Commentary A bill I authored during in the 2017-2018 Legislative session, SB 1159, would have given certified public accountants (CPAs) the same ability that attorneys currently enjoy: to receive continuing professional education credits for serving as an elected legislator. I worked on the bill with U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) who, like myself, is a…

Commentary California’s state budget is supposed to be crafted by the June 15 constitutional deadline. For fiscal year 2021-22, which began July 1, it wasn’t. Instead, the legislature passed a “placeholder” budget—that is, a fake budget. Proposition 25 from 2010 mandates legislators’ pay be cut off if they miss the deadline. Then-Controller John Chiang actually…

Commentary Home price values accelerated across nation in April, according to the most recent data from the S&P CoreLogic Case-Schiller home price indices. The rise was especially sharp in the western U.S. Using January 2020 as the starting point, home prices increased by more than 25 percent in both San Diego and Seattle through the…

Commentary Chapman University is predicting a 10-to-15 percent drop in the median price of detached singled family homes in Orange County, Calif., by mid-2023. Faculty from Chapman University’s A. Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research presented on June 16 the institution’s economic forecasts for the nation, state, and Orange County. It expects rates on new…

Commentary Employment information jobs in San Jose, San Francisco and Seattle increased five percent in 2020, despite a large number of anecdotal evidence to the contrary—and also despite a six percent decrease of information jobs across the U.S. during the pandemic-ravaged year. Broadly speaking, “information jobs” includes employment in traditional media such as publication, telecommunications,…

Commentary The median sales price for a detached home in Orange County has risen to $1.1 million, up 22 percent from the $900,000 median sales price in 2020. This rapid price increase is driven by strong demand and a low number of homes for sale. Across all of Southern California, the average home is expected…

Commentary In Orange County, Calif., it’s a matter of weeks before a $1.25 million house is plucked from the market, creating lucrative opportunities for area sellers. According to the just-published Orange County Housing Report, 58 percent of Orange County home sellers are offering homes at $1.25 million or less. Demand is so high—and supply so…

Commentary After reviewing my ranking of Orange County cities based on their per capita unrestricted net positions, a resident approached his city council for an explanation. He was informed, in writing, that it is just “a single indicator of the financial health of a city.”  This is true. It is a temperature gauge. And since…

Commentary The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) did not have the legal authority to place a moratorium on evictions during the pandemic, a federal judge ruled May 5. While the news won’t affect Californians, it does highlight the challenges the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic have brought upon both renters and landlords. According to the…

Commentary Southern California is expected to build 1.5 million new homes throughout the next eight years. That was the finding of a recent pronouncement by California’s department of housing and community development. Even so, President Joe Biden’s administration is proposing a change in the federal tax code that could severely limit the likelihood that such…