November 17, 2010 Cities Face a Deepening Fiscal Crisis By Steven Malanga The steep fiscal crisis that many states face includes staggering retirement costs for their workers, estimated at some $3 trillion in unfunded future promises. The size of those liabilities has already shaken up some municipal bond investors, and the inadequate, sometimes misleading way […]
CITIES FACE A DEEPENING FISCAL CRISIS Read More »
NOVEMBER 8, 2010 California: The Lindsay Lohan of States Sacramento is headed for trouble again, and it shouldn’t expect a bailout. By ALLYSIA FINLEY Listen up, California. The other 48 states—your cousin New York excluded—are sick of your bratty arrogance. You’re the Lindsay Lohan of states: a prima donna who once showed some talent but
CALIFORNIA CAN’T KICK THE HABIT OF LIBERALISM Read More »
Op-Ed Columnist – The Paralysis of the State – NYTimes.com October 12, 2010 The Paralysis of the State By DAVID BROOKS Sometimes a local issue perfectly illuminates a larger national problem. Such is the case with the opposition of the New Jersey governor, Chris Christie, to construction of a new tunnel between his state and
STATES ARE BEING STRANGLED BY PUBLIC EMPLOYEE PAY Read More »
THE INDEPENDENT NEWS Sarkozy stands firm as pension protests escalate By John Lichfield in Paris Wednesday, 13 October 2010 President Nicolas Sarkozy could face the greatest challenge of his presidency in the next few days as a month-old protest against pension reform swells towards outright confrontation. More than 3 million demonstrators – one in 20
THE STREETS OF PARIS ARE FILLED WITH MILITANTS Read More »
THE DELPHI DISASTER: An economic horror story Obama won’t tell by Michelle Malkin September 2010 The White House believes it can win back depressed and economically stressed voters by turning President Obama into the storyteller-in-chief again. But victims of Obama’s Chicago politics don’t want to hear any more of his own well-worn tales of struggle and
THE DELPHI DISASTER – OBAMA’S ECONOMIC HORROR STORY Read More »
WALL STREET JOURNAL SEPTEMBER 14, 2010 Obstacle to Deficit Cutting: A Nation on Entitlements By SARA MURRAY Efforts to tame America’s ballooning budget deficit could soon confront a daunting reality: Nearly half of all Americans live in a household in which someone receives government benefits, more than at any time in history. At the same
A NATION OF ENTITLEMENTS Read More »
SEPTEMBER 15, 2010 Union Power and the Christie Effect After decades of expanding political clout, organized labor is finding voters increasingly unreceptive to its high-tax message. By STEVE MALANGA In the midst of the contentious 2009 gubernatorial race in New Jersey, the state’s teachers union took a poll of its own members and found only
POWERFUL UNIONS LOOSING THEIR PUNCH Read More »
SEPTEMBER 7, 2010 Education Reform Starts With Pension Reform Because pensions aren’t portable, teachers lose big if they move or switch careers. By WILLIAM MCGURN This week children across the country are returning to the classroom, and with the new school year comes a renewed debate about the best way to challenge the culture of
TEACHER’S PENSIONS AREN’T PORTABLE Read More »
AUGUST 27, 2010 Public Pensions and Our Fiscal Future Few Californians in the private sector have $1 million in savings, but that’s effectively the retirement account they guarantee to many government employees. By ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER Recently some critics have accused me of bullying state employees. Headlines in California papers this month have been screaming “Gov
SCHWARZENEGGER SPEAKS OUT ON CALIFORNIA FISCAL WOES Read More »
AUGUST 23, 2010 How States Hide Their Budget Deficits The SEC’s charges against New Jersey for misleading investors should warn other states against sweeping the truth under the rug. By STEVE MALANGA In April, the New York State Comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli, issued a damning report on the Empire State’s financial practices. Albany’s budgets, he observed,
