Taxpayers: Beware of the Sting
For anyone who saw the Academy Award winning movie the Sting, in which two con artists scheme to trick a gangster out of his money, they would remember that the writer, David Ward, created the screenplay in chapters. Titles were put up on the screen before certain segments of the movie for the audience to […]
What’s Really the Principal Cause of CalSTRS’s Shortfall?
Recently CEO Jack Ehnes of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) asserted that the pension fund’s $71 billion unfunded liability “stems largely” from the 2008-9 economic downturn. But CalSTRS’s own information appears to contradict that claim and to point to another culprit. Over the last decade – including the economic downturn — CalSTRS reported […]
Bay Delta Plan Having Trouble Funding Twin Tunnels
Economist Dr. David Sunding’s recently wrote that the Bay Delta Conservation Plan’s (BDCP) project of sinking 40-ft wide twin tunnels 150-ft. below the surface of the Delta is a wise investment for California water-users. What he didn’t mention is that he made his analysis on information that was spoon-fed to him by the BDCP and […]
Pension Wars
On October 15, San Jose’s Democratic Mayor Chuck Reed and four other mayors* submitted a statewide ballot initiative, The Pension Reform Act of 2014, to California Attorney General Kamala Harris for her review in anticipation of the collection of over 800,000 signatures needed to place this measure on the November 2014 ballot. If the Pension […]
John Deasy: “A Warrior for our Kids”
A warrior for our kids is how Dr. Robert Ross described Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy a month ago when the California Endowment announced a $50 million investment in students of color attending LAUSD. Under Deasy’s leadership, LAUSD has seen important gains across the board in student achievement. The District has improved […]