“Affordable Housing” Could Actually Be Affordable with CEQA Reform
Yet again, California is ranked the #1 most expensive state to live in America for 2020. And while taxes and childcare costs are also in the top five in the nation, it is housing costs that really stand out. Rent and mortgage payments run an average of $3,000 per month, nearly seventy percent higher than […]
Court bans “abusive” spiking, but sticks with pension protections
For 65 years, the California Supreme Court has taken a rigid line on pensions for public employees: Any retirement benefits promised to a worker at the outset of a job can only be reduced if they are replaced with something of equal value. That iron-clad precedent has been dubbed “the California Rule.” Today the state’s […]
Answering Questions about California’s Dysfunctional Energy Policies
California, with less than 0.5% of the world’s population (40 million vs. 8 billion), remains the state with the highest cost of electricity and fuels in the country and its dysfunctional energy policies are doing everything possible to further increase those costs to the detriment of those that can least afford it. The states’ pursuit […]
Going for Broke Chasing a Tax Gusher
In this time of Covid-19, public sector unions see an opportunity for a tax gusher. The Proposition 15 property tax increase measure funded largely by public unions could raise $12.5 billion. Assembly Bill 1253, introduced this week by fifteen Democratic legislators and encouraged by the public sector unions, is projected to raise $6.8 billion by […]
CalPERS, Corruption And Cronyism
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System, which has a history of making poor choices, plans to become a lending institution. A healthy pension fund wouldn’t be making such a risky decision. Still hurting from $100 billion in losses from the Great Recession, CalPERS was bruised again by the coronavirus pandemic. Now, funded at only 71%, […]
Governor’s Decision on Minimum Wage Another Blow to Small Business
The California Business Roundtable supported increased funding for the CalEITC funding last year and our research on upward economic mobility shows it is a critical anti-poverty tool. But programs like the EITC are only effective when people are at work. Due to the governor’s decision to allow for the minimum wage increase, despite the state […]
High Speed Rail: Yesterday’s Tech Tomorrow
One of the candidates for president in this November’s election is known by the nickname, “Amtrak Joe.” The Democratic-controlled House wants to triple federal funding for intercity passenger trains. A member of Congress from Massachusetts has proposed spending $205 billion on high-speed rail. Click to download a five-page PDF of this policy brief. Given the […]
Redistricting Commission Doesn’t Need Reforms…Well, Maybe One
When the first eight commissioners to the California Citizens Redistricting Commission were chosen by random drawing the beginning of the month, there was an outcry that no Latinos were selected. Because Latinos make up the largest ethnic group in California, the Los Angeles Times editorial board called the result an embarrassment. Others joined in to […]
Massive New Tax Increase Proposed on High-Income Californians
Gutting-and-amending a bill originally related to local governments in the Public Resources Code, Assembly Bill 1253 now proposes a massive tax increase on thousands of sole proprietors and high-income Californians. AB 1253 was amended on July 27, the Legislature’s first day back from its extended summer recess. Originally authored by Assemblyman Robert Rivas when it […]