News

A crypto billionaire who shelters his company from US taxes by housing it in the Bahamas is financing tax increase legislation in California.

Learning loss due to school closures and remote learning has cost students months of academic progress, with poorer students faring the worst. The 2022-23 education budget proposes record per-pupil spending, yet we lack meaningful visibility into the quality of outcomes produced for students.

We scratched our heads Friday when — despite a steep fall-off in the stock market and a first quarter contraction of the US economy — we learned the May Revision of the Governor’s Proposed Budget expects rosy tax revenues for the 2022-23 fiscal year commencing July 1. After reading the document, we learned how that happened:

Two social media and crypto executives are behind an initiative on the November ballot that would jeopardize steady funding for services financed by the General Fund and force state taxpayers to use after-tax dollars to fund what the sponsors and others like them could fund with pre-tax dollars.

Imagine you are responsible for projecting state tax revenues for the 2022-23 fiscal year commencing July 1. Here are some things you know:

Unlike their counterparts in California, poor students in Texas and Florida didn’t fall behind in math during the pandemic. That’s because they were allowed to attend school in person. According to a new study by Harvard University,

Believe it or not, the ride-sharing company Lyft is sponsoring an initiative that would have taxpayers finance its fleets. Masquerading as a measure to address climate change and forest fires through additional taxpayer financing of electric vehicles, charging stations and fire suppression, the measure would add 1.75 percentage points to the state income tax rate — ie, a 13 percent increase in the top tax rate, already at 13.3 percent — applied to incomes of over $2 million per year.

Last year, California dramatically increased fire suppression spending to $1.5 billion.

West Contra Costa County Unified School District has received a “lack of going concern” determination from its county board of education. That means the district is unable to meet its financial obligations. But 60 percent of its deficit is accounted for by spending on an unnecessary insurance subsidy for retired employees known as “OPEB” (Other Post-Employment Benefits) that drains classrooms of resources while federal subsidies go unused.

Among the 2,167 bills we are reviewing are several dealing with mental health and homelessness. Recently the Newsom Administration issued a proposal to establish CARE (Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment) Courts “to deliver behavioral health services to severely ill and vulnerable individuals while preserving self determination and community living.” Yesterday we joined a webinar about CARE and will be paying close attention going forward.