40 Years Later, Prop 13 to be a Main Attraction on 2018 Ballot
On the 40th anniversary of Proposition 13 passing, the iconic property tax measure could very well be a leading issue on the 2018 ballot both with a ballot initiative or two and a prime topic in the gubernatorial campaign. There has been a never-ending campaign to change or even end the tax protections of Proposition […]
Primary Performance Does Not Predict General Election Outcomes
When candidates win primaries or caucuses, they often try to spin the outcome as a portent of the general election. So what do the nomination contests to date tell us about what will happen in the fall? Not much. The primary and caucus electorates are different from the general electorate. For one thing, turnout is […]
Doing the GASB Gasp
County deficits balloon by BILLIONS after accounting for unfunded pension liabilities The financial carnage continues as more local governments report their Fiscal Year 2015 balance sheets under the new rules, which requires them to account for defined benefit public employee pension “unfunded actuarial acrued liabilities” (UAALs). Last week, we reported that Los Angeles County’s debt increased by over $8 billion when […]
Small Business Optimism Hits Two-Year Low
The NFIB business survey shows small business owners treading water with expected business conditions very negative. The Index of Small Business Optimism fell 1 point in February to the lowest reading in two years, with six of the 10 indices declining and four remaining unchanged, according to the National Federation of Independent Business’ monthly economic survey released […]
The Unsustainability Lobby
“The creation of the mortgage bond market, a decade earlier, had extended Wall Street into a place it had never before been: the debts of ordinary Americans.”– Jared Vennett (played by Ryan Gosling), The Big Short (2015) Along with another superbly authentic movie “Margin Call” (2011), “The Big Short” provides a vivid look into the rigged, Darwinian, […]