Economy

More than 20 times in the last 15 years, political leaders looking to control California’s fast-growing public pension costs have tried to put reform initiatives before the voters. None of the proposals has made it onto the ballot.

The legislature’s approval Thursday of a $52 billion road repair plan couldn’t come too soon for rain-battered streets and highways that have already suffered severe damage this year. Since the beginning of the year, California’s state highway system has been buffeted with more than 400 sinkholes, downed trees, and mudslides. Caltrans puts the price tag […]

See correction below California’s grand plan to extend retirement security to millions of workers, a cornerstone of the economic agenda put forward by state Democrats, is looking a little bit less secure. That’s because California leaders are concerned that Republicans in the U.S. Senate will  roll back a little-known Obama administration regulation, putting California’s “Secure […]

Lifelong Californian Lori Thompson is well aware of the state’s dire affordable housing problem. She’s just wondering why she’s the one who has to pay to fix it. After her daughter moved to Reno to escape high rents in the Monterey Peninsula, Thompson and her husband decided last December to purchase a $360,000 cabin in […]

Two economic forecasts released in recent days warn of dire consequences for California should President Trump’s policies steer the country into a trade war.

The California dream isn’t dead. It just upped and moved to South Dakota. Less than half of people born in California in 1980 are making more money than their parents did as young adults. That’s the lowest percentage of children out-earning their parents that California has seen since at least 1940. By contrast, 62 percent […]

With the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress gearing up to make America's tax code great again, one of California's biggest tax breaks might be on the chopping block: the deduction on state and local taxes.

The general assumption for retirement security is a job in the public sector. The trade-off means lower pay, however. Meanwhile, the private sector has strayed from pension promises, but is a 401(k) worth it?

Five things to know about sanctuary status for at-risk immigrants

How are cities across California responding to the ballooning cost of pensions in the state? CALmatters Reporter Judy Lin explores a case study in Richmond where priority police and library services are already being cut.