Plan for Public Works Before Raising Taxes
Modern and reliable public works are key to California’s economic growth. Indeed, few activities by state and local governments can be more helpful to economic development than ongoing maintenance and expansion of the public infrastructure: roads, water facilities and sewers, and public buildings for schools, colleges, courthouses and jails. (This doesn’t include the privately-financed and […]
Fair Effective Tax Rates Could Re-ignite Small-Business Job Creation
American small-business owners are rightly proud of their reputation as the nation’s leading job creator. But their ability to create jobs is complicated by the federal tax code burden they face. Today’s federal tax code is so complex and unfair that 91 percent of owners surveyed recently by the National Federation of Independent Business said […]
Bill on Governor Brown’s Desk Would Expand the Underground Economy
Several weeks ago, the California Labor Commissioner reported that 70 workers would receive over $200,000 in wages cheated from them by their employers. That same day, the California Senate sent a bill to the Assembly to defund the very same group that uncovered the wage theft. Partisans in the Assembly have now sent the bill […]
Public Pensions Become Issue in Labor Strikes
As retirement costs grow, traditional labor disputes over wages and health coverage have a newcomer. Pensions are one of the issues in recent strikes by UC hospital workers and San Francisco Bay Area transit workers. The dispute is not over the amount of pensions promised current workers, widely believed to be protected by court rulings. […]