Our goal is fundamental change:
We want a government that's small enough to listen, big enough to tackle real problems, smart enough to spend our money wisely, and honest enough to be held accountable for results. We need your help.

05/16/2012

Brown stymied by same budget dysfunction that plagued predecessors

Source: Los Angeles Times

Jerry Brown told voters he was different — that only he, a septuagenarian government veteran with no aspirations to higher office, could fix the cycle of swelling budget deficits that has plagued California for more than a decade. But the release of Brown's updated budget plan Monday shows that he is being trapped by the same partisanship and dysfunction that hobbled his predecessors when they tried to repair the state's finances. Read more

05/16/2012

Fiscal analyst agrees with Brown forecast, increases Facebook estimate

Source: Sacramento Bee

Gov. Jerry Brown has weathered criticism for making an aggressive bet on revenues in last year's budget act, but the state's top fiscal analyst approves of his latest forecast, which is more conservative. The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office said today that its own forecasts "now are fairly similar to the administration's in both 2011-12 and 2012-13, with just a few hundred million dollars of bottom-line differences each year." Read more

05/16/2012

Carl Guardino: CPUC should approve a new green energy plan from PG&E

Source: San Jose Mercury News

In the summer of 1977, David Packard asked a number of his fellow CEOs to join him in creating a proactive voice for Silicon Valley businesses. The result was the formation of the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group, which for the past 35 years has successfully tackled some of the toughest challenges facing Silicon Valley employers and their employees. One of the founding members of what is now the Silicon Valley Leadership Group was Pacific Gas and Electric Co. While hundreds of new, high-tech and cleantech companies now are members of our organization, some of our most forward-thinking ideas still come from our founding members. Read more

05/16/2012

Voter distrust will be a hurdle for Brown tax plan

Source: Sacramento Bee

Gov. Jerry Brown is pleading with Californians to raise their taxes as part of his solution for solving the state's budget deficit, but it's uncertain whether voters will be in an accepting mood come November. Polls show voters want more money for schools but don't want to tax themselves to pay for it. They continue to be pessimistic about the economy in a state with one of the highest jobless rates in the nation. Read more

05/15/2012

CA Economic Summit Says Answers Won’t Come from Sacramento

Source: Fox & Hounds

The first annual California Economic Summit sponsored by California Forward and the Think Long Committee saw the answers to California’s economic and political problems rising from the regions of California. At the same time, there was a strong indictment against Sacramento leadership in its efforts to improve economic and governance matters. Former United States Secretary of State, George Schultz, conference co-chair, said that not only should the conference attendees expect no help from Sacramento, “If Sacramento people find out we’re solving problems, they’ll come in and stop us.” Read more

01/03/2012 by Elizabeth Sholes

Non-partisan, democratic reform can restore sanity

California once worked for all people. We may have disagreed, but we had a sense of the common good that kept us united in offering programs and policies that worked. Read more

12/21/2011 by Chris Block

GPAA: 21st Century Reform

As someone who has closely observed California Forward’s work over the last few years, I am in full support of the proposed Government Performance and Accountability Act (GPAA). Read more

12/20/2011 by Delaine Eastin

GPAA brings strategic thinking and foresight back to budgeting

We need to invest in our future generations as the past generations invested in us. Only then will our state thrive. To do this, we must support governance and fiscal reforms to allow voters to support education, such as those in the California Forward Action Fund’s Government Performance and Accountability Act (GPAA). Read more

12/19/2011 by Fred Silva

LAO Report: GPAA could save state millions

The California Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO), which provides nonpartisan fiscal and policy analysis for the Legislature, finds that the California Forward Action Fund’s Government Performance and Accountability Act (GPAA) would - over time – save the state millions of dollars. Read more

12/19/2011 by CA Fwd

Mortgage fraud keeping SoCal residents under water

California Attorney General Kamala Harris visited the East LA Community Corporation recently to see for herself what could be done with the right focus on improving opportunities for housing in high-risk communities. Read more

05/12/2012

The historic first California Economic Summit Concludes—For now

Californians will be able to comment online before a final report is issued Read more

05/08/2012

New survey shows California Millennials ready to shape California’s future

California’s millennials like living in California, trust its government and education system, and are highly optimistic about its future, according to a survey released today by California Forward (CA Fwd). Read more

02/10/2011

Californians Weigh in on Government Reform

California Forward to Present Ideas from around the State to Governor Brown... Read more

02/02/2011

California Viewpoints Survey Reveals Optimistic Results

Californians agree: efficiency, transparency and accountability must be focus of solutions... Read more

12/06/2010

Budget Reform Bills Introduced in Senate

Senators DeSaulnier & Wolk Call for 2-Year Budget and Performance-Based Budgeting Read more