The Garcetti Economy Was Not Ready For The Coronavirus Pandemic
Since hitting the U.S. earlier this year, the coronavirus epidemic has wracked the nation, tragically taking the lives of over 100,000 Americans. It has also put significant stress on our country’s economy, causing millions of people to lose their jobs while straining cities and states nationwide in the process. While the latest U.S. job numbers […]
California Must Do Better in Delivering Services
Dear Legislators, We are increasingly concerned about poor performance of critical state services. According to the US Department of Labor, in June only 52 percent of First-Time Claims for unemployment in California were addressed within 14 days and according to the San Francisco Chronicle, teachers at San Francisco Unified School District have been given no […]
Proposition 17 and a Case of Good Timing
One ballot measure expected to get little notice this election season is Proposition 17, granting voting rights to parolees. Yet, because of the increased focus on judicial reform spurred by the protests following George Floyd’s killing, Prop 17 will be wrapped within, and benefit from, the justice reform movement. The California Constitution prohibits felons serving […]
Los Angeles Against the Police
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti who called Police Officers “KILLERS” and City Councilmembers responded to the demands of protestors and rioters and slashed $150 Million Dollars from the 2020-2021 LAPD budget. L.A. Taxpaying residents and business owners were ignored by city officials who continue to permit the city to turn more neighborhoods into homeless camps […]
Riskier bet: Why CalPERS, the country’s largest pension fund, is getting into banking
Retired DMV clerks, former firefighters and aging government bean-counters across California, put on your three piece suits: You might be getting into the banking business. The California Public Employees’ Retirement System, which manages a nearly $400 billion basket of nest eggs for retired public workers across the state, is wading into the rollicking market for […]
Electoral college, the pandemic, Trump’s psyche: What a mess!
Sherry digs into the labyrinth of the electoral college, explaining its history and the role of slavery in its creation. We debate the future of the institution, with Bill more optimistic than Sherry about chances of eliminating it. We also examine how the pandemic is sweeping through California, concluding this is a disease too new […]
The Orange County Classical Academy Will Transform Education in California
In barely one month, 360 elementary school students will begin attending a new charter school that offers a dramatic departure from the failed public education model in California. The Orange County Classical Academy (OCCA) will open its doors to kindergarten through 5th grade students, and apart from the student demographics, nothing about this school fits […]
UC’s New President has an Opportunity to Create a Level Playing Field for Political Thought
Congratulations to Dr. Michael V. Drake chosen as the new president of the University of California. Dr. Drake has pledged to face issues head-on acknowledging the difficult challenges ahead dealing with the pandemic, climate change, and social justice. Hopefully, he will apply his well-regarded reputation championing diversity and equity to political thought as well. Most […]
Some Scary Propositions
Ever since Gov. Hiram Johnson in 1911 instituted the right to initiative, recall, and referendum, California has embarked on an unparalleled level of direct democracy — something that has turned elections over propositions into more heated affairs than elections over candidates. Although such majoritarianism is the centerpiece of century-old progressive politics, conservatives often have embraced […]