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Press Coverage
2009 - 2008 - 2007 - 2006 - 2005
Read up on the press coverage Next 10 has received since its launch.
June 08, 2005
Board of Contributors: Rising to 'The Budget Challenge,' or 'How I spent my 64th year'
Stephen Levy, for the Palo Alto Weekly
So far more than 10,000 Californians have 'taken the Challenge' to get more engaged. The most surprising and gratifying result for me so far is the large number of teachers who are using the Challenge in schools all over the state. We are most interested in getting feedback from teachers on how to make the Challenge most useful in the classroom.
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May 25, 2005
It's your turn: Create the state's budget
Renee Batti, Almanac News Editor
The California Budget Challenge, the first endeavor of Noel Perry's Next 10 project, is an online, interactive, educational tool that allows those who log on at nextten.org to create their own state budget, setting spending and revenue-generating priorities for the next 10 years.
"We call ourselves Next 10 because we aren't here for the quick fix," says an introductory statement on the Website. "We have our sights set on joining with others to improve the state over the next 10 years, and the 10 years after that."
Mr. Perry says he started toying with the idea of creating an educational program addressing issues facing California about two years ago. Troubled by the lack of focus on the future on the part of both lawmakers and citizens, Mr. Perry says he concluded that the California Dream was in peril.
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April 25, 2005
Now you, too, can balance the budget: New Web-based game examines state's finances
John Wildermuth, San Francisco Chronicle
A balanced budget for California is just a few mouse clicks away in a new Internet-based game designed to let ordinary citizens see the financial alternatives and political tradeoffs faced every day by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature. The California Budget Challenge at www.nextten.org is the brainchild of F. Noel Perry, a Menlo Park venture capitalist who hopes the computer game will get people thinking about the state's future. "I hope to engage and educate Californians about improving the state's economy and quality of life," Perry said. "I'm concerned that there doesn't seem to be a lot of concern about the future of California in the long term or even the next 10 years."
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April 10, 2005
So, you've got a better idea? Go ahead and give it a spin: SOPHISTICATED WEB SITE PROVIDES A GOOD LESSON ON STATE'S BALANCING ACT
Mercury News Editorial
There are some jobs that anyone on the street can do better than the people who, apparently through some cosmic joke, actually get to do them. Baseball umpire, for instance. Everyone in the stands would be better at it. Just ask them. Or legislator. Just what is it with those people in Sacramento that they can't produce a balanced budget on time? We can't offer any help on calling balls and strikes, but if you're itching to demonstrate budgeting prowess, your opportunity is at hand: the "California Budget Challenge" on the Internet at www.nextten.org/challenge.
April 10, 2005
Put me in charge, I'll fix state budget
David Little, Editor, Chico Enterprise-Record
I solved the state budget crisis. It was heart-wrenching and required some tough choices, but I did it. I managed to whittle away a $12.2 billion deficit. Of course, I did it from the comfort of my office, with no voters hounding me, no protests outside my window, no campaign contributors demanding preferential treatment and no lobbyists trying to bribe me. Oh, and I did it without having to worry about whether I'd get re-elected. Without all those shackles, it's almost easy. And you can do it, too. Through the magic of computers and the Internet, a nonpartisan organization called Next 10 has created a fascinating program that lets you figure out how to solve the state budget crisis. Try it yourself at www.nextten.org. It takes only about 30 minutes to complete, and it's quite enlightening.
