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1. Commencement Exercises of the Class of 2012
Saturday, May 12, 2012, 10:00 a.m.
Chevron Auditorium, International House,
Featured Commencement Speaker: Angela Glover Blackwell, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of PolicyLink
2. 13th Annual Alumni Dinner
October 26, 2012
The Berkeley City Club; more info
ALUMNI AND STUDENT NEWSMAKERS
1. “Fiscal cliff: What should Congress do?” (CNN Wire, April 30, 2012); analysis citing STAN COLLENDER (MPP 1976).
2. “Private Loans without Bankruptcy Option Are the Real Problem” (U.S. News Weekly, April 27, 2012); op-ed by AMY LAITINEN (MPP 2003).
3. “McClatchy Co.’s net loss widens in first quarter” (The Sacramento Bee, Apr. 26, 2012); story citing GARY PRUITT (MPP 1981/JD 1982); http://www.sacbee.com/2012/04/26/4443247/mcclatchy-cos-net-loss-widens.html
4. “U.S. Department of Energy and the MIT Energy Initiative Announce a Women in Clean Energy Program for United States” (Targeted News Service, April 28, 2012); newswire citing DOROTHY ROBYN (MPP 1978/PhD 1983).
5. “
6. “High court hears
7. “Verizon Auctions Spectrum—with Conditions; Carrier Also Faces Down Critics Claiming There’s No Bandwidth Crunch” (Multichannel News, Pg. 17 Vol. XXXIII, April 23, 2012); story citing DEREK TURNER (MPP 2006).
8. “Working out at CrossFit Oakland” (New York Times [*requires registration], April 22, 2012); story cites CANDACE HAMILTON HESTER (MPP 2009/PhD cand.); http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/us/crossfit-oakland.html?_r=2
9. “California clean-tech industry a VC darling” (San Francisco Chronicle, April 19, 2012); story citing DOUG HENTON (MPP 1975) and report co-prepared with JESSE OETTINGER (MPP 2011); http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/18/BUS51O57OE.DTL#ixzz1sVE0TLwd
10. “Study: Foreclosures take toll on kids; 10% forced to
move or are at risk, hurting health, learning” (
11. “How two state tax systems have (and haven’t) shaped
metro
12. “Benefit of electric cars found to vary by location” (San Francisco Chronicle, April 17, 2012); story citing ROLAND HWANG (MPP 1992); http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/16/BU5L1O44PP.DTL#ixzz1sJae9sQh
13. “Councilman Pops Question to His Longtime Girlfriend” (San Jose Mercury News, April 17, 2012); column citing JESSICA GARCIA-KOHL (MPP/MPH 2005).
14. “S.F. hospital deal could raise health care costs” (San Francisco Chronicle, April 16, 2012); story citing CARMEN CHU (MPP 2003); http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/16/MNBD1O2HOB.DTL&ao=all
15. “O’Brien: Does
16. “Bad choices make bad law” (The Advocate (
17. “
18. “What’s Your Walk Score?; The company that puts a number on walkability” (Slate Magazine, April 12, 2012); story citing JOE CORTRIGHT (MPP 1980).
19. “California Faces Lawsuit over Suspension of RPS Biomethane Credit” (EnergyWashington Week, Vol. 9 No. 15, April 11, 2012); story citing LAURA WISLAND (MPP 2008).
20. “CalSTRS investments gain, but pension gap widens” (The Sacramento Bee, Apr. 11, 2012); story citing ED DERMAN (MPP 1978); http://www.sacbee.com/2012/04/11/4404866/calstrs-investments-gain-but-pension.html#storylink=cpy
21. “CMS, AHRQ and The Brookings Institution to Address 11th Medicare Policy Summit” (PR Newswire, April 11, 2012); event featuring JULIETTE CUBANSKI (MPP 1998/MPH 1999).
22. “Borrowing From Schools Adds Up; California’s practice of deferring money is costly to districts” (U-T San Diego, April 10, 2012); story citing EDGAR CABRAL (MPP 1998).
23. “Spinning polls on Obama’s Jewish support” (Jerusalem Post, April 10, 2012); op-ed by MITCHELL BARD (MPP 1983/PhD 1987).
24. “Regulation in an Election Year, Theme of ABA Conference
in
25. “Supes’ campaign finance revision smells fishy” (San Francisco Chronicle, April 7, 2012); column citing DAVID LATTERMAN (MPP 2002); http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/06/BATK1O019V.DTL#ixzz1raF2Vuu2
26. “County Part of Care Coordination Project” (U-T San Diego, April 7, 2012); story citing TOBY DOUGLAS (MPP 2001/MPH 2002).
27. “Federal Budget Deficit Totals $780 Billion in the First Half of 2012” (States News Service, April 6, 2012); newswire citing JOSHUA SHAKIN (MPP 2008).
28. “
29. “Forum Will Open Dialogue on Economy” (Sun Sentinel (
30. “Letters to the Editor: Do Those Liberal Professors Make Much of an Impact?” (Wall Street Journal [*requires registration], April 5, 2012); Letter to Editor citing GOLDMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY; http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304023504577322092467714890.html?KEYWORDS=Berkeley
31. “Airbnb, other sites owe city hotel tax, S.F. says” (San Francisco Chronicle, April 4, 2012); story citing GREG KATO (MPP 2006); http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/03/BA621NUAMI.DTL#ixzz1r5XQ6w8u
32. “Ross Mirkarimi case to test S.F. Ethics Commission” (San Francisco Chronicle, April 2, 2012); story citing DAVID LATTERMAN (MPP 2002); http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/01/MN7L1NQVG1.DTL#ixzz1qv9KPC1c
33. “State Rep. Chris Taylor: Progressive Pertl will be strong voice on
34. “GOP primary doesn’t hamper progressives’
35. “Students hurt by cuts to AP fee waivers; Low-income test takers scramble to pay or opt to skip the exam because of a reduction in aid” (Los Angeles Times, April 1, 2012); story citing JOE RADDING (MPP 1982).
36. “So many farms, so few people - Boots on ground needed to address watershed issues” (St. Albans Messenger (VT), March 31, 2012); story citing KARI DOLAN (MPP 1990).
37. “Gas Groups Generally Support FERC Updates to Business Practice Standards for Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines” (Foster Natural Gas/Oil Report, March 30, 2012); story citing SKIP HORVATH (MPP 1976).
38. “Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) Joins Research Initiative on Impact Investing” (States News Service March 28, 2012); newswire citing BETH SIRULL (MPP 2005).
39. “EPA’s greenhouse gas limits affect only new power plants” (The Washington Post, March 28, 2012); story citing NED HELME (MPP 1971).
40. “Blumenauer Named a USA Wind Jobs Champion” (Targeted News Service, March 28, 2012); newswire citing ROB GRAMLICH (MPP 1995).
41. “
42. “Child First Crusader Running for Oakland City Council” (The Bay Citizen, March 26, 2012); blog citing AMY LEMLEY (MPP 1998) and DEANNE PEARN (MPP 1998); http://www.baycitizen.org/blogs/citizen/child-first-crusader-running-oakland/
43. “Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones Names COIN Advisory Board Members” (States News Service March 22, 2012); newswire citing BETH SIRULL (MPP 2005).
44. “Education, regulatory reform voted as Inland Empire
business priorities” (
45. “New
46. “Report Says US State Fiscal Policies Offer Fed Gov Lessons” (The Main Wire, Market News International, March 14, 2012); story citing TRACY GORDON (MPP 1996/PhD 2001).
47. “In S.F., luck and the Irish” (San Francisco Chronicle, March 14, 2012); column citing DANIEL LURIE (MPP 2005).
48. “Thrust for the Moon” (Aviation Week & Space Technology, Pg. 32 Vol. 174 No. 10, March 12, 2012); story citing ERIC HAGT (MPP 2004).
49. “
50. “Is future for college graduates this dim?” (The Stuart News (FL), March 4, 2012); column citing MATTHEW REED (MPP 2007).
51. “First the boom—now the bust—
52. “Ojai residents oppose water rate hike - Private utility seeks 17% boost over three years” (Ventura County Star, March 1, 2012); story citing LISA (WALLING) BILIR (MPP 2007).
53. “FlexWage Solutions Selected as Payroll Card Vendor by CurrenC SF” (PR.com (Content Enterprises), March 1, 2012); press release citing JACOB DUMEZ (MPP 2011).
54. “EDITORIAL: Higher education funding should be increased”
(The Observer (La
55. “
56. “An uneasy alliance on natural gas fractures” (Washington Post, February 20, 2012); story citing NED HELME (MPP 1971).
57. “Head of Berkeley schools fund steps down amid questions about past termination” (San Jose Mercury News, February 16, 2012); story citing LEAH WILSON (MPP 1997).
58. “Criticism of Chevron Grows over Use of ‘Secret’ Panel to Evade $18 Billion Ecuador Judgment, says Amazon Defense Coalition” (PR Newswire, February 13, 2012); newswire citing NAOMI ROHT-ARRIAZA (MPP/JD 1990).
59. “New state Medicaid plan based on quality; Kasich proposal would reward providers with best outcomes” (Crain’s Cleveland Business, Pg. 1 Vol. 33, January 30, 2012); story citing SUZANNE DELBANCO (MPP/MPH 1994/PhD 1999).
60. “Evading ObamaCare’s penalties” (Chattanooga Times Free Press, January 15, 2012); op-ed citing FRANK NEUHAUSER (MPP 1993).
FACULTY IN THE NEWS
1. “Economix Blog: Not Wanting Jobs” (New York Times Online [*requires registration], April 30, 2012); blog citing JESSE ROTHSTEIN; http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/30/not-wanting-jobs/
2. “Obama needs to take harder line on economy” (San Francisco Chronicle, April 29, 2012); op-ed by ROBERT REICH; http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/27/IN1N1O89OO.DTL#ixzz1tZ8teu7N
3. “The Blind Spot in Romney’s Economic Plan” (The New Republic, Web Edition, April 29, 2012); analysis citing JESSE ROTHSTEIN.
4. “One of Robert Reich’s Students Tricked Him into Answering an Exam Question during His Reddit Interview” (Business Insider, April 27, 2012); story citing ROBERT REICH; http://www.businessinsider.com/robert-reich-ask-me-anything-2012-4
5. “Reich to O’Reilly: Get over here and debate me” (San Francisco Chronicle, April 26, 2012); blog citing ROBERT REICH; http://blog.sfgate.com/nov05election/2012/04/26/reich-to-oreilly-get-over-here/?tsp=1
6. “Berkeley researchers find big benefits for students, taxpayers and state from funding of higher education” (The Berkeleyan, April 24, 2012); story citing HENRY BRADY; http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/04/24/berkeley-researchers-conclude-state-funding-of-higher-education-benefits-students-taxpayers-with-net-return-on-investment-of-450-per-cent/
7. “Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security Hearing; ‘Examining the Constitutionality and Prudence of State and Local Governments Enforcing Immigration Law’; Testimony by Todd Landfried, Executive Director, Arizona Employers for Immigration Reform, Phoenix, AZ” (Congressional Documents and Publications, April 24, 2012); congressional testimony citing STEVEN RAPHAEL.
8. “Robert Reich: ‘Beyond Outrage’” (Forum, KQED public radio, April 23, 2012); interview with ROBERT REICH; Listen to this program
9. “Tax fairness would increase growth” (San Francisco Chronicle, April 22, 2012); op-ed by ROBERT REICH; http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/20/INC61O4GSB.DTL#ixzz1stvAhxE3
10. “Robert Reich discusses his eBook Beyond Outrage with Jon Stewart” (The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Comedy Central, April 18, 2012); interview with ROBERT REICH; watch the interview
11. “UC Berkeley economists contribute to just-released ‘Occupy Handbook’” (The Berkeleyan, April 17, 2012); news release citing ROBERT REICH; http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/04/17/uc-berkeley-economists-contribute-to-just-released-occupy-handbook/
12. “Income inequality highlighted on Tax Day” (Christian Science Monitor, April 17, 2012); commentary by ROBERT REICH; http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Robert-Reich/2012/0417/Income-inequality-highlighted-on-Tax-Day
13. “2012 Goldman Environmental Prize winners” (San Francisco Chronicle, April 16, 2012); story citing RICHARD and RHODA GOLDMAN; http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/15/BA9D1NUSD9.DTL#ixzz1sE1nVdIA
14. “Gambling online and via investments” (San Francisco Chronicle, April 15, 2012); op-ed by ROBERT REICH; http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/13/INBG1O1908.DTL#ixzz1sEGTmmWu
15. “Robert Reich’s Blog: How does the uber-wealthy Romney pay so little in taxes?” (Christian Science Monitor Online, April 12, 2012); commentary by ROBERT REICH; http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Robert-Reich/2012/0412/How-does-the-uber-wealthy-Romney-pay-so-little-in-taxes
16. “Renewable Sources of Power Survive, but in a Patchwork” (New York Times & International Herald Tribune [*requires registration], April 11, 2012); story citing DAN KAMMEN; http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/11/business/energy-environment/renewable-energy-advances-in-the-us-despite-obstacles.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Berkeley&st=nyt
17. “A Cost Effective Solution to Building Stable Clean Energy Markets” (Huffington Post, April 11, 2012); blog citing study coauthored by DAN KAMMEN; http://www.huffingtonpost.com/araceli-ruano/la-feed-in-tariffs_b_1415473.html
18. “Let’s bring back the idea of a free UC education” (Los Angeles Times, April 11, 2012); column citing ROBERT REICH; http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hiltzik-20120411,0,901196.column
19. “
20. “
21. “Reich: The recession is over—if you’re rich” (San Francisco Chronicle, April 8, 2012); op-ed by ROBERT REICH; http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/06/IN721NU4S6.DTL#ixzz1ra7GEVrn
22. “Slower job gains stir doubts about recovery, Obama reelection bid” (Los Angeles Times, April 7, 2012); analysis citing HENRY BRADY; http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-jobs-20120407,0,5219613.story
23. “With nods to Occupy Wall Street, economic inequality teach-in generates light, not heat” (UC Berkeley NewsCenter, April 5, 2012); story citing ROBERT REICH; http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/04/05/economic-inequality-teach-in/
24. “Op-Ed: Social Darwinism is here to stay” (Christian Science Monitor, April 4, 2012); http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Robert-Reich/2012/0404/Social-Darwinism-is-here-to-stay
25. “Study:
26. “Reich: Political jujitsu to save health care law” (San Francisco Chronicle, April 1, 2012); op-ed by ROBERT REICH; http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/03/30/INC31NR4FO.DTL#ixzz1qvGrX4AQ
27. “Trading on Preconceptions; Why World War I Was Not a Failure of Economic Interdependence” (International Security, Spring 2012, Pg. 115); article citing HENRY BRADY.
