Marc Joffe is President of the Contra Costa Taxpayers Association and a California Policy Center visiting fellow.
After a long career in the financial industry, including a senior director role at Moody’s Analytics, he transitioned to policy research at CPC and Reason Foundation. Joffe’s research focuses on government finance and state policy issues.
Marc earned an MBA from New York University and an MPA from San Francisco State University.
The small Sacramento Delta city of Isleton has been making news for all the wrong reasons this summer. It is facing a financial crisis and talk of bankruptcy is in the air. But a better option is to cease being a city at all by disincorporating. As the accompanying population chart suggests, Isleton has seen...
By Marc Joffe
Ian Choudri, the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s relatively new CEO has rolled out a new proposal for the bullet train’s future. His newly released supplemental project update report offers more realistic projections and some worthwhile ideas, but they are not consistent with current law. If Choudri wants to reimagine the high-speed rail program, the Authority...
By Marc Joffe
This study analyzes the financial performance of 85 California transit operators for fiscal year 2023, revealing a significant gap between revenue and expenses that necessitates over $10 billion in annual taxpayer subsidies. The report identifies long-term cost escalation, driven by what economist William Baumol termed “Cost Disease,” as a core issue. It concludes that without...
In 2024, California’s Gross Domestic Product surpassed that of Japan. The Golden State’s GDP is now higher than those of all but three countries: the United States, China, and Germany. Governor Newsom’s office was quick to trumpet the statistical development, declaring California “the 4th largest economy in the world.” But is this true in any...
By Marc Joffe
Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) has issued a report identifying wasteful federally funded construction projects, and California’s rail projects are prominently featured. In addition to High-Speed Rail, Ernst’s “Off the Rails” report correctly singles out three transit projects in Northern California. While Californians may discount criticisms from a Red State Senator, Ernst’s report might ultimately benefit...
By Marc Joffe
Gavin Newsom has floated the idea of redistricting California between Censuses. The goal would be to offset potential Republican gains from a mid-decade redistricting plan being discussed in Texas. While there are valid political arguments for and against Newsom’s plan, the fiscal case is clear: mid-decade redistricting will cost California about a quarter of a...
By Marc Joffe
Although Governor Newsom and Rail Authority management are in denial, President Trump’s decision to claw back $4 billion in California high-speed rail funding is likely the coup de grace for the state project. But the state’s other high-speed rail project, Brightline West’s effort to connect Rancho Cucamonga with Las Vegas, also faces headwinds and may...
By Marc Joffe
Thanks to the Senate Parliamentarian, California will be spared the largest fiscal impact of the Big Beautiful Bill’s Medicaid reforms, but the state’s ability to shift the cost of undocumented immigrant Medi-Cal coverage onto federal taxpayers will nonetheless face limits. Between 2016 and 2024, the California legislature added groups of illegal aliens to the Medi-Cal...
By Marc Joffe
Compared to their counterparts in other states, California political and thought leaders seem much less concerned about wasteful government spending. While there are explanations, these aren’t excuses: California state and local governments need to adjust to the reality of resource limitations. Supermajority control by the party less concerned with fiscal discipline is an obvious driver,...
By Marc Joffe
On June 12, the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHRSA) released a 14-page letter rebutting the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA’s) case for rescinding $4 billion in grant funding. The Authority plans to provide a more detailed response in July, but the initial letter contains a lot to chew on. Some of CHSRA’s claims are not unreasonable....
By Marc Joffe
A false solution to a true problem Bay Area transportation and housing initiatives are often portrayed as solutions to the climate catastrophe we are facing due to excessive greenhouse gas emissions from human activity. The thinking is that if we could get everyone to live in apartments near stations on electrified transit systems, thereby removing...
By Marc Joffe
After the state unwisely expanding Medi-Cal in recent years, the program has descended into a fiscal crisis. Now Gov. Gavin Newsom proposes to roll back some of the expansions, but it may be too little too late given pending actions at the federal level. Covering more than one-third of Californians, the Medi-Cal program’s costs are projected to...
By Marc Joffe
When Marc Molinaro takes up his position as the new federal transit administrator, he will have the opportunity to save taxpayers a quick $5.1 billion. All he has to do is decline to provide federal funding for what a high-profile transit advocate recently dubbed “the worst new transit project in the United States”: the extension...
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