Black Bart Award Nominee: Kevin de León
It is tempting to nominate the We Said Enough movement confronting sexual harassment and the women behind the crusade as my Black Bart Award nominee for 2017. The undertaking has changed the culture in the state capitol and changed the politics as well leading to the resignation from office of two state assembly members and who […]
Racial Politics of Today Took Root in LA Mayoral Contests Decades Ago
He seemingly came out of nowhere, a populist of uncertain ideology who promised justice for communities that had long been marginalized by elites who ran the city. He had an eye for the media and an instinct for the jugular. His name was Sam Yorty, and he may have invented the racialized politics that we […]
Split Roll Proposal Bad for Jobs and the Economy
The California League of Women Voters and other advocates of a split-roll property tax system filed an initiative December 15 that would increase property taxes on California employers by an estimated $11.4 billion per year. A tax increase of this size will lead to higher consumer prices for goods and services we use every day. […]
Are Pension Trusts the Answer to California Local Government Pension Problems
Many California cities and counties are living interesting times, experiencing rising revenue together with skyrocketing pension bills. Although required pension contributions usually rise in response to bear markets, today they are escalating just as stock indexes reach new highs. The reason is that CalPERS and other systems are taking advantage of today’s relatively benign investment […]
Dear Santa, Bring Immigrants!
Kris Kringle Santa Claus Lane Carpinteria, CA 93013 Dear Kris, I hope you don’t mind me writing you at the California beach house address you slipped me when we met at that Mattel corporate event. I would have mailed this to the North Pole, but I don’t have any international stamps. I know most of […]