The state Supreme Court last Thursday struck down one of the biggest efforts yet to force California public employees into 401(k) plans, giving unions another win in their effort to protect defined benefit retirement plans from elected leaders who want to rein in pension costs. The court sought to write a narrow decision, finding that […]
The Trump administration is seeking to reopen some of the most sensitive and sought-after public lands in the state not just for timber production, but also for potential solar, wind, broadband infrastructure, mining, off-road vehicle and grazing uses. When it comes to timber, the justification is fire prevention. Environmental groups have long argued that the […]
California officials said Tuesday that they will grant more than $170 million in cap-and-trade funds to local governments and organizations to prevent fires and improve the health of forests. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection announced the grants as the Mendocino Complex fire near Clear Lake, now the largest in state history, continued […]
Another challenge is state politicians who’d rather spend money on green pork. This year the Democratic legislature appropriated a mere $30 million of cap-and-trade revenues for fuel reductions on 60,000 acres of forest land. They allocated $335 million for electric vehicle subsidies. Democrats have also spent billions on high-speed rail, but only this year did […]
San Francisco’s narrowing middle class, already squeezed by the high cost of living could take another hit if a new business tax is approved in the November election, according to the city’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development. The measure, approved for November’s ballot last month, would levy an average of about 0.5 percent gross […]
The Ontario basic income pilot project is coming to an end, says Children, Community and Social Services Minister Lisa MacLeod. MacLeod said Tuesday that the project was expensive, and “clearly not the answer for Ontario families.” She said the ministry would have “more details at a later date” about how the government would end the […]
The Sacramento City Council vote to place a tax increase on the November ballot is representative of what we’ll see around the state in many localities: a call for more taxes to maintain basic services when in reality the money is needed to meet pension obligations. In one sense the argument that the money is […]
For the past century, a public pension was an ironclad promise. Whatever else happened, retired policemen and firefighters and teachers would be paid. That is no longer the case. Many cities and states can no longer afford the unsustainable retirement promises made to millions of public workers over many years. By one estimate they are […]
The leading current bill to establish single-payer health insurance, the Medicare for All Act (M4A), would, under conservative estimates, increase federal budget commitments by approximately $32.6 trillion during its first 10 years of full implementation (2022–2031), assuming enactment in 2018. This projected increase in federal healthcare commitments would equal approximately 10.7 percent of GDP in […]
Not long ago, I quoted Swedish economist Assar Lindbeck’s conclusion about the results of rent control. He wrote that in many cases, it “appears to be the most efficient technique presently known to destroy a city — except for bombing.” Lindbeck, however, seems to have missed an even better way to wreak havoc on major […]
In January 2012 California Governor Jerry Brown announced he would ask California voters to approve temporary increases in income and sales taxes. Later that year his proposal was embodied in Proposition 30. Projected by the Legislative Analysts Office to raise $6 billion per year for four years and smaller amounts for three years (ie, $42 […]
Raising minimum wages and welfare grants and offering a state tax credit to the working poor may have some impacts on the margin. However, the extra incomes they generate are quickly consumed by higher housing costs, plus the higher gas taxes, local sales taxes and energy bills being imposed to deal with other political priorities. […]
California’s public schools have enjoyed a remarkable restoration of funding since the bone-deep cuts they endured during the recession, but many are now facing a grave financial threat as they struggle to protect pensions crucial for teachers’ retirement. Over the next three years, schools may need to use well over half of all the new […]