David Crane, rock star

Those of us interested in pension reform don’t have many rock star personalities in our midst, but Schwarzenegger adviser David Crane fits the bill after his fabulous testimony Monday on SB919, Dennis Hollingsworth’s pension-reform bill that was considered (and a

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Budget D-Day on Friday, May 14

Gov. Arnold’s May revision of his budget looks to be less fictional than his January offering. Is Arnold giving up the fiscal fantasies that have consumed him lo these past five years, and gone back to the near-realism of his first

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L.A.'s joke boycott of Arizona

Although I don’t back the new Arizona immigration law, I pointed out earlier that a boycott of the state would be a joke. That the parlous financial state of California and its cities would preclude any major attempt to raise

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Mish on California's 'cuts'

Mike “Mish” Shedlock of the popular Global Economic Analysis blog allows CalWatchdog to cross-post his California commentary. Here’s a great analysis of the governor’s latest statement on the budget crisis: Now that growth in California’s tax revenue is widely understood

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Doomed pension reform

MAY 12, 2010 By STEVEN GREENHUT “One cannot be both a progressive and be opposed to pension reform,” argued Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s top pension advisor, David Crane, during a pension-reform hearing on Monday. “The math is irrefutable that the losers

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GOP rebuts Dems' tax roadshow

MAY 12, 2010 By STEVEN GREENHUT At a press conference at the Capitol this morning marking a 50-day countdown until the end of the state’s fiscal year, Assembly Republicans made it clear that they will not accept any new taxes

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Capitol denial

With Greece in total upheaval, it’s not difficult to imagine California in such a place. We are after all, not far behind in our policy and politics, and state legislators seem to be in a serious state of denial about

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Duvall still giving out money

MAY 11, 2010 By ANTHONY PIGNATARO For reasons he didn’t really want to discuss, former Assemblyman Michael D. Duvall of Yorba Linda still has about $72,000 in campaign money, according to the most recent reports on file with the California

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