Transparent California Releases 2014 Salary Data for California K-12 School Employees

Red Flags: New Study Offers Grim Warning for California Pension Funds

For Immediate Release July 12, 2016 California Policy Center Contact: Will Swaim Will@CalPolicyCenter.org (714) 573-2231 Stock market overvaluation will lead to ‘major correction,’ trigger benefits cuts and tax hikes SACRAMENTO, Calif. – There are more red flags for public-sector pension funds that rely on stock investments for most of their income, a new California Policy Center...

By California Policy Center

Fresno Cop Deals Blow To SEIU… And Everyone Shakes Hands

I met Eulalio Gomez in Bakersfield earlier this year. The correctional officer from Fresno was part of an MLK Day gathering of public sector union reformers, and I was there to document. Each California employee present had spent time and resources challenging their unions in one form or another. They came to compare war wounds...

By California Policy Center

UC Berkeley's 'income inequality' critics earn in top 2%

For Immediate Release June 23, 2016 California Policy Center Contact: Will Swaim Will@CalPolicyCenter.org (714) 573-2231 Income inequality at UC Berkeley worse than world’s-worst Haiti SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Scholars from the University of California at Berkeley have played a pivotal role in making income inequality a major issue in 2016 political campaigns. But while they decry...

By California Policy Center

Major-party presidential candidates offer no solutions on federal retirement crises

For Immediate Release June 2, 2016 California Policy Center Contact: Will Swaim Will@CalPolicyCenter.org (714) 573-2231 SACRAMENTO — Californians may be accustomed to living with the specter of a public pension crisis. But the federal government’s problem with its retirement systems – including Social Security – is far worse, and yet none of the three remaining major-party...

By California Policy Center

Comparing Fresno City and County Pension Systems

As the Fresno Bee recently reported, the city of Fresno’s pension systems are in much better financial shape than the Fresno County Employees’ Retirement Association (FCERA). As of June 30, 2015, the city’s two systems reported a combined $349 million of assets (at market value) in excess of actuarially accrued liabilities. By contrast, FCERA’s assets...

By California Policy Center

Taxes up, retirements slashed, governments in crisis: Ed Ring on California’s coming public pension apocalypse

For Immediate Release May 18, 2016 California Policy Center Contact: Will Swaim Will@CalPolicyCenter.org (949) 274-1911 SACRAMENTO – America’s already troubled public-employee pension funds will go broke in the next economic slowdown, creating the likelihood that millions of public employees will see their retirements slashed – even as state and local governments raise taxes dramatically and scramble...

By California Policy Center

Sonoma and Marin county officials voted to hike their own retirement pay

For Immediate Release April 29, 2016 California Policy Center Contact: Will Swaim Will@CalPolicyCenter.org (714) 573-2231 Retroactive pension bump likely violated multiple state transparency and accounting laws Sacramento — County supervisors members and other senior county officials in Marin and Sonoma may have violated state law when voting for massive retroactive pension increases for themselves and...

By California Policy Center

Transparency organization wins 'total victory' in Lynwood records case

For Immediate Release April 26, 2016 California Policy Center Contact: Will Swaim Will@CalPolicyCenter.org (949) 274-1911 SACRAMENTO – The city of Lynwood will pay $22,000, part of a judge’s decision that city officials failed to disclose to the California Policy Center the names and salaries of Lynwood public employees. You can read the April 22 judgment here....

By California Policy Center

Citing CPC study, new Assembly bill seeks to stop runaway school bond debt

For Immediate Release March 24, 2016 California Policy Center Contact: Will Swaim Will@CalPolicyCenter.org (949) 274-1911 SACRAMENTO — A California Assemblyman hopes to stop school officials before they recklessly spend again. AB 2116 author Rep. James Gallagher (R-Sacramento Valley) says his bill would limit the ability of school districts to take on debt through new bonds – even authorizing county auditors...

By California Policy Center

Annual ranking: California's best and worst counties by pension burden

For Immediate Release March 15, 2016 California Policy Center Contact: Will Swaim Will@CalPolicyCenter.org (949) 274-1911 SACRAMENTO — Years after the Great Recession slammed their Wall Street investments, at least four California counties have broken through the 10 percent ceiling, spending one of out of every $10 to fund their government-employee retirement programs. The resulting strain on local budgets, called...

By California Policy Center

Study: Stress test reveals Fresno County ranks No. 3 among California’s worst for pension burden

For Immediate Release March 15, 2016 California Policy Center Contact: Will Swaim Will@CalPolicyCenter.org (949) 274-1911 Annual ranking: California’s best and worst counties by pension burden SACRAMENTO — Years after the Great Recession slammed their Wall Street investments, at least four California counties have broken through the 10 percent ceiling, spending one of out of every $10 to fund their...

By California Policy Center

You’re No. 1! New study shows Santa Barbara County suffers state’s highest pension burden

For Immediate Release March 15, 2016 California Policy Center Contact: Will Swaim Will@CalPolicyCenter.org (949) 274-1911 Annual ranking: California’s worst counties for pension burden include Santa Barbara, Kern, Fresno SACRAMENTO — Years after the Great Recession slammed their Wall Street investments, at least four California counties have broken through the 10 percent ceiling, spending one of out of every $10...

By California Policy Center

Study ranks San Mateo, Merced among CA's worst counties for pension burden

For Immediate Release March 15, 2016 California Policy Center Contact: Will Swaim Will@CalPolicyCenter.org (949) 274-1911 Annual ranking: California’s best and worst counties by pension burden SACRAMENTO — Years after the Great Recession slammed their Wall Street investments, at least four California counties have broken through the 10 percent ceiling, spending one of out of every $10 to fund...

By California Policy Center