1. “Fiscal cliff: What should Congress do?” (CNN Wire, April 30, 2012); analysis citing STAN COLLENDER (MPP 1976).
By Jeanne Sahadi – CNNMoney
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke didn’t mince words in warning Congress last week that the Fed won’t be able to undo the damage to the economy that would occur if lawmakers mismanage the so-called fiscal cliff.
That cliff amounts to $7 trillion worth of tax increases and spending cuts that will be triggered by year’s end....
The most potentially damaging options open to lawmakers are the most extreme and also least likely.
They could let all the scheduled tax hikes and spending cuts go into effect, snuffing out the economic growth expected for 2013.
Or they could cancel all
the tax increases and spending cuts, adding more than $5 trillion to the debt
over a decade and inviting more
What’s more likely, observers say, is that lawmakers will split the difference, temporarily extending the tax cuts and postponing some or all of the spending cuts.
Whether they can do so before Dec. 31, however, is not at all clear.
[Economist Pete]
Longtime budget expert Stan Collender would go a bit further. He’d like Congress to extend the tax cuts, delay the spending cuts and increase the debt ceiling long enough to get the country through Dec. 31, 2013. He’d also like lawmakers to pass a continuing resolution for all of fiscal 2013.
And ideally, Collender said, Congress would accomplish all this by July 31–or Oct. 1 at the latest–and then agree not to return to work until Jan. 3, 2013....
2. “Private Loans without Bankruptcy Option Are the Real Problem” (U.S. News Weekly, April 27, 2012); op-ed by AMY LAITINEN (MPP 2003).
By Amy Laitinen
The Obama administration and Congress should be applauded for trying to ease the debt burden on student loan borrowers. However, extending the 3.4 percent student loan interest rate will help those taking on new loans but do nothing to help those who are already drowning in student loan debt. If policymakers want to make a real difference, they should make it possible for financially distressed borrowers to discharge private student loan debt like other types of debt.
Private student loans are an oft-ignored part of the student debt problem, since they are often conflated with federal loans. But private students loans are almost always more expensive than and lack the protections of federal loans. Financing your education with private loans is not much different from financing it with credit cards—with one major, and absurd, difference. If you find your life ruined by a $100,000 credit card-supported gambling excursion to Vegas, you can declare bankruptcy, pick up the pieces, and move on. If you find your life ruined by $100,000 in private student loans that you took out to provide a better life for you and your family, you’re out of luck.
Dischargeable private student loan debt could also save students from predatory lenders.... If borrowers could declare bankruptcy, like they can with credit cards, lenders might reconsider giving loans to those who can’t afford to pay them back.
If student debt is such a problem that both the president and Congress are willing to agree to spend $6 billion to keep the federal subsidized Stafford loan interest rate at 3.4 percent for one additional year, they should also be willing to change the bankruptcy laws. Allowing private student loans to be discharged in bankruptcy could help the most desperate of borrowers. It wouldn’t be a fast, easy, or painless way out. But it would be a way out—something today’s borrowers just don’t have. It will cost the federal government nothing. And it could make a huge difference to those who need help the most.
3. “McClatchy Co.’s net loss widens in first quarter” (The Sacramento Bee, Apr. 26, 2012); story citing GARY PRUITT (MPP 1981/JD 1982); http://www.sacbee.com/2012/04/26/4443247/mcclatchy-cos-net-loss-widens.html
By Dale Kasler - The
The McClatchy Co. posted a $2.1 million
quarterly loss Wednesday, as revenue declines continued for the
Sacramento-based newspaper chain....
Revenue fell 5.1 percent from the prior year to $288.3 million. Advertising sales dropped 6.8 percent. That continues the pattern that has bedeviled many media companies the past six years, as they wrestle with a weak economy and heightened competition for ad dollars.
Advertising trends perked up as the quarter progressed, with revenue falling just 5.6 percent in March from a year earlier. The January drop had been 7.9 percent....
A bright spot was online advertising, which rose 2.7 percent and now makes up 22 percent of ad revenue. Digital-only ads – sales not bundled with print ads – jumped 14 percent.
“We were pleased to see strong results in our digital-only advertising,” said Gary Pruitt, chairman and chief executive, in a conference call with investment analysts.
The results were better than expected. Analysts projected a loss of 3 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters....
The quarterly earnings
announcement was Pruitt’s last with
McClatchy. He’s leaving next month to become CEO of the Associated Press in
“I’m looking forward to watching McClatchy grow and prosper,” he said....
4. “U.S. Department of Energy and the MIT Energy Initiative Announce a Women in Clean Energy Program for United States” (Targeted News Service, April 28, 2012); newswire citing DOROTHY ROBYN (MPP 1978/PhD 1983).
LONDON, April 26 -- At
the Third Clean Energy Ministerial in London today, the U.S. Department of
Energy announced a three-part plan to help implement the Clean Energy Education
and Empowerment initiative or “C3E”—a Ministerial program aimed at attracting
more women to clean energy careers and supporting their advancement into
leadership positions. This new program, pursued in partnership with the MIT
Energy Initiative, is designed to translate the goals of C3E into concrete,
meaningful action in the
“The Department of Energy is committed to advancing American leadership in the global clean energy economy and capturing the new markets and jobs of the 21st century. We will be more successful in these endeavors if we harness the talents of all of our citizens,” said Energy Secretary Steven Chu....
* AMBASSADORS: The Ambassadors will be a cohort of distinguished senior professionals who share an interest in broadening the recruitment, retention and advancement of highly qualified women in the field of clean energy and are committed to acting as champions for the goals of C3E. Ambassadors will also serve as the selection panel for the awards program outlined below.
The inaugural group of Ambassadors includes ... Dorothy Robyn, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Installations & Environment... among other eminent leaders in the field....
5. “
By Brian Maffly - The Salt
...
By working long hours,
[Dan] Smuin and many other
“A problem in
... For student
borrowers attending traditional four-year colleges or universities, average
debt is $25,250 for 2010 graduates, according to the Project on Student Debt’s most recent annual report.
“A moderate amount of federal student loans to enroll and complete in higher education can be a very good investment,” said the report’s author, Matthew Reed, a researcher with the Institute for College Access and Success. “You earn more and have lower unemployment, but you have to complete the degree to get most of that benefit.” ...
6. “High court hears
By Mark Sherman – Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The
Supreme Court will referee another major clash between the Obama administration
and the states, this one over
Civil rights groups that mounted legal challenges independent of the administration’s say the laws encourage racial profiling and ethnic stereotyping....
In some states, crops
rotted in fields for want of workers to pick them. In
7. “Verizon Auctions Spectrum—with Conditions; Carrier Also Faces Down Critics Claiming There’s No Bandwidth Crunch” (Multichannel News, Pg. 17 Vol. XXXIII, April 23, 2012); story citing DEREK TURNER (MPP 2006).
By Mike Farrell; Todd Spangler; John Eggerton
Verizon Wireless faced a firestorm of criticism last week after proposing to auction off a large swath of its wireless licenses, while at the same time clinging to the claim that the industry is in the thrall of a spectrum crunch.
The top
The auctions would only take place if two separate deals win approval from federal regulators—Verizon’s December agreement to purchase AWS spectrum licenses from SpectrumCo, the consortium of cable operators Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks, for $3.6billion, and its $315 million deal to buy additional AWS licenses from Cox Communications.
That condition spurred several public-interest groups to accuse Verizon of hoarding spectrum and using the auction as a carrot for the federal government to approve the cable deals.
“This sale demonstrates that Verizon has, in fact, warehoused spectrum, and the company will likely profit handsomely from this spectrum-speculation strategy,” Free Press research director Derek Turner said in a statement. “Verizon does not need cable’s spectrum.”...
8. “Working out at CrossFit Oakland” (New York Times [*requires registration], April 22, 2012); story cites CANDACE HAMILTON HESTER (MPP 2009/PhD cand.); http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/us/crossfit-oakland.html?_r=2
By Louise Rafkin – The Bay Citizen
Candace Hamilton Hester, a doctoral student, does handstand push-ups. (Adithya Sambamurthy/The Bay Citizen)
CrossFit
originated in 2000 in a tiny
In 2004, Mike Minium, then 32, left a corporate technology job and opened
the first
... Candace Hamilton Hester, 30, a
doctoral candidate at the
9. “California clean-tech industry a VC darling” (San Francisco Chronicle, April 19, 2012); story citing DOUG HENTON (MPP 1975) and report co-prepared with JESSE OETTINGER (MPP 2011); http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/18/BUS51O57OE.DTL#ixzz1sVE0TLwd
--David R. Baker
Despite Solyndra’s spectacular collapse, a report issued Tuesday
suggests that
The annual California
Green Innovation Index from public policy group Next 10 tracks the green
economy’s health, pulling together data on employment, patents and the rising
use of renewable power. It tries to show real-world benefits of the state’s
global warming policies, which have helped make
The state’s green companies did not survive the downturn unscathed....
... But index author Doug Henton
said the more recent data on investments and patents show
“Even though we got hit horribly by the Great Recession, our numbers came through pretty well,” said Henton, with the Collaborative Economics consulting firm. “It’s all about resilience.” ...
...[I]n 2011, California
solar companies still brought in $1.2 billion in venture capital, 62 percent of
all the venture capital spent on solar worldwide. Solar employment in
“Solyndra’s gotten all the attention,” Henton said. “People look at that and say, ‘Boy, the solar industry has just gone away.’ And what we’re doing here is saying, ‘Look at the facts.’ “
10. “Study: Foreclosures
take toll on kids; 10% forced to move or are at risk, hurting health, learning”
(
By Julie Schmit,
A foreclosed home in
One in 10
Five years into the foreclosure crisis, an estimated 2.3 million children have lived in homes lost to foreclosure, according to a report from First Focus, a Washington, D.C-based bipartisan advocacy group focused on families.
Another 3 million children live in homes at risk of foreclosure because home loans are in the foreclosure process or are seriously delinquent. And 3 million children lived or live in rental homes lost to foreclosure or at risk, the report says.
“Children are the often
invisible victims of the foreclosure crisis,” said report author Julia Isaacs. She did the study while at the Brookings Institution and is now a senior fellow at the Urban Institute’s
Labor, Human Services and
Isaacs analyzed foreclosure and U.S. Census Bureau data to estimate the number of children affected. The report is the second released by First Focus on the crisis’ impact on children, and the organization says it’s the first to estimate the number of children affected who live in rental properties....
For every forced move that occurs during a school year, a child’s math and reading scores drop as much as if they’d missed a month of school, Isaacs says, based on a synthesis of 16 studies.
Isaacs warns that the number of affected children could be even larger....
11. “How two state tax
systems have (and haven’t) shaped metro
By Josh Goodman, Stateline Staff Writer
VANCOUVER, Washington - ...
The tax disparity also
reflects—and magnifies—the differences between the two sides of the
“There is some
self-selection within the Metro area,” economist
Joe Cortright says. “The beer, bikes and
Birkenstocks people gravitate to the Oregon side of the river and the City of
Portland and the conservative, Tea Party, anti-government folks say screw
it—and, particularly, anti-tax folks. If you’re an anti-tax person, you
definitely want to be in
Joe Cortright, a Portland-based economist who
specializes in studying metropolitan regions, estimates that state and
local sales tax revenue from
Despite all that, Cortright counts himself among the camp that thinks the tax disparity has relatively limited effects....
12. “Benefit of electric cars found to vary by location” (San Francisco Chronicle, April 17, 2012); story citing ROLAND HWANG (MPP 1992); http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/16/BU5L1O44PP.DTL#ixzz1sJae9sQh
--David R. Baker
Electric cars are only as green as the power plants that fuel them.
