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CA lost 173K private jobs, added 181K government, largely part-time jobs | California

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www.thecentersquare.com – Kenneth Schrupp – (The Center Square – ) 2025-03-27 11:00:00

(The Center Square) — California has lost 173,000 fully private sector jobs since January 2023, offset by a gain of 181,100 largely part-time government and government-supported jobs.

Thirty-eight percent of these new government and government-supported jobs are from elderly or disabled individuals using state funds to pay household members and others minimum wage for part-time care and assistance. 

The report also found that while hourly wages are up, average hours worked are down, suggesting employers are cutting hours to reduce labor costs, such as those imposed by the state’s sector-based minimum wages.

According to the new report from the California Center for Jobs and the Economy, a project of the California Business Roundtable pro-business association, “California’s job growth has been dominated by government and government dependent jobs in Healthcare & Social Assistance.”

CCJE says of the 181,100 new taxpayer-funded jobs, 124,800 were in health care and social assistance, and that 55% of those were from the government’s household care program.

“Using the unadjusted series, Social Assistance — composed primarily of minimum wage, part-time, government paid jobs in In-Home & Supportive Services (IHSS) — was responsible for 55% of the Healthcare & Social Assistance jobs growth in California — and 2/3 of total net jobs growth. This source comprised only 4% to 16% in the other states.”

The report said in the private sector, essentially only “green” energy and transportation jobs experienced any growth.

“Trade related jobs in Transportation, Trade & Utilities have been the one bright spot in the state’s recovery progress, but as indicated in the Texas numbers, California’s lead in this area has been under increasing competition from other regions,” continued the report. “To put it more directly, other than in Trade, California has not grown jobs during the past 4 years of recovery; it has bought them with public funds.” 

Without state and federal funding and regulations mandating labor and capital-intensive replacement of energy and transportation infrastructure, it’s thus likely every single sector in the private industry in California would have shrunk over the past two years.

The report also said the low quality of the new “jobs” could create issues for the state over time.

“California has not expanded its tax base; it has used that tax base to cover its competitive weakness for private sector jobs,” wrote the CCJE. “And the jobs California has bought are not the ‘good-paying’ jobs promised in the state’s economic development goals, but are predominantly minimum wage, part-time and limited term.”

Last year, the state-funded Legislative Analyst’s Office reported the state’s fully private sector employment started contracting in 2022 and that all job growth had been through government. 

Now, the LAO has a new report on just how much IHSS — which largely facilitates elderly and disabled individuals paying household members $21.65 per hour for the time they spend together — will cost the state in the coming 2025-2026 fiscal year.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed a $28.5 billion budget for IHSS this coming year, due to an estimated 7% increase in caseload and 2.9% increase in labor costs.

The LAO explained IHSS recipients generally can receive up to 283 hours of paid assistance per month “with tasks such as bathing, dressing, housework and meal preparation,” and that county workers conduct assessments to approve service hours. 

“In most cases, the recipient is responsible for hiring and supervising a paid IHSS provider — oftentimes a family member or relative,” wrote the LAO. “The average number of service hours that will be provided to an estimated 771,650 IHSS recipients is projected to be 123.7 hours per month in 2025-26.”

The LAO noted most costs for the program are shared with the federal government, and as a Medicaid program, receives 50% reimbursement from federal taxpayers, leaving the state and county governments with the rest of the tab, except in the case of certain individuals with federal reimbursement rates of up to 90%. 

The LAO warned “caseloads are growing at an increasing rate.”

The office noted program growth has risen since all illegal immigrants were made eligible for Medi-Cal and the state ended asset means-testing for the program, allowing technically low-income but asset-rich individuals to qualify for taxpayer-funded healthcare, nursing and other benefits.

The LAO also said demographic changes are further increasing IHSS spending. 

The state expects a quarter of Californians to be 60 or older by 2030, which, combined with the out-migration of net taxpayers and in-migration of net beneficiaries, could further complicate the state’s deteriorating budget. 

Even with current spending levels, the LAO says the state will face a $20 billion deficit for 2026 and that will continue to rise to $30 billion by the end of the decade.

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Helene: Proposal brings back help accessing federal money | North Carolina

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www.thecentersquare.com – Alan Wooten – (The Center Square – ) 2025-03-30 08:01:00

(The Center Square) – Small businesses’ access to federal aid in rebuilding from Hurricane Helene is supported through a North Carolina congressman’s proposal in the House of Representatives.



U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C.




Helene Small Business Recovery Act, authored by Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., drew the immediate support when filed last week of Democratic Rep. Don Davis and Republican Reps. Virginia Foxx and David Rouzer, all of North Carolina. The 5th Congressional District of Foxx and 11th of Edwards were significantly hit by the storm six months earlier, and the 7th Congressional District of Rouzer and the 1st of Davis are in the southeastern and eastern regions, respectively, of the state and the most often hit places by hurricanes.

The Helene Small Business Recovery Act clarifies that SBA loans and federal grants, like those that will be offered through the CDBG-DR program, are not duplicative,” Edwards said in a release. “Without this clarification, businesses that took an SBA loan to keep themselves afloat would be prohibited from accessing federal grant money when it becomes available.

“Loans and grants are inherently different, and this bill will allow small business owners access to both federal resources so that western North Carolina, and every small business that makes our mountains such a great place to live, has the resources needed to recover.”

CDBG-DR is the acronym for Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery; SBA is an acronym for Small Business Administration.

The Stafford Act doesn’t allow federal agencies to duplicate benefits, and a loan is considered duplicative of a grant. SBA loans must be repaid; CDBG-DR grants are one-time payments to victims that do not have to be repaid.

A sunset passed in 2021 on the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 that, temporarily, said a loan is not part of a grant, Edwards’ release said.

