Posts Tagged ‘Legislative Analyst’Budget rule hides where Prop. 30 and Prop. 39 taxes will be spentFriday, November 16th, 2012 Nov. 16, 2012 By Wayne Lusvardi A little known new accounting rule buried in the fiscal 2012-13 California state budget now will make it virtually impossible for the public to track where and when the tax revenues from Propositions 30 and 39 will be spent. Prop. 30 is Gov. Jerry Brown's $6 bil... Has Jerry Brown’s budget deficit become a cliche?Tuesday, May 15th, 2012May 15, 2012 By Wayne Lusvardi Has California’s legendary structural budget deficit evolved into an overworked and obsolescent cliche? This is a question to be asked of Gov. Jerry Brown announcement yesterday that the state general fund budget deficit has ballooned to $16 billion from the... Run a restaurant like a school?Monday, April 2nd, 2012 April 2, 2012 By Steven Greenhut SACRAMENTO -- California's public schools continue to lay off teachers, in a process that is as convoluted and illogical as one would expect in a bureaucratic system in which the needs of the students falls fairly low on the list of priorities. That's my takeaw... CA Running Massive Cash DeficitThursday, January 12th, 2012JAN. 12, 2012 By CHRISS STREET The California state government’s general fund is running a staggering cash deficit of $21 billion on an $88.5 billion budget. The number comes from Controller John Chaing just-released financial statement for December 2011. The bad news came in the face of strong ... LAO: Brown Numbers Don’t ComputeThursday, January 12th, 2012 JAN. 12, 2012 By JOHN SEILER Gov. Jerry Brown's budget proposal contains more smoke than a forest fire. More mirrors than a funhouse. And more empty promises than a presidential candidate's platform. So much for his solemn pledge, in his Inaugural Address a year ago, "No more smoke and mirr... Why Not Use Last Year’s Budget?Tuesday, January 10th, 2012 John Seiler: Is California sliding into the Pacific Ocean? Are there riots in the streets? Are Californians starving to death? None of the above. Then the solution to the state budget problem is simple: Just rinse and repeat the fiscal 2011-12 state budget, which ends June 30, for the follo... California Faces Decisive 2012Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012 BY JOHN SEILER JAN. 4, 2012 It's fun to gloat about our great weather when calling freezing relatives Back East on New Year's Day. And some good things are keeping the sun shining this year. Silicon Valley's global technology dominance will continue in 2012. Despite the foolishness of the s... The Grinch that Stole CA’s ChristmasThursday, December 22nd, 2011 DEC. 22, 2011 by WAYNE LUSVARDI Dr. Seuss's children's story, "The Grinch That Stole Christmas," applies to California in 2011. Seuss's story is about an unhappy cave-dwelling creature with an undersized heart that lives on Mt. Crumpit just north of Whoville -- home of the “Whos.” The... LAO: CA Govt. Pensions ‘Generous’Friday, November 11th, 2011NOV. 11, 2011 By JOHN SEILER The California Legislative Analyst's new report on state pensions is a thorough and sobering look at what's really going on. The report points out that the plans are "Not Just One Pension System…But Many." So generalizations are imperfect. Nevertheless, the LAO f... School Funding Reform Skewered by CTAMonday, July 11th, 2011 JULY 11, 2011 By WAYNE LUSVARDI In California, all good ideas for school reform seem to end up in the corner wearing a dunce cap. Back on May 3, I reported on promising development in state Assembly Bill 18, a proposal by Assemblywoman Julia Brownley (D-Santa Monica) to shift from schoo... |