As a result, they are
far greener in some parts of the country than in others, according to a report
issued Monday by the
... In addition to the vehicles’ environmental benefits, the authors examine how much money drivers can save each year by ditching the gas pump and plugging in instead.
Again, location makes all the difference.
In
In many cases, those savings would not make up for the higher sticker price that buyers currently pay for electric cars....
Electric car advocates, however, compare paying the higher up-front cost to buying an insurance policy. Although electricity rates are likely to rise over time, gasoline prices will probably climb more, they say. Meanwhile, the cost of electric cars will fall as production ramps up.
“That’s the value proposition—you’re guaranteed low-cost fuel for the life of the car,” said Roland Hwang, transportation program director for the Natural Resources Defense Council. “You’re protected from the volatility of gas prices.”....
13. “Councilman Pops Question to His Longtime Girlfriend” (San Jose Mercury News, April 17, 2012); column citing JESSICA GARCIA-KOHL (MPP/MPH 2005).
By Sal Pizarro, Mercury News
San Jose City Councilman Sam Liccardo hasn’t yet committed to running for mayor in 2014, but he’s made another important commitment: He’s getting married.
Liccardo popped the question to longtime girlfriend Jessica Garcia-Kohl a few weeks ago during a wine-country trip to celebrate her birthday and the couple’s fifth anniversary together.
The pair met when Liccardo hired Garcia-Kohl as his chief of staff after he was elected to represent the downtown district in 2006. When Liccardo decided he wanted to pursue a romantic relationship with her, he informed the city. Garcia-Kohl moved over to the office of Mayor Chuck Reed for a time. She just took a new job as Bay Area director of community relations for Rocketship Education....
14. “S.F. hospital deal could raise health care costs” (San Francisco Chronicle, April 16, 2012); story citing CARMEN CHU (MPP 2003); http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/16/MNBD1O2HOB.DTL&ao=all
--John Coté
Labor and health care union members rally in support of the hospital pact earlier this month. (Beck Diefenbach / Special to The Chronicle)
There is growing concern
among some city leaders that a controversial deal Mayor Ed Lee has struck with
While the mayor has lauded the complex, 229-page agreement as a jobs generator that will bring the city’s hospital network into the 21st century, the deal has raised concerns about how much of the $2.5 billion construction project will be passed on to consumers....
Because the medical center provides health care for some city workers and retirees, the fear is that taxpayers could foot the bill for increased health care premiums for those workers in the form of taxes and fees paid by residents, businesses and visitors. Overall, it’s unclear how much of the construction costs may be passed on in rate increases, although the city’s deal with the center includes a cap on rates it charges to Blue Shield for city coverage.
Kathryn Graham, a medical center spokeswoman, said that rate structure guarantees construction costs will not be passed to the city and its employees “in a disproportionate fashion.”
“We are not asking for a public subsidy,” Graham said. Ken Rich who helped negotiate the deal for the mayor, said that the construction costs will be borne by rate payers to some extent and that the city is “willing to pay for our fair share.”
The cap is designed to do that and represents the maximum the city would pay, he said. Annual negotiations on city health care rates could lower prices below the cap.....
Supervisor Carmen Chu said that overall the deal has “a lot of positive features in it,” but she added that there are details that need to be studied....
15. “O’Brien: Does
By Chris O’Brien – Mercury News Columnist
One of
And just like that, the digerati took to their blogs and social networks to lament, once again, that the city had demonstrated its hostility to tech and startups....
Hostile?
It’s a label that has dogged
But when it comes to
startups and tech, it’s dead wrong, and here’s the
proof: Startups in
“They’re doing very,
very well in attracting venture and early-stage funding,” said Doug Henton,
chairman and CEO of Collaborative Economics. “There are a lot of things
working in favor of these startup companies moving to
The danger here is that
as tech’s political clout grows, the push to cut taxes
and other regulations will go too far, in an attempt to mimic lower-tax locales
like
While
“While we have very
successful companies in
16. “Bad choices make
bad law” (The Advocate (
When it comes to assessing success or failure of the 2009 economic stimulus—mostly tax cuts, but significant spending—the debate breaks down over mostly party lines.
That’s the “failed” stimulus, if you ask the Louisiana Republicans who voted against it. But that’s an argument based on the White House’s own inflated expectations of how unemployment would be held at 8 percent or so, which turned out to be an unrealistic number....
Obama boosters such as the Center for American Progress argue that the economy’s leading indicators gradually began to improve once the stimulus bill was passed.
“By early 2009 the economy was headed off the cliff. But all of sudden, just after we enacted the stimulus, the country swerved away from the edge and started heading back in the right direction,” said Michael Linden of the liberal think-tank. “Perhaps it was just pure coincidence that the turnaround happened to occur at almost precisely the same moment the stimulus got started. Or, perhaps, the stimulus worked.”
In
17. “
By Marc Lifsher,
The goal of the latest effort to overhaul
SACRAMENTO — The two biggest players in California’s workers’ compensation system — labor unions and large employers — are quietly crafting the biggest overhaul of the mandatory insurance program in a decade.
The goal: provide more care to injured workers without raising premiums for businesses.
The negotiations are
focused on squeezing waste from
Average compensation
paid to
18. “What’s Your Walk Score?; The company that puts a number on walkability” (Slate Magazine, April 12, 2012); story citing JOE CORTRIGHT (MPP 1980).
By Tom Vanderbilt
... Launched in 2007 as part of a series of “civic software” initiatives, Walk Score instantly went viral, and quickly become an institution, particularly in the world of real estate. Walk Score numbers are found on every Zillow listing and on more than 10,000 realtor websites nationwide. Some agencies even allow customers to search for properties by Walk Score....
The nexus of walkability and real estate value is one place where researchers have turned to Walk Score. One study, conducted by economist Joe Cortright for CEOS for Cities, found, “after controlling for all of these other factors that are known to influence housing value,” that one point on Walk Score was worth anywhere from $500 to $3000 for a house’s value....
19. “California Faces Lawsuit over Suspension of RPS Biomethane Credit” (EnergyWashington Week, Vol. 9 No. 15, April 11, 2012); story citing LAURA WISLAND (MPP 2008).
CEC suspended the credit to fully evaluate the RPS eligibility of the fuel as a result of the new clean-energy law signed last year. The law establishes “a preference for electricity generation that provides more environmental benefits to the state by displacing in-state fossil fuel consumption, reducing air pollution within the state, and helping the state meet its climate change goals by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) associated with electrical generation,” according to CEC staff....
But environmentalists
said during the meeting they support the suspension, mainly because
Laura Wisland, a senior energy analyst for
the Union of Concerned Scientists, pointed out during the meeting that
there is no standardized system for tracking out-of-state biomethane
to ensure that the fuel is delivered to
By suspending the RPS credit for biomethane and allowing staff and the state legislature a chance to sort through multiple issues and provide more clarity to the rules, CEC is actually helping reduce uncertainty in the industry, Wisland argued....
20. “CalSTRS investments gain, but pension gap widens” (The Sacramento Bee, Apr. 11, 2012); story citing ED DERMAN (MPP 1978); http://www.sacbee.com/2012/04/11/4404866/calstrs-investments-gain-but-pension.html#storylink=cpy
By Jon Ortiz
... Although the California State Teachers’ Retirement System earned about 22 percent on its money for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2011, its unfunded liabilities rose $8.5 billion to $64.5 billion.
Despite the strong returns, CalSTRS Deputy CEO Ed Derman said during a Tuesday conference call that the fund still needs a cash infusion to fulfill pension promises to its members long-term.
“We can’t reasonably expect to invest our way out of it,” Derman said, estimating the fund would need to rattle off three decades of 10 percent annual returns to climb out of the hole through investments alone....
Unlike its cousin fund, CalPERS, the teachers’ pension system can’t impose higher contributions on taxpayers or employers without legislative approval. Without an infusion of cash, the fund will run out of money in 35 years, according to the report....
CalSTRS has been asking the Legislature for a rate increase. Lawmakers are debating Gov. Jerry Brown’s 12-point plan to rein in state and local public pension costs, but the proposal doesn’t address CalSTRS.
“We’ve made it very clear that this is the biggest issue CalSTRS is dealing with,” Derman said, although he doesn’t expect lawmakers to come up with a funding plan until the 2012-13 legislative session....
21. “CMS, AHRQ and The Brookings Institution to Address 11th Medicare Policy Summit” (PR Newswire, April 11, 2012); event featuring JULIETTE CUBANSKI (MPP 1998/MPH 1999).
OPENING ADDRESS: Medicare Reform—Current Status and Future Outlook—Juliette Cubanski Ph.D., Associate Director, Program on Medicare Policy, Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation....
22. “Borrowing From Schools Adds Up; California’s practice of deferring money is costly to districts” (U-T San Diego, April 10, 2012); story citing EDGAR CABRAL (MPP 1998).
By Michael Gardner, U-T
The problem is the state then immediately taps districts for yet another loan, perpetuating a borrowing cycle that persists today.
The cumulative
outstanding debt: $9.4 billion to K-12 schools statewide and $600 million to
It would be easy to conclude that persistent school budget woes, including teacher layoffs and program cuts, could be minimized if the state would stop this temporary pilfering....
The
Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed tax hike initiative for the November ballot could provide some relief because it proposes to pay down some of the debt, school officials say.
“It doesn’t mean the districts will necessarily get to go out and hire new teachers and build a new program,” explained Edgar Cabral, education specialist for the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office. “It just means they don’t need to use their credit card to operate the same programs they were running before.” ...
23. “Spinning polls on Obama’s Jewish support” (Jerusalem Post, April 10, 2012); op-ed by MITCHELL BARD (MPP 1983/PhD 1987).
By Mitchell Bard
Anyone who believes the
hype over the recent survey by the Public Religion Research Institute
suggesting that Jews don’t consider
If you ask people who
attend synagogues, who have traveled to
It was also no
revelation to hear the poll found that 62% of Jews would vote for Obama. This
is an improvement from the 54% in the Gallup Poll in September 2011, which may
reflect that Jews feel better about his new approach to
The survey spinners also failed to consider historical perspective. Obama’s current support is the lowest percentage for any Democrat since Jimmy Carter. The average Jewish vote for a Democrat is 71%, so his support is significantly below average. In fact, the last two Democrats to receive less than 70% of the Jewish vote—Dukakis and Mondale—both lost.
The writer is a foreign policy analyst. His latest books are The Arab Lobby: The
Invisible Alliance That Undermines America’s Interests in the Middle East
and
24. “Regulation in an
Election Year, Theme of ABA Conference in
Program topics include: ...
“Future of US/Canada Energy Supply Relationship”—Panelists—including Kristine Delkus, vice president, law, TransCanada PipeLines Limited, and R. Skip Horvath, president, Natural Gas Supply Association—will discuss the impact of the Keystone Pipeline project on the U.S.-Canada energy supply relationship. 10:30 a.m. - Noon ....
25. “Supes’ campaign finance revision smells fishy” (San Francisco Chronicle, April 7, 2012); column citing DAVID LATTERMAN (MPP 2002); http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/06/BATK1O019V.DTL#ixzz1raF2Vuu2
--C.W. Nevius
Faced with concerns about how public campaign financing works, the Board of Supervisors recently made changes that were thoughtful, evenhanded and logical.
Almost.
While most of the revisions address specific problems—like “zombie” candidates who can’t afford to drop out of the race—one doesn’t pass the smell test.
The supes voted to increase the amount of matching public funds from $89,000 to $155,000 for nonincumbents and $153,000 for those running for re-election. Supervisor Sean Elsbernd, always a bit of a fiscal gadfly, sees a potential conflict of interest. Five of the eight supervisors who voted in favor of the raise are running for re-election in November....
With Supervisors John Avalos, David Chiu, Christina Olague, David Campos and Eric Mar running, and some like Mar facing a stiff challenge, taking money out of the general fund and handing it to a campaign doesn’t look good. Remember, this is for all candidates who qualify, meaning it could run to hundreds of thousands of dollars....
“It is worth noting the irony of progressives, who adamantly support social services, taking money from them and handing it to their campaign,” said political analyst David Latterman....
26. “County Part of Care Coordination Project” (U-T San Diego, April 7, 2012); story citing TOBY DOUGLAS (MPP 2001/MPH 2002).
“The goal is to design a seamless system that helps dual-eligible beneficiaries get the health care services they need and improve health outcomes in a more fiscally efficient manner,” said DHCS director Toby Douglas .
There are about 1.1
million people in
The proposed project
would enroll a portion of
27. “Federal Budget Deficit Totals $780 Billion in the First Half of 2012” (States News Service, April 6, 2012); newswire citing JOSHUA SHAKIN (MPP 2008).
WASHINGTON -- The federal government incurred a budget deficit of almost $780 billion in the first half of fiscal year 2012, CBO estimates in its latest Monthly Budget Review—$53 billion less than the shortfall during the same period last year....
Higher Corporate Tax Receipts Explain Much of the 4.5 Percent Increase in Revenues
Receipts for the first five months of fiscal year 2012 totaled $1.07 trillion-$46 billion (or 4.5 percent) more than the amount for the same span last year, CBO estimates. Almost two-thirds of the gain stemmed from a $29 billion (or 53 percent) increase in net receipts from corporate income taxes, the result of higher payments (which were up by $11 billion, or 11 percent) and lower refunds (which were down by $18 billion, or 42 percent).
