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Voters will confront more bonds on 2016 ballot
State Treasurer John Chiang issued a report recently that praises California’s fiscal strides in dealing with debt but also raises warnings that the state is still in the deep end of the debt pool. The issue of debt will be on
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State Treasurer refinances state bond debt, saves taxpayers $270 million
The State of California has found a way to save $270 million — without budget cuts or raising taxes. State Treasurer John Chiang recently announced that his office had completed the sale of $1.93 billion in general obligation bonds, which
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GOP lawmaker: fund schools with high-speed rail bonds
A Republican lawmaker wants to turn money for California’s high-speed rail project into funding for schools. Assemblyman Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, introduced Assembly Bill 6, which would cancel outstanding bond funds approved by Proposition 1A, a 2008 voter-approved initiative to fund the
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State, local governments misusing voter-approved bond money
It seems common sense that bond money approved by a state’s voters would be spent directly on the projects it was intended for. Unfortunately, lawmakers, trying to find resources to bandage constant budget imbalances, often raid bond funds by
Read MoreSenate pushing nutty new school-finance scheme
April 29, 2013 By John Seiler The state supposedly “balanced” its budget only with the Prop. 30 tax increase. Three California cities declared bankruptcy last year. Businesses keep streaming out to greener pastures. So what does the California Legislature do?
Read MoreL.A. Unified uses ‘construction bonds’ to buy $500 million in iPads
Feb. 14, 2013 By Chris Reed My five-month-old crusade to get the California mainstream media to acknowledge the insanity of “construction bonds” which take 30 years to pay off being used routinely by school districts for short-lived electronics and basic
Read MoreWill school finance scams be addressed? One of two at best
Dec. 9, 2012 By Chris Reed The push is on to gut Proposition 13, with the nominal rationale being the urgent need to help public education by making it easier to pass parcel taxes. But will the Democratic lawmakers behind
Read MoreBankruptcy Series: Cities on a future spending spree
Editor’s Note: This is the eighth in a CalWatchDog.com Special Series of in-depth articles on municipal bankruptcy. Nov. 9, 2012 By Wayne Lusvardi Are the staggering forecasted public pension obligations facing state and local governments in California the result of overspending or
Read MoreFederal Reserve warns, Calif., other municipal bonds very risky
Aug. 20, 2012 By Chriss Street Last week, we first reported first that “Permanent Link to Calif. sales tax revenue nosedives 33.5%,” then that “Moody’s warns of mass Calif. municipal bankruptcies.” During the Great Recession of the last four years,
Read MoreWashington misreads California — again
June 21, 2012 By John Seiler If you’ve ever lived in Washington, D.C., as I did in 1977 and from 1982 to 1987, you know the place lives under a bubble. They have no idea what’s going on in the
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