Black Bart Award Nominee – On the Dark Side
In our introduction of the Black Bart Award we note that it could go to someone or something that performed a heroic act OR performed a dastardly deed. My suggested nominees fall to the Dark Side of California’s political world this year. In light of the negative publicity generated by three state senators being accused […]
How I Fear the 2016 Taxapalooza Will Go
Here’s my hope for the coming 2016 Taxapalooza of various tax-hiking initiatives: The debate will create a healthy discussion and convince various initiative sponsors, the legislature and the governor to come together and advance a tax reform that preserves our progressive tax structure, lowers some rates for competitiveness, taxes our service-based economy more fairly, and […]
Stockton and Detroit Exit Bankruptcy Leaving Pension Systems As-Is
The landscape for public employee pensions shifted in 2014 as federal judges gave credence to the idea that pension benefits may be cut in bankruptcy. This challenges the long held idea that pension benefits are impervious to cuts and most observers are wondering just how significant this shift will be going forward. This fall, city […]
A New Outbreak of Prop. 65 Lawsuit Abuse Underscores Need for Reform
CALA has documented the lawsuit abuse related to Proposition 65 for quite some time. Despite minimal reform (like Assemblyman Gatto’s AB 227 passed last year) the lawsuits have continued. With the state considering new regulations related to warnings that could actually bring more lawsuits, I thought it might be helpful to show one example of […]