Funding Medi-Cal by Initiatives
Medi-Cal spending has exploded and along with the state obligated to take over part of the federal health care funding next year, hospitals and health care providers are scrambling to look for new sources of money. In California, that means a trip to the ballot box and revenue raising initiatives. Despite a clear need to […]
Do Hollywood Tax Breaks Undermine the Case for Ballot Tax Hikes?
So the state of California has enough tax money to give $18 million to a Disney production of “A Wrinkle in Time.” Great book, hopefully a great movie, and I’m looking forward to seeing it. But it begs a question: if California has enough money to throw millions at a company like Disney, why exactly […]
California: The Economics Of Delusion
In Sacramento, and much of the media, California is enjoying a “comeback” that puts a lie to the argument that regulations and high taxes actually matter. The hero of this recovery, Gov. Jerry Brown, in Bill Maher’s assessment, “took a broken state and fixed it.” Yet, if you look at the long-term employment trends, housing […]
Controller Dead Wrong on Property Taxes
California’s State Controller, Betty Yee, normally displays a measured, albeit liberal, view of California fiscal affairs. While viewed as reasonably competent and not given to hyperbole, her recent statement in a local government blog was one she must have known to be flat wrong. The blog, called County Voice, is disseminated by the California State Association […]