April 29, 2013 By John Seiler The state supposedly "balanced" its budget only with the Prop. 30 tax increase. Three California cities declared bankruptcy last year. Businesses keep streaming out to greener pastures. So what does the California Legislature do? Road trip! Steven Greenhut writ...
Posts Tagged ‘bonds’Senate pushing nutty new school-finance schemeMonday, April 29th, 2013L.A. Unified uses ‘construction bonds’ to buy $500 million in iPadsThursday, February 14th, 2013Feb. 14, 2013 By Chris Reed My five-month-old crusade to get the California mainstream media to acknowledge the insanity of "construction bonds" which take 30 years to pay off being used routinely by school districts for short-lived electronics and basic maintenance hasn't gotten far yet. The ... Will school finance scams be addressed? One of two at bestSunday, December 9th, 2012Dec. 9, 2012 By Chris Reed The push is on to gut Proposition 13, with the nominal rationale being the urgent need to help public education by making it easier to pass parcel taxes. But will the Democratic lawmakers behind this first do anything about two huge education finance scandals? I expl... Bankruptcy Series: Cities on a future spending spreeFriday, November 9th, 2012Editor’s Note: This is the eighth in a CalWatchDog.com Special Series of in-depth articles on municipal bankruptcy. Nov. 9, 2012 By Wayne Lusvardi Are the staggering forecasted public pension obligations facing state and local governments in California the result of overspending or unde... Federal Reserve warns, Calif., other municipal bonds very riskyMonday, August 20th, 2012 Aug. 20, 2012 By Chriss Street Last week, we first reported first that "Permanent Link to Calif. sales tax revenue nosedives 33.5%," then that "Moody’s warns of mass Calif. municipal bankruptcies." During the Great Recession of the last four years, the California private sector was forced to ... Washington misreads California — againThursday, June 21st, 2012June 21, 2012 By John Seiler If you've ever lived in Washington, D.C., as I did in 1977 and from 1982 to 1987, you know the place lives under a bubble. They have no idea what's going on in the rest of the country. But they tell us what to do. That's sure the case with E.J. Dionne, the Washi... Assembly committee kills bond misuse billWednesday, June 20th, 2012 June 20, 2012 By Katy Grimes SACRAMENTO -- California's bond debt is on steroids, but it's the taxpaying residents who will be responsible for the financial meltdown. California politicians are well known for their budget fund shifts, "borrowing" from agencies and funds, and creative accou... Cities Bet on Risky Pension BondsMonday, December 19th, 2011 DEC. 19, 2011 By WAYNE LUSVARDI Sports betting plays the point spread between football teams. Municipal betting involves California cities gambling on the interest rate spread to pay off unfunded pension liabilities by using pension obligation bonds. The typical way that public pensions... Bond Party Hangover Strikes Calif.Monday, December 5th, 2011 DEC. 5, 2011 By WAYNE LUSVARDI That pounding headache in California's head is from chugging too many municipal bonds. The newest financial crisis afflicting the state could be the most serious, threatening the easy-money financing of such boondoggles as the California High-Speed Rail Author... LAO: Deficit Back Up to $13 billionWednesday, November 16th, 2011 NOV. 16, 2011 By JOHN SEILER Sharpen the scissors. In a devastating report released today, California's non-partisan Legislative Analyst projected more budget shortfalls -- just as we have all along at CalWatchDog.com. The LAO figures there will be a $3.7 billion shortfall for the Californi... |