Budget and Finance
Back to homepageRepublicans Block Redevelopment Vote
MARCH 17, 2011 By KATY GRIMES With many predicting that yesterday’s budget vote in the Legislature was just going to be a drill, lawmakers surprised everyone and actually cut $7.4 billion from various state programs. It was an attempt to
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CA GOP Anti-Establishment Revolt
MARCH 17, 2011 BY JOHN SEILER Gov. Jerry Brown and his allies in the media and the Democratic Party are turning the budget battle into a question of patriotism. As reported by columnist George Skelton, Brown has reverted to Cold
Read MoreLockyer: Pensions Won't “Crush Govt.”
MARCH 17, 2011 BY WAYNE LUSVARDI Bill Lockyer’s recent harsh criticism of a bluntly honest Little Hoover Commission report, “Pensions for Retirement Security,” sounded more like Shakespeare’s King Lear than that of the Treasurer of the State of California. Lockyer is so
Read MoreJapan Quake Shaking CA Economy
MARCH 15, 2011 BY JOHN SEILER In the long run, California’s economy probably will not be greatly affected by the economic aftershocks of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. In the short run, it could be shaken in various ways.
Read MoreCalifornia Takes Huge Leap Toward Default
MARCH 15, 2011 BY CHRISS STREET California taxpayers just took a huge punch in the nose from the same actuaries who provided the cover for state politicians to spike public employee retirement benefits. The latest shocker comes from California State Controller John
Read MoreBrown-GOP Negotiations Revealed
Satire alert MARCH 14, 2011 By DAVE ROBERTS Five Republican Senate mavericks have been negotiating with Gov. Jerry Brown in an attempt to get him to agree to proposals that would create jobs, rein in spending and eliminate pension abuses
Read MoreSilicon Valley Flunks 6 'Killer App' Tests
MARCH 14, 2011 BY WAYNE LUSVARDI Last month with Silicon Valley elites, President Obama raised a glass of wine to toast the area’s success. He was repairing his self-damaged image with big business. But a symbolic Sword of Damocles hovered
Read MoreHow Much Do Pensions Really Cost?
MARCH 11, 2011 By ED RING Earlier this week the Sacramento Bee hosted a chat on the topic “Should States Rethink Collective Bargaining.” In addition to journalists from the Bee, participants included Steve Greenhut, editor of CalWatchdog.org, and Art Pulaski,
Read MoreCA 'Jobs Gap' Spikes Upward
MARCH 11, 2011 BY JOHN SEILER New unemployment figures released March 10 show that California’s Jobs Gap has jumped to 3.4 percent in January 2011. That’s up from 2.6 percent a year earlier, in January 2010. The “Jobs Gap” is
Read MoreGov. Brown's Hypocrisy Over Tax Votes
This article first appeared in the San Francisco Examiner MARCH 11, 2011 By STEVEN GREENHUT Republican efforts to trade a tax vote for a fiscal reform vote are going nowhere fast, as Gov. Jerry Brown continues to prove that he
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