Inside Government

CA law promoting school choice, competition barely used

Advocates of education choice in California have been fighting the good fight for decades. They’ve gotten nowhere with school vouchers but have a strong record with charters — albeit a record that requires a constant struggle to defend against the

Backdrop to CalPERS’ many debacles: Agency thinks it’s great

Chris Reed July 13, 2014

The giant California Public Employees’ Retirement System, as one might suspect from its massive and self-important Sacramento headquarters, thinks it is the bomb — a flawless organization that should inspire awe in onlookers. Yes, of course, the phenomenon of government

7 ways James Fallows is wrong about the CA bullet train

Chris Reed July 11, 2014

Writing on The Atlantic’s website, the much-respected journalist/intellectual James Fallows — a Redlands native who knows California better than nearly all other national pundits — has come out as a big fan of the state’s bullet-train project. He promises to

Feeble CalPERS reform shows Brown who runs Sacramento

Chris Reed July 8, 2014

Taken at face value, the pension reforms touted by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2011 and 2012 were genuinely far-reaching for a California Democrat, even one as allegedly independent as Brown. But from the 2014 perspective, two of the key provisions

Is pro-business faction emerging among CA Dem lawmakers?

Chris Reed July 7, 2014

For years, both the California Air Resources Board and the California Democratic Party have peddled the absurd fiction that there is no economic downside to AB 32 forcing the entire state to shift to cleaner but much costlier forms of

CA, US green-job campaign promises fall far short

Chris Reed July 5, 2014

In 2008, Barack Obama ran for president on the promise that he would get the economy out of the Great Recession with a recovery plan built on green jobs. He promised 5 million such jobs would be created across the

Sacramento pack somehow perceives well-run state government

Chris Reed July 4, 2014

Happy Fourth, everyone! In January 2008. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said that he backed state lawmakers’ push to revise strict term limits for a specific reason. In response to a question I asked him at an editorial board meeting, Arnold said

CA vs. FL dogfight over stealth plane subsidies

John July 3, 2014

Like a professional sports team in search of a new taxpayer-funded arena, two defense contractors are playing California and Florida lawmakers against each other in a bid to win more tax breaks and, in turn, a $55 billion federal contract. The

Green flack thinks <2% annual growth in CA 'cleantech' is impressive

Chris Reed July 3, 2014

The fallout from the news that 16 Assembly Democrats were willing to go on the record with their concerns that AB 32 will drive up gas prices and cause economic pain to struggling folks in their home districts continues to grow.

Supreme Court sticks Brown with county jails

James Poulos July 2, 2014

States’ rights won’t save Gov. Jerry Brown from getting involved in California’s county jails. Despite a forceful argument that federalism relieved the state of the added responsibilities, the U.S. Supreme Court persisted in making life more difficult for Brown. The justices refused to