SAN FRANCISCO — Pacific Gas & Electric reported substantial losses for the third quarter on Thursday, driven by catastrophic wildfires that have been blamed on the utility's outdated transmission lines. The company anticipates those costs could escalate to as much as $6.3 billion. PG&E filed for bankruptcy in January to...
Biden, Warren, Sanders Face Scrutiny at Democratic Debate
WESTERVILLE, Ohio — Joe Biden is facing baseless — but persistent— allegations of wrongdoing overseas that could undermine his argument that he's best positioned to defeat the president. Bernie Sanders is recovering from a heart attack that raised questions about his ability to withstand the vigor of a presidential campaign. And Elizabeth...
California’s Pension Debt Cannot Be Ignored
A decade ago, at Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s request, I supervised a graduate student team that performed a comprehensive analysis of public pensions in California. The goal was to calculate California’s pension debt, the difference between assets and liabilities. The team’s conclusions: the unfunded liability was over $500 billion—seven times the number officially...
Walters: State Tax Reforms or State Tax Increases?
There is a substantial list of governance issues that former Gov. Jerry Brown said were important, but that he left on his desk for successor Gavin Newsom. For instance, although he and the Legislature enacted a very modest reform of public employee pensions, he repeatedly said it was only a...