Budget and Finance
Back to homepageBrown meanders, but sticks to taxes
JUNE 2, 2011 By STEVEN GREENHUT Gov. Jerry Brown’s talk to the California State Association of Counties was more meandering and disjointed than usual, but the governor stuck to his talking points: Unless California voters approve of tax extensions, they
Read MoreSupport for Cuts & Taxes Drops to 40%
JUNE 2, 2011 By WAYNE LUSVARDI There is a mix of old news and new news in the results of a new opinion poll about the budget by the Public Policy Institute of California. The poll found exactly the same
Read MoreWill Crashing Real Estate Kill Prop. 13?
JUNE 1, 2011 By WAYNE LUSVARDI A demogogue is a leader who obtains power by means of impassioned appeals to the emotions and prejudices of the populace. And a demographer is someone who studies the characteristics of human populations, such as
Read More'Oscar Welfare Bill' Passes Assembly
JUNE 1, 2011 By KATY GRIMES Legislators in the Assembly voted overwhelmingly yesterday to approve what amounts to another $500 million tax credit for Hollywood. But not everyone was enamored of the latest entitlement bill for the rich and famous.
Read MoreWalters Wrong: Arnold DID Wreck Budget
MAY 30, 2011 By JOHN SEILER Dan Walters is the dean of California columnists. But sometimes he gets one wrong. In the wake of ex-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s personal problems, attacks have increased on Arnold’s performance as governor, especially on the
Read MoreBrown Budget Based on Phantom Jobs?
MAY 27, 2011 By WAYNE LUSVARDI Gov. Jerry Brown’s May 2011 Revised State Budget is based on a rosy assumption of an economic and jobs recovery over the next four years that will result in 7.3 percent more tax revenues
Read MoreCFT Explains Tax-Increase Strategy
MAY 26, 2011 By JOHN SEILER If you listen to people in the political game, they usually tell you what they’re going to do. But you sometimes have to check out their internal communications. One of my best sources is
Read MoreJailbreak: Ruling Could Spark Crime Wave
This article first appeared in the new City Journal California Web site. MAY 25, 2011 By HEATHER MacDONALD If the real-world consequences for individuals and communities were not so potentially dire, the mass release of inmates from California prisons just
Read MoreBrown Budget Flies to Fantasyland
MAY 24, 2011 By WAYNE LUSVARDI There is a children’s fairy tale about a Sacramento government accountant for the State of California who takes his new poor stepdaughter all the way to Orange County to go to Disneyland for the
Read MoreCourt Decision Could Spur Prison Reform
MAY 23, 2011 By JOHN SEILER Today’s U.S. Supreme Court decision mandating California state prison reductions must lead to long-needed reforms. The decision upheld a lower court ruling that from 38,000 to 46,000 must be released due to overcrowding that
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