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April 6, 2005
A kid's worst nightmare: planning ahead, by math
Valerie Marrs, Whittier Daily News
WHITTIER -- Students in a government class at Whittier College held the state's purse strings Tuesday but found that they had no better answers for dealing with California's budget deficit than the governor or Legislature… Students in Caroline Helman's California politics class at Whittier College were among the first to experience the agony of deciding where to spend and where to cut. Attacking a subject closest to them and at $31.6 billion, the biggest part of the state budget the students voiced diverse opinions on K-12 education and higher education. "Increasing spending doesn't necessarily mean increasing the quality,' she said, pointing out that the education budget is increased annually by Proposition 98. "But if you stay with it as is, below the average per student of other states, what would that do to the state's future in attracting new industry?' countered fellow student Peter Hinton…
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April 6, 2005
Think it's easy? Try it, State budget: Here's a chance to craft one you like
Timm Herdt, Ventura County Star
It can't be easy to design an interactive process that allows average citizens to customize a state budget that reflects their priorities without either boring them stiff or dumbing down the process to the point where it is simple-minded and meaningless. It took me about 20 minutes to complete the exercise… However long it takes, there's a value in going through the exercise. If nothing else, it drives home the hard facts that many Californians don't seem to want to understand: Balancing the state budget over the long term requires either taking an ax to funding for education and healthcare or significantly jacking up taxes… By the way, if you do balance the budget when you take the challenge, remember that in real life there's one more substantial hurdle: You've got to get two-thirds of the Legislature to agree with all your choices.
April 6, 2005
Write Your Own State Budget
Tom Fudge, THESE DAYS | KPBS SAN DIEGO (Radio Show)
Could you balance California's budget? Well, here's your chance. Next 10, a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization, has launched the California Budget Challenge, an interactive online site that lets users create a 10-year budget for California. We talk about the need for people to understand the underpinnings of the state budget and whether a well-informed and engaged public could break the budget gridlock…
April 5, 2005
Choices come into focus in online budget simulation
Daniel Weintraub, Sacramento Bee
Next 10, founded and bankrolled by venture capitalist Noel Perry, has created the most realistic budget model I've seen. Backed by expert advice from economist Stephen Levy, the California Budget Challenge is fun, demanding and educational all at the same time. The challenge is simplified to make it workable. But it's still complex enough to give the user a sense of the scope of the problem and the choices Californians face. The bottom line: Under current policies, deficits will continue for as far as the eye can see, and by 2014 - 10 years out - the shortfall will be $12 billion in today's dollars….
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April 5, 2005
Think you can do better? Create state's budget online, Internet puzzle lets would-be legislators divvy California's finances
Hank Shaw, Sacramento
If you think Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature have it easy balancing California's budget, try doing it yourself. Think of "California Budget Challenge," the new Internet puzzle funded by Bay Area venture capitalist F. Noel Perry, as state budgeting for dummies. It's simple, explains the issues facing the state's finances clearly and outlines the pros and cons of controversial choices. It's almost fun. The site, www.nextten.org, is set to launch the budget game today. It uses charts, graphs and clearly written bullet-point paragraphs to lay out California's fiscal woes -- the state faces a $9 billion gap between revenue and expenses now, and future budgets appear no better. Perry's group is called Next 10 because he wants policy-makers to look to the long haul.
Make a game of balancing budget, Group lets computer-users crunch numbers.
Hanh Kim Quach, The Orange County Register
Californians fed up with Sacramento's budget-balancing paralysis can take matters into their own hands starting today. Sort of.A nonpartisan organization called Next-Ten, named for its goal to plan for the state's next 10 years, is unveiling the online California Budget Challenge. It allows anyone with a computer and an Internet connection to submit plans for how the state should spend money on education, prisons, health care and other priorities for the decade. Californians can tinker with the numbers at the same time Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is putting together his updated budget proposal, to be released next month. "We hope that they will develop an appreciation for how difficult it isto balance the state's budget," said Noel Perry.
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Try Your Hand At Budget Balancing
John Myers, KQED Weblog
For those of you who think you could do a better job than the elected officials at mapping out the state's broad budget priorities, here's your chance. A new organization called Next 10 today unveils its "California Budget Challenge"… The group, which bills itself as independent and non-partisan, says the game gives individuals a chance to think about the state's fiscal priorities on a macro scale over the next 10 years.
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Television Interview with Noel Perry and Scott McGrew, KNTV, Channel 11 NBC (link to video clip not available at this time)
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