Those of you interested in state, local and school district pension obligations should add an esoteric phrase to your vocabularies: “Accretion of Discount.”

Opinion  // Open Forum

Last month I turned 65 and became eligible for Medicare, the national health insurance program for people my age and older. Medicare is fantastic — and fantastically cheap — health insurance. But, believe it or not, if I were a retired California state employee, both I and my dependents would be entitled to health insurance subsidies.

In December I turned 65 and became eligible for Medicare, the national health insurance program for people my age and older. Medicare is fantastic — and fantastically cheap — insurance. But, believe it or not, if I was a retired California state employee, I would also be entitled to a state-provided health insurance subsidy that this fiscal year will cost taxpayers $2.6 billion — more than double the cost ten years ago.

If I had one wish for 2019 it would be that journalists and elected officials cite original sources of information about K-12 spending in California, a subject about which far too many too often cite unauthoritative sources.

Prevent a strike at LAUSD

On January 7, Gavin Newsom will be sworn in as governor of California. On January 10, a strike has been scheduled by the LA teachers’ union (UTLA) against LA’s school system (LAUSD). A strike will impact 600,000 students — including many who get health and nutrition services at school — and their families plus the members of other unions that, unlike UTLA, have reached agreement with LAUSD.

If ever you wanted a sense of the Kafkaesque world that often characterizes California politics, imagine yourself in the shoes of Austin Beutner, Superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).

Los Angeles Unified School District collected $7.2 billion in revenues in its 2017–18 fiscal year. That translates into $298,000 per teacher, 42 percent more than four years earlier…

Use the Internet, don’t blame it.

China’s government fears an Internet that exposes people to political truths. Today some in Congress fear an Internet that exposes people to political lies.

Ten years ago, California’s Department of Social Services — whose mission is “to serve, aid, and protect needy and vulnerable children and adults” — received nearly $10 billion, which was 10 percent of the General Fund that year:

This year California’s governor and state legislature are choosing to spend $15 billion on the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), which incarcerates 127,000 prisoners. 

Now that Governor Brown has acted on all 1,217 bills sent him by the legislature, we are turning our attention to the 2019 legislative session. One GFC focus will be improving the quality of services provided Californians. Below is a overview of two of the most important services.

On September 20 the Federal Reserve recognized a truth long covered up by California's public pension funds.

In its latest quarterly Financial Accounts report the Fed revised its measure of unfunded pension liabilities owed by state and local governments to $4.1 trillion, more than double the amount previously reported.

The California Prison Guards Association (CCPOA) is spending $500,000 on TV ads against Marshall Tuck in the race for Superintendent of Public Instruction. Why would the largest recipient of state spending on California’s prison-industrial complex care about the identity of the state’s next SPI? 

Where are legislator tweets about CA’s schools?

Donald Trump trolls California. Of course, trolling is not a presidential responsibility outlined in Article II of the US Constitution. But many California state officials troll Trump and likewise are not fulfilling any of their responsibilities under Article IV of the California Constitution.