Some interesting points on why raising UC tuition is a good idea, see here.
Archive for the 'California' Category
California Unemployment Rate Hits 12.5 Percent
Published November 20, 2009 California , Employment 8 CommentsThere is good news here, we didn’t lose jobs. Perhaps the worst is over!
California’s unemployment rate rose to 12.5 percent in October to set another modern record, even though more than 25,000 Californians found jobs, the state Employment Development Department reported Friday.
October’s job gains followed 66,000 job losses the month before.
This is why I love economics, see a problem here? A survey from the PPIC via the Sacramento Bee:
The PPIC poll found that strong majorities of Californians believe that state budget cuts and affordability are major problems with the University of California, state college and university and community college systems, while holding all three in high esteem.
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Despite their concern about the colleges, strong majorities of those responding to the PPIC poll were unwilling to either raise college fees or taxes to offset reductions in state support.
From the Sacramento Bee:
Car insurance by the tankful?
Not quite, but California moved a step closer last month to pay-as-you-drive policies that could allow motorists to buy insurance like they do gasoline – a little at a time.
Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner released regulations permitting and authorizing mileage verification for pay-as-you-drive, without dictating what form such plans must take.
The goal is to use per-mile pricing to entice Californians not to drive so much, thus easing air pollution, relieving traffic congestion and lowering the number of traffic collisions.
From the Sacramento Bee:
The $787 billion stimulus bill approved by Congress earlier this year has saved or created more than 640,000 jobs, including more than 100,000 in California, the White House said today.
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Standing at Biden’s side, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said his state has saved or created more jobs than any other state in the nation. He said teachers and other educators account for more than 62,000 of California’s jobs, including those who might have been laid off if not for the federal stimulus money.
I can tell you for a fact that it did not save any jobs at Napa Valley College.
California’s Unemployment Rate Declines
Published October 16, 2009 California , Employment 17 CommentsCalifornia’s unemployment rate dropped to 12.2 percent in September. It was 12.3 percent in August (they did revise the August number to 12.2 percent). There is some stability in this rate now, hopefully, it will start to go down soon.
California is attempting to find a way to stabilize tax revenues so the budget becomes more stable (and manageable). Here is what the blue-ribbon panel came up with:
– Flatten the state’s income tax by reducing the number of brackets from six to two and capping the top rate at 6.5 percent. Millionaires would still pay an additional 1 percent on income above $1 million for mental health programs.
– Install a new form of tax on all businesses that applies to their net revenues minus purchases from other firms, dubbed the Business Net Receipts Tax. Companies would not be able to exempt wages and benefits for in-house employees, although they could exempt any payments to contractors. The rate would top out at around 4 percent, less than half of the existing corporate tax.
– Eliminate the 5 percent state sales tax portion that goes toward the general fund.
– Eliminate the state corporate tax.
– Establish a new independent tax forum to resolve tax disputes.
– Ask voters to establish a new rainy-day fund and spending cap.
California’s UC System Protests Budget Cuts
Published September 24, 2009 California , Education 20 CommentsUC Berkeley and UC Davis had protests over the budget cuts today (the entire University system protested):
Professors, students and workers at all 10 University of California campuses today are staging protests, rallies and pickets to draw attention to the effect of state budget cuts on the university.
Originally planned by professors angry that they’ve been forbidden from taking their furloughs on teaching days, the rallies have snowballed. Professors have been joined by workers locked in labor negotiations with the university and students upset about a proposal to raise fees by 15 percent in the spring and another 15 percent in the fall.
Where to Find the Fattest Paychecks
California has a fairly high average pay but its growth rate is near the bottom.
California Joblessness Reaches 70-Year High
Published September 18, 2009 California , Employment 12 CommentsLOS ANGELES — California’s unemployment rate in August hit its highest point in nearly 70 years, starkly underscoring how the nation’s incipient economic recovery continues to elude millions of Americans looking for work.
While job losses continue to fall, the state’s new unemployment rate — 12.2 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics— is far above the national average of 9.7 percent and places California, the nation’s most-populous state, fourth behind Michigan, Nevada and Rhode Island. Statistics kept by the state show California’s unemployment rate was 14.7 percent in 1940, said Kevin Callori, a spokesman for the California Employment Development Department.While California has convulsed under the same blows as the rest of the country over the last two years, its exposure to both the foreclosure crisis and the slowdown in construction — an industry that has fueled growth in much of the state over the last decade — has been outsized.
