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Reader Reactions

‘Pensions stabilize economies in financial downturns’

Reader reaction to “Retirement Debt: What’s the problem and how does it affect you?“ Here’s the other side of the story of what happened when a community switched from a defined benefit pension to a defined contribution 401(k) plan. It also happened like this in San Jose, when Chuck Reed tried to do the same […]

经过 Reader Reactions • 3 月 7, 2018

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Commentary: Redistricting did help Democrats, but it was fair

After the newly created Citizen Redistricting Commission redrew congressional and legislative districts in 2011, Republicans complained that the new maps were tilted in favor of Democrats. The subsequent three election cycles seemingly confirmed the Democratic advantage, as the party expanded its control of the congressional delegation, gained two-thirds supermajorities in both legislative houses in 2012, […]

经过 丹·沃尔特斯 • 3 月 7, 2018

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Commentary: Handicapping California’s governorship game

So far, electing a new governor of California has resembled a game of musical chairs more than a horse race. Every fortnight, it seems, brings the announcement of a new candidate and/or a new opt-out, and every change in the lineup alters the odds of who will survive June’s top-two primary and win the right […]

经过 丹·沃尔特斯 • 3 月 5, 2018

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Commentary: One bill captures two unseemly Capitol traits

When the Legislature passed – and Gov. Jerry Brown signed – Assembly Bill 1687 two years ago, they exhibited two of the Capitol’s more unseemly traits. The legislation, aimed directly at IMDb, a company that maintains databases of actors and other entertainment information, forbade it and similar firms from publishing the ages of performers if […]

经过 丹·沃尔特斯 • 3 月 4, 2018

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Commentary: Democrats’ fault lines, including Latino splits

If one looked beyond the heated rhetoric from the podium, most of it directed at President Trump, last weekend’s Democratic state convention revealed a party with many internal fault lines. The most obvious was the power struggle between the party’s establishment and its left wing, dubbed Berniecrats. The Berniecrats had come close to electing its […]

经过 丹·沃尔特斯 • 3 月 1, 2018

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Commentary: Democratic convention shows disconnect with voters

SAN DIEGO One should never – repeat never – judge the true tenor of a political party by what happens at its convention, and last weekend’s Democratic gabfest was a case in point. The Democrats’ state convention promised more than the usual banality of such events because there are spirited contests this year for the […]

经过 丹·沃尔特斯 • 2 月 28, 2018

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Commentary: Three legislators down, how many to go?

Three down, but how many to go? Last Thursday, Tony Mendoza became the third state legislator and the first senator to resign after being accused of sexual harassment in the scandal that has enveloped the Capitol. As his fellow senators were meeting in closed “caucuses,” mulling whether to expel or suspend him, an aide to […]

经过 丹·沃尔特斯 • 2 月 26, 2018

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Commentary: The next big front in California’s water war

After one year of torrential respite, drought may have returned to California, and with it, a renewal of the state’s perpetual conflict over water management. State and federal water systems have told farmers not to expect more than a fifth of their paper allocations, the state Water Resources Control Board is weighing a new regime […]

经过 丹·沃尔特斯 • 2 月 25, 2018

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Commentary: Is Brown’s school finance reform paying off?

As he introduced his final state budget in January, Gov. Jerry Brown faced sharp questions from reporters about the effectiveness of his landmark overhaul of public school finance. His Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), which went into effect five years ago, provides more money to school districts with large numbers of poor and/or “English learner” […]

经过 丹·沃尔特斯 • 2 月 22, 2018

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Commentary: California’s public pension crisis in a nutshell

The essence of California’s pension crisis was on display last week when the California Public Employees Retirement System made a relatively small change in its amortization policy. The CalPERS board voted to change the period for recouping future investment losses from 30 years to 20 years. The bottom line is that it will require the […]

经过 丹·沃尔特斯 • 2 月 21, 2018