An illustration of the unequal distribution of wealth., (Image: Prazis, via Shutterstock)OPINION: The United States faces down, arguably, the greatest income and wealth disparity since before the Great Depression. The American people are growing increasingly aware of this disparity, as they see the power of corporations and the wealthy bend our political and financial systems to their will.
Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor, the Legislature's nonpartisan fiscal adviser, unveils the latest budget projections. (Photo: AP/Rich PedroncelliCalifornia, long bedeviled by daunting budget deficits, is likely to end the next fiscal year with $4.2 billion in reserve, with half that amount due to a budget-reform measure that voters approved on Nov. 4, according to the Legislature’s nonpartisan financial adviser.
World headquarters of Tesla Motors in Palo Alto. (Photo: Katherine Welles)California lawmakers, who have fallen head over heels for Tesla Motors, once again are wooing their fickle sweetheart. Gov. Jerry Brown and two state senators – one a Republican, the other a Democrat — are working to entice Tesla to build its newest manufacturing facility in California, instead of going outside the state. It’s the latest in a long string of efforts in Sacramento that so far have managed to keep Tesla in the Golden State.
In the upper levels of California government, Mac Taylor is indeed a rarity – he’s nonpartisan.
As the Legislative Analyst – he’s only the fifth one since the office was created 72 years ago – Taylor is the taxpayers’ watchdog over budget and ballot measures and their potential costs. He is the Legislature’s nonpartisan