Total receipts from individual income taxes were up by only $10 billion (or about 2 percent) because of two opposing factors. Withheld and nonwithheld individual income taxes rose by $15 billion and $7 billion, respectively, in the first half of fiscal year 2012, reflecting the strengthening of both wage and nonwage incomes. But refunds increased by about $11 billion, partly as a result of accelerated processing and reporting procedures.
Social insurance receipts for the first six months grew by $5 billion, mostly because collections of unemployment taxes rose by $4 billion (as states replenished their trust funds, which were depleted in the recent recession). Withheld payroll taxes grew by only $1 billion, in part because the 2 percentage-point reduction in the Social Security payroll tax that took effect on January 1, 2011, was not in effect during the first three months of fiscal year 2011 (October to December 2010)....
The Monthly Budget Review presents CBO’s estimates based on the Daily Treasury Statements issued by the Treasury Department. It was prepared by Elizabeth Cove Delisle, Barbara Edwards, Daniel Hoople, David Rafferty, and Joshua Shakin.
28. “
By Alan Gomez
The proposed changes in
Karen Tumlin, managing attorney of the
National Immigration Law Center, which has joined other civil rights groups
and the Justice Department in lawsuits against state immigration laws, said it
was the first time she’d seen such a provision proposed by any state. She
expected the proposed changes in
“There’s no desire to get in line with what other courts have said, in terms of the legality of this provision,” Tumlin said. “Instead, they very stridently decided to expand that provision. We don’t view this as a softening—this is an expansion.” ...
29. “Forum Will Open
Dialogue on Economy” (Sun Sentinel (
By Nicholas Rémillard
On April 16 and 17, ... [g]lobal economic and political thought leaders will gather at the International Economic Forum of the Americas’ Palm Beach Strategic Forum to discuss this year’s theme, “Competing in a World of Emerged Economies.” ...
The aim of this year’s
event is to focus on corporate strategies for success, in particular, how
companies of various sizes effectively compete for international markets; how
innovative partnerships between government and the private sector can be formed
to address new challenges; and how developments in international trade and
energy policy affect the global role of the
The roster of speakers for the event includes Shaukat Aziz, former Prime Minister of Pakistan; Ron Prosor, Israel’s ambassador to the UN; Douglas Duncan, vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae and Mickey Levy , chief economist at Bank of America....
30. “Letters to the Editor: Do Those Liberal Professors Make Much of an Impact?” (Wall Street Journal [*requires registration], April 5, 2012); Letter to Editor citing GOLDMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY; http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304023504577322092467714890.html?KEYWORDS=Berkeley
Re: “How
... Finally, as for the
“decline in the quality of education” that Mr. Berkowitz asserts has
accompanied this “profound transformation of the college curriculum,” we might
look at a pair of rankings just released. In the U.S. News rankings of the best
American graduate schools,
Gerald Lubenow [of
31. “Airbnb, other sites owe city hotel tax, S.F. says” (San Francisco Chronicle, April 4, 2012); story citing GREG KATO (MPP 2006); http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/03/BA621NUAMI.DTL#ixzz1r5XQ6w8u
--John Coté
Airbnb, the San Francisco online home rental service, and companies like it are responsible for paying the city’s hotel tax, San Francisco’s treasurer ruled Tuesday, a decision that seems certain to ripple through Mayor Ed Lee’s efforts to promote a technology-led “sharing economy.”
Airbnb and influential tech investors who contributed heavily to support Lee’s election in November had opposed the decision by Treasurer Jose Cisneros as a ham-fisted measure that would smother a burgeoning “collaborative consumption” economy where people use social media to rent out spare rooms, find dog-sitters and share cars....
Supporters of the treasurer’s move say it’s a simple matter of fairness, with tourists picking up a portion of the tab for the police, transit and street cleaning they enjoy while visiting....
The treasurer’s office said its regulation issued Tuesday was simply a clarification of the law, which requires anyone who rents out a guest room to pay the city’s roughly 15 percent transient occupancy tax—commonly referred to as the hotel tax. The tax is 14 percent, plus a 1 or 1.5 percent fee for improving tourism districts. There is an exception for rooms that are less than $30 a day or $100 per week.
“We’re not changing the law,” said Greg Kato, policy and legislative manager for the treasurer and tax collector. “We’re simply explaining existing law.”
The mayor’s office, though, had urged the treasurer to hold off issuing the regulation while Lee and other lawmakers work with tech industry representatives to craft plans to foster economic growth, including updated laws.
Cisneros’ office is part of that working group, and Kato said the new regulation would help, not hinder, those efforts.
“We think what will be helpful ... is to have a clear understanding of what the existing law says,” Kato said....
32. “Ross Mirkarimi case to test S.F. Ethics Commission” (San Francisco Chronicle, April 2, 2012); story citing DAVID LATTERMAN (MPP 2002); http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/01/MN7L1NQVG1.DTL#ixzz1qv9KPC1c
--Heather Knight, John Coté
The San Francisco Ethics Commission will soon face its biggest test: recommending whether suspended Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi should be permanently removed from office for official misconduct.
Former ethics commissioners say the panel is more than capable of rendering a fair decision, but critics say that if its past work is any indication, observers shouldn’t expect a very inspiring performance.
The five-member commission is perceived by some as notoriously slow, and it has never recommended the removal of anyone from office for official misconduct. Some critics also have accused the commission of watering down or ignoring rules governing campaign finance, lobbyists and public disclosure of documents, while others say it has lacked the courage to make hard decisions.
“I wouldn’t even call
them a paper tiger,” said David Latterman, a political consultant and public policy
lecturer at the
33. “State Rep. Chris
Taylor: Progressive Pertl
will be strong voice on
Dear Editor: Jeff Pertl is
the right candidate to represent our community on the
Not only is Jeff a strong progressive, he has a proven track record of effective advocacy and getting results on the issues we value. When he was at United Council, he helped increase financial aid for UW students. When he worked in the state Senate, he helped expand tax credit programs for working families. Now, at the Department of Public Instruction, he has pushed for fair funding for our schools so that no child or district is shortchanged.
As the rights of women, workers and children are under assault by right-wing extremists, we need Jeff’s leadership now more than ever, and he is the candidate who shares our values on these defining issues. I worked with Jeff when he was an aide in the state Senate and I was the public policy director for Planned Parenthood. Jeff’s persistence and strategic good sense helped secure critical cervical cancer detection funding for low-income women. I have seen Jeff stand up for women’s rights for years, fighting to ensure they receive not only the respect but the critical health care they deserve.
Jeff Pertl will be a strong voice for our
neighborhood and our values in county government. I ask that you join me, AFSCME,
the Dane County Democratic Party, and leaders like County Executive Joe Parisi and Sen. Mark Miller in supporting Jeff Pertl
for
--State Rep. Chris
Taylor,
34. “GOP primary doesn’t
hamper progressives’
By Jessica Vanegeren
... Dane County Board
Chair Scott McDonell said he did have some fear
before Tuesday that progressives could be headed into a “big headwind” with
presidential hopefuls Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum spending money on TV ads to
turn out the Republican vote in
But that fear proved
unfounded, as progressives in the non-partisan
The dip below 10 conservative members is key, as it breaks apart what [Dane County Executive Joe] Parisi referred to as the “tea party 10.”...
Three others—Jack Martz of Fitchburg, Don Imhoff of Madison’s east side and Mike Willett of Verona—lost their seats to political newcomers Jenni Dye, Jeff Pertl and Erika Hotchkiss, respectively....
Progressives cited the political turmoil stemming from a year of Republican rule at the Capitol as a key factor in the loss of conservative seats.
Those who won, including Dye and Pertl, described the party base as “energized,” leading to thousands of volunteers who were willing to knock on doors to get their candidates’ messages out....
Pertl says his campaign knocked on 8,000.
“People want to elect someone who is engaged, someone who listens to them,” Pertl says. “And I don’t know if that was the case before Act 10 (the bill that stripped collective bargaining rights from most public workers).” ...
35. “Students hurt by cuts to AP fee waivers; Low-income test takers scramble to pay or opt to skip the exam because of a reduction in aid” (Los Angeles Times, April 1, 2012); story citing JOE RADDING (MPP 1982).
By Stephen Ceasar
Because of a federal budget cut, tens of thousands of low-income high school students will face steeper price tags for their Advanced Placement exams this May—forcing many to scramble to meet costs and others to forgo exams that could save thousands in college tuition....
In December, Congress slashed funding from $43 million to $29 million for the federal Advanced Placement programs that fund fee waivers for low-income students.
Such students now must pay $15 for each of their first three exams and $53 for each subsequent one. College credits typically are given for passing exam grades—an important jump-start for many.
The regular fee is $87 per exam....
In
But at schools like El Rancho that do not receive those state funds, low-income students must foot the entire bill....
Joe Radding, administrator of California’s exam fee reimbursement program, said states have made clear to Congress the importance of this funding, but lawmakers simply did not appropriate enough to help all of the students in need. The cuts deny a vulnerable population of students access to rigorous testing that prepares them for college and potentially awards them college credits, he said.
“We can’t impose on these students the burden of offsetting the federal government’s failure to provide adequate funding,” he said....
36. “So many farms, so few people - Boots on ground needed to address watershed issues” (St. Albans Messenger (VT), March 31, 2012); story citing KARI DOLAN (MPP 1990).
By Michelle Monroe; Messenger Staff Writer
ENOSBURGH - Members of the Missisquoi River Basin Association and its staff now know which areas of the watershed contribute most heavily to pollution of the rivers and lake.
Thursday night they met with representatives of the Agency of Natural Resources and discussed how to make the best use of that information.
Kari Dolan of the Ecosystem Restoration Program presented a study
from Stone Environmental showing which areas of the Missisquoi
basin are the largest sources of phosphorous and other nutrients found in the
Just 20 percent of the land contributes 74 percent of the phosphorous found in the bay. Ten percent of the land alone contributes 57 percent.
The study, which drew on
multiple sources and types of data to create a computer model of the Missisquoi watershed, can identify down to the subfield
level where nutrients entering the rivers, and ultimately
The question now becomes how to use that data.
“We’ve got to find a way to get to these landowners with these critical areas,” said Paul Stanley, an MRBA member and an agriculture consultant....
“We may need a different set of strategies,” suggested Dolan, adding that outreach should come not just from government agencies, but from other farmers and from groups like MRBA.
One of the uses of the study data, which drew on detailed contour maps of the land, is to hopefully help farmers identify which fields can be used for corn with a minimum impact on water quality, suggested Dolan.
She also made a suggestion that land conservation, such as the sale of development rights, be tied to use of best management practices to preserve water quality....
37. “Gas Groups Generally Support FERC Updates to Business Practice Standards for Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines” (Foster Natural Gas/Oil Report, March 30, 2012); story citing SKIP HORVATH (MPP 1976).
... [2] In FERC’s generic proceeding (AD12-12), on Friday, March 30, the Natural Gas Supply Association (NGSA) filed comments calling on the Commission to take a comprehensive approach to examining natural gas-electric coordination in its evaluation of the implications of the power sector’s growing reliance on natural gas. “Because many of the issues surrounding natural gas-electric coordination overlap and impact one another, it’s important for FERC to avoid taking a piecemeal approach to seeking solutions,” said R. Skip Horvath, president and CEO of NGSA. “This inquiry presents a tremendous opportunity for the Commission to establish a productive dialogue and negotiation between the two industries.” According to NGSA, FERC should be guided by several principles in its natural gas-electric coordination review: the evaluation should be comprehensive, create an environment conducive to dialogue and negotiation, clearly identify and prioritize concerns, and set a national framework and objectives that allow for regional flexibility. FERC should take the lead over other bodies in setting policy. Horvath said, “Under the Commission’s auspices, both industries will have a seat at the table and can work together to identify mutually agreeable approaches to firm and interruptible contracts, scheduling, reliability and other coordination issues.” There are various “buckets” of issues to address under the umbrella of gas-electric integration, such as differences between gas and electric day scheduling, the operational and cost impacts of generation on existing pipeline shippers, gas and power communications, as well as electric reliability concerns associated with pipeline contracting practices and power market rate structures, NGSA said. However these “buckets” must be looked at on an integrated basis given that a decision in one area may directly impact and influence other policy decisions, according to the association. For example, Horvath said, “We must keep an open mind as we seek solutions by examining current cost and service structures in both the natural gas and power sectors. Electric utilities want to look out the window and see the gas counterpart of a ‘coal pile,’ assuring them that natural gas will be there. A firm contract for natural gas transportation is the equivalent of the coal pile. Unfortunately, existing power market rules do not send the kind of price signals needed to secure firm pipeline services.” FERC can lead an exploration of electricity pricing that would ensure true market signals for gas-fired generators and utilities to secure sufficient transportation and storage to meet reliability needs, while maintaining service to existing customers. He said, “It is also worthwhile for FERC to lead a productive industry dialogue about pipeline and storage services designed to meet the needs and usage patterns of the power sector.” ...
