Glazer vs. Bonilla 7th Senate District Battle Reflects New Political Split in California
Glazer vs. Bonilla 7th Senate District Battle Reflects New Political Split in California
California’s politics remain polarized, but not just via the traditional division of Republicans vs. Democrats. As reported here two months ago in the post “Issue of Government Unions Divide Candidates More Than Party Affiliation,” there were two California State Senate contests that remained unresolved after the November 2014 election. One of them, pitting Republican John Moorlach...
By Edward Ring
Pension Reform is BAD for Wall Street, and GOOD for California
Pension Reform is BAD for Wall Street, and GOOD for California
“His idea of pension reform is, you sign up for one pension system, we’re going to change it now in mid career, and now you’re going to get something different.” Lou Paulson, President, California Professional Firefighters (ref. CPF Video, April 1, 2015) The biggest problem with Mr. Paulson’s comment is the double standard he applies. Changing pension...
By Edward Ring
Desalination Plants vs. Bullet Trains and Pensions
Desalination Plants vs. Bullet Trains and Pensions
Current policy solutions enacted to address California’s water crisis provide an object lesson in how corruption masquerading as virtue is impoverishing the general population to enrich a handful of elites. Instead of building freeways, expanding ports, restoring bridges and aqueducts, and constructing dams, desalination plants, and power stations, California’s taxpayers are pouring tens of billions...
By Edward Ring
Raise the Minimum Wage, or Lower the Cost of Living?
Raise the Minimum Wage, or Lower the Cost of Living?
Increases to the minimum wage in California are moving closer to reality. As reported on March 30th by MyNewsLA.com, “Los Angeles County Supervisors Sheila Kuehl and Hilda Solis will ask their colleagues to approve spending up to $95,000 to have the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation review a series of studies of the issue performed...
By Edward Ring
Eureka Faces Pension Headwinds – Just Like Every Other California City
Eureka Faces Pension Headwinds – Just Like Every Other California City
The city of Eureka on the far north coast of our state is part of a fabled land, far removed from the rest of drought stricken California. The winds that the ridiculously resilient ridge of high pressure push north find welcoming mountains and canyons in and around Eureka, drenching them with rain, nourishing endless groves of...
By Edward Ring
Pension Funds and the Ultimate Hedge, Taxpayers
Pension Funds and the Ultimate Hedge, Taxpayers
“We’re trying to make these guys’ money toxic because, as we’ve seen, their money is toxic,” Jonathan Westin, the director of New York Communities for Change, told Business Insider on Thursday. “I think it’s connecting the dots that many people don’t always connect.” – “Activists think they found a way to convince Democrats to stay...
By Edward Ring
LAUSD Offer Worth $122,938 Per Year – Will They Strike Anyway?
LAUSD Offer Worth $122,938 Per Year – Will They Strike Anyway?
“Our demands, they’re not radical. When did it become radical to have class sizes that you could actually teach in? When did it become radical to have staffing and to pay people back after eight years of nothing?” – Alex Caputo Pearl, President, UTLA, February 26, 2015, Los Angeles Times If the 35,000 members of the...
By Edward Ring
The Glass Jaw of Pension Funds is Asset Bubbles
The Glass Jaw of Pension Funds is Asset Bubbles
“Calpers argued that the California constitution’s guarantee of contracts shielded pensions from cuts in bankruptcy. The fund also asserted sovereign immunity and police powers as an ‘arm of the state,’ including a lien on municipal assets.” – Wall Street Journal Editorial, “Calpers Gets Schooled,” February 8, 2015 If you want powerful evidence of crony capitalism...
By Edward Ring
Issue of Government Unions Divide Candidates More Than Party Affiliation
Issue of Government Unions Divide Candidates More Than Party Affiliation
“Agent Keen, in this world there are no sides, only players.” – Raymond Reddington, played by actor James Spader, NBC’s “Blacklist,” February 12, 2015 To exemplify the intensifying battle of players regardless of sides, look no further than California’s two competitive State Senate special elections set for this March. In Orange County’s Senate District 37,...
By Edward Ring
Senator Huff Fires Victim of Alleged Assault by Member of Teachers Union
Senator Huff Fires Victim of Alleged Assault by Member of Teachers Union
What would you say to someone who displayed extraordinary courage and initiative to stand up for a law you wrote? “You’re fired” is probably not the first thing that comes to mind, but that’s what happened to Arturo Garcia on January 29, after he stepped onto some very big toes. Garcia, a full time district...
By Edward Ring
Anaheim Teachers Union Faces A Gathering Storm
Anaheim Teachers Union Faces A Gathering Storm
If you drive by Palm Lane Elementary School in Anaheim, California, nothing seems amiss. With modern buildings, partially surrounded by a park, the school seems like a tranquil refuge. Like so many settings in sunny Southern California, palm trees and sycamores compete for space on the spacious lawns, beckoning skyward, swaying in the warmth of...
By Edward Ring
Parent Trigger & Open Enrollment – Ways to Cope With Union Controlled Schools
Parent Trigger & Open Enrollment – Ways to Cope With Union Controlled Schools
In January 2010 the California’s legislature passed into law, perhaps uncharacteristically, an excellent new law. Entitled “Public schools: Race to the Top,” SB 54 created two mechanisms for parents to exert greater control over the education of their children. There are two components: (1) The Open Enrollment Act mandates that the California Department of Education to...
By Edward Ring
Is Deficient Recruiting the Real Reason for Police Understaffing in San Diego?
Is Deficient Recruiting the Real Reason for Police Understaffing in San Diego?
Whenever there is a shortage of police personnel in a California city, a common reason cited is inadequate pay. When officers at a particular agency are paid less than their counterparts at some other agency, so the theory goes, they quit in order to start working where they can make more. This seems to be...
By Edward Ring
Money for Nothing – Public Administrators Have Minimal Authority or Accountability
Money for Nothing – Public Administrators Have Minimal Authority or Accountability
On January 14th the Orange County Board of Education will meet to consider, among other things, approving a 2% increase for the Orange County superintendent’s salary. Using data provided by the Orange County Dept. of Education to Transparent California, it can be seen that in 2013 the superintendent, Al Mijares, earned a base salary of...
By Edward Ring