Fact Sheet Public Pensions in California By Radhika Mehlotra, Patrick Murphy Mar 15, 2019 State and local governments face large and growing pension obligations. This fact sheet provides a snapshot of California’s public pensions and liabilities, their impact on local budgets, and policy changes that aim to tackle rising costs.
blog post What’s Next for California’s Public Pensions? By Patrick Murphy, Radhika Mehlotra Mar 13, 2019 A recent California Supreme Court ruling upheld a major pension reform law from 2013, but how much flexibility will policymakers have in modifying pension agreements?
press release Likely Voters Divided on Temporary Extension of Proposition 30—Most Support Cigarette Tax Sep 30, 2015
blog post Video: Gavin Newsom’s Priorities By Linda Strean Nov 15, 2017 Gavin Newsom, California’s lieutenant governor and a candidate for governor, says the most important issues facing the state are debt and demographics, energy and climate change, and the future of work.
Explainer Is College Worth It? By Marisol Cuellar Mejia, Cesar Alesi Perez, Vicki Hsieh, Hans Johnson Mar 8, 2023 Rising college costs and a reluctance to take on debt lead many students and families to wonder if college will actually yield a brighter future with higher earnings and better jobs. In this explainer, we explore whether the benefits of a college degree outweigh the costs.
Statewide Survey PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Government By Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, Sonja Petek, Jui Shrestha Mar 23, 2011 Some findings of the current survey: Public support has dropped for holding a June special election on extending temporary tax and fee increases. Nearly half of Californians say the amount of money that state and local governments spend on public employee pension or retirement systems is a big problem. Sixty-two percent of Californians think Congress and the Obama administration are not doing enough to help create jobs. At least half of Californians have an unfavorable opinion of the federal (52%) and state (55%) governments, but a majority (54%) view their local government favorably. Job Approval Ratings: President Obama [PDF]Governor Brown [PDF]California State Legislature [PDF]U.S. Congress [PDF]Senator Boxer [PDF]Senator Feinstein [PDF]Their Own State Legislators in the Assembly and Senate [PDF]Their Own Representative in the U.S. House of Representatives [PDF] Time Trends of Job Approval Ratings: President Obama [XLS]Governor Brown [XLS]California State Legislature [XLS]U.S. Congress [XLS]Senator Boxer [XLS]Senator Feinstein [XLS]Their Own State Legislators in the Assembly and Senate [XLS]Their Own Representative in the U.S. House of Representatives [XLS] Mood of Californians:General Direction of Things in California [PDF]Economic Outlook for California [PDF] Time Trends for the Mood of Californians: General Direction of Things in California [XLS]Economic Outlook for California [XLS] This survey was supported with funding from The James Irvine Foundation.
Report Higher Education in California: Institutional Costs By Hans Johnson, Patrick Murphy, Margaret Weston, Kevin Cook Nov 12, 2014 Over the past 20 years, in-state tuition at both the University of California (UC) and the California State University (CSU) has more than tripled. These tuition increases have led many to believe that spending in the state’s public higher education systems is out of control. However, a closer look reveals that institutional expenditures in the two systems—including faculty salaries and benefits, the largest budget category—have not increased significantly. Our evaluation of both revenues and expenditures shows that recent tuition increases have been driven by dramatic reductions in state subsidies to UC and CSU. In the past, General Fund contributions covered the majority of educational costs. Today, students (often with help from federal, state, institutional, and private grants) pay most of these costs through tuition and associated fees. Better budget data could help policymakers monitor costs and align higher education funding with state goals. But it is clear that tuition at California’s public universities has risen much more rapidly than the cost of providing higher education.