38. “Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) Joins Research Initiative on Impact Investing” (States News Service March 28, 2012); newswire citing BETH SIRULL (MPP 2005).
Omidyar Network will invest $350,000 in the project, joining The Annie E. Casey Foundation and RS Group (Hong Kong) as a foundational underwriter of the effort to understand the shared practices that characterize the most successful investment funds delivering financial and social returns concurrently...
“Impact investing is growing rapidly and holds tremendous potential to transform mainstream investing practice. Investors are increasingly aware that many of our most intractable social and environmental challenges are likely to directly affect financial performance over the long-term,” noted Beth Sirull, executive director of Pacific Community Ventures. “This project will enable investors to better identify and evaluate investment opportunities that are earning a financial return even as they pro-actively address issues like climate change, demographic shifts and entrenched disadvantage and underemployment.” ...
39. “EPA’s greenhouse gas limits affect only new power plants” (The Washington Post, March 28, 2012); story citing NED HELME (MPP 1971).
By Juliet Eilperin
WASHINGTON— The Environmental Protection Agency issued the first-ever limits on greenhouse gas emissions from new power plants Tuesday, but stopped short of imposing any restrictions on the nation’s existing coal-fired fleet.
The move sparked protests from Republicans and coal industry officials, but administration officials and most energy analysts said it would have only a modest impact because low natural gas prices are already prompting utilities to build natural gas plants instead.
The rule, which is now
open for public comment for 60 days, will require any new power plant to emit
no more than 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per megawatt hour of electricity
produced. The average
[EPA
Administrator Lisa P.]
“The message here is it’s not costing jobs; the market has already shifted,” said Ned Helme, president of the Center for Clean Air Policy, noting that gas plants employ the same number of workers but emit about half the carbon of coal plants....
40. “Blumenauer Named a USA Wind Jobs Champion” (Targeted News Service, March 28, 2012); newswire citing ROB GRAMLICH (MPP 1995).
“I’m proud to champion
an industry like wind energy that creates family-wage jobs, clean energy, and
has interests from energy executives to ranchers to environmentalists pulling
in the same direction,” said Congressman Blumenauer. “The advocacy of the
American Wind Energy Association and work of Iberdrola
and others in
In
“I want to thank
Congressman Blumenauer for his strong support of American jobs and private
investment in one of
41. “
By Tony Bizjak
By 7-2 vote, the City Council on Tuesday night approved a request from the city Utilities Department to impose three years of double-digit percentage rate hikes that will raise the average household’s monthly tab from $49 to $68 by 2014.
Several council members and staff officials acknowledged the city had been remiss in years past for not keeping up with maintenance and upgrades....
Others lamented the burden increased rates will place on struggling homeowners, and the debt weight on the city.
But Steve Archibald, head of the city’s Utilities Rate Advisory Commission, which recommended the increases, called the hikes necessary.
“The city must stop kicking the infrastructure can down the road.” ...
The city’s Utilities Rate Advisory Commission also recommended setting up a rate payment assistance program for low-income residents.
42. “Child First Crusader Running for Oakland City Council” (The Bay Citizen, March 26, 2012); blog citing AMY LEMLEY (MPP 1998) and DEANNE PEARN (MPP 1998); http://www.baycitizen.org/blogs/citizen/child-first-crusader-running-oakland/
By Daniel Heimpel
Political leadership requires leaders who stare down complicated problems and find creative solutions—a skill that Amy Lemley, who just announced that she is running for Oakland City Council, developed in a career-long crusade for children and youth.
In the past few years, the notion that foster youth should not be cast out of the system at the age of 18 has become commonplace. In fact it is no longer a mere notion, there is now state law, which extends foster care past age 18.
But let’s go back to
2002. Lemley
had built Oakland-based
There already existed a
program for transition-aged foster youth called THP-Plus. The state would put
up 40 percent of the cost for counties that offered housing and other services
for youth past age 18. But, the 60 percent that the counties needed to cough up
kept the program tiny. So Lemley came up with an ambitious idea. She would raise the
60 percent match and give it to
She pulled it off, and
then did the same in
43. “Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones Names COIN Advisory Board Members” (States News Service March 22, 2012); newswire citing BETH SIRULL (MPP 2005).
The California Organized
Investment Network (COIN) guides insurer capital into socially responsible,
environmentally sustainable and community financial investments. COIN’s team of investment officers lead
two funds unlike any other in the nation: the Qualified Investment Platform and
the CDFI Tax Credit program. COIN’s Qualified
Investment Platform screens investment deals across asset classes for their
risk, rates of return and provision of tangible benefits to
“The COIN program has proven to be a highly successful effort in providing funding for important projects in underserved communities throughout the state, and I am confident our new board members are up to the task of furthering the success of this initiative,” said Commissioner Jones. “Without question, their work on the COIN Advisory Board will be especially important given these difficult economic times.”
The following individuals were appointed to the COIN Advisory Board: ...
Beth Sirull became the Executive Director of
Pacific Community Ventures in 2009. In the past several years, her work has
focused increasingly on corporate social responsibility and socially
responsible investing. Ms. Sirull was voted by Forbes Magazine as one of the top
30 Social Entrepreneurs in
44. “Education,
regulatory reform voted as Inland Empire business priorities” (
By Andrew Edwards
But what may be different this time around is that Wednesday’s meeting was planned as part of a rare, if not unprecedented, bid to reform economic policies statewide.
Wednesday’s gathering,
which took place at
Doug Henton, who helped facilitate Wednesday’s event and is CEO of San Mateo-based Collaborative Economics, said he thinks the statewide summit could actually be the beginning of an improvement in the state’s business policies.
“We’re looking at maybe three or four major reforms that could come out of it,” he said after Wednesday’s event wrapped.
Those reforms, Henton said, could be along the lines of an infrastructure bank, closer alignment between community colleges and workforce investment boards to align classes with employers’ needs and some set of amendments to the California Environmental Quality Act to reduce the kind of litigation that can postpone construction.
“If you look at CEQA, you’ve got to get the business community and environmental community and the labor community to understand it’s not about destroying the environment, it’s about ending delays,” Henton said....
45. “New
By Paula King – Contra Costa Times
Earlier this month, the
future
The current temporary
space is on a month-to-month lease agreement with the city of
“Their (LMC) presence in
46. “Report Says US State Fiscal Policies Offer Fed Gov Lessons” (The Main Wire, Market News International, March 14, 2012); story citing TRACY GORDON (MPP 1996/PhD 2001).
By John Shaw
Almost inevitably, when lawmakers debate about what fiscal policies are needed by the federal government to deal with large budget deficits and growing debt, the example of state governments is cited....
A new report by Tracy Gordon, a fellow at the Brookings Institution, examines the fiscal record of state governments during the recent recession and considers how their actions might be relevant to the federal government.
Gordon notes that while most state governments have balanced budget requirements, these are often less than iron-clad....
Gordon argues state governments were hammered by plunging revenues and soaring expenditures in this past recession and that total cumulative shortfalls from the 2009 to 2013 fiscal years are estimated at more than $500 billion....
Gordon argues that balanced budget requirements, tax and expenditure limits, and debt restrictions have forced state governments to embrace austere fiscal policies, but suggests this austerity may not always be appropriate for the federal government.
She writes that “states differ importantly from the federal government” and notes that federal grants “perform an important economic stabilization role.”
Gordon says one response of state governments to the “Great Recession” is one the federal government might consider. A number of states have launched serious efforts to overhaul their tax codes and reassess long-term pension and health care obligations.
“Showing a tighter connection between revenues and services may prove a valuable legacy from this recession for all levels of government,” she concludes.
[The Brookings Institution’s 2012 report by Tracy Gordon is “What States Can, and Can’t Teach the Federal Government about Budgets.”]
47. “In S.F., luck and the Irish” (San Francisco Chronicle, March 14, 2012); column citing DANIEL LURIE (MPP 2005).
--Catherine Bigelow
Brian Wilson was not in attendance last week at the grand opening of Lucky Strike Bowling Lanes. But just about everyone else was—kingpin Steven Foster welcomed 1,000 guests to his luxurious lanes.
Foster knows
“We’re thrilled Steven chose Tipping Point,” said founder Daniel Lurie. “Tonight we get to thank all of our donors by having fun in this amazing space.” ...
Lurie and Tipping Point Board President Alec Perkins excitedly referenced the book “Bowling Alone” as they spoke about the important role bowling can play in building, and rebuilding, community....
48. “Thrust for the Moon” (Aviation Week & Space Technology, Pg. 32 Vol. 174 No. 10, March 12, 2012); story citing ERIC HAGT (MPP 2004).
By Bradley Perrett/Xian,
... Separately,
New solid-rocket launchers are definitely on the way. The Long March 6, using a YF-100 first stage, has been described as small, responsive launcher, meaning that it can be used promptly. But [China Academy of Launch Technology] Principal Engineer Shen Lin told the [Xian] conference there would be a “new generation of solid launch vehicles, air-launch vehicles and LOX-methane liquid launch vehicles [following a] concept of quick response, small size, low cost and high reliability.”
These launchers will loft small satellites to help deal with natural disasters, Shen says. Western analysts also see military uses—potentially hurling anti-satellite warheads or rapidly launching a reconnaissance spacecraft to acquire urgent targeting data.
Solid-propellant rockets
can be launched much faster than even small liquid-propellant rockets such as
the Long March 6, notes Eric Hagt, a
49. “
NFU President Peter Kendall has accused BBC’s Panorama focusing on the ‘negatives’ in its half-hour programme on the Common Agricultural Policy on Monday night.
Panorama’s Samantha Poling interviewed a speculator who had purchased Scottish Single Farm Payment entitlements. The so-called ‘slipper farmer’, who admitted he had no connection with the industry, was enjoying an annual return of up to 30 per cent and expected to make a total return of two-and-a-half times his initial investment....
The programme
also highlighted the large payouts made under the CAP, including to ‘some of
It referred to data showing that 889 landowners received payments in excess of £250,000, with 133 receiving more than £500,000 and 47 more than £1 million. Farm subsidy campaigner Jack Thurston told the programme the system is ‘flawed’ because it rewards large landowners based on the number of hectares they own, not on financial need....
50. “Is future for college graduates this dim?” (The Stuart News (FL), March 4, 2012); column citing MATTHEW REED (MPP 2007).
--Eve Samples is a
columnist for
...[Courtney Larson] didn’t anticipate how crushing the $750-a-month payments would be.
Larson, who received her
master’s degree from
She applied first for federal loans and got approved for a $20,500 loan with a fixed interest rate of 6.8 percent.
To cover the rest, she took out a $28,200 loan from Sallie Mae, the country’s largest private student lender. The variable interest rate on that loan now stands at 11.25 percent. With accrued interest, her outstanding balance has grown to $31,500.
Sallie Mae required her to pay $25 a month while she was in school and for six months after. Then, in January, the monthly payment jumped to $500. Her federal loan is another $250....
When she called Sallie Mae hoping to readjust her payments, she was told a three-month forbearance was her only option. Come May, her payments will tick back up....
Students often don’t know what they’re getting into when they take on private loans.
Federal loans have fixed interest rates. Most private loans do not. Federal loans also offer repayment options based on income, something private lenders don’t routinely do.
All the terms and conditions are set by the federal government, and they’re the same for everyone. Private student loans, the terms are set by the lender, said Matthew Reed, program director of the nonprofit Institute for College Access & Success.
As tuition rates have outpaced inflation, more are taking on loans.
College seniors who graduated in 2010 carried an average of $25,250 in student debt up 5 percent from a year earlier, according to the institute’s Project on Student Debt. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for young college graduates hit 9.1 percent, its highest level on record....
When students apply for loans, Sallie Mae provides an estimate of monthly payments. But it’s difficult to calculate actual costs since the interest rates are variable.
Larson admits that she didn’t pay close attention to such estimates when she applied for the loans. That’s not uncommon.
It’s a lot of information, Reed said, and students are often focused on, ‘I want to go to school.’
51. “First the boom—now
the bust—
By Josh Richman
Voters narrowly OK’d a $10 million sales tax hike in November, but revenues remain scant.
“We sit in 2012 with a
more stable financial foundation, and we have fewer services than we’d like to,
but we’re in a position now where we’re moving forward and building from a
lower base,” said Craig Whittom,
52. “Ojai residents oppose water rate hike - Private utility seeks 17% boost over three years” (Ventura County Star, March 1, 2012); story citing LISA (WALLING) BILIR (MPP 2007).
By Anne Kallas; Special to The Star
Ojai residents and public officials voiced opposition Wednesday to a proposed water rate increase of more than 17 percent over the next three years.
Two public hearings were
held by the California Public Utilities Commission at
The bases
for the rate increase is a series of capital improvements amounting to
$6.7 million over three years and increasing costs, according to
Lisa Bilir of the Division of Ratepayer
Advocates, an independent ratepayer advocacy division of the commission,
said her office has looked at the proposal and thinks the capital improvement
costs shouldn’t be fully borne by customers. While
53. “FlexWage Solutions Selected as Payroll Card Vendor by CurrenC SF” (PR.com (Content Enterprises), March 1, 2012); press release citing JACOB DUMEZ (MPP 2011).
