A Teachable Pension Math Moment
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System reported excellent earnings for its 2016–17 fiscal year, earning 11.2 percent. Yet CalPERS’s Funded Ratio (the ratio of assets set aside to meet pension liabilities owed by governments) improved only three percentage points, from 65 percent to 68 percent. In other words, an extraordinary investment return 60 percent greater than the […]
Cap-n-Trade—and Costs—Up
A punch from the left, a punch from the right but still standing, battered but victorious, the cap-and-trade extension. It was an odd fight. Republicans citing environmental groups’ positions to oppose the measure; Democrats hauling up the flag of big business in support. Establishment Republicans like former Gov. Pete Wilson and former United States Secretary […]
Despite Proposition 13, California property tax revenue has soared
Much has been said and written – mostly negatively – about the effects of Proposition 13, California’s iconic law limiting property taxes. Its critics say that Proposition 13, which restricts taxes to 1 percent of property values and caps increases in those values at 2 percent a year, has starved schools and local governments of vital […]
The Dangers of a Geofenced Internet
A big part of the appeal of the World Wide Web has always been the first two words — “world” and “wide.” The internet represents an almost utopian ideal of a place where people around the globe can come together to share new ideas, create new products and even argue. But as a privacy advocate, […]
It’s Time To Add “Teeth” To CA’s Housing Element Law
The LA Times recently published a couple of stories on June 29 and July 11 about the continuing housing crises and the supposed failure of California’s housing element law to avert that crises. Simply stated, California’s housing element law requires that every city and county plan for its own population and jobs growth. Hard to argue with that concept, […]
My Brain Train
My train line is smarter than your train line. I’m a regular rider of “The Brain Train,” officially known as the Gold Line on the L.A. Metro system’s. The Gold Line is light rail running from the eastern San Gabriel Valley into downtown L.A. and then back out again to East L.A. Along the way, […]
Cap-and-trade will cost less than current regulatory regime
California has the most ambitious greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goal in this or any other country. By 2030, Californians must reduce carbon emissions by 40 percent below our already-constrained 2020 levels. California produces only one percent of GHG emissions, but we outpunch our weight in global influence on climate policy. If we can meet our […]
‘Cap and Tax’ Would Slam High-Tax, High-Poverty California
The craziest story of the moment is the Governor’s insistence on passing even more draconian legislation on the topic of climate change in the form of extending what is known as cap and trade (or, in this iteration, cap and tax) (also see MOORLACH UPDATE — Surprise! — July 11, 2017). Gov. Brown believes that “climate change is real” […]