CalPERS Pays Million-Dollar Salaries for Below-Median Returns
CalPERS Pays Million-Dollar Salaries for Below-Median Returns
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) continues to demonstrate a stunning disconnect between its investment performance and the compensation it awards its top administrators. A 255-page forensic investigation conducted by former SEC lawyer Edward Siedle and pension analyst Chris Tobe, commissioned by the Retired Public Employees’ Association of California, details a culture of secrecy...
By Marc Joffe
California Lags Far Behind on Local Government Financial Transparency
California Lags Far Behind on Local Government Financial Transparency
Taxpayers have a fundamental right to know how their money is being managed. Three conditions define a best-practice state regime for local government financial reporting. First, the state should require all local governments above a meaningful revenue threshold to produce independently audited financial statements annually. Second, the state should enforce a prompt filing deadline with...
By Marc Joffe
California Overestimated Deficits by $2 Billion and That’s Actually Good News
California Overestimated Deficits by $2 Billion and That’s Actually Good News
Last week, KCRA 3 in Sacramento reported that the Newsom administration’s January budget contained a roughly $2 billion accounting error tied to CalPERS pension contributions. The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office flagged the problem in February. Legislative leaders knew. The public didn’t find out until April. The story is genuinely newsworthy, but not for the reason...
By Marc Joffe
Does San Francisco Need Another Union-Backed Tax?
Does San Francisco Need Another Union-Backed Tax?
San Francisco and Portland are the only two US cities that tax companies if the pay ratio between the CEO and other employees is “too high.”. After agreeing to lower this tax in 2024 via Proposition M, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and its organized labor allies are pushing a ballot measure to raise...
By Marc Joffe
California on the Cusp
California on the Cusp
California voters will decide this year whether the state will remain the global center of technology innovation or begin a steady decline. Their choice for governor and on a key ballot initiative will make the difference. The top three Democratic gubernatorial candidates enjoy strong backing from organized labor, including the state’s all-powerful public-employee unions. If...
By Marc Joffe
California’s High-Speed Rail: The 2026 Draft Business Plan Is Ambitious, Expensive, and Still Legally Problematic
California’s High-Speed Rail: The 2026 Draft Business Plan Is Ambitious, Expensive, and Still Legally Problematic
The California High-Speed Rail Authority released its 2026 Draft Business Plan on February 28, two years after the prior plan and in a radically different environment than when that last plan was written. While quite detailed, the new plan raises serious questions that the Authority has not fully answered: about costs that keep growing, about...
By Marc Joffe
California High-Speed Rail at a Crossroads
California High-Speed Rail at a Crossroads
California’s high-speed rail project has never lacked for drama, but the challenges converging on the California High-Speed Rail Authority in early 2026 represent something qualitatively different from the delays, cost overruns, and political skirmishes that have defined the project for the better part of two decades. The Authority now faces a reckoning that is simultaneously...
By Marc Joffe
California’s healthcare industrial complex is booming. Guess who’s paying?
California’s healthcare industrial complex is booming. Guess who’s paying?
California’s hospitals recorded $11.3 billion in total net income in 2024 — 10% above pre-pandemic levels. The average hospital CEO in the state earns roughly $920,000 a year. And the largest union representing healthcare workers collected $114.5 million in dues in 2024 alone, according to its federal LM-2 filing — spending just 16 cents of...
By Marc Joffe
The Union that May Have Broken California
The Union that May Have Broken California
2026 began with revelations that numerous billionaires owning upwards of $1 trillion in assets had cut ties with California just before the ball dropped on January 1. These well-heeled folks did not suddenly get tired of California’s weather, scenery, culture, or social scene. Instead, they were avoiding a potential wealth tax hatched by a group...
By Marc Joffe
What to Do with California’s Billionaire Tax Proceeds
What to Do with California’s Billionaire Tax Proceeds
A health-care union’s ‘one-time fix’ for federal Medicaid cuts could easily become permanent. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU), one of the largest labor unions in the country, has launched an experiment in California to determine whether it can wring a large amount of revenue from the state’s billionaires. Its idea is a one-time retroactive...
By Marc Joffe
California’s Economy Grows More Dependent on AI
California’s Economy Grows More Dependent on AI
While California’s economy continues to produce some impressive headline numbers, its trajectory is becoming increasingly dependent on the tech sector. And now that tech has gone all in on artificial intelligence, the state’s finances are vulnerable to either a bursting of the “AI Bubble” or an exit of AI innovators to other states. Gov. Gavin...
By Marc Joffe
Boring Company May Have a Viable Alternative for California Urban Transit
Boring Company May Have a Viable Alternative for California Urban Transit
Las Vegas is pioneering a new form of underground transportation that could one day benefit congested California cities at low cost. The Boring Company, founded by Elon Musk, is digging a series of narrow tunnels and transporting passengers through them in Tesla sedans. Ultimately, the Boring Company’s Vegas Loop can evolve into a viable alternative...
By Marc Joffe