Letter from the President
Dear Friends and Supporters,
The Biden administration and other states are taking notice of what’s going on in the once-Golden State. They’re being inspired by California’s progressive agenda to advance disastrous policy ideas like implementing government-run health care programs and costly electric car subsidies that primarily benefit the wealthy.
This edition of Impact shows what Americans could face if California’s progressive policies go national – higher costs, increased taxes, fewer choices, more restrictions, and less freedom.
On Pages 6-8 of this issue, learn about PRI’s “Been There, Done That” campaign to educate Americans about the negative consequences facing them if California’s “blue state” policies spread east.
Another disastrous idea being debated in Washington and supported by President Biden and progressive Democrats would impose de-facto government price controls on prescription drugs. On Pages 12 and 13, read about my new issue brief, which shows how proposed drug policies included in the Build Back Better Act would threaten access to life-saving medications and limit future innovation.
Even well-meaning government actions have had negative consequences. On Pages 10 and 11, Dr. Wayne Winegarden writes about the latest study in PRI’s Breaking Down Barriers to Opportunity series, which shows how government COVID-19 policies actually imposed new burdens on small businesses struggling to stay afloat.
On Page 9, read about how PRI’s research on taxpayer-funded electric car subsidies led to a rare bipartisan U.S. Senate victory in the effort to end “costly subsidies for the rich.”
Read about Lance Izumi’s new book The Homeschool Boom, which explores why more parents are choosing to educate their kids at home (Pages 16-17).
On Pages 20-21, read about PRI’s new study on California’s outmigration problem, and learn what can be done to stop the exodus of jobs, companies, and opportunities out of state.
Your support makes possible PRI’s critical work giving the American people the intellectual firepower they need to stop the California progressive agenda from becoming law nationwide. Standing together, we will safeguard our personal freedoms and defend our economic liberties from these reckless and misguided policy ideas.
Wishing you and your families a very Happy and Prosperous New Year. May the pandemic mandates and regulations be lifted so we can return to a normal way of life in America.
Sincerely,
Sally C. Pipes
President, CEO, and Thomas W. Smith Fellow in Health Care Policy
Pacific Research Institute
