Rose Institute Fellow Douglas Johnson was quoted last week in an article by The Oakland Tribune on the possible financial crisis the city of Rialto may face in the next few years. The article reports that Johnson said: “city governments are grappling with similar decisions throughout the state as California’s budget woes and the national [...]
Voice of San Diego, with whom the Rose Institute worked to put together our “Comparing San Diego County Services: A Twelve-County Analysis,” ran an insightful and comprehensive series of articles based on the Rose Institute study. The articles are all available from the Special Report center on the Voice website. And now Voice has put [...]
Dr. Frates was recently quoted in a Los Angeles Daily News article on the subject of 1,400 Los Angeles Unified School District employees signing up for an early retirement plan. Frates discusses the pros and cons for the district:
“With early retirement the cost is not free, and retirement benefits will be doled out for a [...]
In a large step for education spending research in California, the Pacific Research Institute recently launched a new web database that puts data on school district per-pupil revenue, achievement, demographic info, and staff salaries all in one readily accessible place. The database promises to be a boon for aspiring researchers, from students to professors due [...]
Employees of the city of Claremont, where the Rose Institute is located, recently agreed to some key cost saving measures for this year that will help the city avoid dire straits according to the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. Employees represented by six unions and associations agreed to forgo their cost-of-living increase for the year as [...]
Today KPCC talk radio host Pat Morrison interviewed Rose Institute Fellow Douglas Johnson. Mr. Johnson discussed Federal transportation funding and the MTA with MTA spokeswoman Carol Ng, La Habra Heights City Manager Shauna Clark, and Congressman Adam Schiff.
When it is available, the podcast will be posted on the KPCC website.
Update I: The KPCC coverage is following [...]
A recent Wall Street Journal article mentions that the California cities of Isleton and Rio Vista may be forced to follow in Vallejo’s steps and declare bankruptcy. The cities are currently being crushed under increasing costs from wages and benefit for city employees while sales tax revenue is decreasing. The cities have already contacted the [...]
The following article is from our Spring, 2008 newsletter:
I am pleased to report that the 2008 Kosmont-Rose Institute Cost of Doing Business Survey is nearing completion. The Survey, in its fourteenth year of publication and its sixth year as a Rose Institute project, contains a vast amount of data about fees, taxes, costs, and [...]
The following article is from our Spring, 2008 newsletter:
As summer approaches, we finalize spring semester projects and reflect upon another great year at the Rose Institute. We give a big thank you to our class of 2008 student managers, Pierce Rossum and Emily Pears, who have led us to the Rose Institute’s 35th year. Peter [...]
From the article by Stephen Moore, senior economics writer for the Wall Street Journal editorial page, in the Weekly Standard:
“Pensions are the second biggest line item in most municipal budgets today behind law enforcement,” says Steven Frates, a professor at Claremont McKenna College and an expert on California’s pensions system. He adds that “the annuity [...]
The survey contains a vast amount of data about fees, taxes, costs, and incentives that affect business in more than 400 communities nationwide. Updated annually, it is a valuable resource for cities, businesses, and developers.