Author: uclafaculty

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Another Public Pension Report

Byuclafaculty

The California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility – the group that is pushing public pension initiatives in California – has released another report. There is little mention of UC although the UC pension appears on one chart as 73% funded. Most of the report is aimed at CalPERS and CalSTRS. As in the past, the new report of this group aims at greater respectability than some of the hit pieces that have been previously issued on pensions. For example, it reports that public workers in California on a total compensation basis (wages + benefits) are – adjusted for occupations – slightly…

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LAO Report on June Budget Deal

Byuclafaculty

The Legislative Analyst’s Office has prepared a summary of last June’s budget deal. It includes an analysis of higher ed funding and all other major programs. Also described is the trigger mechanism that could lead to more cuts in the UC budget should forecast revenues not arrive as expected. You can find the report at: http://lao.ca.gov/reports/2011/bud/spend_plan/spend_plan_081211.aspx

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We all make mistakes

Byuclafaculty

UC Berkeley grad spots $2 trillion S&P debt downgrade error Blog from San Francisco Chronicle 8/11/11 It took the sharp eye and calculating mind of John Bellows, a UC Berkeley 2009 Economics Ph.D grad, to catch the $2 trillion error in Standard & Poor’s credit rating that has roiled the global markets since it was issued Aug. 5. Bellows noted that S&P based its judgment on a projection that the U.S. debt as a share of the nation’s gross domestic product would rise rapidly over the next 10 years. The error, which S&P acknowledged in private conversations with the Treasury…

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Lawful Money

Byuclafaculty

Milken Foundation gives $10M to UCLA law school Daily News, 08/09/2011 LOS ANGELES – Lowell Milken gave UCLA’s law school $10 million, putting it ahead of schedule in raising $100 million over five years, it was announced today. The fundraising drive was started in 2008 to benefit student scholarships, attract and retain faculty and to support centers and institutes that inform law and public policy. The gift from Milken, the biggest in the law school’s history, will be used to start the Lowell Milken Institute for Business Law and Policy… Full article at http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_18645516 Down it comes:

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More Mysterious than Illuminating

Byuclafaculty

You will have seen the headlines about how state revenues fell short of budget projections, potentially threatening a pulling of the budget trigger that would cut more from UC’s budget. It is true that the budget was based on optimistic revenue projections. And it is true that the underlying economy does not look to be supportive of such optimism. However, the controller’s report on cash receipts on which the headlines are based is not illuminating. Much of the forecast revenue that did not appear came from miscellaneous sources such as estimates of abandoned property that gets transferred to the state….

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California Public Pensions: Video Program

Byuclafaculty

Yours truly will be traveling Aug. 9-15 so blogging may be limited. However, you may be interested in this program on California public pensions produced by the Maddy Institute at Cal State-Fresno. It includes an interview with the Legislative Analyst’s Office staffer who handles that topic: Part 1: Part 2: Part 3: Part 4: Part 5: The Maddy Institute’s home page is http://www.maddyinstitute.org/index.html

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How to Turn $70 Million into $63 Million in 7 Years: Build a 210-Room Hotel Adjacent to Campus

Byuclafaculty

A straw in the wind about the Estancia Hotel in La Jolla next to UC-San Diego: The seven-year-old, 210-room Estancia La Jolla Hotel and Spa, located adjacent to UC San Diego, has been put up for sale. The owner, Los Angeles-based Lowe Enterprises, is not saying why it’s marketing the property nor did it divulge an asking price, but an online real estate publication estimates the luxury property could fetch more than $60 million. The hotel and conference center, which sits on a nine-acre site known at one time as the Black Family La Jolla Stables, was developed at a…

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Looking Back on the California State Budget of 2011-12

Byuclafaculty

Yesterday’s blog entry reminded you of the unpleasant “trigger” built into the California state budget which is aimed (in part) at UC. If you would like to relive the formulation of that budget, here is a write-up (warning 60+ pages) from a draft chapter for California Policy Options 2012 by yours truly. You can read it below: Open publication – Free publishing – More california If the above causes problems with your computer, you can download the pdf file at: http://issuu.com/danieljbmitchell/docs/reallynomentalreservations

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Pleasant Thought for Today

Byuclafaculty

Just a reminder – as you are perusing news about current economic trends – that the California state budget signed last June with smiles all around has a “trigger” formula. If tax revenue falls short of its (relatively optimistic) projections by specified amounts, further cuts occur – including cuts to UC. Sagging economies are not good at producing a lot of tax revenue. Perhaps this old clip from the 1970s has some relevance as you cogitate on that fact and the more general scene: