The New Budget Formula People Are Talking About on the Streets
I spent much of my work time over the past six months running around South Los Angeles, for a Zocalo series on the region. To my surprise, I heard quite a bit from people in South L.A. about a new budget formula in California. It relates to the savings of Prop 47. Awareness of the details […]
Primary Election Takeaways
With the release of the official Statement of the Vote on Friday, the 2016 California primary is now in the history books. The final tally by the Secretary of State offers many new insights for those of us who closely follow elections and polling in California. This year’s results deserve a particularly close look because of the […]
The Consequences of Weak Pension Earnings
Several reporters have asked about the consequences of CalPERS’s weak investment earnings. Although CalPERS has not issued an actuarial report since June 30, 2014, one can draw an inference that its Unfunded Liability has grown about $50 billion since then, to $140 billion. Here is how you get there: Start from this chart on page […]
The Unusual GOP Convention Show
National conventions are political circuses without the dancing elephants and trapeze artists, but there is the usual assortment of speakers who we have trouble taking seriously even if they are not dressed like clowns. This year some of the levity may be downplayed as conventioneers gather to wrestle with divisions both within and between the […]