Budget and Finance
Back to homepageLos Angeles teeters on the brink of bankruptcy
April 30, 2012 By Brian Calle Taxpayers in Los Angeles are facing a major crisis if Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and other officials do not begin to address the systemic, structural issues putting the city on the fast track to economic upheaval.
Read MoreGov. Brown punts on jobs creation
April 30, 2012 By Joseph Perkins California Gov. Jerry Brown appeared on CBS’s “Face the Nation” yesterday, during which he listed items “right at the top” of the state agenda, including pension reform, renewable energy, the California water plan and
Read MoreThe Prop. 25 bait and switch
April 27, 2012 By Joseph Perkins For years, Sacramento’s tax-and-spend Democrats tried to figure out a way to persuade California voters to amend the state Constitution to require a simple — rather than two-thirds — majority of the Legislature to
Read MoreAB 1692 could halt city bankruptcies
April 26, 2012 By Katy Grimes SACRAMENTO — Bankruptcy still haunts California cities six months after Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law AB 506. Written by Assemblyman Bob Wieckowski, D-Fremont, the bill made it more difficult for municipalities to file
Read MoreBrown needs to cut moonbeams, not welfare
Commentary April 20, 2012 By Wayne Lusvardi California Gov. Jerry “Moonbeam” Brown recently issued a phony challenge to the state legislature to “man up” and cut services out of the state budget to resolve a lingering $9 billion deficit. Brown
Read MoreEnding Prop. 13 would slam small business
April 19, 2012 By Wayne Lusvardi There is a big elephant in the room when it comes to a conversation about getting rid of Proposition 13, the 1978 tax limitation measure, by instituting a “split roll.” Under such a change,
Read MoreCalifornia declares land war on families
April 18, 2012 By Wayne Lusvardi Everyone knows that California has water wars. But it also has land wars. And one of the biggest battles is the state’s land war against zoning for the suburban single family home. And a
Read MoreWarning for CA: Harrisburg confronts bankruptcy
Editor’s Note: This is the seventh in a CalWatchDog.com Special Series of 12 in-depth articles on municipal bankruptcy. In a warning for California, it examines the bankruptcy of Harrisburg, Pa. April 17, 2012 By Tara Leo Auchey What happened in
Read MoreActually, tax increase would slam Calif. economy
April 17, 2012 By Wayne Lusvardi Dan Walters, call your office! Or call a reputable economist for therapy. Walters writes that a marginal tax rate increase amounting to $9 to $10 billion in new revenue would reflect only 0.5 percent
Read MoreWhy pensions are going broke
April 13, 2012 By John Seiler Why are government pensions going broke? Wayne Lusvardi wrote about recently it in one of our Special Series on municipal bankruptcy, “California counties are more at risk of going belly up.” In one sentence,
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