Big Picture The current state budget of CA is $203B, comprised of the general fund ($133B), special funds ($63.4B) and bond funds ($6.04B). Seventy-five percent of the budget goes to “local assistance” programs that include schools (39% of GF goes to K-12), community colleges, CalWORKS families, Medi-Cal doctors, child care…
Economic Updates
L.A. Job Centers
Employment Centers in L.A. Location 1997 2019 Types of Jobs Types of Jobs El Segundo Non-Center 70K professional, scientific and technical services, manufacturing San Fernando Non-Center 53K software engineering, data processing, internet development, motion picture and video production — has grown about 74 percent over the last decade. Santa Fe…
Insights on L.A. – Revisiting the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
Insights on L.A. (Sign up for weekly insights here) Revisiting the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act It has been two years since the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was signed into law. The goal of the bill was to simplify the tax code and curb special deductions. The most…
Insights on L.A. – March 30, 2020
Insights on L.A. Quote of the Week: “We have never in modern history suggested that people not work, that entire countries stay at home, and that we all keep a safe distance from one another. This is not about GDP or the economy: it is about our lives and livelihoods.”…
Revisiting the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
It has been two years since the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was signed into law. The goal of the bill was to simplify the tax code and curb special deductions. The most contentious piece of the bill was the $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions. Champions…
Housing in L.A. – Planning is Everything, the Plan Means Nothing
SCAG’s 6th Cycle Regional Housing Needs Assessment Last week the Southern California Association of Governments, a group that represents half the state’s population, hosted its regional council to debate their draft 6th cycle Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) allocation Plan which calls for the development of 1.3 million new units of housing, a Governor Newsom…
Getting Closer, But Still So Far Away from Basic Proficiency in K-12
Ideally, all students attending our K-12 system attain the requisite skills in Math and English Language Arts (ELA) to advance to higher education or technical schools, or secure an entry level job upon graduation. Looking at the latest results from the 2019 Smarter Balanced assessments, progress is being made in…
Los Angeles Needs More Housing Units, Not Cars on the Road
Last week California Governor Gavin Newsom doubled down on his $1.75 billion state budget (2019-2020) investment in new housing by signing 18 bills to accelerate housing development throughout the state. The most significant bill, Senate Bill 330 (“Housing Crisis Act of 2019”), will accelerate housing production in CA’s “urbanized” areas by streamlining permitting…
NGSS Teacher Training Grant Win & Impact Assessment
We are pleased to announce that the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Teacher Training Program has been awarded $50,000 from the Community Investment Act (CRA) grant program at City National Bank. This additional funding will enable us to train up to 25 teachers in the Crenshaw neighborhood, to be rolled…