Time for California’s Government Unions to Get Serious About Pension Reform

By Edward Ring
03/24/2020
It’s been a long time since California’s pension systems were responsibly managed. Back then, they made conservative investments, paid modest but fair benefits to retirees, and did not place an unreasonable financial burden on taxpayers. But a series of decisions and circumstances over the past thirty years put these pension systems on a collision course...

TAGS: CalPERS, City Journal, Edward Ring, government unions, Gray Davis, pensions, public unions

San Francisco’s Prop. A – Expensive Insanity Marches On

By Edward Ring
10/09/2019
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. – Albert Einstein There is no solid evidence that one of history’s greatest geniuses ever said this, but its applicability to California’s housing crisis is too big to let attribution get in the way. Because California’s politicians are trying to solve...

TAGS: affordable housing, City Journal, Edward Ring, homelessness, San Francisco

Teachers Unions’ Election Day Thumping

By Larry Sand
11/11/2014
“Teachers Unions Take a Beating in Midterm Races” “Teachers Unions Take a Shellacking” “Teachers Unions Get Schooled in 2014 Election” The above is just a small sampling of post-election headlines which flooded the media after last Tuesday’s historic election, which generated a major political shakeup in the nation’s capital as well as state houses from...

TAGS: American Enterprise Institute, American Federation of Teachers, Bruce Rauner, California Center for Parent Empowerment, Center for Education Reform, City Journal, EdSource, Gloria Romero, John Fensterwald, Kara Kerwin, Larry Sand, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, Marshall Tuck, National Education Association, Randi Weingarten, Rick Hess, Rick Scott, Rick Snyder, Scott Walker, Steve Greenhut, teachers union, Tom Corbett, Tom Torlakson, Vergara

The Department of Justice on Student Suspensions

By Larry Sand
01/21/2014
A recent memo accuses educators of racial discrimination while failing, with a few exceptions, to address the real problems. Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a series of guidelines regarding the suspension of students from school. In short, though partially correct, the DOJ report is misguided, misleading, and missing key elements relevant...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, City Journal, Larry Sand, National Council on Teacher Quality, National Education Association, racism, RiShawn Biddle, seniority, teachers union, tenure, Vergara v California, zero tolerance

California’s Public Sector Union Pension Secrecy Lobby

By Steven Greenhut
08/26/2013
Last month, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) announced that it would post the names and pension amounts of its retirees. But after the Retired Public Employees Association of California (RPEA) objected, CalPERS quickly pulled back from this pledge. RPEA leaders made what amounted to a novel and troubling argument about why vital public...

TAGS: CalPERS, City Journal, pension tsunami, Steven Greenhut