Marc Joffe – California Globe

Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District’s Fragile Finances

December 18, 2025 11:36 amDecember 18, 2025 11:36 am

Stories of local government financial distress usually revolve around cities and school districts, but California special districts also face challenges. In a new California Policy Center study, my colleagues and I found a new local government not far from the...

The Innovative Wealth Tax That Could Break California

November 19, 2025 1:54 pmNovember 19, 2025 1:55 pm

California is not only the home of innovative technology; sadly, it is also the home of innovative tax ideas. The latest breakthrough is a one-time billionaire wealth tax levied on a retroactive basis. But while the union, the former Clinton...

California Transit Agencies Cost Taxpayers $10 Billion Per Year – And They Want More

October 14, 2025 7:00 amOctober 14, 2025 8:38 am

By Marc Joffe and Athan Joshi California transit agencies required over $10 billion of taxpayer funds to provide service and maintain their capital plant in Fiscal Year 2023. This is the key finding of our analysis of data from 85...

California Shifts Blame for High Gas Prices

August 8, 2023 6:18 amAugust 8, 2023 6:43 am

By Marc Joffe and Ryan Bourne Although they are off their all-time highs, gasoline prices in California remain elevated. Gas Buddy recently reported that statewide gas prices averaged $4.89. This was $1.08 higher than average prices in neighboring Arizona and $1.50 more...

Are Wasteful California Rail Projects Falling Out of Fashion?

January 24, 2023 9:59 amJanuary 26, 2023 1:22 pm

Recent action at the state and federal level may bode ill for three costly projects being pursued by San Francisco Bay Area transit agencies. In the face of declining population and historically low transit ridership, the agencies are trying to...

California Needs to Reassess Stay-at-Home Orders to Prevent an Economic Tragedy

April 20, 2020 10:00 amApril 20, 2020 10:12 am

Before the public health and economic disasters wreaked by the COVID-19 pandemic ruins more lives, California policymakers need to carefully assess the costs of a long-term lockdown and make common sense adjustments. About one-sixth of California workers have filed for...