Restoring the California Dream: An Agenda for the 21st Century
Restoring the California Dream: An Agenda for the 21st Century
REPORTS
The California Book of Exoduses
The California Book of Exoduses
For the first time in its history, California experienced a loss in population in 2020. The trend continued into 2022, by which time California had lost more than a half-million people in two years. But while California’s extreme COVID policies that shuttered businesses and schools accelerated the California Exodus, the trend existed long before the...
South LA Charter Schools have 37% More College-Ready SAT-Taking Students than Comparable District Schools Nearby
South LA Charter Schools have 37% More College-Ready SAT-Taking Students than Comparable District Schools Nearby
A new CPC analysis suggests that South LA charter schools have 37% more college-ready SAT-taking students than comparable district schools nearby. The analysis compares the California Department of Education’s SAT College and Career Readiness Benchmarks at charter and district high schools located in historically disadvantaged neighborhoods in South Los Angeles (Zip Codes: 90001, 90002, 90003,...
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...
The Battle for California is the Battle for America
The Battle for California is the Battle for America
By now, this is a familiar story. California is a failed state. Thanks to years of progressive mismanagement and neglect, the cities are lawless and the forests are burning. Residents pay the highest prices in America for unreliable electricity. Water is rationed. Homes are unaffordable. The public schools are a joke. Freeways are congested and...
Time to Restructure Failing BART System
Time to Restructure Failing BART System
Of all the public agencies facing financial challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, public transit has taken the biggest initial hit. The reasons for this are obvious: when there’s a lockdown and businesses are closed, commuters stay home. And of those still fortunate enough to have places to go, few want to board...
How Much Do California’s City Workers Make?
How Much Do California’s City Workers Make?
With the economic shutdown devastating private sector employment in California, with small family-owned businesses the worst hit, how are California’s public employees doing? A recent report by NPR paints a grim picture, “Cities Have Never Seen A Downturn Like This, And Things Will Only Get Worse.” From the San Francisco Chronicle, “California cities warn of widespread...
Penalty Assessment Fees Report
Penalty Assessment Fees Report
Investigating the relationship between stressed public finances and rising misdemeanor fines and penalties By Reiss Becker, David Vasquez, Zane Zovak BACKGROUND California Policy Center analysts have documented the state’s collapsing public finances over the past few decades – not just the rising level of public debt, but the subsequent effects of crumbling infrastructure, slashed government...
America’s Homeless Industrial Complex – Causes & Solutions
America’s Homeless Industrial Complex – Causes & Solutions
In his final speech from the White House in January 1961, President Dwight Eisenhower warned the nation that the military had joined with the arms industry and had acquired unwarranted influence over American politics. His term for this alliance was the “military industrial complex.” Since that time, Eisenhower’s term has been co-opted by other critics of special...
Public Sector Unions – The Other Deep State
Public Sector Unions – The Other Deep State
When government fails, public-sector unions win. When society fragments, public-sector unions consolidate their power. When citizenship itself becomes less meaningful, and the benefits of American citizenship wither, government unions offer an exclusive solidarity. Government unions insulate their members from the challenges facing ordinary private citizens. On every major issue of our time; globalization, immigration, climate...
Estimated Impact of Janus on California’s Public Sector Unions So Far: $50M/year
Estimated Impact of Janus on California’s Public Sector Unions So Far: $50M/year
On June 27, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case Janus vs AFSCME. An immediate consequence of this ruling was that public sector unions could no longer collect so-called “agency fees” from workers in their bargaining units who had opted out of full union membership. The other main consequence of the Janus ruling was that those...
California’s State and Local Liabilities Total $1.5 Trillion
California’s State and Local Liabilities Total $1.5 Trillion
We estimate that California’s total state and local government debt as of June 30, 2017 totaled just over $1.5 trillion. That total includes all outstanding bonds, loans, and other long-term liabilities, along with the officially reported unfunded liability for other post-employment benefits (primarily retiree healthcare), as well as unfunded pension liabilities. This represents a rise...