Mountainside, NJ -- FlexWage® Solutions LLC, announced today that they have been
selected as an approved payroll card vendor by the CurrenC
SF program. CurrenC SF ... is the latest program
launched by the San Francisco Office of Financial Empowerment designed to help
the businesses and workers of the
Through the Bank on
Contact: Jacob DuMez, Program Manager CurrenC SF
54. “EDITORIAL: Higher
education funding should be increased” (The Observer (La
For the first time in history, the generation of Oregonians ages 55 to 64 is better educated than their 25- to 34-year-old counterparts.
Statistics show that 32.6 percent of the older generation have at least a bachelor’s degree from a college or university, compared to 27.1 percent of the younger generation.
That is but one example of the impact of two decades of higher education funding cuts by the legislature....
“You can explain statistically about 60 percent of the variation of incomes among states’ per capita incomes by knowing one thing: what fraction of the adult population has a four-year degree,” said Joe Cortright, chairman of the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisors.
Cortright added, “It really does matter how well you educate your people as to how good of jobs you get and what kind of incomes you have as a state.” ...
55. “
The summit seeks to help professionals, including librarians, UK Cooperative Extension Service agents and those who work in health care fields acquire the tools they need to help increase health literacy among the general public....
Featured Topics and Speakers Include:
* Becoming a Health Literate Organization: Tools You Can Use from DHHS and Beyond—Cindy Brach, senior health policy researcher at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality ....
56. “An uneasy alliance on natural gas fractures” (Washington Post, February 20, 2012); story citing NED HELME (MPP 1971).
By Juliet Eilperin; Steven Mufson
Just four years ago, shale gas king Aubrey K. McClendon told shareholders of Chesapeake Energy that “finally, we made some new friends this year.”
The chief executive
sketched a vision of working hand in hand with “leading environmental
organizations” on issues “where our interests might be aligned.” He said, “We
believe this collaboration is unique in the industry and will benefit both
New friendships grew old, then cold. Environmental groups that once took money from McClendon—or considered doing so—to make a common cause against coal power, have stepped back as they weigh the environmental perils of extracting natural gas from shale, a business in which McClendon’s Chesapeake Energy is a leader....
The American Lung Association also has accepted an undisclosed amount from the company since 2009 for its “Fighting for Air” branding campaign. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), whose leaders McClendon wooed and who toured field operations, ultimately declined the funding he offered....
Several companies with natural gas interests, including Exxon Mobil, Chevron and the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, have donated to the D.C.-based Center for Clean Air Policy as part of its efforts to sponsor an ongoing dialogue about domestic climate policy. Exxon and Chevron have given $35,000 each for an annual membership in the dialogue, while smaller industry associations have donated less.
Groups such as the Center for Clean Air Policy have specifically invited oil and gas companies to contribute to their efforts to devise a compromise on climate change. The group’s president, Ned Helme, said the firms are “part of a much larger group” that includes representatives from government agencies and nonprofits.
“All the players are at the table,” Helme said. “You’re really after how everyone’s second choices might line up.” ...
57. “Head of Berkeley schools fund steps down amid questions about past termination” (San Jose Mercury News, February 16, 2012); story citing LEAH WILSON (MPP 1997).
By Doug Oakley –
A former Berkeley official, who was fired in 2007 and whose name appears in an audit that alleges misuse of federal funds, has left her job as head of a $23 million Berkeley schools tax fund, district officials said Wednesday.
Berkeley Unified said Nancy Hoeffer, who managed the Berkeley Schools Excellence Program with an $87,000 annual salary, left her position Feb. 6, just two weeks after a Bay Area News Group investigation brought to district officials’ attention a 2008 audit that showed Hoeffer improperly paid herself and her employees year-end bonuses when she was executive director of the nonprofit Community Energy Services Corporation. Those payments came from an agency checkbook with funds that should have been returned to the city at the end of the year, according to the audit.
At the time, the city
paid a
Hoeffer, in a lengthy email, challenged the findings of the audit and said she was open with school district officials about her past work history before she was hired last year....
Berkeley school board member Leah Wilson said Hoeffer was a respected volunteer chairwoman of the planning and oversight committee for the Berkeley Schools Excellence Fund before she became its paid manager. Previously, she also was a volunteer member of the committee overseeing the fund for three years.
When contacted in
January for this story,
“Her name did come
forward as a successful candidate for the position and the school board did
approve that action to hire her,”
58. “Criticism of Chevron Grows over Use of ‘Secret’ Panel to Evade $18 Billion Ecuador Judgment, says Amazon Defense Coalition” (PR Newswire, February 13, 2012); newswire citing NAOMI ROHT-ARRIAZA (MPP/JD 1990).
NEW YORK -- ... The Andean Commission of Jurists and five prestigious international law experts from around the world have joined a growing chorus of criticism targeting Chevron’s attempt to use a secret investor arbitration as part of its campaign to evade an $18 billion environmental judgment in Ecuador, according to letters released today.
In a letter to United
Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the Andean
Commission said it was “alarmed” at Chevron’s attempt to use a private investor
arbitration convened under the U.S.-Ecuador Bilateral Investment Treaty (“BIT”)
to influence the outcome of a private litigation between indigenous groups and
Chevron in
Separately, five international law experts wrote a letter to a United Nations official who oversees international arbitrations to question Chevron’s attempts to bypass the public court system of a sovereign nation where it wanted the trial held just because it lost based on the evidence.
“(Treaty) panel awards ordering States to interfere in private judicial proceedings between different parties is a direct violation of well settled principles of sovereignty and, in this particular case, human rights under international law,” the letter added....
The five international jurists who signed the Sorieul letter are Donald K. Anton, Associate Professor of International Law, The Australian National University College of Law; Naomi Roht-Arriaza, Professor of Law, University of California, Hastings College of the Law; Jorge Avendano V., Principal Professor of Law, Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru; Timo Koivurova, Research professor, The Northern Institute for Environmental and Minority Law, Arctic Centre, University of Lapland; and Professor Cesare Romano, W Joseph Ford Fellow, Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. Other jurists are expected to sign on in the coming days....
59. “New state Medicaid plan based on quality; Kasich proposal would reward providers with best outcomes” (Crain’s Cleveland Business, Pg. 1 Vol. 33, January 30, 2012); story citing SUZANNE DELBANCO (MPP/MPH 1994/PhD 1999).
By Timothy Magaw
Gov. John Kasich’s administration quietly is laying the groundwork for a Medicaid program that pays doctors for providing good care rather than lots of care....
The state recently
announced plans to rebid contracts with its Medicaid managed care providers,
which coordinate care for nearly 70% of the people on
Moreover, the state is working to transform the criteria by which it reimburses hospitals and physicians. Now, providers are paid differing rates based on a patient’s diagnosis. However, state Medicaid director John McCarthy told Crain’s the state is looking at “quality data and trying to figure out how to incorporate that into the payment methodology.” ...
In lockstep with that
theme, the state plans to lift language for the quality measures included in
its new managed care contracts from the Catalyst
for Payment Reform, a national coalition made up of large health care purchasers.
The
“It’s very hard for one purchaser to make a difference in the health care market, even when you’re as big as a state Medicaid program,” said Suzanne Delbanco, executive of the Catalyst for Payment Reform.
60. “Evading ObamaCare’s penalties” (Chattanooga Times Free Press, January 15, 2012); op-ed citing FRANK NEUHAUSER (MPP 1993).
An article on the high
number of
Many small businesses will have to start offering federal government-approved medical insurance to their employees two years from now—whether they can afford it or not—or they will face stiff fines.
Frank Neuhauser, head of the Center for the Study of Social Insurance at the University of California at Berkeley, told McClatchy Newspapers: “I have to think the underground economy sector will become larger when employers are also trying to avoid the cost of health insurance as well as workers’ comp. It will double the incentive for employers to go underground.” ...
1. “Economix Blog: Not Wanting Jobs” (New York Times Online [*requires registration], April 30, 2012); blog citing JESSE ROTHSTEIN; http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/30/not-wanting-jobs/
By Nancy Folbre
A significant number of American voters seem to believe that the unemployed don’t really want jobs because they would prefer to live off unemployment insurance or other social benefits....
But the number who fall into this category is small, and so are the overall effects, especially compared with the loss of output, effort, motivation, and well-being that results when people who need a job can’t find one.
The social safety net is not a hammock that workers can luxuriate in. In a New York Times/CBS News poll conducted last fall, two-thirds of those receiving benefits said they were not enough to pay for basics like housing and food. Another poll conducted by National Public Radio and the Kaiser Family Foundation about the same time found that only 22 percent of the long-term unemployed were receiving unemployment benefits.
One widely cited study published by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco compares workers covered by unemployment insurance and those who were not (such as new entrants into the labor market) between 2005 and 2010, and found that extended unemployment benefits could not account for more than eight-tenths of one percentage point of the increased unemployment rate in the later years.
A paper by Jesse
Rothstein, former chief economist at the Department of Labor and currently
a professor of public policy and
economics at the
[Jesse Rothstein’s paper is: “Unemployment Insurance and Job Search in the Great Recession”. ]
2. “Obama needs to take harder line on economy” (San Francisco Chronicle, April 29, 2012); op-ed by ROBERT REICH; http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/27/IN1N1O89OO.DTL#ixzz1tZ8teu7N
--Robert Reich
Dear Mr. President:
So far your election strategy can best be summed up as: “We’re on the right track, my economic policies are working, we still have a long way to go, but stick with me and you’ll be fine.”
I’m afraid this won’t be enough to win you the election. The recovery is too anemic, and the chance of an economic stall between now and election day far too high.
Even now, Mitt Romney’s empty “I’ll do it better” refrain is attracting as many voters as your “we’re on the right track.” Each of you is gathering 46 percent of voter support, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll....
You have to go beyond “we’re on the right track” and offer the nation a clear, bold strategy for boosting the economy. This would help inoculate you if the economy slows. It would also provide you with an economic mandate for your second term....
Such an economic strategy—forcing banks to help distressed homeowners, stopping oil speculation, boosting spending until unemployment drops to 5 percent and fighting to ensure economic gains are widely shared—is critical to jobs and growth.
But to put it into effect, you need a Congress that’s committed to better jobs and wages for all Americans. Remind voters that congressional Republicans prevented you from doing all that was needed in the first term, and they must not be allowed to do so again.
© 2012 Robert Reich Robert Reich, former
3. “The Blind Spot in Romney’s Economic Plan” (The New Republic, Web Edition, April 29, 2012); analysis citing JESSE ROTHSTEIN.
By Jonathan Cohn, Senior Editor
... Consider Romney’s proposal to replace the existing unemployment insurance program with a system of private accounts, into which workers would deposit money they could withdraw for retraining or just sustaining themselves during periods of joblessness. Conservatives have long argued that unemployment insurance discourages the jobless from finding work; according to this argument, personal accounts would remove that disincentive while enabling more individuals to take advantage of training they would find useful. Liberals question the evidence behind the conservative critique and worry that a system of private accounts would be less reliable, leaving many more unemployed workers in serious financial difficulty.
It’s the same basic story with the broader ideas in Romney’s agenda. Do you think taxes retard growth more than, say, an undereducated workforce? Do you think Bush-era policies did more to cause our economic problems than Obama-era polices? Etc. And while I’m not precisely qualified to answer those questions, I know a few people who are.
One of them is Jesse Rothstein, an economist at
4. “One of Robert Reich’s Students Tricked Him into Answering an Exam Question during His Reddit Interview” (Business Insider, April 27, 2012); story citing ROBERT REICH; http://www.businessinsider.com/robert-reich-ask-me-anything-2012-4
--Gus Lubin
(Frontline)
The forum is called “Ask Me Anything,” so one of Robert Reich’s students decided to ask for the answer to an essay question. Reich was not impressed:
REDDIT USER: Hi Professor Reich, let’s say,
hypothetically speaking, you had a paper due tomorrow on reforming one policy
that you believe contributes to wealth and income inequality in the
REICH: Your question sounds remarkably close to the question I set for my class, which is due tomorrow. So my advice to you is to stop Reddit and write your paper....
...[L]ater in the interview ...:
REICH: We’re drifting toward becoming a plutocracy, run by a relatively small number of extremely wealthy individuals, CEOs, and Wall Street moguls. That’s why we need to get serious about campaign finance reform, why tax reform is vital, and why the entire economy needs to be reorganized to widen the circle of prosperity -- so that far more of us benefit from the gains of productivity growth. If I were back in the administration, I’d strengthen labor unions, try to create a single-payer system for healthcare, use antitrust laws to break up big concentrations of power (such as the biggest banks on Wall Street), resurrect the Glass-Steagall Act (that used to separate investment from commercial banking), and enlarge the Earned Income Tax Credit (a wage subsidy for lower-income workers)....
5. “Reich to O’Reilly: Get over here and debate me” (San Francisco Chronicle, April 26, 2012); blog citing ROBERT REICH; http://blog.sfgate.com/nov05election/2012/04/26/reich-to-oreilly-get-over-here/?tsp=1
Posted by Will Kane
UC Berkeley professor Robert Reich has challenged Fox News pundit Bill O’Reilly to a debate after O’Reilly called Reich a communist.
