California’s Conflict of Interest Obligations

Imagine you are a donor to a non-profit organization whose board members receive gifts from employees to whom the board, without your consent, promises retirement benefits. Now the organization is asking you for larger donations to cover surging retirement spending but not disclosing the real reason more money is needed. That describes the current situation […]

California Can Reform K–12 And Medi-Cal, Or Face A Future Of Perpetual Tax Hikes

Here’s another way to look at the complicated question of California’s commitment to public education in these flush economic times, with some compelling illustration of the state’s finances. And an unsettling conclusion: more and more tax increases will be the Golden State’s fate unless lawmakers get serious about reforming two large portions of California’s budget—K–12 […]

Potemkin Pension Accounting

Pension liabilities reported by California’s largest pension fund (CalPERS) rose nearly 5x in just 20 years, from less than $100 billion in 1997 to nearly $500 billion by 2017. Those liabilities were not approved by voters. They simply showed up.

Sacramento’s Shades of Socialism

Socialism has become a hot topic in the presidential election but that should not be a surprise. Governments in the US have long engaged in various shades of socialism. California is no exception. Oxford defines socialism as “a political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange […]

Willie Sutton, Milton Friedman and CA’s Budget

Here’s one way we look at General Fund spending in the context of what the legislature can and cannot do: You’ll notice K-14 education and General Obligation Bond debt service are absent from that chart. That’s because those two items are constitutionally protected. K-14 is entitled to 40 percent and debt service this year will […]

California’s Per Pupil Spending

New Haven Unified School District students are finally returning to school this week after the district and teachers reached agreement on a new contract. But a close vote and angry words are signs no one is happy. The settlement is temporary, just as in LA and Oakland earlier this year. That’s because the district and the […]

Week Three: New Haven California Unified Strike

Teachers in New Haven are striking for the same reason teachers walked out in Oakland and LA earlier this year: Increases in school district revenues are not translating into increases in salary. School districts should have more than enough money to provide raises. They’ve been the beneficiaries of a 60 percent increase in state spending […]

For Whom Senate Bill 29 Tolls

Medi-Cal is an entitlement to health insurance provided to low-income Californians. With 13 million customers, Medi-Cal is a voucher-type system funded by a combination of the state and federal government. Spending on Medi-Cal in the fiscal year starting July 1 is projected to be $102 billion, $23 billion of which is projected to come from […]

Scapegoating In Sacramento

Govern For California supports lawmakers who legislate in the general interest. This week two bills will be up for votes in the State Assembly that are pure examples of special interest legislation. To explain, first we must start with an understanding of Medicare, which is government-funded but not necessarily government-provided healthcare. Though funded by the […]

Fearing the Wheelbarrow

According to the Smithsonian, researchers believe the wheelbarrow first appeared in classical Greece between the sixth and fourth centuries B.C. and could pay for itself in just 3 or 4 days in terms of labor savings. Its invention drove a massive improvement in productivity that freed humans for other endeavors. But imagine if the laborers […]