Budget and Finance
Back to homepageUSC Poll: Voters want unneeded tax
April 13, 2012 By Wayne Lusvardi An opinion poll might tell you if a majority of the public wants higher taxes. But it cannot tell you if higher taxes are needed. Nevertheless, the mainstream media only want to report what
Read MoreSpecial Series: The pros and cons of municipal bankruptcy
Editor’s Note: This is the sixth in a CalWatchDog.com Special Series of 12 in-depth articles on municipal bankruptcy. April 12, 2012 By Tori Richards What’s better for a cash-strapped municipality: filing for bankruptcy or struggling to survive without any clear
Read More‘Funding scheme’ or help for small business?
April 11, 2012 By Katy Grimes Does California need another small business loan guarantee program specifically for clean energy companies and agricultural businesses? California State Controller John Chiang and San Francisco Sen. Leland Yee think so. But some are questioning
Read MoreSpecial Series: California counties are more at risk of going belly up
Editor’s Note: This is the fifth in a CalWatchDog.com Special Series of 12 in-depth articles on municipal bankruptcy. April 11, 2012 By Wayne Lusvardi There are many California cities likely to be facing future stress to their operating fund budgets
Read MoreLaffer flat tax would make California boom
April 6, 2012 By Brian Calle and Josephine Djuhana It should come as no surprise that the economic growth rates and prosperity for states with excessive regulations and taxes are much lower when compared to states with fewer regulations and
Read MoreTax hike could just go to pensions
April 4, 2012 By Wayne Lusvardi Looks like California won’t need a tax hike after all—except to fund pensions. Economist Jeff Michael is the director of the University of the Pacific’s Business Forecast Center in Stockton. He tentatively indicates that
Read MoreRedevelopment Morphs Into Loan Sharking
April 2, 2012 By Wayne Lusvardi California redevelopment agencies may have been phased out. But cities are getting into the business of loan sharking to offset a decline in sales and property taxes. Last week the Ventura City Council voted
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