Budget and FinanceCA comeback mostly about shifting funds aroundWednesday, April 10th, 2013 April 10, 2013 By Wayne Lusvardi Paul Krugman wrote in the New York Times an article, “Lessons from a Comeback.” However, a comeback for state government should not be confused with an economic or jobs recovery. A number of liberal, conservative and moderate writers responded to Krug... Judge: Stockton can go belly upTuesday, April 2nd, 2013April 2, 2013 By John Seiler It’s official: The city of Stockton is bankrupt. On April 1, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein ruled that Stockton's bankruptcy can proceed. "It's apparent to me the city would not be able to perform its obligations to its citizens on fundamental public saf... Pensions at heart of bankruptcyMonday, April 1st, 2013April 1, 2013 By Steven Greenhut SACRAMENTO -- Few nonlocal people typically pay much attention to the goings-on in Stockton, a hard-pressed Gold Rush-era industrial city of about 300,000 that sits in the agriculturally rich San Joaquin Valley, at the eastern edge of the California Delta. But ... Redevelopment 2.0 keeps flaws of the old redevelopmentFriday, March 29th, 2013This is Part Two of a two-part series. Part One is here. March 29, 2013 By Wayne Lusvardi Los Angeles-based redevelopment expert Larry Kosmont is marketing his Redevelopment 2.0 idea as a way to compete with other states that currently are out-competing California for industries. As Kosm... Redevelopment 2.0 won’t rejuvenate ‘old factory belts’Thursday, March 28th, 2013 This is Part One of a two-part series. Part Two is here. March 28, 2013 By Wayne Lusvardi Redevelopment 1.0 died statewide in 2011 when Gov. Jerry Brown phased it out, mainly because it was robbing local school districts of needed property tax revenues. Now Los Angeles-based redevelopmen... It’s alive: Anti-tax cut bill returnsThursday, March 28th, 2013March 28, 2013 By Dave Roberts It's alive. Similar to a bill narrowly defeated last year, SCA 6 is by Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord. Taxpayer advocates fear the bill could make it difficult, perhaps impossible, to cut or limit taxes through the initiative process. But SCA 6's wording ... Attack of the artificial crisesMonday, March 25th, 2013 March 25, 2013 By Steven Greenhut SACRAMENTO --- Not many of my friends or neighbors are sitting on pins and needles, worrying that the world as we know it will end as the federal government "slashes" spending as part of the automatic sequester cuts mandated by a previous budget bill. And ... Cap and trade shifts from cutting smog to shifting wealthSunday, March 17th, 2013 March 17, 2013 By Wayne Lusvardi California is subtly shifting the spending goals of its cap-and-trade taxes from reducing air pollution to reducing the “urban heat island effect.” In so doing, it believes it has found a green justification finally to divert pollution taxes to pet poli... Balanced budget amendment for Congress discussed at CPACSaturday, March 16th, 2013 March 16, 2013 By Josephine Djuhana NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.---Some conservatives believe a federal balanced budget amendment is an essential reform for fiscal management in Congress. That was the topic of discussion during a panel at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the ... Assembly shuns accountability for slush fundFriday, March 1st, 2013 March 1, 2013 By Katy Grimes California Assembly leaders enjoy an annual slush fund of $38 million. It's money they can do with however they please. The Assembly's operating budget was $112 million for the 2011-12 fiscal year that ended June 30, 2012. But $150 million was appropriated.... |