Mark Paul: All Publications, Events and Press

Getting at the Roots of California’s Deep Political Schizophrenia

Erin Drankoski — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:24:00 -0400

Maybe we Californians have such a hard time figuring out how to fix the state because we are too close to the problem. How might an analyst sent here from another world--think of him as an extraterrestrial Alexis de Tocqueville, well read in California history and deeply versed on political practices elsewhere on this globe--diagnose California's ailments?

No Virginia, It's Not Just The Spending | California Progress Report

Cecille Isidro — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 08:30:00 -0400

As Mark Paul of the New America Foundation pointed out in his wise article in the latest issue of the American Interest, those cuts are part of the ...

Riding the Ratchet

Erin Drankoski — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 06:24:00 -0400

In the siege of a city, each of the final days plays out much like the one before, the monotony belying the imminent danger. Early on one particular brilliant and beautiful day last June, a kind of siege played out at the California State Capitol. Health advocates gathered on the west steps to rail against Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed cuts to Medi-Cal services for seniors and the disabled. On the north steps came a group of school support workers whose purple shirts--the ubiquitous uniform of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU)--read, "Save

Remaking the State Constitution: A Conventional Idea | Santa Monica Mirror

Cecille Isidro — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:26:00 -0400

The panelists, who included Robert Stern, President of the Center for Governmental Studies; Steven Hill and Marl Paul of New America Foundation; ...

CA EVENT: A Constitutional Convention for California? (Santa Monica)

Elizabeth Wu — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 07:12:00 -0400

A New America Event
07/17/2009 - 6:15pm

Citizens, community groups, and experts from across the state came together to discuss a California constitutional convention. How might it come about? How could it help our cities, schools, budget and government? Video is available below.

Cries for Reform of California Government Come from All Sides | Los Angeles Times

Cecille Isidro — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 21:47:00 -0400

Whatever path is taken, change is in the air, said Mark Paul, a senior scholar with the New America Foundation, a Washington-based think tank. ...

The Prop. 13 Gorilla | The Santa Barbara Independent

Cecille Isidro — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 01:03:00 -0400

“If your goal is to make California governable again by restoring fiscal sanity and political accountability, there’s no way to avoid Prop. 13,” Mark Paul, senior scholar and deputy director of the California program at the nonpartisan New America Foundation, wrote recently. “The 1978 Jarvis-Gann measure is not just a property tax limitation. It’s the hack that rewrote California’s operating system in ways that make it unworkable and unloved across the political spectrum.”

California's Budget Crisis: Is There a Way Out? | TIME Magazine

Cecille Isidro — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:06:00 -0400

Mark Paul, a scholar with the non-partisan New America Foundation, says, "It's silly to have a conversation about the future of California without talking about Proposition 13."

Two Big Ideas for Reform in California

Elizabeth Wu — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:22:00 -0400

California is an ungovernable state. It is plagued by systemic gridlock and paralysis that is built into its governmental institutions. "California does not work because it CANNOT work," said Micah Weinberg in a quote for George Skelton's Los Angeles Times column.

Constitutional Overhaul Would Omit Prop. 13 Property Tax Changes | Capitol Weekly

Cecille Isidro — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:55:00 -0400

One of these is Mark Paul, senior scholar with the non-partisan New America Foundation. "I think it's silly to have a conversation about the future direction of California without talking about Prop. 13," Paul said. "I think it's fundamental. ...

CA EVENT: California v 2.0

Elizabeth Wu — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 21:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
06/22/2009 - 12:00pm

Faced with a deepening budget crisis and a paralyzed political system, a growing number of Californians have concluded that their government needs a complete overhaul. Join us to meet the leaders of the reform movement, to explore different paths to fundamental change, and to discuss some ideas for creating “California v 2.0,” an upgraded political system that meets the challenges of the 21st century.

California Renovation | Sacramento News and Review

Cecille Isidro — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 09:01:00 -0400

“We’ve embedded so many policy decisions into the state constitution, it’s just become unworkable,” said Mark Paul, with the New America Foundation, a nonpartisan think tank. Unworkable. Unmanageable. More and more, pundits and academics say the state is literally “ungovernable.” Original article

State Workers, Agencies Try to Flee the General Fund | Capitol Weekly

Cecille Isidro — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 00:04:00 -0400

The move away from the general fund is a predictable response to a pair of trends that have been chipping away at this money for years, according to Mark Paul, a senior scholar with the non-partisan New America Foundation. First is the tendency to rely ...

How Did California's Budget Mess Happen? | KALW

Cecille Isidro — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 11:22:00 -0400

How did California's budget crisis happen? On the next Your Call, we continue our week long series about California's economic crisis by focusing on how we got here in the first place. The State has a 24 billion dollar budget deficit. What caused it? Overspending? The state's tax system? Prop 13? The 2/3 majority requirement?

Guests: Lenny Goldberg, executive director of the California Tax Reform Association

CA EVENT: Funding California's State and Local Governments

Elizabeth Wu — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
06/11/2009 - 3:00pm

Join the New America Foundation and the UC Center Sacramento for a roundtable discussion regarding the financing of California's state and local governments. Special attention will be given to the implications of changes in revenue structures and flows for different levels of government.

The Golden State's Extreme Makeover | San Francisco Bay Guardian

Cecille Isidro — Wed, 27 May 2009 15:22:00 -0400

"This would fundamentally change the formula of politics in California," said Steve Hill, director of the Political Reform Program for the New America Foundation. It would, for example, encourage regional thinking -- there would be a delegation elected from the Bay Area, one from the Central Coast, one from the Gold Country, etc. In effect, California would be treated as what it nearly is -- a country -- with broad issues addressed by representatives from what amount to states...

CA EVENT: The California Budget Challenge

Elizabeth Wu — Thu, 21 May 2009 07:30:00 -0400

A New America Event
05/21/2009 - 12:00pm

After passing the 2009-10 California state budget in February, lawmakers currently face an additional budget shortfall of $8 billion for the fiscal year, which could grow to $14 billion if ballot measures do not pass. The LAO has recommended that legislators act by no later than July to close this budget gap. The budget crisis we face is serious.

California's Electoral System Needs Reform

Elizabeth Wu — Wed, 20 May 2009 16:29:00 -0400

Media Contact
Liz Wu
California Media Relations Manager
510-295-9859
wu@newamerica.net

SACRAMENTO, CA - In the wake of Tuesday's record low voter turnout and the resounding defeat of five of six ballot measures proposed by the Legislature, the New America Foundation renewed its call for a fundamental overhaul of California's dysfunctional electoral system.

Senator Benjamin Cardin on the Crisis in Journalism

Communications — Wed, 13 May 2009 05:24:00 -0400

Washington, DC – Senator Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) delivered the keynote address this morning at a New America Foundation/Washington Monthly event on the future of journalism and his sponsoring of the Newspaper Revitalization Act. Senator Cardin stressed that he in no way supports a "government bailout" of newspapers, and that his bill—which permits papers to convert themselves to tax-exempt, 501c3 organizations—would not significantly affect federal tax revenues. "Newspapers only pay taxes if they're making a profit," he noted.

CA EVENT: Blockbuster Democracy (San Jose)

Elizabeth Wu — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 03:45:00 -0400

A New America Event
04/21/2009 - 8:00am

Once more, California's elected leaders have tossed the budget hot potato into the laps of the state's voters. As part of the long-delayed budget deal struck in late February, the Legislature and Governor have placed six measures on a May 19 special election. The passage or defeat of these measures will powerfully shape California's course both in the current recession crisis and in the decade ahead.