The reason to socialize a portion of the cost of major infrastructure is so the ratepayer doesn’t have to bear an unaffordable share of the construction financing payments. The broader benefit to society is to achieve greater affordability for what constitutes raw materials for prosperity; transportation, water, and energy. Whether or not they are ever...

Inadequate roads are leaving Californians stuck in traffic. According to a 2016 study by Inrix, a data company that specializes in traffic-related analytics, Los Angeles, California has the worst traffic in the United States. San Francisco takes the number three spot, and San Diego comes in number 14. In all, 17 California cities rank among...

On March 29, Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders announced a 10-year $52.4 billion transportation plan that will boost the cost of living dramatically for working-class commuters. Transportation projects in the plan, now part of Senate Bill 1, will be funded by additional vehicle registration fees and a 12-cent per gallon increase in fuel taxes. While the registration fees...

California’s High-Speed Rail project fails to justify itself according to any set of rational criteria. Its ridership projections are absurdly inflated, its environmental benefits are overstated if not actually net detriments, and its cost, its staggering cost, $64 billion by the latest estimate, overwhelms anyone with even a remote sense of financial proportions. To make...

In the wake of unrest on the UC Berkeley campus last week, Robert Reich has managed to get himself some fresh national news coverage. Reich served as Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration, and is currently a professor at the University of California at Berkeley. Reich made news by suggesting the rioters who forced cancellation...

Part 1 of 6 Part Series This is Part One of “Rebuilding California’s Infrastructure,” to access the other five sections, click on the links below. To access the entire six-part study in a single, printable PDF document, DOWNLOAD HERE. Part One: Introduction Part Two: Water Reuse Part Three: Water Storage Part Four: Desalination Part Five: Energy and Transportation...

Part 2 of 6 Part Series This is Part Two of “Rebuilding California’s Infrastructure,” to access the other five sections, click on the links below. To access the entire six-part study in a single, printable PDF document, DOWNLOAD HERE. Part One: Introduction Part Two: Water Reuse Part Three: Water Storage Part Four: Desalination Part Five: Energy and...

Part 3 of 6 Part Series This is Part Three of “Rebuilding California’s Infrastructure,” to access the other five sections, click on the links below. To access the entire six-part study in a single, printable PDF document, DOWNLOAD HERE. Part One: Introduction Part Two: Water Reuse Part Three: Water Storage Part Four: Desalination Part Five: Energy...

Part 4 of 6 Part Series This is Part Four of “Rebuilding California’s Infrastructure,” to access the other five sections, click on the links below. To access the entire six-part study in a single, printable PDF document, DOWNLOAD HERE. Part One: Introduction Part Two: Water Reuse Part Three: Water Storage Part Four: Desalination Part Five: Energy...

Part 5 of 6 Part Series This is Part Five of “Rebuilding California’s Infrastructure,” to access the other five sections, click on the links below. To access the entire six-part study in a single, printable PDF document, DOWNLOAD HERE. Part One: Introduction Part Two: Water Reuse Part Three: Water Storage Part Four: Desalination Part Five: Energy...