State Budget
Blog
Read about California's $68 billion budget crisis
State Budget Update: The Calm Before the Budget Storm
Christmastime is always the busiest time of the year at the Department of Finance. With the state budget due to be released on January 10, department leadership is making the final decisions about spending priorities with the governor. However, recent bad news about the state of California’s finances means that ...
Blog
Get latest state budget update
State Budget Update: Bigger State Budget Deficit on the Horizon?
That’s the fear, as the Sacramento Bee this week reported, in recent filings by state officials in anticipation of a November bond offering. Given that the IRS extended the deadline to file income taxes twice this year due to natural disasters (first to October 16, then again to Nov. 16), ...
Blog
Read latest from Free Cities Center
Union-backed bills pose biggest challenges to cities
Cities are creatures of the state, so they have to obey. Residents are likely to suffer more and bigger potholes, further declining school test scores and higher taxes – meaning more people will flee the state or head to the suburbs. Here’s a look at some of the worst urban-related ...
Blog
Who are winners and losers of 2023 legislative session?
Progressives Dominate Legislative Session, But Will Newsom Spoil the Party?
Late Thursday evening, the Legislature wrapped up its business for the 2023 legislative session. As bleary-eyed lawmakers travel home today for the fall recess, what is the biggest story of this year’s legislative session? This year’s legislative session will go down as perhaps the most successful legislative session ever for ...
Business & Economics
Read about latest tax hike push at State Capitol
California’s Already High Taxes Could Increase if Democratic Legislators Prevail
California has been losing businesses and residents to states with lower tax burdens for years, and the response in Sacramento has been puzzling. Rather than trying to compete with those states, the counter has been to instead raise taxes even higher. Following this formula, legislators recently passed Assembly Constitutional Amendment ...
Blog
Read latest from Free Cities Center
Misusing ‘externality’ theories to bolster government power
In a recent article, economist Timothy D. Terrell pointed out problems in modern economic theory that deal with what economists call externalities, or spillover costs, noting that in a world in which value is subjective, attempts to find objective ways to allay costs are elusive and generally end in failure. ...
Blog
Read latest about state pension problem
ESG and CalPERS Sub-par Investment Returns
CalPERS has one core social responsibility – maximizing returns to help secure the retirement of millions of current and future pensioners. The pension fund is also a major proponent of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing. CalPERS claims that ESG “disclosures provide important metrics to understand how a company’s practices ...
Blog
Read about proposed ballot measure
‘Transparency’ Measure Would Paint False Picture of What’s Happening at State Capitol
Consumer Watchdog, the self-appointed group with a history of waging controversial ballot measure fights, announced this week that it was launching a 2024 ballot initiative campaign aiming to, according to Politico, “forc(e) unprecedented scrutiny into lobbying activities at the Capitol.” The proposed “Government Transparency Act”, according to a campaign press ...
Blog
Read about new legislative caucus
‘End Poverty in California’ Caucus Poised to Worsen State’s Poverty Problem
You may have missed it, but a new legislative caucus has just been announced to address California’s status as the worst-in-the-nation state for poverty. With visions of Upton Sinclair dancing in their heads, the “End Poverty in California” legislative caucus is the brainchild of former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs. It ...
Blog
How local governments can prepare for a possible recession
A recession is beginning now, according to the June 22 Chapman Economic Forecast Update, the most accurate in the country for GDP prediction. Said President Emeritus Jim Doti at the event, “We’re pointing to a negative change in the third quarter and the fourth quarter and that’s the stuff of ...
Read about California's $68 billion budget crisis
State Budget Update: The Calm Before the Budget Storm
Christmastime is always the busiest time of the year at the Department of Finance. With the state budget due to be released on January 10, department leadership is making the final decisions about spending priorities with the governor. However, recent bad news about the state of California’s finances means that ...
Get latest state budget update
State Budget Update: Bigger State Budget Deficit on the Horizon?
That’s the fear, as the Sacramento Bee this week reported, in recent filings by state officials in anticipation of a November bond offering. Given that the IRS extended the deadline to file income taxes twice this year due to natural disasters (first to October 16, then again to Nov. 16), ...
Read latest from Free Cities Center
Union-backed bills pose biggest challenges to cities
Cities are creatures of the state, so they have to obey. Residents are likely to suffer more and bigger potholes, further declining school test scores and higher taxes – meaning more people will flee the state or head to the suburbs. Here’s a look at some of the worst urban-related ...
Who are winners and losers of 2023 legislative session?
Progressives Dominate Legislative Session, But Will Newsom Spoil the Party?
Late Thursday evening, the Legislature wrapped up its business for the 2023 legislative session. As bleary-eyed lawmakers travel home today for the fall recess, what is the biggest story of this year’s legislative session? This year’s legislative session will go down as perhaps the most successful legislative session ever for ...
Read about latest tax hike push at State Capitol
California’s Already High Taxes Could Increase if Democratic Legislators Prevail
California has been losing businesses and residents to states with lower tax burdens for years, and the response in Sacramento has been puzzling. Rather than trying to compete with those states, the counter has been to instead raise taxes even higher. Following this formula, legislators recently passed Assembly Constitutional Amendment ...
Read latest from Free Cities Center
Misusing ‘externality’ theories to bolster government power
In a recent article, economist Timothy D. Terrell pointed out problems in modern economic theory that deal with what economists call externalities, or spillover costs, noting that in a world in which value is subjective, attempts to find objective ways to allay costs are elusive and generally end in failure. ...
Read latest about state pension problem
ESG and CalPERS Sub-par Investment Returns
CalPERS has one core social responsibility – maximizing returns to help secure the retirement of millions of current and future pensioners. The pension fund is also a major proponent of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing. CalPERS claims that ESG “disclosures provide important metrics to understand how a company’s practices ...
Read about proposed ballot measure
‘Transparency’ Measure Would Paint False Picture of What’s Happening at State Capitol
Consumer Watchdog, the self-appointed group with a history of waging controversial ballot measure fights, announced this week that it was launching a 2024 ballot initiative campaign aiming to, according to Politico, “forc(e) unprecedented scrutiny into lobbying activities at the Capitol.” The proposed “Government Transparency Act”, according to a campaign press ...
Read about new legislative caucus
‘End Poverty in California’ Caucus Poised to Worsen State’s Poverty Problem
You may have missed it, but a new legislative caucus has just been announced to address California’s status as the worst-in-the-nation state for poverty. With visions of Upton Sinclair dancing in their heads, the “End Poverty in California” legislative caucus is the brainchild of former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs. It ...
How local governments can prepare for a possible recession
A recession is beginning now, according to the June 22 Chapman Economic Forecast Update, the most accurate in the country for GDP prediction. Said President Emeritus Jim Doti at the event, “We’re pointing to a negative change in the third quarter and the fourth quarter and that’s the stuff of ...
