Public Safety Compensation and Public Safety

By Edward Ring
02/26/2020
Public sector unions are by far the most powerful special interest in California. And they are united in their goal to pay themselves as much or more than public agencies can afford, which shields unionized public servants from the worst effects of the laws (which they almost always support) that have made California’s cost-of-living the...

TAGS: Edward Ring, Gavin Newsom, Prop 47, public safety, Transparent California, Vergara lawsuit

The Manger vs The Monster – Housing California’s Homeless

By Edward Ring
12/18/2019
“And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.” – Luke 2:7 Advocates for the homeless frequently invoke biblical passages in order to appeal to the Christian compassion that still guides the hearts of most Americans, whether...

TAGS: City of Los Angeles, Edward Ring, Homeless Industrial Complex, homelessness, Housing, Mayor Eric Garcetti, Prop 47, San Francisco, Venice Beach

America’s Homeless Industrial Complex – Causes & Solutions

By Edward Ring
07/17/2019
In his final speech from the White House in January 1961, President Dwight Eisenhower warned the nation that the military had joined with the arms industry and had acquired unwarranted influence over American politics. His term for this alliance was the “military industrial complex.” Since that time, Eisenhower’s term has been co-opted by other critics of special...

TAGS: homelessness, Housing, LA, Prop 47, San Francisco

How can California reduce the costs of incarceration

By Edward Ring
06/19/2019
California Governor Gavin Newsom has agreed to give state prison correctional officers a 3 percent raise. According to the Legislative Analyst’s Office, there is “no evident justification” for this raise. A recent article in the Sacramento Bee summarizes portions of the LAO report, writing “The last time the state compared state correctional officers’ salaries to their local government counterparts,...

TAGS: CalPERS, Gavin Newsom, PEPRA, Prop 47