Wendy on a Tightrope
Phones rang off the hook at the Wendy Greuel for L.A. mayor campaign when the candidate declared that she was for sitting down with the public employee unions to reconsider the pension reforms recently passed by the city council. Greuel, who has made an effort to court both the unions and the business community, got […]
LAO’s Report Calls for Additional $4.5 Billion Annually to Fund Teachers’ Pensions
As state’s unfunded pension liabilities more than doubled since 2007-08, most state services shrank as portion of budget. Long delayed but necessary increase in pension contributions will further crowd out spending on classrooms and services. The California Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) released a report stating that the California State Teachers’ Retirement System’s (CalSTRS) $73 billion unfunded pension liability “may […]
California Needs More Immigrants
Southern California, just a few decades ago the fastest-growing region in the high-income world, is hitting a demographic tipping point. With a decade or more of domestic out-migration and a sharp fall in immigration, the region is morphing from a destination that attracts dreamers and builders into a place increasingly dominated by those born or […]
Manufacturing Gap Between US and California Grows
We updated our manufacturing employment numbers, comparing us to the nation. Since January 2010, the country has seen 4.5 percent growth with 517,000 new manufacturing jobs, while California has been stagnant with the loss of 10,300 manufacturing jobs, about one percent of its manufacturing base. That two-year trend seems to accelerate the gap that has […]