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.
Political leaders and pundits have been quick to link this month’s horrific wildfires to climate change, leading to the conclusion that California should continue and even double down on its carbon reduction policies. But the evidence suggests that these policies will make little difference in the frequency and severity of these disasters, and our scarce...
By Marc Joffe
Since Elon Musk introduced hyperloop in 2012, several startups have been formed to commercialize the technology. Hyperloop is a 21st century approach to intercity travel in which pods fly through sealed, low pressure tubes at speeds of up to 760mph. Although a large amount of hyperloop research is occurring in California, our state government is...
By Marc Joffe
Despite living in the affluent Bay Area, residents of western Contra Costa County have been plagued by a rash of government fiscal crises. The region’s healthcare district filed for bankruptcy twice and is now no longer providing services despite collecting $5.5 million in annual parcel taxes. West County’s largest city, Richmond, carries a junk bond...
By Marc Joffe
How Can Local Elected Officials Control Employee Retirement Costs Employee retirement costs are a growing burden for California governments. As CalPERS and other multi-employer systems reduce their expected rates of return, required employer pension contributions are rising rapidly, usually outpacing revenue growth. As a result, retirement expenditures are crowding out other spending priorities, and, in...
By Marc Joffe
Mainstream media are taking a short break from their 24/7 Trump-Russia conspiracy theorizing to bash the Senate Republican healthcare proposal. Viewers are being told that the proposal would gut Medicaid and kill thousands. Like any piece of complex legislation, the Senate bill is far from perfect, but it is an important step in the right direction...
By Marc Joffe
California State Senate passage of an especially bad single payer health care bill earlier this month is testimony to the economic and fiscal illiteracy of RoseAnn DeMoro, the California Nurses Association leader who is pushing this bill through the legislature. DeMoro makes over $350,000 per year ostensibly to protect nurse’s salaries and benefits, but she...
By Marc Joffe
Large school districts are often less responsive to the needs of students and the hopes of parents than smaller districts. Public educational behemoths – such as Los Angeles Unified – are more likely to fall under the influence of well-organized interest groups such as teachers’ unions. By breaking up large districts into smaller ones, parents...
By Marc Joffe
The state Senate’s vote to pass Ricardo Lara’s single-payer healthcare bill last week was a singular act of fiscal malpractice. By failing to control costs and access to the program – and by leaving unanswered how or whether federal funds could be leveraged – Lara’s Healthy California Act amounts to a blank check for hospitals,...
By Marc Joffe
Governor Brown's proposal to borrow money to fund CalPERS is similar to a move by Puerto Rico in 2008. That step backfired and now Puerto Rico is bankrupt.
By Marc Joffe
Retired LA schools chief Ramon Cortines received pension benefits totaling a remarkable $238,383.67 last year, possibly through a controversial pension-spiking practice known as “air time” – the purchase of credit for time not worked.
By Marc Joffe
At last week’s budget press conference, Governor Jerry Brown warned of the threat of a recession and the risk to California’s budget from federal health care legislation, but the details of his 2017-18 budget plans failed to mirror his cautionary rhetoric.
By Marc Joffe
Across California governments are putting more of their information online. While browser-based charts and graphs showing your agencies’ revenues and expenditures will impress constituents, moving fiscal data online can be challenging – especially for those governments that do not have a lot of technology geeks on staff. Fortunately, governments now have an array of options...
By Marc Joffe
Climb into a time machine with me and voyage back to Dec. 8, 2016. A slightly younger Barack H. Obama is still the nation’s president. Four weeks after his electoral shock therapy, President-elect Donald Trump has just been named Time magazine’s Person of the Year. And the California Policy Center has filed a state public...
By Marc Joffe
The California Coastal Commission is interfering with efforts by two Encinitas homeowners to rebuild a seawall and stairs on their ocean property. The seawall and stairway had been in place for decades, but were severely damaged in a 2010 storm. Despite obtaining approval from the City of Encinitas to make the repairs, the Coastal Commission...
By Marc Joffe
a new form will got here
a new form will got here