California Business Minute™

Hi, I am Tim Johnson and welcome to the California Business Minute.

Two groups, Citizens Against Government Waste and Howard Jarvis Taxpayers
Foundation have released their annual review of poor local government expenditures
known as the ’piglet’.

Among the worst expenditures cited are:

• The Berkeley Housing Authority subsidizing rent for dead tenants

 • Southern California Metropolitan Water District ratepayers spending millions to   
   subsidize a local "water museum," then seeing rates increase

• Shasta County offering 'pet care benefits' to employees

• The Mira Costa College president spending six figures to investigate the theft
  of a $300 tree.

The billions of dollars of waste, fraud, and abuse identified in this year's Piglet is the
continued evidence of waste by local government. This scrutiny will be especially
important this year as California deals with a potential $10 billion budget deficit and
additional billions of unfunded pension liabilities.

I am Tim Johnson and this has been the California Business Minute.