California Insider

My guest today is Todd Maddison, Research Director at Transparent California. His organization has collected 36.7 million records from public education agencies since 2010. Are teachers fairly compensated?

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California universities are striving to have more and more diversity.

Most California university jobs are asking for diversity statements, and candidates could lose out on getting the job if their diversity statement doesn’t match what the admissions office is looking for.

But is this the best way to achieve more diversity?

My guest is Daniel Ortner, a lawyer with Pacific Legal Foundation. He has been involved with multiple lawsuits surrounding diversity of thought on college campuses in California.

Will the push for more diversity, equity, and inclusion make us more diverse, or will it create more division?

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California teachers are leaving their union. It is estimated that over 15 percent have left their union in recent years, and this year alone, 4,000 more will leave.

The California teachers union has become one of the most influential special interests in California politics.

Is the union’s deep influence in California politics helping the teachers?

My guest is Rebecca Friedrichs. Her lawsuit in 2016, Friedrichs v. California Teachers’ Association, eventually led to the end of forced union contributions from non-union members.

Why are the teachers leaving the union? How does the union play a part in California’s politics?

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In California, we strive to have green energy. In some cases, we may even pay more to get electricity that is branded as green. But are we really getting green energy?

Who is responsible for this greenwashing in the electricity space?

While we are focused on going green, are we ignoring bigger problems? My guest is Jim Phelps, a California utility expert who spent 35 years in the power industry as an engineering contractor and utility rate analyst.

So what exactly is greenwashing? And how is it affecting your utility bills? Why hasn’t this matter been addressed, you ask? Let’s find out in this episode.

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California has been under a state of emergency for over 800 days, with no end in sight.

While the state of emergency may have been necessary during the pandemic, it has led to thousands of no-bid contracts—bypassing the standard formal process of evaluation and bidding of contractors.

We sit down with Marc Joffe, senior policy analyst with the Reason Foundation, who dives deeper into California’s state of emergency.

Is it in our best interest to continue with the state of emergency? Could there be any potential problems with keeping it in effect?

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San Francisco Police Department is at the verge of losing significant number of police officers. Is policing becoming impossible in San Francisco? How will this impact the city?

Today he will discuss with us his insider perspective on why SFPD is facing such a big exodus, and what it will take to turn things around.

With the reforms in the criminal justice system, there was a movement to bring a ballot initiative to remove the three-strikes law this year. However, the initiative did not collect enough signatures and will not be on the ballot.

Is California’s three-strikes law too harsh? Or is it necessary to have strict punishment for people who repeatedly commit violent crimes?

Also in California, it costs $106,000 per year for inmates to be in prison. When compared to college costs, this is more than double. But is there a higher cost to society by letting criminals commit crimes?

To understand the three-strikes law, I sat down with Michael Reynold, a private attorney. The murder of his sister started the three-strikes law initiative, and Reynold and his father drafted the law.

Reynold discusses how the three-strikes law works and the consequences of giving a second chance to the wrong person.

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According to a recent report by the American Legislative Exchange Council, California’s unfunded pension liabilities are estimated to be at $1.5 trillion—about $38,000 of debt for each Californian.

What are unfunded pension liabilities, and why do we have so much of it?

We guarantee that our government employees will receive a set income at the time of retirement. In some cases, people get up to 90 percent of their current pay for the rest of their life, and there as adjustments for the cost of living. This promise to the employees requires cities to invest enough money into their retirement accounts now, and also requires these investments to perform according to plan. Most of the time neither is achieved. Since California’s pension benefits are very generous, it is hard for cities to keep up with the costs.

Are these pension payments realistic, or will California face a pension crisis in the near future?

To understand more about the pension liabilities we are facing, I sat down with former California state Sen. John Moorlach. He served on the California Senate Public Employee Retirement Committee.

He discussed with me the impact of unfunded pension liabilities on cities, and why he believes we are not dealing with the liabilities.

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California had a net loss of 200,000 people last year. It’s not just the people, but the businesses and jobs are leaving as well. Most people, including the California government, believe it is the housing costs that are driving Californians out of state.

Despite the state pushing for 180,000 new housing units per year, the construction is constant at around 100,000. Meanwhile, the number of people per household has dropped, meaning there is more housing available per capita.

Is the housing cost the main factor for people leaving California, or are there other hidden factors behind this exodus?

To understand what’s happening, we talked to Jim Doti, president emeritus and leading economist at Chapman University. He has been hosting annual economy forecasts, and his forecast last year was the most accurate compared to 50 other nationwide forecasts.

We discuss why he’s predicting California’s housing market will decline, and the cause behind businesses and people leaving the golden state.

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Californians are very familiar with water preservation. But why exactly do we need to be so cautious with our water usage? Experts tell us enough water hits our state in a given year to comfortably supply everyone’s needs. That begs the next question: Then where does the water go?

Darcy Burke, President of Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District, explains why a court ruling is restricting the amount of water we capture and distribute. And how California struggles to find a balance between environmental, agricultural and urban water distribution.

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