State Budget

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Johnny Dollar Reports

Byuclafaculty

There used to be an old radio show, “Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar.”   The closest we now have in California is state controller John Chiang who provides monthly cash reports on the state’s budget. For the first quarter of the current fiscal year (2012-13), we are behind on revenue by about $200 million (which is really noise given the size of the budget).  We spent, however, over a billion dollars more than budgeted for the first quarter.  The extra spending seems to be occurring in the social welfare area.  It’s not K-12 or higher ed. Anyway, if the budget estimate…

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The 3rd Tax on the Ballot

Byuclafaculty

Most of the media attention with regard to tax initiatives on the November ballot has gone to Prop 30 (the governor’s tax) and Prop 38 (the Molly Munger tax) and their rivalry. However, also on the ballot is Prop 39 which is generally described as closing a corporate tax loophole that favors out-of-state firms.  It has polled well and there doesn’t seem to be an organized opposition campaign against it.  Prop 39 is said to involve about a billion dollars in potential revenue.  However, it has been criticized in some newspaper editorials as ballot-box budgeting because it earmarks about half…

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On Being Propositioned

Byuclafaculty

There is a complicated inter-relationship between various propositions on the November ballot.  Prop 30 (the governor’s tax initiative) is paired against Prop 32 – a “paycheck protection” initiative that would largely cut unions out of political funding which often means funding Democrats.  Prop 32 is thus supported by Republicans and has gotten considerable campaign support from CharlesMunger. Prop 30 is also paired partly against Prop 38 – the MollyMunger school tax initiative.  So you have to keep track of your Mungers who are both aligned against 30 but not 32.  (Molly is the liberal who wants more money for schools…

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Preliminary Announcement: Nov. 7 Forum on Future Funding of UC

Byuclafaculty

On Wednesday, November 7, the Faculty Association at UCLA is sponsoring a noontime program on the Future Funding of UC. That’s the day after Election Day and, unless the results are very close, we will at least know the outcome of the various state propositions on the ballot dealing with taxes.  The program will be at the Faculty Center. Prof. Steve Lippman of Anderson will introduce the event.  Prof. Karen Orren of Poli Sci will be the emcee.  Speakers will be Prof. Chris Newfield of UC-SB (English), Prof. Robert Anderson of UC-Berkeley (Economics and past chair of the Academic Council),…

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Waiting for Brown’s First Prop 30 TV Ad

Byuclafaculty

Prop 30 is the governor’s initiative for temporary tax increases that has been endorsed by the Regents.  So far, a full-scale campaign, i.e., TV ads, has yet to occur.  But a note on the LA Times‘ PolitiCal blog says the TV campaign is supposed to start today. So we’re waiting. There have been opposition radio ads and some more general “issue” ads that oppose tax increases.  Brown has a lot more money in the bank for his campaign than do the opponents.  He appears to be following the later-is-better strategy used in the 2010 gubernatorial campaign.  In that campaign, his…

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California has a way to go

Byuclafaculty

The two charts above from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics serve as a reminder that California’s economic recovery still has a way to go.  You probably knew that but it is also a reminder that the state budget, and the UC budget, which ultimately depend on the underlying economic tax base, will also be under strain for some time to come. Note: A summary of the UCLA Anderson Forecast for the national and state economies is available at: http://uclaforecast.com/contents/archive/2012/media_92012_1.asp

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Prop 30 and the Statue Statute

Byuclafaculty

Gov. Brown used the occasion of signing a bill to have a statue of Ronald Reagan in the State Capitol implicitly to promote Prop 30 – Brown’s tax initiative.  See below: LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST AB 2358, Hagman. State Capitol: Ronald Reagan statue. Existing law prescribes various duties for the Department of General Services in connection with development and maintenance of the park around the State Capitol Building. This bill would authorize the Ronald Reagan Centennial Capitol Foundation, in consultation with the Department of General Services, to plan a statue of Ronald Reagan in the State Capitol Building Annex. The bill…

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Rival Initiative Campaign

Byuclafaculty

As readers of this blog will know, although there are three tax propositions on the ballot, two are essentially rivals.  The governor put Prop 30 on the ballot, a combination of income and sales taxes, which has been endorsed by the Regents.  Prop 38, which is an income tax increase earmarked more directly for local schools, is supported by a wealthy backer, Molly Munger.  Prop 38 hasn’t polled well but Munger is putting money into its campaign. Prop 30 has been showing a marginal majority in recent polls.  The concern among Prop 30 supporters is that the campaign for 38…

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The UC-Riverside Med Saga Continues

Byuclafaculty

Readers of this blog will know that UC-Riverside has been trying to get a med school  going for some time but can’t get the needed dollars from the state. Inside Higher Ed today has a feature article on various universities either trying to merge med schools with others or trying to set up new ones. Riverside is mentioned in the article which notes it already has a joint med program with UCLA:   Securing funding has also been a problem for UC-Riverside’s medical school. The university currently has a “two-and-two” program where students spend two years at Riverside taking the…