Leif Wellington Haase

The U.S. economy has been gripped by a relentless housing crisis for almost two years. A key driver in this crisis has been the many subprime mortgages that involved high rates and fees -- often requiring no down payments -- that were made in the past several years. California is ground zero in the subprime crisis and the resultant spillover effects -- foreclosures, bankruptcies, decreasing property values to name a few. Recognizing that relying on the market alone is unlikely… more

Sacramento Bee | Plan to Open Up CalPERS Reflects Worry About Inadequate Saving for Retirement 

Investing for retirement is the financial equivalent of eating your vegetables: It's good for you, but sometimes downright distasteful.

Now a proposal making its way through the California Legislature has people talking about whether the state can make putting aside retirement money more palatable.

The plan would let private businesses and workers funnel direct payroll deposits into a retirement investment account. The California Public Employees' Retirement… more

Sacramento Bee | California Assembly Panel Passes State-run IRA Proposal

A proposal to open California's retirement system to private sector workers prompted questions Wednesday about government competing with investment firms and the pension system's ability to handle the unique program.

"We just don't know if it's going to work yet," Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries, R-Lake Elsinore, said of the proposal to have the California Public Employees' Retirement System offer IRA accounts to workers whose employers don't offer retirement savings… more

In January 2007, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger unveiled a comprehensive health care plan that aimed to provide quality, affordable health insurance to all Californians. Based on individual responsibility, the plan focused on prevention and wellness and emphasized a shared responsibility approach to financing.

After almost a year of negotiations between Governor Schwarzenegger and Democratic legislative leaders, compromise legislation with a framework and goals similar to the governor’s original proposal passed the State Assembly with a large majority. This compromise legislation, however,… more

Efforts to reform California's health system hold many lessons for the nation. The bipartisan spirit displayed by Governor Schwarzenegger and Assembly Speaker Núñez proves that Republicans and Democrats can work together to address the most challenging health care problems facing our nation. In addition, the campaign to cover all Californians united an unprecedented coalition of advocates: hospitals, insurers, large and small employers, labor, and patients. Rarely have such disparate interest groups united in favor of a health reform… more

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?

As Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has released his budget threatened by $14 billion of red ink, many are asking whether California can afford the ambitious health care reforms that passed the state Assembly in December. Given the social and economic costs of leaving as many as 6.5 million Californians uninsured, the better question may be: Can we afford not to? Those worried by the possible impact of the budget gap on health reform include Senate President Pro Tem Don… more

On January 15, 2008, the San Francisco Chronicle featured an opinion piece authored by Leif Wellington Haase and Peter Harbage of the New America Foundation. The article, titled “Why the state’s the budget gap shouldn’t derail health reform,” presented several statistics on the importance of health reform. This background and analysis document offers the underlying support for the statistics used in their argument.

 

Len Nichols, Director of the Health Policy Program at the New America Foundation, made the following statement today after the California Assembly voted to approve health care legislation that would cover all Californians. New America has provided policy and communications advice to Governor Schwarzenegger, his staff, and to Democratic leaders throughout the reform debate. Many of New America’s core health reform principles, including an individual mandate, are included in the proposal:

“Today is an exciting day for Californians,… more

Twenty-five years ago, 49er quarterback Joe Montana connected with Dwight Clark on a last-minute miracle pass that changed the history of pro football forever. The metaphor for saving California health-care reform in 2007 resides in that memory.

Several national media reports of the death of reform are premature. But we are truly down to the final minute. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s original plan was good, but not perfect. Those for whom the perfect is the enemy of the good have effectively… more