The challenge stems from an April 20 show, when O’Reilly said Reich “secretly adores Karl Marx.” Reich, who was Secretary of Labor when Bill Clinton was president, shot back on Twitter:
Robert Reich
@RBReich @oreillyfactor Bill, come out of your Fox hole and debate me. Bring Lou Dobbs if you need him. I’ll do it blindfolded. #beyondoutrage. 25 Apr 12 ...
Reich said in his blog that he’d left a message on O’Reilly’s office line and has yet to get a response.
“Ordinarily I don’t bother repeating anything Bill O’Reilly says,” Reich wrote. “But this particular whopper is significant because it represents what O’Reilly and Fox News, among others, are doing to the national dialogue. They’re burying it in doo-doo.”
6. “Berkeley researchers find big benefits for students, taxpayers and state from funding of higher education” (The Berkeleyan, April 24, 2012); story citing HENRY BRADY; http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/04/24/berkeley-researchers-conclude-state-funding-of-higher-education-benefits-students-taxpayers-with-net-return-on-investment-of-450-per-cent/
By Kathleen Maclay, Media Relations
The authors of “California’s Economic Payoff: Investing in College Access and Completion,” include Henry Brady, dean of the Goldman School of Public Policy and Class of 1941 Monroe Deutsch Professor of Political Science and Public Policy; Michael Hout, a professor of sociology; and Jon Stiles, executive director of the California Census Research Data Center. The report was conducted for The Campaign for College Opportunity.
“Past investments in public higher education are buffering the effects of today’s economic downturn and future investments will do the same,” Stiles said....
Their findings echo a report the same researchers
released in November 2005, “Return on Investment: Educational Choices and
Demographic Change in
[To read the full report, its key findings or a detailed press release about the study: http://www.collegecampaign.org/resources/research/ca-economic-payoff/ ]
7. “Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security Hearing; ‘Examining the Constitutionality and Prudence of State and Local Governments Enforcing Immigration Law’; Testimony by Todd Landfried, Executive Director, Arizona Employers for Immigration Reform, Phoenix, AZ” (Congressional Documents and Publications, April 24, 2012); congressional testimony citing STEVEN RAPHAEL.
... In March of 2011, when it was learned five
more SB 1070-related immigration bills were being introduced in the Arizona
legislature, 60 Arizona CEOs wrote a letter to former Senator Pearce asking him
to refrain from moving the bills. They sent the letter knowing the negative
impacts SB1070 and the boycotts had on the state’s convention and tourism,
agriculture and construction industries and rightly feared the passage these
five bills would further harm
... Study after study on jurisdiction after jurisdiction; year after year, whenever and wherever these laws are tried, the results are always the same and they’re always bad....
To be fair, there are studies that show these laws are successful in one aspect: they cause undocumented immigrants to move.... But what tends to happen to those who remain is we push them deeper into the underground economy, where these workers suddenly become entrepreneurs and open cash businesses, thereby taking even more money out the economy that we would be better off having in it. nxvi ....
nxvi Magnus Lofstrom, Sarah Bohn, and Steven Raphael “Lessons from the 2007 Legal Arizona Workers Act.” March 2010. http://www.ppic.org/main/publication.asp?i=915 (accessed 18 April 2012)....
8. “Robert Reich: ‘Beyond Outrage’” (Forum, KQED public radio, April 23, 2012); interview with ROBERT REICH; Listen to this program
Former
U.S. secretary of labor and UC Berkeley public policy professor Robert Reich
joins us to discuss his latest eBook, “Beyond Outrage: What Has Gone Wrong With
Our Economy and Our Democracy, and How to Fix It.”
Host: Michael Krasny
Guest:
Robert
Reich, professor of public policy at
UC Berkeley’s
ROBERT REICH: “When you’re cynical that’s the end of the road—the other side wins.... There’s nothing the other side wants more than a cynical progressive who gives up.”
9. “Tax fairness would increase growth” (San Francisco Chronicle, April 22, 2012); op-ed by ROBERT REICH; http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/20/INC61O4GSB.DTL#ixzz1stvAhxE3
--Robert Reich
... Rich Americans are taking home a larger share
of
Meanwhile, the nation faces two giant deficits. Unless the rich pay their fair share of taxes, both will only become worse.
The first is a deficit in public investment. Our roads, bridges, ports, sewer and water systems, and public transportation systems are outmoded. Some are literally falling apart. Meanwhile, many of our schools can’t afford textbooks or science labs, students are crowded into classrooms with 30 or more other children, and public colleges and universities are starved for funding.
The other is a budget deficit that’s projected to rise into the stratosphere, especially as aging Baby Boomers need more health care....
One of the most pernicious falsehoods you’ll hear during the next seven months of political campaigning is that there’s a necessary trade-off between fairness and growth....
What we should have learned over the last half
century is that growth doesn’t trickle down from the top. It percolates upward
from working people who are adequately educated and sufficiently rewarded and
who feel they have a fair chance to make it in
Fairness isn’t incompatible with economic growth. It’s essential to it.
© 2012 Robert Reich Robert Reich, former
10. “Robert Reich discusses his eBook Beyond Outrage with Jon Stewart” (The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Comedy Central, April 18, 2012); interview with ROBERT REICH; watch the interview
In this exclusive interview, “Beyond Outrage” author Robert Reich, former Labor Secretary and now professor of public policy at the University of California-Berkeley, predicts the rise of a third party in American politics. He argues for a countervailing power to take back democracy from moneyed interests in government.
11. “UC Berkeley economists contribute to just-released ‘Occupy Handbook’” (The Berkeleyan, April 17, 2012); news release citing ROBERT REICH; http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/04/17/uc-berkeley-economists-contribute-to-just-released-occupy-handbook/
By Public Affairs, UC Berkeley
BERKELEY
— “The Occupy Handbook,” a new publication examining the factors contributing
to the Occupy Wall Street movement – as well as where it stands now and where
it goes next – contains contributions by leading economic scholars, including
UC Berkeley’s own economists Emmanuel Saez, Brad DeLong and Robert Reich. The book hit the bookstore shelves
today (Tuesday, April 17).
Saez is well known for his work on income inequality; DeLong is an economic historian with one of the most popular blogs dealing with economics and politics; and Reich recently described himself in a blog post as “a class worrier” rather than a class warrior.
Other well-known economists who wrote for the book include Nobel Prize-winning Paul Krugman, Peter Diamond, Raghuram Rajan, Paul Volker, Robert Shiller, Tyler Cowan and Nouriel Roubini. Additional contributors come from politics, journalism, financial reporting and other disciplines....
12. “Income inequality highlighted on Tax Day” (Christian Science Monitor, April 17, 2012); commentary by ROBERT REICH; http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Robert-Reich/2012/0417/Income-inequality-highlighted-on-Tax-Day
By Robert Reich
As Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., wrote in 1904, “taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society.”
But the wealthiest Americans, who haven’t raked
in as much of
I’m not a class warrior. I’m a class worrier. And my worries go to why all this has happened.
I worry about the political power than comes with great wealth – such as the power of the wealthy to reduce their taxes, cut the public services most other Americans depend on, while at the same time garnering special subsidies and tax breaks for their businesses – big oil, big pharma, big agriculture, military contractors, big insurance, Wall Street.
I worry about the well-financed big lies that the very rich are the nation’s “job creators,” that the benefits from tax cuts on the rich “trickle down” to everyone else, that American corporations will create more jobs if only their taxes are lowered and if regulations protecting health, safety, and the environment were jettisoned....
Robert Reich is chancellor’s professor of
public policy at the
13. “2012 Goldman Environmental Prize winners” (San Francisco Chronicle, April 16, 2012); story citing RICHARD and RHODA GOLDMAN; http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/15/BA9D1NUSD9.DTL#ixzz1sE1nVdIA
--Emma Anderson
Six individuals will be honored Monday at the San Francisco Opera House for their efforts to conserve their local environments and ways of life.
Established in 1989 by
This year, the $150,000 prizes are being awarded
to six individuals from the
14. “Gambling online and via investments” (San Francisco Chronicle, April 15, 2012); op-ed by ROBERT REICH; http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/13/INBG1O1908.DTL#ixzz1sEGTmmWu
--Robert Reich
Anyone who says you can get rich through gambling is a fool or a knave....
Yet
In December, the Department of Justice announced it was reversing its position that all Internet gambling was illegal....
Why should governments use taxpayer dollars to actively market games to Americans, many of them low-income and vulnerable to get-rich-quick pitches, who don’t know the odds are stacked against them and in favor of the government?
As if all this weren’t enough, we now have the “Jumpstart Our Business Startups” or misleadingly named JOBS Act, which President Obama signed into law April 5. It’s almost designed for con artists.
It allows so-called “crowdfunding,” by which people whose net worth is less than $100,000 can gamble away (that is, invest) up to 5 percent of their annual incomes in any get-rich-quick scam (startup) that any huckster (entrepreneur) might sell them....
The JOBS Act was sold to Congress as a way to promote jobs (note the acronym) on the supposition that small startups create huge numbers of them. That itself was a con.
Startups don’t create lots of jobs. The assertion they do comes from research by the Kauffman Foundation, which counted as a “startup job” every laid-off worker who has morphed into an independent contractor....
© 2012 Robert Reich Robert Reich, former
15. “Robert Reich’s Blog: How does the uber-wealthy Romney pay so little in taxes?” (Christian Science Monitor Online, April 12, 2012); commentary by ROBERT REICH; http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Robert-Reich/2012/0412/How-does-the-uber-wealthy-Romney-pay-so-little-in-taxes
By Robert Reich
Now that Mitt Romney is the presumed Republican candidate, it’s fair to ask how he made so much money ($21 million in 2010 alone) and paid such a low rate of taxes (only 13.9 percent).
Not only fair to ask, but instructive to know. Because the magic of private equity reveals a lot about how and why our economic system has become so distorted and lopsided – why all the gains are going to the very top while the rest of us aren’t going anywhere.
The magic of private equity isn’t really magic at all. It’s a magic trick – and it’s played on you and me....
Here’s what has to be done to stop it:
1. End the “carried interest” loophole that allows private-equity managers like Mitt Romney to treat their income as capital gains, taxed at 15 percent, even though they don’t risk a dime of their own income. Their earnings should be treated as ordinary income.
2. Hold the managers of private-equity funds, hedge funds, and pension funds to a “due diligence” standard. So if the funds lose money and these managers didn’t exercise due diligence, the Pension Guaranty Corporation can claw back their bonuses.
3. Raise the capital-gains rate to match the tax rate on ordinary income – especially for short-term investments. Give a tax preference only to “patient capital” – that is, for investments held for, say, five years or more.
4. Resurrect Glass-Steagall.
Mitt and others like him won’t like any of these reforms. They’d eliminate the humongous profits they’ve enjoyed at the expense of the rest of us.
But these reforms are necessary if we’re to take back our economy.
Robert Reich is chancellor’s professor of
public policy at the
16. “Renewable Sources of Power Survive, but in a Patchwork” (New York Times & International Herald Tribune [*requires registration], April 11, 2012); story citing DAN KAMMEN; http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/11/business/energy-environment/renewable-energy-advances-in-the-us-despite-obstacles.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Berkeley&st=nyt
By Diane Cardwell
Workers climbed a tower at a
wind turbine site installed by Renewable Energy SD in
JUST a few years ago, the future of renewable energy looked as bright and shiny as a white turbine blade coming out of the mold. The federal government was handing out money under the stimulus package, states were approving clean energy mandates, young companies were racing ahead with promising new technologies and big global developers were planting stakes for ambitious, utility-scale projects.
Now that picture has dimmed. The low price of natural gas has made renewable power less appealing to utilities and energy companies. The high price of gasoline — which has become an issue in the presidential campaign, as Republican candidates seek to use it against President Obama, has renewed calls to increase oil exploration and production at the expense of alternatives. State lawmakers are reconsidering requirements for utilities to buy green power. Surprisingly fierce competition from Chinese photovoltaic manufacturers has driven American ventures to the brink of bankruptcy and beyond....
Yet, though the waters ahead are choppy, with businesses laying off workers and shutting down, the prospects for renewables continue to grow. Major companies like General Electric, Dow Chemical and ConocoPhillips are developing or investing in new technologies. Many projects — some rushing to start in time to qualify for federal tax breaks before they disappear — are going forward.
With national energy policy bedeviled — and without a controlled market like China’s or the feed-in tariffs that have driven the use of renewables in Europe (to mixed results) — the United States is developing into a green-energy crazy quilt, a kind of regional patchwork driven by mandates.
“There’s a coalition of the willing here among states and regions that already have parts of these policies, and it does seem to be the U.S. tradition to have diverse, often-conflicting policies state by state,” said Daniel M. Kammen, a professor of energy, nuclear engineering and public policy at the University of California, Berkeley. “This is kind of a chaotic picture moving in the right direction.” ...
17. “A Cost Effective Solution to Building Stable Clean Energy Markets” (Huffington Post, April 11, 2012); blog citing study coauthored by DAN KAMMEN; http://www.huffingtonpost.com/araceli-ruano/la-feed-in-tariffs_b_1415473.html
By Araceli Ruano – CAP-CA
On Tuesday the Los Angeles City Council approved the long-debated LA Feed-in Tariff (FIT) program also known as CLEAN LA. This policy requires the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to buy solar power produced by residents, businesses, and public organizations that have installed solar panels on their rooftops....