The American Relief Act aiding in Helene recovery awarded $1.65 billion in disaster block grants to western North Carolina.

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Louisiana voters overwhelmingly reject all four constitutional amendments | Louisiana

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www.thecentersquare.com – By Nolan McKendry | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-03-29 20:32:00

(The Center Square) — Louisiana voters overwhelmingly rejected four proposed constitutional amendments which aimed to reshape the state’s approach to justice, juvenile crime, taxation, and judicial elections. Each amendment was rejected by more than 60% of voters.

“This was a “primal scream” kind of vote, driven by robust Democratic EV turnout that I’m not seeing being offset by a strong GOP Election Day vote,” John Couvillon, an award-winning pollster, said in a post on X. 

“Although we are disappointed in tonight’s results, we do not see this as a failure. We realize how hard positive change can be to implement in a state that is conditioned for failure,” Gov. Jeff Landry said in a statement. “We will continue working to give our citizens more opportunities to keep more of their hard-earned money and provide a better future for Louisianians. This is not the end for us, and we will continue to fight to make the generational changes for Louisiana to succeed.” 

Amendment 1: Expanded Court Powers and Specialty Courts

Voters rejected a measure expanding the Louisiana Supreme Court’s disciplinary authority over out-of-state attorneys and allowing lawmakers to establish specialized trial courts that cross district lines. The amendment followed controversy over mass hurricane lawsuits filed by an out-of-state law firm and was challenged in court earlier this month. Amendment 1 was rejected by over 170,000 votes.

Amendment 2: Sweeping Fiscal Overhaul

Amendment 2, which would have rewrote Article VII of the Louisiana Constitution, was rejected by over 150,000 votes. The 100+ page overhaul includes capping state spending growth, consolidating reserve funds, shifting nearly $2 billion from education savings accounts to pay down retirement debt, and phasing out business inventory taxes. It has been a cornerstone of Landry’s tax reform agenda. 

Amendment 3: Adult Prosecution for Juveniles

This amendment would allow lawmakers to expand the list of crimes for which minors can be tried as adults without another constitutional vote. Authored by Sen. Heather Cloud, R-Turkey Creek and opposed by youth justice advocates who argue the current list is already broad enough, Amendment 3 saw the most resounding rejection−a margin of over 180,000.

Amendment 4: Judicial Election Timing Fix

A technical amendment to align special judicial election timing with Louisiana’s soon-to-be closed-party primary system was rejected by over 120,000. Supporters say it prevents logistical issues when filling judicial vacancies; opponents said the change was minor and could have been handled by statute. It was the only measure not subject to a legal challenge.

 

 

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Live Nation battles anti-competitive allegations on multiple levels | National

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www.thecentersquare.com – Brett Rowland – (The Center Square – ) 2025-03-29 11:20:00

(The Center Square) – Live Nation Entertainment, the events giant that operates Ticketmaster, is fighting to hold on to practices that states and the federal government allege are anti-competitive and hurt both fans and musicians.

The company recently lost its bid to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice and a coalition of state attorneys general. The lawsuit alleges that Live Nation runs a monopoly that most recently came under fire during Taylor Swift’s Eras tour as fans struggled to get limited tickets to fast-selling shows. 

District Judge Arun Subramanian denied Live Nation’s motion to dismiss the federal action, ruling the DOJ could proceed with its case.

“These allegations aren’t just about a refusal to deal with rival promotors,” Subramanian wrote in his ruling. “They are about the coercion of artists.”

Live Nation is also working on multiple fronts at the state level. More than 25 states and Puerto Rico debated more than 75 bills on ticket sales during 2023 legislative sessions after the fallout from Swift’s mega-tour, according to a report from the National Conference of State Legislatures.

In the wake of the Eras collapse, Arkansas stopped local governments from banning the sale or resale of a ticket at any price; Maine required resellers to refund customers in some circumstances; and Oklahoma prohibited the use of software to bypass controls on a ticket seller’s website, according to the NCL report. In 2016, Congress passed similar legislation banning the use of bots on ticket websites.

In Massachusetts, Live Nation spent $120,000 lobbying lawmakers to pass the Mass Leads Act, a $4 billion economic development measure that ran 319 pages, according to The Verge. Despite opposition from consumer groups, it also allows ticket sellers to restrict the transferability of the tickets they sell, meaning a buyer could be limited to reselling on the seller’s platform. 

The Chamber of Progress, a tech industry trade group, asked the governor to amend the bill, concerned that Live Nation could use ticket terms to force buyers to resell tickets exclusively on their own platform, “further entrenching their monopoly position in the live events ecosystem,” according to a letter from the group.

The Chamber of Progress also opposed a bill in New Mexico to cap resale prices. The group said in a letter that price caps were arbitrary and ineffective.

Diana Moss, of the Progressive Policy Institute, said Live Nation is “pursuing an aggressive state-level campaign to push for laws that effectively regulate the resale market while [the company] continues to operate, unfettered, in the primary market.”

Live Nation has defended its practices. Dan Wall, executive vice president of corporate and regulatory affairs at Live Nation Entertainment, wrote in a blog post that the company isn’t a monopoly and doesn’t reap monopolistic profits.

“The defining feature of a monopolist is monopoly profits derived from monopoly pricing. Live Nation in no way fits the profile,” Wall wrote. “Service charges on Ticketmaster are no higher than on SeatGeek, AXS, or other primary ticketing sites, and are frequently lower. In fact, when Ticketmaster loses a venue to SeatGeek, service charges usually go up substantially. And even accounting for sponsorship, an advertising business that helps keep ticket prices down, Live Nation’s overall net profit margin is at the low end of profitable S&P 500 companies.”

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