COVID-19 and California’s Census Count
The COVID-19 crisis has upended the carefully laid plans for the 2020 Census in ways that might have disproportionate effects on California’s count. The Census Bureau is making important adjustments, but California needs to be particularly vigilant about the potential consequences. The Bureau began its self-response period on March 12, when it started mailing out […]
The March Primary: Some Good News for Republicans
Three weeks after California’s early primary, and what seems almost light years ago, California’s left for dead Republican Party is showing surprising signs of life. Given the hot Democratic presidential primary that was hardly expected, but in fact Republicans emerged from the primary with more than they started with. For the first time in six […]
Government Pensions Are Dividing Americans and Damaging the Economy
A few weeks ago, the condition of California’s public employee pensions systems was serious, but it was a crisis unfolding in slow motion. As reported in their 6/30/2019 financial statements, CalPERS, the largest pension system in the U.S., was only 70.2 percent funded. To cope, the system was requiring its participating agencies to nearly double […]
Gavin Newsom, Other Governors and President Trump See Very Different Paths To Recovery
The president is talking about reopening the nation and letting people go back to work at the latest by Easter—less than two weeks from now. “I want to see the U.S. open for packed churches,” he thundered and to make sure we got the point, he added, We are “near the end” of the pandemic. […]
Coronavirus and the future of living and working in America
By late spring, the most severe impacts from the coronavirus may be fading, but its impact on how we live and work will not go away. Indeed, many of the most relevant trends — including the rise of dispersed work and living arrangements — were already emerging even before the pandemic emerged. Ever since classical […]
During Time of Crisis Property Tax is Stable—for Now
The state of California is bracing for a hit in revenue because of the COVID-19 crisis. Income taxes, sales taxes and corporate taxes, the three pillars holding up the state budget, are expected to fall precipitously. Property taxes, however, may not be reduced much, if at all, thanks to California’s Proposition 13 property tax system. […]
Quarantine Me at Asilomar
Quarantine me as long as you like. Just make sure you quarantine me at Asilomar. For this peculiar time, there may be no more desirable California place than that small strip of coastal Monterey County known as Asilomar. It’s more than just an unusual state park, with a state beach, hotel, and conference grounds. It’s […]
While Texas Attorney General Paxton discriminates, California’s Becerra defends our own
Someone needs to check on Ken Paxton. You have probably heard his name in the news lately here in California. He seems obsessed with our state – and our industries – these days, and when he has bad days, he likes to take it out on us. And while you are checking on the Texas […]
At Least Coronavirus Not as Disastrous as Spanish Flu
The death rate from those who get the coronavirus is projected by some experts to be about 1 percent, although no one really knows yet. In any case, it is a bad one. Still, it is shaping up to be far less disastrous than the Spanish flu of 1918. According to some estimates, the death […]