CLEAN programs have driven the vast majority of renewable energy deployed around the world. In fact, 90 percent of all solar photovoltaics around the world were installed under CLEAN programs. These programs are successful because they provide transparency, longevity and certainty by creating standard guaranteed contracts, predictable and streamlined distribution, and predefined fixed rates....
While this is a great first step in the right direction, CLEAN LA still has room to grow. Unfortunately, the program’s trajectory after 2016 is still unclear. And the 150 MW cap through that date will represent a bit over 1 percent of the LADWPs electricity, not making a hugely important program for California’s 33 percent renewable energy goal.
The state of
[See “Economic Benefits of a Comprehensive Feed-In Tariff“by Max Wei and Daniel Kammen.]
18. “Let’s bring back the idea of a free UC education” (Los Angeles Times, April 11, 2012); column citing ROBERT REICH; http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hiltzik-20120411,0,901196.column
By Michael Hiltzik
Matthew Sandoval was one of 3 UCLA students arrested in protest against high student tuition at regents meeting at UC San Francisco. (Beck Diefenbach / San Francisco Chronicle / March 29, 2012)
The son of a railroad worker, Earl Warren came
from a family keeping a desperate finger hold on a working-class existence at
the turn of the last century. Yet when he left high school in
There he proved an indifferent student
scholastically but an enthusiastic absorber of “the new life, the freedom, the
companionship, the romance of the university,”
No one could deny that one way or another, the education took: The graduate of UC Berkeley and Boalt Hall served as California attorney general, won three elections for governor, and during his nearly 16 years as chief justice of the United States led a Supreme Court that produced (among other decisions) that landmark of landmarks, Brown vs. Board of Education....
The roll of Californians who rose from modest
circumstances to enrich our lives and our society after receiving a
taxpayer-supported education at the
But the recent trend in state support of public
higher education raises a question germane to the careers of
The principle of free tuition for state residents was deeply ingrained in UC from its founding in the 1860s and reaffirmed in the 1960 master plan for public higher education, which acknowledged the university’s role as a driver of economic growth....
“If our crown jewels are lost, industry’s going
to pay a huge price,” said Robert Reich,
the
The bounty
“Most of the public does not know how much has
been taken away from the UC and CSU system,” Reich said. “Most people I come across are amazed to discover how
little of the budget is coming from
19. “
By Roibín Ó hÉochaidh, NewsCenter
Ten cities, ranging in size from sprawling San Jose to tiny Gonzales in Monterey County, have signed up to compete in the yearlong carbon-cutting challenge to become California’s Coolest City.
Sponsored by the California Air Resources Board,
the Cool California Challenge, which kicked off April 1, brings together 10
cities in a yearlong community-based competition to cut carbon emissions — with
the winner crowned
“Most Californians believe that climate change is
a problem and that we should take action to reduce our carbon impact,” says Christopher
Jones, head researcher at Cool Climate Network, an applied-research consortium
at
“As with a lot of behaviors we would like to change, like eating healthier or getting more exercise, when it comes to carbon emissions good intentions are often not enough to achieve long-term change,” Jones says.
Jones, a doctoral student at
20. “
Alison Vekshin – Bloomberg News
After sunset, the streets of
downtown
Today the
The shopping spree contributed to the $319 million in debt, financed mostly with seven bond issues from 2003 to 2009, tied to its general fund — the pool of money used for most day-to-day operations, equivalent to having loans backed by the contents of a chequing account....
“One has
to assume that the fathers of
“All of this presumed that the value of real estate would go up and up,” Ellwood said. “And they were wrong.”
21. “Reich: The recession is over—if you’re rich” (San Francisco Chronicle, April 8, 2012); op-ed by ROBERT REICH; http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/06/IN721NU4S6.DTL#ixzz1ra7GEVrn
--Robert Reich
Luxury retailers are smiling. So are the owners of high-end restaurants, sellers of upscale cars, vacation planners, financial advisers and personal coaches. For them and their customers and clients the recession is over. The recovery is full speed.
But the rest of
According to an analysis of tax returns by Emmanuel Saez and Thomas Piketty, the top 1 percent pocketed 93 percent of the gains in 2010. Thirty-seven percent of the gains went to the top one-tenth of 1 percent. No one below the richest 10 percent saw any gain at all.
In fact, most in the bottom 90 percent lost ground. Their average income was $29,840 in 2010. That’s down ... $4,843 from 2000 (all adjusted for inflation).
Meanwhile, employer-provided benefits continue to decline among the bottom 90 percent, according to the Commerce Department. The share of people with health insurance from their employers dropped from 59.8 percent in 2007 to 55.3 percent in 2010. And the share of private-sector workers with retirement plans dropped from 42 percent in 2007 to 39.5 percent in 2010....
We can’t possibly grow faster if the vast majority of Americans, who are still losing ground, don’t have the money to buy more of the things American workers produce. There’s no way spending by the richest 10 percent—the only ones gaining ground—will be enough to get the economy out of first gear.
© 2012 Robert Reich Robert Reich, former
22. “Slower job gains stir doubts about recovery, Obama reelection bid” (Los Angeles Times, April 7, 2012); analysis citing HENRY BRADY; http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-jobs-20120407,0,5219613.story
By Don Lee and Kathleen Hennessey,
Employers nationwide added a modest 120,000 new positions in March, only about half the job gains in each of the previous three months, the Labor Department reported Friday. Some of the falloff, analysts said, reflected the fact that payrolls had been inflated in the winter because of unusually mild weather.
... But, as in past months when job growth was much stronger, [the president] struck a tone of cautious optimism.
“It’s clear to every American that there will still be ups and downs along the way and that we’ve got a lot more work to do,” he said.
Yet the latest report raises questions for the president as he nears a critical period in his campaign. Research suggests major economic reports for the three summer months will likely set the tone for voters’ views on the economy, said Henry Brady, a political science professor at UC Berkeley.
“That’s when you really want to have good jobs numbers, when you really want voters to get a sense that things are going well,” he said. “What he can’t afford, I think, is a series of reports that looks like the economy is languishing and allows Republicans to reignite the argument on the economy.” ...
23. “With nods to Occupy Wall Street, economic inequality teach-in generates light, not heat” (UC Berkeley NewsCenter, April 5, 2012); story citing ROBERT REICH; http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/04/05/economic-inequality-teach-in/
By Barry Bergman, NewsCenter
Robert Reich calls on the 99 percent to move “beyond outrage.” Listening from the first row, from right, are Sylvia Allegretto, Paul Pierson and Emmanuel Saez. (Peg Skorpinski photos)
BERKELEY — It may have lacked the drama associated with Occupy Wall Street, but a UC Berkeley teach-in on economic inequality Wednesday quietly laid bare the intellectual underpinnings of the nationwide push to narrow America’s wealth gap — beginning with Emmanuel Saez, the Berkeley economist whose research brought to light the growing income disparities between the 99 percent and the 1 percent.
Attracting 150 or so students, labor activists and other 99 percenters to a Lewis Hall chemistry lab, the afternoon event featured a potent mixture of economic data, political analysis and calls to action....
Goldman School of Public Policy professor Robert Reich, a prolific author whose new ebook is titled Beyond Outrage, repeated an exhortation heard by thousands during his Mario Savio Memorial Lecture in November on the steps of Sproul Hall.
Those unhappy with the country’s policies, the
one-time
Calling the nation’s concentration of wealth “the biggest issue we’re facing,” Reich warned of “enormous implications” for the nation’s economy and for democracy itself. “This is a defining moment,” he said, adding that the question of “who gets what, and why” is “not liberal or conservative,” but one of basic fairness.
Public scrutiny should target “the boardroom, not the bedroom,” Reich said, inverting the formula favored by some prominent Republican politicians. “We should not be afraid to talk about economic morality and economic immorality.”...
24. “Op-Ed: Social Darwinism is here to stay” (Christian Science Monitor, April 4, 2012); http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Robert-Reich/2012/0404/Social-Darwinism-is-here-to-stay
By Robert Reich
President Obama didn’t wait. He kicked off his 2012 campaign against Mitt Romney with a hard-hitting speech centered on the House Republicans’ budget plan – which Romney has enthusiastically endorsed.
That plan, by the way, is the most radical
reverse-Robin Hood proposal propounded by any political party in modern
Here’s what the President had to say about it:
Disguised as a deficit reduction… it is really an attempt to impose a radical vision on our country. It is thinly veiled social Darwinism.
... Social Darwinism encapsulated the idea of
survival of the fittest (a phrase Charles Darwin never actually used) as
applied to societies as a whole. Its chief apostle in
Here’s what Sumner had to say in his social-Darwinian classic “What Social Classes Owe to Each Other” (1883):
Let it be understood
that we cannot go outside of this alternative:
Could there be a better summary of what today’s regressive Republicans believe?
Robert Reich is chancellor’s professor of
public policy at the
25. “Study:
University of California, Berkeley, researchers said they reached the conclusion using SWITCH, a detailed computer model of the electric power grid, to study generation, transmission and storage options for the states west of the Kansas/Colorado border.
“Decarbonization of the electric power sector is critical to achieving greenhouse gas reductions that are needed for a sustainable future,” Daniel Kammen, a researcher in UC Berkeley’s Energy and Resources Group, said. “To meet these carbon goals, coal has to go away from the region.”
To achieve that, policy changes are needed to cap or tax carbon emissions to provide an incentive to move toward low-carbon electricity sources, Kammen and his colleagues said....
26. “Reich: Political jujitsu to save health care law” (San Francisco Chronicle, April 1, 2012); op-ed by ROBERT REICH; http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/03/30/INC31NR4FO.DTL#ixzz1qvGrX4AQ
--Robert Reich © 2012 Robert Reich
If the Supreme Court decides that the individual mandate requiring everyone to buy health insurance is an unconstitutional extension of federal authority, the law starts unraveling. But with a bit of political jujitsu, President Obama could turn that defeat into a victory for a single-payer health care system—Medicare for all. Here’s how:
The dilemma at the heart of the new law is that it continues to depend on private health insurers, who have to make a profit or at least pay all their costs, including marketing and advertising. Yet the only way private insurers can afford to cover everyone with pre-existing health problems, as the new law requires, is to have every American buy health insurance—including young and healthier people who are unlikely to rack up large health care expenses.
This dilemma is the product of political compromise. The administration couldn’t get the votes for a single-payer system such as Medicare for all. Not a single Republican would even agree to a bill giving Americans the option of buying into it....
The president and the Democrats could have avoided this dilemma in the first place if they’d insisted on Medicare for all, or at least a public option. After all, Social Security and Medicare require every working American to “buy” them. The purchase happens automatically in the form of a deduction from everyone’s paychecks. But because Social Security and Medicare are government programs financed by payroll taxes, they don’t feel like mandatory purchases....
Moreover, compared with private insurance, Medicare is a great deal. Its administrative costs are only around 3 percent, while the administrative costs of private insurers eat up 30 to 40 percent of premiums. Medicare’s costs are even below the 5 to 10 percent administrative costs borne by large companies that self-insure, and less than the 11 percent costs of private plans under Medicare Advantage, the private-insurance option under Medicare....
Robert Reich, former U.S. secretary of labor, is professor of public policy at UC Berkeley....
27. “Trading on Preconceptions; Why World War I Was Not a Failure of Economic Interdependence” (International Security, Spring 2012, Pg. 115); article citing HENRY BRADY.
By Erik Gartzke and Yonatan Lupu.
... The second flaw with using 1914 to test theories of interdependence, however, is more consequential. While many scholars have argued that it is not appropriate to choose cases based on the dependent variable, n28 others argue that doing so is valid when one is particularly interested in explaining a specific case or outcome. n29 We take no issue with the study of World War I as a unique historical phenomenon or with including interdependence as a possible explanatory variable when attempting to explain what did or did not contribute to its outbreak. Instead, our concern is that scholars have made erroneous inferences in using the Great War to falsify liberal theory more generally....
n29. Henry
E. Brady and David Collier, Rethinking
Social Inquiry: Diverse Tools, Shared Standards (
Premiering on UCTV in
May 2012:
“Prime: Vote Don’t Hang
Up! Why Voters Should Respond to Pollsters with Henry Brady, Dean of the Goldman School of Public Policy, UC
Berkeley” (Date of broadcast: 5/15/12); viewable at: http://uctv.tv/search-details.aspx?showID=23874
“Political Civility
Should Not Be an Oxymoron with Robert
Reich” (Date of broadcast: 5/28/12); viewable at: http://uctv.tv/search-details.aspx?showID=23656
To view a complete list
of GSPP videos, visit our Events Archive at: http://gspp.berkeley.edu/events/webcasts
Recent events viewable on UC Webcast: http://webcast.berkeley.edu/events.php?group=The+Richard+%26+Rhoda+Goldman+School+of+Public+Policy
If you would like further information
about any of the above, or hard copies of cited articles, we’d be happy to
provide them.
We are always delighted to receive your material for inclusion in the Digest. Please email the editor at wong23@berkeley.edu .
Sincerely,
Annette Doornbos
Director of External Relations and Development