Newsom: State can begin gradual reopening Friday
California is ready to partially reopen major sectors of its economy as early as this Friday, including retail shops and the manufacturers that supply them, Gov. Gavin Newsom said today. Clothing outlets, bookstores, florists and other merchants across the state will be allowed to offer curbside pickup as long as they obey physical distancing guidelines […]
Don’t Dismiss the Protests
Despite rallies against stay-at-home orders popping up all over California there is a tendency to dismiss protestors as a small slice of the electorate, especially in light of recent polls that show backing for Governor Newsom’s handling of the coronavirus crisis at 70% approval. Yet, the protests should be viewed like a political canary in […]
Save Local Government By Eliminating Local Governments
California is finally getting the local government apocalypse it needs. I love local government. In most places, it’s the most democratic, participatory, and effective level of government, and it deserves to be the most powerful and best-funded. But in California, local governments are too weak and small to be effective. Why? There are simply too […]
It’s Time to Review AB 5 if Policymakers Really Want to Restart California’s Economy
“Bring Back Borello!” will never work as a rallying cry, but it might be a timely agenda item for California legislators to seriously consider when the coronavirus coast is clear for them to return to Sacramento. In the meantime, the April 30 second anniversary of the state Supreme Court’s Dynamex decision and the Assembly Bill […]
State budget will take a very big hit
A bit of fiscal history is in order. The Great Recession that hit California 13 years ago had a devastating effect on the state budget. General fund revenues — principally personal income taxes paid by affluent Californians — dropped by about 20% and to maintain basic services, the Legislature and then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ran up […]
Some Optimism on the Economy
On the heels of reports on how hard the United States economy was hit in the first quarter of the year along with new and greater unemployment numbers and predictions that the next quarter will also be produce depressing statistics, I thought on this Friday it would be good to see there are new optimistic […]
Our Appointment In Samarra: Job Devastation And Aftermath
(Part of a series on the impacts of the coronavirus on employment and the workplace. The previous ones are here.) The phrase “Appointment in Samarra” is usually associated with the 1934 novel of that name by John O’Hara. But the origin is the 1933 play, Sheppy, by Somerset Maugham. Near the end of the play, […]
Germany’s Downward Energy Spiral in the COVID-19 Pandemic Has Grim Ramifications for California
Germany’s energy transition (“Energiewende”) from fossil fuels for power and electricity to renewables, particularly wind turbines, has caused the highest electricity prices in the world. Electrical grid instability for Europe is now a reality, and the same thing will happen to California. These policies have led to electrical output reductions triggering serious implications for how […]
Coronavirus: Tracing, Privacy—a Challenge for California
Bill and Sherry examine the difficult job of tracing those exposed to the coronavirus. They they take a hard look at how Gov. Gavin Newsom is handling the challenge of the pandemic. They also discuss how testing for the virus is focusing attention on the poverty and inadequate health care among African Americans and Latinos […]