1.4 million Californians woke up with something much worse than a hangover. They found a surprise email from the state’s Employment Development Department telling them that their unemployment...
By Thomas Buckley
Letter to the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB)
Letter to the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB)
In a little-known and influential institution, a group of experts at the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) regularly update best practices and standards for government financial practices and procedures. They are best recognized for their generally accepted accounting principles. As described in their website, “GASB develops and issues accounting standards through a transparent and inclusive...
By Jordan Bruneau
Government Unions and California Ballot Propositions
Government Unions and California Ballot Propositions
Californians voted on twelve state ballot propositions on November 3. On nine of these propositions, California’s government and private sector unions spent significant amounts of money, over a million in five cases, and over ten million in two cases. But of these nine, the unions only got their way on one of them, Prop. 19, which changed...
By Edward Ring
Citizen Initiatives Transform Oxnard Politics
Citizen Initiatives Transform Oxnard Politics
California’s ballot initiative process allows citizen activists to bypass politicians who are controlled by special interests. The ability for citizens today to connect and organize using online resources means it has never been easier for a determined group of individuals, without access to big donors, to nonetheless successfully qualify reform measures for the ballot and...
By Edward Ring
Sacramento Loses Its Finest Legislator
Sacramento Loses Its Finest Legislator
On November 13th, ten days after the election, and facing final counts that made any chance of victory impossible, California State Senator John Moorlach (R-37) conceded defeat to his challenger, Democrat David Min. Reached for comment, Moorlach said “we worked hard on fundraising, the ground game, the phone calls; we worked hard, and we had a...
By Edward Ring
How Much do California’s State Workers Make?
How Much do California’s State Workers Make?
Californians pay the highest overall taxes in the United States, with more to come. The Democratic supermajority in the state legislature is considering AB 1253 that would raise the top income tax rate to 16.8 percent, and AB 2088 that would impose an annual 0.4 percent tax on any California resident’s net worth in excess of $30 million. On...
By Edward Ring
Firefighters Union Backs Prop 15 Instead of Forestry Reform
Firefighters Union Backs Prop 15 Instead of Forestry Reform
Thousands of firefighters continue to battle blazes across California. In Orange County, two firefighters are in critical condition after suffering major injuries battling the Silverado Fire. Every year around this time, firefighters risk their lives, and some of them lose their lives, protecting the rest of us from these catastrophic fires. Deep respect for what firefighters do,...
By Edward Ring
Separating Good Bailouts from Bad Bailouts
Separating Good Bailouts from Bad Bailouts
The pandemic shutdown is about to enter its third month, and economic repercussions have just begun. Too much has been shut down for too long. In California, the initial reopen is not going to include huge business sectors – theaters, concerts, conventions, sports, travel, hotels – and other sectors such as restaurants and retail establishments are going...
By Edward Ring
California is Ready to Get Rid of Newsom
California is Ready to Get Rid of Newsom
Across California on May 1, tens of thousands protested in defiance of the lockdown orders. In Sacramento, the west lawn of the state capitol building was filled with protesters, with thousands more marching along the sidewalk surrounding the capitol grounds. Additional thousands driving their cars and honking their horns created three hours of total gridlock on...
By Edward Ring
Huntington Beach denies pandemic reality, dispenses pay raises
Huntington Beach denies pandemic reality, dispenses pay raises
On Monday, April 6 the Huntington Beach City Council voted to increase pay for its police officers and city employees. The cost for these raises over the next three years is estimated at $5 million. In a city that reported general revenues of $188 million in the fiscal year ended June 2019, this raise can accurately be described as...
By Edward Ring
Rating California counties on the thoroughness of their COVID-19 data dashboards
Rating California counties on the thoroughness of their COVID-19 data dashboards
Editor’s Note: The following was originally published on Reason. In terms of providing quality information that researchers, hospitals, public health officials, and taxpayers would find the most useful, the best portals are offered by San Diego, Santa Clara, San Mateo and Marin counties. County governments across California are providing an array of public coronavirus data...
By Marc Joffe