Can Proposition 13 Survive California’s New Appetite For Taxes?
(Editor’s Note: This commentary article originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times November 17, 2016) California’s reputation as an anti-tax mecca took a beating at the polls with the passage of three statewide taxes and hundreds of local taxes. Here’s betting that a battle over the Holy Grail of the tax revolt, Proposition 13, is on the […]
Here Comes California Boom Boom
You’ve probably heard the saying attributed to Bismarck, “God has a special providence for fools, drunks, and the United States of America.” That includes California because it’s still part of the USA – despite moves for a Calexit secession. But it is membership in the Union that long has restrained the Golden State from becoming […]
State Has The Funds To Boost Higher Education
The State’s coffers are in good shape. The Legislative Analyst projects an $11 billion surplus in 2017-18, including $2.8 billion in discretionary reserves that the Legislature can approve for any purposes. At least half of that discretionary money should be reinvested in California’s system of public higher education. On November 8, voters approved measures that […]
Coastal California Shouldn’t Ignore CA’s ‘Flyover’ Area
With Donald Trump’s surprising Electoral College victory – 306 to 232 as of November 16 – a lot of focus has been on the angst and anger of voters in so-called “fly over” portions of the country. Regardless of your opinions of now President-elect Trump or former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Presidential […]
Time For CalPERS To Lead
According to a recent article, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) is considering a meaningful reduction in the investment return it assumes when establishing pension contributions. Future generations should hope CalPERS’s board makes the change. Public employee pension costs are supposed to be shared by employees and citizens. Together they contribute money when pension […]
Gloria Romero for Trump’s Secretary of Education
New presidents usually appoint at least one member of the other party to a cabinet post to advance bipartisanship and national unity. A perfect choice for President-elect Donald Trump would be Gloria Romero, a former Democratic majority leader in the California senate with impeccable reform credentials, including a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of […]
Housing Affordability and California’s Future
As housing prices continue to rise in California, a significant number of our residents are being denied access to the American dream of homeownership. Today, only about one-third of our fellow citizens can afford to buy a median-priced home in the Golden State, down from a peak of 56 percent just four years ago. With […]
Invest California’s Pension Funds in Water and Energy Infrastructure
“We wanted flying cars, instead we got 140 characters.” – Peter Thiel, in his 2011 manifesto “What Happened to the Future.” Anyone living in California who’s paying attention knows what venture capitalist Thiel meant. While a handful of Silicon Valley social media entrepreneurs have amassed almost indescribable wealth, and fundamentally transformed how humanity communicates, investment in […]
CA Officials Poised To Blunt Trump On Deportation
If Donald Trump aims to significantly reduce the presence of undocumented and unlawful immigrants in California, he will face staunch opposition. From the municipal to statewide level, officials have come out strongly against the prospect of stronger enforcement and deportation. “Secretary of State Alex Padilla criticized the choice of Kris Kobach [as one of Trump’s […]