
Minimum Wage: In Support of Struggling Businesses
Sacramento’s economy cannot support a Los Angeles-sized solution
Calls for a minimum wage increase are growing louder, and these proposals are neither minor nor manageable for the city of Sacramento. Sacramento’s city-specific hike proposals range from $13.50 to as much as $15 per hour.

Portrait of a Wage
The what, where and who of making minimum wage
Where are minimum wages higher? Who makes minimum wage, and who supports raising it?

The Great Bank Shakeout
Community banks failures offer an opening to the small lenders that survive
With about 10 percent of total banking assets, community banks are the source of almost half the nation’s small-business loans and 43 percent of its farm loans. New regulations and low interest rates have shut down many smaller banks or forced mergers, but the survivors say they’re poised to take advantage of market openings and an improving economy.

Strategic Thinking for the Future of Higher Ed
Acuity with Steven Currall
Steven Currall is the Chancellor’s Senior Advisor for Strategic Projects and Initiatives and a management professor at UC Davis, where he is leading campus-wide deliberations about the vision for the university’s long-term future.

The Art of the Long View
What if an executive’s pay was dependent on the performance of his successors?
Economists refer to it as the agency problem: The incentives of executives are misaligned with the incentives of the company. If you have stock options that vest in five months, who cares what happens in five years?

Stockmarket Goes Up in Forlorn Downtown Stockton
New market seeks to revitalize area by showcasing local artisans
Amy Sieffert, a Stockton native, has been running a vintage clothing business since 2010 — but she had to leave her hometown to make a profit. On weekends, she would travel to Sacramento and the Bay Area because there were no local makers markets where she lived. To help turn this ghost town into a local hotspot, Sieffert and business partner Katie Macrae created the Stockmarket, a seasonal market that showcases Central Valley artisans.

Cashing in on Comics
How the con industry pays out
Attendance is up, and that’s translating to big bucks for the Capital Region and beyond.

Above the Bottom Line
State Treasurer John Chiang on California’s credit rating, tax increases and investing for the future
As California’s banker, Treasurer John Chiang has the responsibility of managing the state’s investments and financing. We sat down with him recently to talk about the California economy and his calls for the state to increase affordable housing and for corporate boardroom diversity.

Comic Crash
How offing Superman almost killed the comic industry
The day Superman died, I was one of millions of people in line throughout the country. It turned out that I could not have picked a worse time than the early 1990s to start collecting comics. I knew nothing about speculation, and larger economic forces of which I was completely ignorant were at work. Shortly after Superman died, he nearly took the entire comic industry with him.

What Changes to Crowdfunding Mean for Small Business
New SEC rulings and proposed California laws bring startups and small biz closer to everyday investors
Innovative thinking and new market pressures are removing many of the barriers that once stood between small businesses and the capital they need to launch and grow. Now more than ever, small and medium-sized companies are finding success by raising funds from everyday investors.