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 […]
California at GOP Convention
There is one place that the influence and power of California–the home of the sixth largest economy in the world, cultural icons and high tech gurus–is relatively insignificant: the Republican national convention. Despite delivering the most delegates of any state and having the greatest representation in the Electoral College, California is little more than a […]
Trump and Pence: Pass Me the Dice
The difference between Donald Trump and Indiana Governor and Trump VP pick Mike Pence is the difference between a Saturday night jazz singer and the member of the church choir. Trump will sing How High the Moon 27 different times 27 different ways. Pence will be singing Rock of Ages the same way in the same pew his grandaddy did two […]
Why Raise Taxes For Mass Transit When Driverless Cars Are The Future?
The news from Florida of the first-ever fatal accident in a driverless car, a 2015 Tesla Model S, was quite a surprise. They’re here. Ready or not, autonomous driving technology has arrived, and if there’s one thing we’ve learned about technological change, it’s that there’s no going back again. The National Transportation Safety Board is […]
LA County Parks Tax: The Straw That Broke the Camel’s Back?
On Tuesday, July 5, the County Board of Supervisors voted to place on the November ballot a $95 million parcel tax to benefit the County’s parks. Unlike a traditional parcel tax of $40 on each of the County’s 2.4 million parcels, this new parcel tax will be based on the square footage of improved property […]
The Politics of the Greenhouse Gas Law Extension
The California Air Resources Board set a match to controversy this week suggesting that the board could push the cap-and-trade deadline for funding greenhouse gas reduction programs past its 2020 end date by executive fiat. That’s not the way the law works, many Republicans cried, and they are backed up by an opinion from the Legislative […]
The Coming Conflict Over a Free CSU
“I think we should be working toward free tuition. That may sound pretty radical, but that was in the original intention of the CSU system, so lower-income students could afford education without having to break the bank with their family, or not even being able to go because they can’t afford it.” ” Cal Poly […]
R.I.P. Sharon Runner
State Senator Sharon Runner was a passionate public servant who served her community in many capacities. Sharon Runner passed away yesterday at age 62. She had returned to the senate after recovering from a double lung transplant. One of her proudest political achievements was the overwhelming success of Proposition 83, California’s version of Jessica’s Law, […]