Governor—Don’t Use Coronavirus as an Excuse for Early-Release of Prisoners
The governor—or any other elected official—should not use the coronavirus pandemic that has resulted in millions of Californians losing their jobs and placed the entire state under stay-at-home orders to advance pet projects, including releasing more prison inmates. However, that’s exactly what Governor Gavin Newsom is doing. He is giving early release to some 3,500 […]
Why California Can’t Cut its Way Past COVID
Coronavirus is forcing Californians into isolation. But it has brought us together in one way: by fusing our biggest problems into one colossal crisis. That crisis could be our once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to transform the state—if we can ignore the conventional wisdom that this is a time to shelter our ambitions in place. For Californians, COVID-19 […]
California Needs to Reassess Stay-at-Home Orders to Prevent an Economic Tragedy
Before the public health and economic disasters wreaked by the COVID-19 pandemic ruins more lives, California policymakers need to carefully assess the costs of a long-term lockdown and make common sense adjustments. About one-sixth of California workers have filed for unemployment insurance since Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statewide shelter-at-home order to prevent the spread […]
The True Story of COVID-19 in LA Must be Confirmed by a Lot More Testing
Who is suffering most from coronavirus in Los Angeles County? The affluent or the poor? Whites or people of color? The answers to these questions are to be found through a rigorous but now inadequate system of testing. Such a system is necessary for identifying and isolating those who have been infected with the disease […]
When it Comes to Small Business, Governor, Actions Speak Louder than Words
Governor Gavin Newsom expressed strong support for the state small businesses that are greatly suffering during the pandemic but when he had the chance to show that support to produce needed masks, he turned not to small businesses in California but a large conglomerate overseas. The governor said, “the extreme curtailment of consumer spending resulting […]
LA Should Reform Before Furloughing
Sunday, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti warned of employee furloughs to help meet an anticipated $600 million revenue shortfall. Before LA furloughs workers providing important services, the city should save up to $300 million per year by emulating the City of Glendale in reforming and means-testing a subsidy currently provided to retired employees. LA provides […]
The Coronavirus Pandemic Will Test the State’s Budget Reserves
As it grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, California faces an uncertain fiscal future. This global crisis has caused a sharp decline in economic activity, exposing crucial sectors to heightened risk. As discussions continue about when and how to re-open the economy, it is clear that the state will have to respond to significant fiscal challenges. […]
Gov.’s Task Force: Opening Business & Jobs or Changing the Business World?
There is a sense here that Governor Gavin Newsom’s Business and Job Recovery Task Force is set to go beyond just getting businesses open and people back to work by offering changes to the way business is done in California. The Task Force announced last week is an unwieldy 80-member group of legislative leaders, CEOs, […]
No Representation for Non-Bosses
Governor Gavin Newsom’s economic task force has plenty of representation if you’re a boss. It’s full of presidents, CEOs, board chairs, and directors of various enterprises in business, labor, government and academia. For those few of us—we humble few—who aren’t bosses, well, we don’t have any representation at all. I suspect non-bosses may constitute a […]