The Missing Item in Health Care Discussion—the Tax Code
Attempts at creating a single payer health care system have stalled so a group of liberal organizations are backing a package of bills to achieve a form of universal coverage. But you can pull out the same label on this attempt that sidetracked single payer—“woefully incomplete.” They don’t want to say how much this universal […]
Glazer Bill Would Begin to Move State Away from Pension Disaster
California was once defined by its natural beauty and milestones of human achievement. Today it’s known more for intractable problems, such as the public employee pension crisis. State and local governments have racked up nearly $1 trillion in pension debt. But because government employers have contributed only about 70 percent of what they are required to feed […]
Who Cares About Homeless Jerry-Towns When We Have a Surplus?
Who cares about about the homeless whose encampments – call them Jerry-towns – fill every state? Because don’t the homeless know that our state is back! We have a budget surplus! Who cares about the shortage of housing, or the middle-class crippling cost of what housing there is? California is back! We have a budget […]
How Pension Costs Clobbered One Small City
When Santa Cruz, a picturesque and funky coastal city, first started to feel the pinch of rising retirement costs for city workers, it took several steps to limit the fiscal pain. As recommended by the League of Cities and other authorities, Santa Cruz issued a bond to pay down its rising pension liabilities, set aside […]