Budget and Finance

Back to homepage

More Fixes Won't Fix Things

SEPT. 27, 2010 It’s easy to conclude that California may become, as former state librarian Kevin Starr put it, a “failed state.” It’s just too big, unruly and diverse to be effectively governed, commentators frequently say. Californians are also said

Read More

Lawmakers Like Prop 25

SEPT. 27, 2010 By KATY GRIMES Proposition 25 has many of the state’s legislators up in arms, but for very different reasons. Some fear losing the two-thirds vote threshold on budgets and taxes, while others fear the initiative process is

Read More

When Is A Tax Just A Tax?

SEPT. 24, 2010 By KATY GRIMES When is a tax just a tax, and a fee just a fee? A November ballot initiative seeks to answer the question by defining both a tax and a fee, and then require both the

Read More

Officials Hid Size Of Pension Crisis

SEPT. 22, 2010 By DAVE ROBERTS Due to “Alice in Wonderland” accounting methods, the amount that taxpayers owe to provide pensions for local and state government employees is much larger – perhaps an extra $2.5 trillion – than government officials

Read More

Tax Hike Idea Ignores 'Capitalization'

SEPT. 22, 2010 By WAYNE LUSVARDI San Francisco Chronicle Columnist Debra Saunders has proposed raising the annual rate of property tax increase allowed under Proposition 13 from 2 percent to 2.5 percent to solve the state budget crisis (see “What I Would Do If I Were Governor,”

Read More

The Attack on Seniors

SEPT. 21, 2010 by KATY GRIMES This op ed originally appeared in The Sacramento Business Journal Sept. 17, 2010. On the weary backs of California seniors, the governor’s May budget revision offers a plan to help alleviate the state’s $19.1

Read More

West Covina's Great Ed Reform

Steven Greenhut: Per the San Gabriel Valley Tribune: “WEST COVINA – Board members supportive of a new district policy are confident that West Covina Unified can maintain enrollment despite new guidelines that allow any student to transfer to other districts.

Read More

Ending Earmarks Saved CA Schools

SEPT. 19, 2010 By WAYNE LUSVARDI The prevailing public media perception is that raiding redevelopment agency funds in 2010 saved California’s public schools from devastating funding cutbacks. Actually, a little-known piece of legislation in 2009 saved the public schools in 2010

Read More

GOP Split Over Pro-Redevelop Measure

SEPT. 17, 2010 By KATY GRIMES Proposition 22 appears to be a seething two-headed snake, with strong division between supporters and opponents, and cleverly worded, but confusing ballot language. According to Ballotpedia, language for the Proposition 22 was filed with

Read More

CalPERS' Ailing Long-Term Care Plan

Editor’s note: A new article on this controversy, published Feb. 20, 2013, is here. It concerns the recent 85 percent rate hike. SEPT. 16, 2010 By ANTHONY PIGNATARO For a long-term care benefit plan, the news has mostly been bad.

Read More