New America in California
 

Top L.A. Labor Group Embraces Election Reform

Joined by Broad Coalition of Elected and Business Leaders

The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO has endorsed a critical reform for Los Angeles elections: Instant Runoff Voting (IRV). The County Federation, the second largest chartered Labor Council of AFL-CIO in the country, represents over 350 unions and over 800,000 workers.

Maria Elena Durazo, the County Federation’s Executive Secretary-Treasurer, noted that IRV would benefit voters, working families and taxpayers alike: “By saving millions of taxpayer dollars and relieving voter fatigue, IRV will benefit all of Los Angeles. We strongly urge the Los Angeles City Council and Mayor Villaraigosa to put IRV on the ballot this November.” More

  

  

CA Event: The Subprime/Foreclosure Crisis
Emerging Policy Responses in Minnesota and California

On Wednesday, June 11, 2008 New America and  the University of California Center at Sacramento hosted a discussion on the housing crisis in California and Minnesota. Policy initiatives and the reform efforts being undertaked at the federal and state level  will be covered. This special session featured,  amongst others, Jeff Crump, professor at the University of Minnesota, Kevin Stein, Associate Director of the California Reinvestment Coalition, and Tia Boatman-Patterson, Special Assistant to Assembly Speaker Karen Bass. For more information click here


Political Reform Program Event
Instant Runoff Voting in Los Angeles

On Monday June 2nd, the Political Reform Program held an engaging discussion on Instant Runoff Voting (IRV), at the Bradely Center in Los Angeles' City Hall. IRV is a critical electoral reform for the City of Los Angeles that allows voters to rank a first, second and third choice for each office. IRV elects majority winners in a single election without the expense and voter fatigue of a second election. IRV holds great promise to increase voter turnout while saving taxpayers millions of dollars. For more information click here.

 

Throw Out the Tax Code

By Mark Paul, New America Foundation
Los Angeles Times | April 20, 2008

Politicians don't like to talk about taxes except to brag about cutting them. But with California's widening budget deficit threatening deep cuts in education and other public services, it's difficult to avoid discussions about raising taxes.

Unfortunately, what's likely to be lost in the upcoming partisan melee over whether new taxes are needed to close the $16-billion gap is an equally important tax issue -- California's aging and often unfair tax system needs to be overhauled. More

Fellowship Program
To bring promising new voices, exceptional writing and innovative policy
proposals to the fore of California's public political discourse.		 Political Reform Program
To restore a healthy democracy and establish an elected government that is accountable, representative and responsive. 		California Health Reform
To extend affordable health insurance to all Californians while raising the quality of care, and significantly lowering the rate of cost growth. 		California Asset Building
To broaden the ownership of assets, providing all Californians with the means to get ahead and a direct stake in the economy.

 

About Us

California Flag California has long been the nation’s leading laboratory of democracy, setting trends for the country as a whole and providing a testing ground for new policy ideas. New America has established a substantial presence in California, with the dual purpose of introducing cutting-edge solutions to the state’s foremost challenges and of enriching the quality of California’s public debate.

California today is undergoing unprecedented change, driven by rapid population growth, increasing ethnic diversity and new patterns of economic activity. These changes place enormous pressure on the state’s budget, schools, housing and infrastructure, as well as on California’s system of governance, which is in urgent need of reform.

Thanks to support from the James Irvine Foundation, New America has launched a multifaceted program to address these daunting problems. New America’s California Program appoints seven California-based Fellows per year, and houses New America’s Political Reform Program. In addition, it pursues state-specific initiatives in conjunction with New America’s national Asset Building, Education and Health Policy Programs, in each case crafting innovative solutions that can overcome California’s polarized, political debate.

New America’s staff and Fellows are regularly invited to brief California’s Governor, key legislators and their staff. This has led to the introduction of several pieces of important, bipartisan legislation. Meanwhile, our California-based staff and Fellows have published hundreds of articles in all of the state’s leading publications, contributing fresh ideas for meeting California’s most pressing public needs.

A more-detailed program description is available here.

Staff and Fellows

California Program

Political Reform Program

Asset Building Program

Fellows

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New America Foundation Praises New, Universal, Portable Retirement Savings Proposal

On Tuesday, April 8th, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Assembly Member Kevin De Leon (D-Los Angeles) unveiled a proposal to give California workers access to a low-cost, professionally managed retirement account. “We applaud Governor Schwarzenegger and Assembly Member De Leon’s bipartisan leadership” said Olivia Calderon, California Legislative Director of New America’s Asset Building Program. “Too many hardworking Californians don’t have access to a work based retirement savings plan. This is an incredible opportunity for California to show the rest of the nation how to use existing tools to help workers build their savings for retirement and other family needs so that they can retire with financial security.” More


California Asset Event
Expanding Savings and Retirement Security
Policies and Opportunities

On Wednesday, May 21st, 2008 Mark Iwry of the Brookings Institution presented on the current retirement savings crisis in America -- its causes and the continuing effect it will have on the financial security of working families as well as the state and national economy. Mr. Iwry also discussed state and national policy options to significantly encourage retirement savings and the accumulation of assets by lower- and middle-income workers. Click here for more information on this event.

How Do/How Should We Tax?
Tax Reform for California's New Economy

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

California has a tax system largely fixed in place during the Great Depression, in an industrial economy-setting unconcerned with environmental sustainability. Two questions about this tax system are posed here: First, can California find ways to raise the revenue it needs in the 21st century that are a better fit with our high-tech, service-based economy than is the current system? Second, can California's tax/fee structure be used to meet the state's greenhouse gas emissions under its AB 32 guidelines? The New America Foundation and the University of California Center hosted this half day conference in Sacramento. Experts discussing these pressing questions included amongst others: Steve Sheffrin Dean of Social Sciences at UC Davis, Annette Nellen , Professor of Accounting and Finance at San Jose State University and Irvine Fellow at New America, Jim Hawley, Vice President & General Counsel at TechNet, and Lenny Goldberg, Executive Director of the California Tax Reform Association. For documents provided at this event and the audio recording click here.