Raise Their Pay and Keep Them Working
Here’s a terribly unpopular idea that we should act upon anyway. Pay California legislators more. OK, feel free to cover your ears and scream at
Joe Mathews
September 25, 2013
Author: Joe Mathews
Connecting California Columnist and Editor, Zócalo Public Square, Fellow at the Center for Social Cohesion at Arizona State University and co-author of California Crackup: How Reform Broke the Golden State and How We Can Fix It (UC Press, 2010)
Do Californians Need a Passport to Democracy?
I recently found myself in front of the Rose Bowl, using my iPhone to take a selfie of me holding a Democracy Passport. The passport
Joe Mathews
September 23, 2013
In a State as Diverse as California, Hating Sacramento is the Tie That Binds
It’s one of the oldest tricks in the California book of governance and public relations. You’re an important person in an out-of-the-way California place, you’re
Joe Mathews
September 19, 2013
The Best College in California?
What’s the best university in the state? Stanford? UC Berkeley? By one measure – the earning potential of their alums – the top school in
Joe Mathews
September 18, 2013
U.S. v. California
This past week was Admission Day, the holiday marking the date – Sept. 9, 1850 – that California was admitted into the Union. Maybe 163
Joe Mathews
September 17, 2013
Why California Keeps Repeating Junipero Serra’s Mistakes
If Californians ever figure out a way to bring Father Junipero Serra back from the dead, the first thing we should do is put him
Joe Mathews
September 16, 2013
Shake, Abel, Shake
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Abel Maldonado has shaken up his campaign. There’s good and bad in this news. First, the good. Maldonado’s shake-up
Joe Mathews
September 13, 2013
What Should We Name That Bridge?
Controversy swirls about the possibility of naming the western span of the new Bay Bridge for former San Francisco Mayor and Assembly Speaker Willie Brown.
Joe Mathews
September 11, 2013
A Difficult 2016
2016 is shaping up to be an unpleasant year to be California’s governor. Or a legislator for that matter. Because the state might have to
Joe Mathews
September 10, 2013