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governor | politics | State Budget | UC budget crisis

Preliminary Overview of the Brown Budget
Byadmin January 10, 2011

The Brown budget, based on its budget documents, can be rearranged to break down the problem into manageable pieces. I cannot disentangle “revenue and transfers” – a mischievous term because of the word “transfers” – from what we think of as revenues (taxes, fees, and a few miscellaneous sources). Moreover, the “fund balance” in the general fund is not quite the same as a reserve. (To get the reserve, subtract $770 million from every entry below labeled “fund balance” on the tables.) But the breakdown below will help. (Apologies for odd formatting that the blog program creates.) Highlights First, Brown…

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State Budget | UC budget crisis

Countdown to the State Budget and More Speculation on the Forthcoming Brown Plan
Byadmin January 10, 2011

In the final countdown to Governor Brown’s budget message at 11 AM today, Dan Weintraub – longtime columnist for the Sacramento Bee and now with healthcal.org – suggests that there could be a variation on the Budget from Hell strategy we have noted in earlier posts. Under that strategy, Brown presents a Budget from Hell which is all cuts and no added revenue. He then puts on the ballot by June, tax extensions of the Feb. 2009 temporary tax increases. (See the earlier posts for more on possible roadblocks and work-arounds to getting such a proposition on the ballot.) The…

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miscellaneous | U of Texas | UC enrollment | UC Regents

The Affirmative Action Controversy: Evidence of Strategic Behavior in Texas University Admissions
Byadmin January 10, 2011

Under Prop 209, affirmative action in public university admissions is banned in California. As many will know, Prop 209 evolved out of a UC Regents action in the 1990s. (Subsequently, after Prop 209 passed, the Regents dropped their regulation. But the change had no effect since Prop 209 remained in effect.) Over the years, various approaches have been proposed to increase minority representation in UC enrollment. One approach, found in Texas, is to take the top X percent of high school grads by high school rather than in all high schools combined. In Texas, X = 10%. A working paper…

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governor | State Budget

Drip Drop: More Leaks on State Budget Indicate UC is Targeted
Byadmin January 9, 2011

As noted in prior posts, governors typically leak out the outlines of their budget strategies in advance of the official unveiling. The official unveiling – by constitutional mandate – is Monday, Jan. 10. The leaked item below from the Sacramento Bee today indicates explicitly that UC will not be spared: Anatomy of Brown’s budget plan (excerpt) Jan. 09, 2011 The budget Jerry Brown will propose Monday includes deep program cuts, a June election to extend tax increases and a broad reordering of state and local government to close a deficit estimated at $25 billion to $28 billion, according to sources…

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governor | politics | State Budget

Buried Lede: A way around the 2/3 barrier?
Byadmin January 9, 2011

From Wikipedia: Verb: to bury the lede: (idiomatic, US, journalism) To begin a story with details of secondary importance to the reader while postponing more essential points or facts. As prior posts have noted, thanks to the voter last November, a state budget – but not a tax or fee increase – can be passed by a simple majority of the legislature. The strategy for Brown appears to be to present a no-tax Budget from Hell, pass it, and then put a proposition on the ballot by June to extend the tax increases of Feb. 2009 that are due to…

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governor | politics | State Budget

Will Controller’s Report Undermine Brown Budget Strategy?
Byadmin January 8, 2011

Gov. Brown will release his budget on Monday. Meanwhile, the state controller has issued figures on the state’s cash receipts and expenditures through December, i.e., half way through the fiscal year. The figures show revenues up almost a billion dollars relative to projections made when the budget was signed (late). You can find the figures and analyses at : http://www.sco.ca.gov/Files-ARD/CASH/fy1011dec.pdf http://www.sco.ca.gov/Files-EO/01-11summary.pdf There will be a temptation to say the fiscal problem is over or is getting better or will take care of itself. If so, the strategy of presenting a Budget from Hell and then putting tax extensions on the…

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UCLA

UCLA History: Westwood Land Ad by Janss
Byadmin January 8, 2011

By giving land for UCLA, Janss enhanced the value of otherwise semi-vacant lots.

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pension | pensions | UC | UC-Davis

LA Times Characterizes Pension Demand as “Gimme, Gimme”
Byadmin January 7, 2011

LA Times Editorial: Tone-deaf at UC (excerpt) UC is rightly balking at granting additional retirement perks to about 200 highly paid administrators. A group of highly paid executives at the University of California has adopted an unseemly attitude best described as “gimme, gimme.” Although each of them already earns at least $245,000 a year, along with generous pension benefits, they’re threatening to sue if the university, which has imposed hefty tuition increases on its students over the past two years, doesn’t give them more. …Legislation has been introduced to take away some of UC’s historic independence from state government. Those…

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pension | pensions | UC

Now We Get Bipartisan Legislation on Pension Caps
Byadmin January 7, 2011

Assembly bill caps public worker pensions (excerpt)January 7, 2011, San Francisco Chronicle,Nanette Asimov Spooked by the University of California’s pension revolt – in which its highest paid executives are threatening to sue unless UC fattens their retirement benefits – a Democratic state lawmaker introduced a bill Thursday to prevent all public employees from gaining dramatically increased pension benefits. And Republicans are applauding. “You’re witnessing a moment of bipartisan joy,” said Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, R-San Bernardino, vice chairman of the Higher Education Committee. “I’m ashamed that I didn’t think of this myself.” The UC executives, some of whom earn more than…

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pension | pensions | UC | Yudof

Media Continues Anger on UC Executive Pension Issue: Flogging a Dead Horse?
Byadmin January 6, 2011

PropZero blog, KNBC LA, Joe Mathews, 1/6/11 University of California President Mark Yudof this week rejected a demand for a boost in pension from some of the university’s systems highest paid employees. That was the right move, but it didn’t go far enough. The request came from executives who said it was unfair their pensions would be calculated only on their first $245,000 in income. They make more. Such a request — at a time of state budget cutbacks, cuts in university offerings and big tuition hikes — was so out of line that it deserved not just rejection, but…

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News

Preliminary Overview of the Brown Budget

Countdown to the State Budget and More Speculation on the Forthcoming Brown Plan

The Affirmative Action Controversy: Evidence of Strategic Behavior in Texas University Admissions

Drip Drop: More Leaks on State Budget Indicate UC is Targeted

Buried Lede: A way around the 2/3 barrier?

Will Controller’s Report Undermine Brown Budget Strategy?

UCLA History: Westwood Land Ad by Janss

LA Times Characterizes Pension Demand as “Gimme, Gimme”

Now We Get Bipartisan Legislation on Pension Caps

Media Continues Anger on UC Executive Pension Issue: Flogging a Dead Horse?

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Labor and Advocacy

UC Faculty Associations

Higher Ed Policy

Labor and Advocacy

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