Posts

California’s $20 Billion Tax Gambit Is a Lit Match in a Fiscal Tinderbox

Image
CA Homeowners Ages 60+ Exempt From Paying Property Taxes Under New Proposal | Across California, CA Patch A Silicon Valley gadfly’s ballot initiative to exempt seniors from property taxes invokes the founding myth of Prop. 13 — while ignoring the structural deficits, pension crisis, insurance collapse, and housing bubble that make its passage a path to fiscal catastrophe. Special Report SAN DIEGO, Feb. 25, 2026 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW A ballot initiative filed Dec. 1, 2025 would exempt all homeowners 60+ from California property taxes, costing local governments $12–$20 billion annually. California already faces structural deficits projected at $35 billion per year by 2027–28 and $265 billion in unfunded pension obligations. The insurance market’s retreat from wildfire-exposed communities is already suppressing transactions and resetting assessed values downward, attacking the property tax base from a second direction. The Prop. 13 “protect seniors” founding myth obscures the measure’s re...
Post a Comment
Read more

Cost Drivers That Are Pushing California Housing Above the National Average

Image
Cost Drivers That Are Pushing California Housing Above the National Average - YouTube California's Housing Crisis: Regulatory Barriers Meet Hard Physical Limits How a Perfect Storm of Policy, Geography, and Climate Change Has Made the American Dream Unattainable for a Generation TL;DR : California's housing shortage stems from both excessive regulation and harsh physical realities. While the state's complex permitting, environmental reviews, and municipal fees add $50,000-$160,000 per home, critics often ignore escalating wildfire insurance costs ($54,000-$186,000 over 30 years), water scarcity requiring $50+ billion in infrastructure, and climate-driven constraints that make 1950s-style suburban expansion impossible. Construction costs run 1.5x-2.3x national averages, homeownership rates have plunged to 55%, and 52% of young adults consider leaving the state. Solutions require both regulatory reform and acceptance that California's future housing must look different ...
Post a Comment
Read more

California Court Rules Against Students Seeking COVID-Era Tuition Refunds

Image
Grant v. Chapman University :: 2026 :: California Courts of Appeal Decisions :: California Case Law :: California Law :: U.S. Law :: Justia Economic Questions Remain Unanswered TL;DR: A California appeals court ruled that universities made no enforceable promise of in-person education when they charged full tuition but switched to remote learning during COVID-19. However, the decision leaves unresolved questions about market-based pricing that could affect thousands of students and billions in tuition dollars, with legal experts identifying potential grounds for appeal based on the stark price differential between online and residential education. Court Decision Protects Universities But Exposes Pricing Paradox SANTA ANA, Calif. — In a decision with potentially sweeping implications for thousands of students nationwide, the California Court of Appeal has ruled that universities did not breach their contracts when they charged full residential tuition while delivering remote educat...
Post a Comment
Read more

California Forces Hospital to Resume Experimental Hormone Treatments on Children Despite Federal Investigation

Image
State sues Rady Children's Health over decision to curb gender-affirming care TL;DR : California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued Rady Children's Health to force reopening of its pediatric gender clinic, citing violated merger conditions. The hospital closed the program after federal investigation, affecting 1,450 patients. At issue: whether the state can compel a hospital to continue administering puberty-blocking drugs—the same medications used in prostate cancer treatment—to healthy children, despite growing international evidence questioning their safety and efficacy. California has escalated its confrontation with the Trump administration over pediatric gender medicine, filing suit to force Rady Children's Health to resume treatments that European healthcare systems are abandoning as insufficiently supported by evidence. The January 31, 2025 lawsuit alleges Rady violated legally binding merger conditions by closing its gender-affirming care program without state app...
Post a Comment
Read more