Budget and Finance

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Starving CA govt. begins to devour itself

Dec. 18, 2012 By Mark Cabaniss Caught between rising pension costs and  declining tax receipts, several local governments in California have gone bankrupt, including the city of San Bernardino, which has stopped making its required contributions to the California Public

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CalPERS seeks to be new California ‘Octopus’

Dec. 17, 2012 By Wayne Lusvardi In 1901, Frank Norris wrote a novel, “The Octopus: A Story of California.” The book became famous for its description of the monopolistic Southern and Pacific Railroad that dominated California a century ago. Fast-forward to

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CA state budget goes off the cliff

Dec. 12, 2012 By Chriss Street California State Controller John Chiang announced that total State revenue for the month of November 2012 fell $806.8 million, or 10.8 percent, below budget.  Democrats thought they could hammer “the rich” by convincing voters

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Willie Brown wants to gut Prop. 13

Dec. 10, 2012 By Wayne Lusvardi Willie Brown just reminded us why in 1990 voters passed term limits largely to move him out of his seat as California Assembly-Speaker-for-Life. Brown wrote that Prop. 13 should be reformed by “cleverly” by making “a

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Poll Softening Up Voters For Split Roll Tax

Dec. 8, 2012 By Wayne Lusvardi “Ignorance is strength.” –- George Orwell California’s opinion polling has deteriorated to “measuring the public’s satisfaction with its ignorance” fed to them by pollsters. That is the only conclusion that can be made from

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Chapman Forecast: More sluggish growth for CA

Nov. 29, 2012 By John Seiler Chapman University’s 35th annual economic forecast projects more sluggish growth for California in 2013. It was presented Wednesday in Costa Mesa before about 1,500 business and community leaders by Chapman President Jim Doti, also

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Will millionaires avoid Prop. 30 tax increase?

Analysis Nov. 28, 2012 By John Seiler During the recent campaign, Gov. Jerry Brown insisted that people would not try to avoid his Proposition 30 tax increase by halting investments and “hiding” their money. Prop 30 boosts the top state

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New law needed to simplify CA budget

Nov. 21, 2012 By Wayne Lusvardi Every year state Senator Joe Simitan, D-Palo Alto, holds a contest for his constituents to submit ideas for new laws.  Simitan boasts that 18 submittals have been enacted as new laws since 2001.  Well, here’s

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Prop. 30 retroactive tax violates Constitution

Nov. 18, 2012 By John Seiler One little known aspect of Proposition 30 is that it increases income taxes retroactively for 2012. Approved by 54 percent of California on Nov. 6, the initiative grabs $6 billion a year, mainly by

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