California’s ballot argument rules give tax proponents an unfair advantage
California’s ballot argument rules give tax proponents an unfair advantage
This year’s California county voter information guides will once again display a serious inequity. Arguments in favor of bond and tax measures will usually be well written and signed by several local luminaries. Arguments against will often be less professionally written, have fewer signers, and may even be completely missing. In San Bernardino County, for...
By Marc Joffe
Los Angeles Unified’s self-inflicted financial crisis
Los Angeles Unified’s self-inflicted financial crisis
On July 2, Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools Debra Duardo sent the Los Angeles Unified School District a letter that should alarm every taxpayer and parent in the district. Duardo determined that LAUSD meets the statutory criteria for a “Lack of Going Concern” designation, meaning the nation’s second largest school district may be unable to meet its...
By Marc Joffe
Subsidizing the Visible Hand: California’s Departure from 1776
Subsidizing the Visible Hand: California’s Departure from 1776
As the United States celebrates the semiquincentennial of its founding in 1776, it is worth reflecting on a remarkable historical coincidence: the birth of our nation occurred the same year Adam Smith published An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. Smith’s seminal work articulated the concept of the invisible hand,...
By Marc Joffe
The unions that count California’s votes
The unions that count California’s votes
As Los Angeles County worked through more than 700,000 uncounted ballots after the June primary, the argument focuses on the speed of the count. But it is also worth wondering just who is taking so long to count our votes. In California’s largest counties, the permanent employees who process and tabulate ballots are represented by some of...
By Marc Joffe
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