Just one percent of income taxpayers, about 150,000 families in a state of 40 million people, account for nearly half of income taxes and therefore for a third of all general fund revenues. Their incomes largely come from earnings on stocks and other investments, which are very likely to plunge during recessions. It’s called “volatility” […]
This pro-solar decision will cause California to suffer the same fate as Germany and Denmark. Since California’s solar-energy build-out began in 2011, energy prices have risen 24 percent. Abigail Ross Hopper, the Solar Energy Industries Association’s CEO believes this a positive, momentous decision by California when he stated: “California has long been our nation’s biggest […]
More than 50 million Americans in low-income working families struggle to manage everyday cash flow. That means they have the resources to pay monthly bills but can’t handle small financial shocks or timing mismatches because they lack the savings buffer the more affluent take for granted. Most lack access to reasonably priced credit and can’t […]
In recent years, policymakers have increasingly aligned with advocacy groups pushing for one-track solutions to climate change, like 100 percent renewable electricity or all-electric buildings. Two weeks ago, Assembly Bill 3232 – legislation that aims to electrify homes and businesses in the state – passed through the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee with little fanfare. […]
One rents a spare bedroom in her client’s Berkeley home, paying $200 a month as she waits for word on her application for low-income housing. Another drives from Stockton to the East Bay four times a week because rental prices in her native Oakland became out of reach. A third commutes to Berkeley from Tracy, […]
Covered California premiums projected to rise 11 percent in 2019
You’ll need to earn at least $333,270 a year to qualify to buy a median-priced home in San Francisco — but not all of California is that costly: An income of $35,400 is enough in Lassen County. A California Association of Realtors housing report on the first quarter of 2018 lists median home prices, estimated […]
The median list price for a house in California is almost $700,000, the highest in the nation aside from Washington D.C. and Hawaii. This compares to a median list price of $328,000 for the United States as a whole. Prices have been surging in many areas of the state in recent years, and housing costs […]
Homeowners with solar panels also benefit from the state’s net metering subsidy, which compensates them for the excess power they produce and remit to the grid at the retail rather than wholesale rate. Yet California sometimes produces so much solar power that it has to pay Arizona to take it to avoid overloading power lines. […]
Property tax collection is a critical source of revenue for local governments, accounting for 72 percent of local tax collections nationwide in 2015 (most recent data available). Local property taxes are largely used to fund police departments, emergency services, road maintenance, and other services mainly associated with property ownership or residency. While states used to […]
California’s tax system, which relies heavily on the wealthy for state income, is prone to boom-and-bust cycles. While it delivers big returns from the rich whenever Wall Street goes on a bull run, it forces state and local governments to cut services, raise taxes or borrow money in a downturn. During the Great Recession, the […]
California may soon become the first state in the nation to require that virtually every new home be equipped with solar panels. The California Energy Commission on Wednesday is expected to mandate solar arrays on almost all new single-family houses built after Jan. 1, 2020, as part of the state’s fight against global warming. The […]
California remains home to several of the world’s electric vehicle capitals. The San Jose, San Francisco, and Los Angeles metropolitan area markets have some of the highest electric vehicle sales and market shares in the world. These three markets together, through 2017, already had more than a quarter-million electric vehicles on their roads. Within these […]
California continues to lead the nation in electric car sales. But it must drive a long, hard road before it can achieve its goal of getting 5 million emissions-free cars on the road 12 years from now. That’s the message of a new report, which found that while sales of battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles […]
Gasoline prices in Fresno already increased beyond $4 per gallon this week at some places in town. And gas prices are projected to rise even more going into the summer in the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal. A year ago, the national average for was $2.34 for […]