Occupy Protests and Political Backlash
The Occupy Wall Street protests, especially in Oakland, and the news it has generated, brings up memories of former United States Senator from California, S. I. Hayakawa. The former English professor and president of the then named San Francisco State College achieved world-wide attention for standing up to protests at the school during the raucous […]
The California Redevelopment Dispute
The fate of California’s redevelopment agencies (RDA’s) is frequently discussed in the news these days. However, resolution is close—on November 10th, oral arguments will be heard by the State’s Supreme Court in the case California Redevelopment Agencies v. Matosantos. The issue at hand in this important case is the constitutionality of Governor Jerry Brown’s proposed […]
Public Pension Accounting and Reporting Needs a Reality Check
The quality and transparency of reported financial information regarding pensions must be improved to prevent future problems like those currently threatening taxpayers and retirees. California taxpayers are being asked to reach deep into their pockets to rescue a substantially overextended public pension system. So far, those requests have been rejected. But it may be only […]
Go Cap-and-Trade Yourself
When the California Air Resources Board a couple of weeks ago passed the nation’s first cap-and-trade tax on businesses, the chairwoman, Mary Nichols, gushed. “We’ve done something important,” she reportedly said shortly after the vote was taken. On CARB’s website, she is quoted as saying, “Cap-and-trade is another important building block in California’s effort to […]