Posts Tagged: recession

OPINION: Ventura County citizens scored a victory earlier this month when a Superior Court Judge affirmed that any changes to the county pension plan must be made through the collective bargaining process — not at the ballot box. Actuarial analyses showed that closing the existing retirement plans and forcing new employees into risky 401k style plans would increase immediate costs to taxpayers, while forcing new employees to put their retirement security at risk in the hands of Wall Street.

District by district, data tells the tale in California

An abstract rendering of multi-faceted California. (Flip Bjorkman)

by CONNOR GRUBAUGH posted 07.17.2014

While most indicators signal an economic upswing in California, the reality facing many residents of the Golden State is simple: On the ground, the recovery is still sluggish. Nowhere is that more apparent than in a newly developed database that includes detailed economic information on each of California’s 120 legislative districts and 58 counties.

OPINION: With this proposal, the Governor, who has shown recent leadership in stabilizing revenues and beginning to restore programs cut during the recession, is calling for a restructuring of the state’s existing rainy day fund, known as the Budget Stabilization Account (BSA). (An alternative proposal approved by the Legislature in 2010 is scheduled to appear on the statewide ballot in November.)

Do water woes help 2014 bond?

by SAMANTHA GALLEGOS posted 12.25.2013

But even as the rain clouds appear sparse, there may be a silver lining for the backers of a major ballot measure: Experts say the grim outlook could spur voters to approve a multibillion-dollar bond facing voters in November 2014. It could bring to reality the need to borrow money and resolve some of the state’s water issues. (Photo: Lower American River, USFWS)

New government accounting rules will more than double the pension debt reported by CalSTRS, boosting an “unfunded liability” that is now about $71 billion to a newly calculated “Net Pension Liability” of $166.9 billion.

From the Public Policy Institute of California

Debt among California students has increased dramatically in recent years, but college is a good investment for the vast majority, according to a report released today by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC).

Californians with college degrees are more likely to be employed than those

The strong revenue California collected in April is one more encouraging sign that after years of weathering the Great Recession we appear to have reached a point of budget stability.

To help build on that stability, Assembly Democrats have crafted a Blueprint for a Responsible Budget that will keep California on sound financial footing

The Great Recession appears to be easing, but at least one group in California remains financially stressed – students at the University of California.

Tuition, now at about $13,000 a year, has skyrocketed 62 percent since 2007, a figure that doesn’t include an array of necessities, such as books, health insurance,

transportation and other

Public Policy Institute of California

In the wake of Gov. Jerry Brown’s successful campaign to pass Proposition 30, his job approval rating hit a record-high 48 percent among Californians, according to a survey released today by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC). Passage of the measure to increase taxes changed the feelings of