The closure of the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. plant in Fremont is part of a clear and disturbing trend: Good-paying, skilled jobs are leaving California.  read more »

California's government can do more than simply watch the steady disappearance of jobs in the state. A national economic downturn falls outside the Legislature's control, but legislators can at least make sure that state government is not making the crisis worse.  read more »

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is doing the difficult but right thing by demanding long-term fiscal reform and a state budget that finally solves our $26 billion deficit. The longer we put off real reforms and a sustainable balanced budget the more we will damage our efforts to revive the economy and grow private sector jobs in California.  read more »

Right now California's economy is moribund, and the prospects for a quick turnaround are not good. Unable to pay its bills, the state is issuing IOUs; its once strong credit rating has collapsed. The state that once boasted the seventh-largest gross domestic product in the world is looking less like a celebrated global innovator and more like a fiscal basket case along the lines of Argentina or Latvia.  read more »

With the state government facing a $24.3 billion budget deficit and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declaring that doomsday has arrived, the summer blockbuster looks like a horror movie - with bloodcurdling screams from the right ("No new taxes") and the left ("No more cuts").    read more »

With the continuing economic crisis evaporating government treasuries in California, businesses big and small find themselves the targets of advocates who seek more revenue to offset potential budget cuts and officials who must deal with spiraling costs.   read more »

Today, 2 million Californians are unemployed; 843,000 more than one year ago. To overcome our current economic crisis, Sacramento lawmakers must do more than balance the budget; they must develop a new commitment to job creation and business growth. If we fail to grow new jobs in California, we will be plagued with a never-ending budget crisis.  read more »

Yes, but only if the middle class stomps on Sacramento.   These are times that thrill some easterners' souls. However bad things might be on Wall Street or Beacon Hill, there's nothing more pleasing to Atlantic America than the whiff of devastation on the other coast.   read more »