Author: Edward Ring

Edward Ring is the director of water and energy policy for the California Policy Center, which he co-founded in 2013 and served as its first president. The California Policy Center is an educational non-profit focused on public policies that aim to improve California’s democracy and economy. He is also a senior fellow of the Center for American Greatness. Ring is the author of two books: "Fixing California - Abundance, Pragmatism, Optimism" (2021), and "The Abundance Choice - Our Fight for More Water in California" (2022).

California Voters Approve Billions in Local Taxes and Borrowing

November 11, 2020 2:10 amNovember 11, 2020 6:14 am

In March 2020, for the first time is a generation, Californian’s did not approve the overwhelming majority of local tax and bond proposals that were put before them. Out of 125 proposed local bonds, only 31 percent passed; out of 111 proposed...

Gov. Newsom Recall Granted 120 More Days to Collect Signatures

November 6, 2020 4:29 pmNovember 9, 2020 3:11 pm

The Recall Gavin 2020 campaign has been given a 120 day extension to collect 1,495,709 signed petitions, which if validated by the Secretary of State, would force Governor Newsom to defend his seat in a special election. The last time there...

How Much do California’s State Workers Make?

November 4, 2020 2:15 pmNovember 5, 2020 11:54 am

Californians pay the highest overall taxes in the United States, with more to come. The Democratic supermajority in the state legislature is considering AB 1253 that would raise the top income tax rate to 16.8 percent, and AB 2088 that would impose an annual...

Firefighters Union Backs Prop. 15 Instead of Forestry Reform

October 27, 2020 2:54 pmOctober 28, 2020 10:55 am

Thousands of firefighters continue to battle blazes across California. In Orange County, two firefighters are in critical condition after suffering major injuries battling the Silverado Fire. Every year around this time, firefighters risk their lives, and some of them lose their lives,...

Pension Costs Are Not the Reason California’s Schools Fail the Disadvantaged

October 21, 2020 3:38 pmOctober 21, 2020 5:36 pm

A recent guest editorial published by Bakersfield.com entitled “California’s defunding of public education” makes the case that a “pension contribution maneuver” has left school districts up and down the state with shrinking budgets. The author, Shaohua Yang, gets many of his facts...

How to Save California’s Forests

October 20, 2020 2:13 amOctober 19, 2020 9:11 pm

For about twenty million years, California’s forests endured countless droughts, some lasting over a century. Natural fires, started by lightning and very frequent in the Sierras, were essential to keep forest ecosystems healthy. In Yosemite, for example, meadows used to...

Time to Restructure Failing BART System

October 13, 2020 4:30 pmOctober 14, 2020 12:46 pm

Of all the public agencies facing financial challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, public transit has taken the biggest initial hit. The reasons for this are obvious: when there’s a lockdown and businesses are closed, commuters stay home....