Opening the Economy? Ask Us How, Business Groups Tell Governors
Business groups from three western coastal states want to be involved in strategies to end the lockdown and open up the economy. From a California perspective, at least, it’s possible that the business coalition was formed because of fear that business concerns would be ignored by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Task Force on Business and Jobs […]
Townhomes the Answer to Housing Affordability?
Is downtown only good for rental housing and lofts? Or, are California urban areas ready for something new? Throughout the West homebuilders are turning to townhouses as a way to build smarter and more affordably. For years, townhomes have appeared as a housing choice in master-planned communities throughout east-coast developments. Indeed, most so-called cookie-cutter housing […]
School Finances
School budgets will be a big issue facing legislators upon their return to Sacramento. In 2012, voters passed a ballot measure entitled “Temporary Taxes to Fund Education” that, when combined with a rising stock market, sharply boosted school funding (“Proposition 98 Funding”): But even that sharp increase in revenue could not keep pace with the […]
Garcetti: What He Says v. What He Budgets
Governor Gavin Newsom and Mayor Eric Garcetti have prioritized the lives of Californians and Angelenos over the premature opening of our economy unless there is adequate testing, tracking, and monitoring; proper social distancing; the protection of vulnerable communities; surge capacity at hospitals; continued research and development; and the development of adequate guidelines in the case […]
Lacking the Will to Act
The next few years portend what I am characterizing as “the mother of all recessions.” The first step in the traditional 12-step process is to get over the denial and admit this will be an unpleasant situation that is out of everyone’s control and must be addressed immediately. This is no time to be a […]
The Peter Navarro Principle
The 20th century gave us the Peter Principle: in a hierarchy, you’ll get promoted until you reach your level of incompetence. The 21st century gives us the Peter Navarro Principle: if you’re relentlessly angry and accusatory, your incompetence will be no obstacle to your rise. Peter Navarro is a failed California politician who now, frighteningly, […]
For Whom the Budget Bell Tolls
The California Department of Finance is in the process of preparing the May Revised Budget. A difficult process every year because of the state’s dependence on unpredictable capital gains taxes, this year DOF must also contend with a COVID-related revenue reduction. Absent reform, that bodes ill for discretionary programs that, even in good times, fare relatively poorly. See below […]
Who Should Pay for Pandemic’s Impact?
The COVID-19 pandemic and the severe economic recession it induced are disasters unparalleled in recent generations and it will take years to fully recover from their human and financial tolls. Already, however, they are spawning legal and political conflicts, over whom, if anyone, should be accountable for their impacts. There is, for instance, a flurry […]
School Funding Challenges
The Public Policy Institute of California latest poll focused on the challenges facing education across the state. The information gathered gives a broad view of the education landscape although some follow-up questions would have been helpful to dig deeper on some of the issues, especially in the area of school funding. Overall, the poll revealed […]