Author: uclafaculty

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Brown Indicates He Will Protect K-12 (or is it K-14?) From Budget Cuts If Voters Approve Tax Extension

Byuclafaculty

Reports are leaking out that Gov. Brown says he will protect funding for K-12 (or maybe K-14) if voters approve extending tax increases that were put into effect in Feb. 2009. Voters rejected extending those tax increases in an election in May 2009. But the strategy appears to be to confront voters with a Budget from Hell and then offer a repeat of the May 2009 choice as a way out of Hell. Prop 98 of 1988 has various formulas for K-14 funding which the legislature can suspend. So what is unclear in the leaking reports is whether the Brown…

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Pension Rejection Hits the Press

Byuclafaculty

In an earlier post, the press release from UCOP rejecting the lifting of the pension cap for high-paid execs was reproduced. So now the story is in, where else?, the press: UC’s top leaders reject bigger pensions for top earners: Thirty-six highly paid employees have threatened to sue if benefits were not based on full salaries. The UC president and the regents board chairman support the $245,000 limit. (excerpt) Larry Gordon, LA Times, Jan. 5, 2011 The University of California system’s two top leaders on Tuesday rejected a politically controversial demand by some of the university’s most highly paid employees…

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Gall and Chutzpah: The Pension Editorials Continue to Flow

Byuclafaculty

The tone of the editorial below makes it clear which definition of chutzpah (see right-hand box) the newspaper is using. Monday, January 3, 2011, Editorial The Riverside Press-Enterprise Pension gall The tallest ivory towers at the University of California apparently have no windows, or top administrators would see that they are wildly out of touch with reality. UC executives should drop their insulting quest for bigger retirement benefits. And if not, the university’s Board of Regents should flatly reject a proposal the university cannot afford. A group of 36 UC executives sent a letter to regents last month, in advance…

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Yudof Declares There Is No Legal Pension Obligation to Raise Ceiling for High-Paid Execs

Byuclafaculty

The following news release was issued today by UCOP:UC Newsroom Statement on executive pension benefits http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/24746 Date: 2011-01-04Contact: University of California Office of the PresidentPhone: (510) 987-9200 In light of recent media reports about a letter by 36 University of California executives regarding pension benefits, Board of Regents Chairman Russell Gould and University President Mark Yudof today (Jan. 4, 2011) issued the following statement: Ten years ago the University of California sought a determination from the IRS that a proposed new method for calculating pension benefits complied with federal tax rules. The new method would have resulted in higher pension…

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UC Executive Pension Issue Discussed on Local Radio Program

Byuclafaculty

KPCC’s Patt Morrison interviewed Nanette Asimov of the San Francisco Chronicle who broke the story on the demand by high-paid UC executives for lifting the cap on their pensions. One tidbit that comes out is that – so far at least – no one has located a Regents vote in 1999 that said the pension cap would go up if the IRS approved. (The IRS did approve several years later.) Apparently, a committee of the Regents endorsed the idea back then, but if there was no vote of the full body, it is difficult to see how a legal commitment…

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In Inauguration Address Jerry Brown Mentions Budget & Pensions But Mainly Talks About History and Need for Cooperation

Byuclafaculty

I have put a video of the inauguration on YouTube. It is divided into two parts to meet the time duration limits of YouTube. There are considerable references to California history and personal history of Brown ancestors. There are references to the state budget crisis and pensions but no specific proposals. Part 1 Part 2 It’s not over ’til it’s over:

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More Newspaper Editorial Comment on High-Paid UC Execs’ Demand for Lifting Pension Cap: This One Says “Outrageous”

Byuclafaculty

Are they paying attention? UC execs’ threatened lawsuit over pensions misses the point (excerpt) Jan.3, 2011, Stockton Record Three dozen of the University of California’s highest-paid executives are threatening to sue unless their pensions are substantially raised. Incredible. Perhaps these men and women, all of whom make more than $245,000 a year, are so busy doing the public’s good works that they missed that: » The state is facing a $28 billion budget deficit. » Student tuition at UC increased 32 percent last fall and will jump an additional 8 percent next fall because of sagging state support. » The…

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More State BudgiLeaks Suggest UC Will Be Cut

Byuclafaculty

As a prior post noted, it is traditional for governors to leak bits and pieces of their budget plans to the news media before the formal presentation. Jerry Brown will be sworn in today and undoubtedly make some budget-related remarks in his inaugural address. The formal budget comes next week. But the reality is that because the budget is a complicated document to prepare, it is already 99% done, if not 100%, and lacks only an unveiling. The latest leak explicitly mentions UC: Brown to propose broad list of budget cuts (excerpt) Jan. 03, 2011, Sacramento Bee, Kevin Yamamura The…

Tales of a Confusing Academic Job Market: Up or Down? Actually, Both.

Byuclafaculty

Inside Higher Ed today posts a review of the confusing and mixed picture in academic job openings in various fields. Among the findings as you can see below – this will anger some folks! – the job market for economists is much improved but for historians it remains dismal. Job Freefall, Job Recovery (excerpt)Jan. 3, 2011, Scott Jaschik There has never been a single academic job market: variation among disciplines, institutions and regions has always mattered. The reality of radically differing job markets may be especially clear as 2011 begins with disciplinary associations gathering for job interviews at annual meetings…