The Senate and Assembly Budget Subcommittees on Public Safety are being pressured to reconsider the Governor’s revised cost-saving proposal for the state’s youth correctional system, the Division of Juvenile Facilities (commonly referred to as DJJ). Law enforcement agencies are demanding that the Legislature reduce or eliminate the new $24,000 per ward fee structure, which was proposed by the Governor’s office in the May revised budget. This amount greatly contributes to the $24.8 million in…
Blog Jun 5, 2012
More on inequality
This is an update for my last blog where I provide a brief summary of the state of inequality in American society. Shortly after posting this blog, I accidentally discovered some truly incredible data in Mother Jones magazine. The charts (found here ) do an even better job than Inequality.org. Here’s what the charts say. To begin with, the huge income growth for the top 1% was helped by the fact that from 1992 to 2007 when their income grew by 392%, their tax rate dropped by 37%. Because…
Who’s deciding California’s legislative priorities?
Blog May 31, 2012
The winnowing of California’s Judiciary
California is home to the largest court system in the county. On any given day these courts oversee proceedings that range from very high profile criminal prosecutions to the most mundane of civil litigation. In short, California’s judiciary provides a safeguard for the equitable exercise of political, economic, and civil activity across the state. Yet these same courts are under significant fiscal pressure as a result of ongoing state budget deficits. In the midst of California Governor…
There is currently pressure on the California legislature from law enforcement agencies to reduce or eliminate the Governor’s proposed $24,000 per youth fee structure for the Division of Juvenile Facilities. The state is already spending 20 – 25 times the per capita investment on youth offenders as it is on students in our UC, Cal State, K‑12, and community college systems. With an 80% recidivism rate, the Division of Juvenile Facilities should receive a failing grade yet legislators are being…