VIDEO: Bill Gates Talks State Budgets and Education at TED 2011
Costa Mesa, California Stares Down Huge Pension Debt
COSTA MESA – If Costa Mesa wants to cut its losses and bail out of the state pension system, it will need to pay $315 million over 10 years to settle debts already accrued, the City Council learned Tuesday. City … Continue reading
Pensions, Health Costs and State Inaction Cloud Budget of Yolo County, California
In Yolo County, budget officials are gearing for the next major test of balancing spending with available revenues – a task made harder by increasing health care and pension costs. In recent years, Yolo – like other counties in the … Continue reading
In Labor Deals, California Gov. Jerry Brown Postpones the Day of Reckoning
THAT CLANGING sound you hear is Jerry Brown kicking the can further down the road. The governor touted his budget plan as an honest forecast of revenues and expenditures. Indeed, his accounting avoids the smoke and mirrors of his predecessor, … Continue reading
Governor Brown Is Avoiding Real Pension Reform for California
Gov. Jerry Brown’s initial foray into the debate about reforming the pension systems for government employees was greeted by derision from both sides, which is not unexpected given his predicament. The governor understands as well as anyone that California cannot … Continue reading
San Diego’s Pension Reform: A Model for California?
As San Diego officials joined forces this week on an initiative to switch all new hires except police from pensions to 401(k)-style plans, Mayor Jerry Sanders said the city’s troubled pension system could become a “national model.” But in Sacramento, … Continue reading
Jerry Brown’s Pension Plan for California Is Nothing But Fluff
The timing of Gov. Jerry Brown’s “12-point pension reform plan” last week was no accident. The plan was released on Thursday, a couple of days after his negotiations with Republicans on a state budget deal collapsed. The latter contended that … Continue reading
Minor Reforms Won’t Be Enough to Curb the Growing Expense of California’s Public Pensions
Tackling obvious abuses offers a good start on pension reform. But the governor needs to flesh out the weightier parts of his proposed changes if he hopes to convince Californians he is serious about reining in retirement costs. Minor reforms … Continue reading
Governor Brown’s Pathetic Pension Plan Won’t Solve California’s Problem
After a year of lip-service, Gov. Jerry Brown demonstrated last week that he isn’t serious about controlling the rapidly escalating costs of public-employee pensions. The pathetic “reform plan” he unveiled Thursday is really a thread-bare series of tweaks — some … Continue reading
Gov. Brown’s Pension Plan for California Is Too Little, Too Late
Gov. Jerry Brown has proposed a package of reforms to the pension systems for state workers. He tackles the obvious and most egregious abuses in the current system but falls far short of offering anything that would have a significant … Continue reading
