Budget and FinanceGov. Brown punts on jobs creationMonday, April 30th, 2012 April 30, 2012 By Joseph Perkins California Gov. Jerry Brown appeared on CBS’s “Face the Nation” yesterday, during which he listed items “right at the top” of the state agenda, including pension reform, renewable energy, the California water plan and high-speed rail. The gover... AB 1692 could halt city bankruptciesThursday, April 26th, 2012 April 26, 2012 By Katy Grimes SACRAMENTO -- Bankruptcy still haunts California cities six months after Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law AB 506. Written by Assemblyman Bob Wieckowski, D-Fremont, the bill made it more difficult for municipalities to file bankruptcy, such as requiring negotiation... Brown needs to cut moonbeams, not welfareFriday, April 20th, 2012 Commentary April 20, 2012 By Wayne Lusvardi California Gov. Jerry “Moonbeam” Brown recently issued a phony challenge to the state legislature to “man up” and cut services out of the state budget to resolve a lingering $9 billion deficit. Brown was telling the legislature to remov... Ending Prop. 13 would slam small businessThursday, April 19th, 2012April 19, 2012 By Wayne Lusvardi There is a big elephant in the room when it comes to a conversation about getting rid of Proposition 13, the 1978 tax limitation measure, by instituting a "split roll." Under such a change, business property would be taxed at higher rates than residences. Th... California declares land war on familiesWednesday, April 18th, 2012 April 18, 2012 By Wayne Lusvardi Everyone knows that California has water wars. But it also has land wars. And one of the biggest battles is the state’s land war against zoning for the suburban single family home. And a war against single-family homes is a war against suburban families. ... Actually, tax increase would slam Calif. economyTuesday, April 17th, 2012April 17, 2012 By Wayne Lusvardi Dan Walters, call your office! Or call a reputable economist for therapy. Walters writes that a marginal tax rate increase amounting to $9 to $10 billion in new revenue would reflect only 0.5 percent of the total state Gross Domestic Product. And it woul... Why pensions are going brokeFriday, April 13th, 2012 April 13, 2012 By John Seiler Why are government pensions going broke? Wayne Lusvardi wrote about recently it in one of our Special Series on municipal bankruptcy, "California counties are more at risk of going belly up." In one sentence, he wrote, “No one knows what rates of return pensi... USC Poll: Voters want unneeded taxFriday, April 13th, 2012April 13, 2012 By Wayne Lusvardi An opinion poll might tell you if a majority of the public wants higher taxes. But it cannot tell you if higher taxes are needed. Nevertheless, the mainstream media only want to report what opinion polls say people want, while ignore if the tax is needed at... Special Series: The pros and cons of municipal bankruptcyThursday, April 12th, 2012Editor’s Note: This is the sixth in a CalWatchDog.com Special Series of 12 in-depth articles on municipal bankruptcy. April 12, 2012 By Tori Richards What’s better for a cash-strapped municipality: filing for bankruptcy or struggling to survive without any clear solution to a massive de... ‘Funding scheme’ or help for small business?Wednesday, April 11th, 2012 April 11, 2012 By Katy Grimes Does California need another small business loan guarantee program specifically for clean energy companies and agricultural businesses? California State Controller John Chiang and San Francisco Sen. Leland Yee think so. But some are questioning the motive behind t... |