Jason Clemens
Business & Economics
Labor Day in California: Not Much to Celebrate
Californians work hard and Labor Day will provide them with a much needed break. The festivities, however, should not overshadow a disturbing reality. Nowhere are California’s economic problems more serious than in our labor market. The best known and perhaps most watched labor statistic is the unemployment rate. California’s unemployment ...
Business & Economics
President plays high-stakes poker with taxpayers’ money
Like a young, aggressive poker player, President Obama seems to have pushed in all his chips on his budget. The size of the gamble is nearly unprecedented because the pot holds the nation’s economic future for at least a generation. There is agreement across the political spectrum that the president’s ...
Business & Economics
California’s Economy: Boxer And Krugman Get It Wrong
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman argued in a May 25th column that California’s economic problems are rooted in a dysfunctional government that finds it “extremely hard to raise taxes, even in emergencies.” On May 28, California’s junior Senator, Barbara Boxer made a similar argument on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. Both ...
Business & Economics
State voters signal loud and clear: Down with taxes
Californians did not solve all our state problems at the ballot box Tuesday. Far from it. They did, however, send a signal that could help end our economic nightmare if politicians take heed. On Tuesday, Californians made it clear they reject higher taxes, with good reason. We are already one ...
Business & Economics
Revive state’s start-up culture
Californians perceive the Golden State as a bastion of entrepreneurship and innovation, and in some ways they’re correct. Silicon Valley, after all, is a hub of researchers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and innovators. But a look at the entire state tells a different story. California’s vaunted start-up culture is under siege. ...
Business & Economics
Great Right North
Reports last week that the recession is draining Social Security and Medicare funds were just one more reminder that the United States needs to fix its finances. For inspiration, why not look to Canada? Long derided by American conservatives as “socialist” and praised by the left for its generous government ...
Business & Economics
Obama shifts personal responsibility to Washington
America has been irresponsible for too long, runs the rhetoric from the Obama White House, and that must be rectified. To that end, the president calls his budget blueprint, which outlines his spending and taxing priorities for the next 10 years, “A New Era of Responsibility.” But calling something responsible ...
Business & Economics
Why HOT is better than HOV for California
As May 19th approaches, and the possibility of yet another budget crisis looms, Californians would do well to consider how well our state government uses and manages its existing resources. Transportation is one example where the state could get a great deal more out of the existing infrastructure while actually ...
Business & Economics
Canada’s advantage
As Canada’s experience in the 1990s showed, the path to economic growth lies in shrinking government, not growing it This past weekend, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty encouraged the G20 countries to rapidly implement their stimulus packages, highlighting that his government provided a greater stimulus budget than the G20 countries agreed ...
Business & Economics
California Has Fourth Latest Tax Freedom Day
The Tax Foundation recently released its annual Tax Freedom Day calculations. The news emanating from the report should be cause for great concern for all Americans, and Californians in particular. Tax Freedom Day represents the day when Americans begin to work for themselves after having paid their federal, state, and ...
Labor Day in California: Not Much to Celebrate
Californians work hard and Labor Day will provide them with a much needed break. The festivities, however, should not overshadow a disturbing reality. Nowhere are California’s economic problems more serious than in our labor market. The best known and perhaps most watched labor statistic is the unemployment rate. California’s unemployment ...
President plays high-stakes poker with taxpayers’ money
Like a young, aggressive poker player, President Obama seems to have pushed in all his chips on his budget. The size of the gamble is nearly unprecedented because the pot holds the nation’s economic future for at least a generation. There is agreement across the political spectrum that the president’s ...
California’s Economy: Boxer And Krugman Get It Wrong
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman argued in a May 25th column that California’s economic problems are rooted in a dysfunctional government that finds it “extremely hard to raise taxes, even in emergencies.” On May 28, California’s junior Senator, Barbara Boxer made a similar argument on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. Both ...
State voters signal loud and clear: Down with taxes
Californians did not solve all our state problems at the ballot box Tuesday. Far from it. They did, however, send a signal that could help end our economic nightmare if politicians take heed. On Tuesday, Californians made it clear they reject higher taxes, with good reason. We are already one ...
Revive state’s start-up culture
Californians perceive the Golden State as a bastion of entrepreneurship and innovation, and in some ways they’re correct. Silicon Valley, after all, is a hub of researchers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and innovators. But a look at the entire state tells a different story. California’s vaunted start-up culture is under siege. ...
Great Right North
Reports last week that the recession is draining Social Security and Medicare funds were just one more reminder that the United States needs to fix its finances. For inspiration, why not look to Canada? Long derided by American conservatives as “socialist” and praised by the left for its generous government ...
Obama shifts personal responsibility to Washington
America has been irresponsible for too long, runs the rhetoric from the Obama White House, and that must be rectified. To that end, the president calls his budget blueprint, which outlines his spending and taxing priorities for the next 10 years, “A New Era of Responsibility.” But calling something responsible ...
Why HOT is better than HOV for California
As May 19th approaches, and the possibility of yet another budget crisis looms, Californians would do well to consider how well our state government uses and manages its existing resources. Transportation is one example where the state could get a great deal more out of the existing infrastructure while actually ...
Canada’s advantage
As Canada’s experience in the 1990s showed, the path to economic growth lies in shrinking government, not growing it This past weekend, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty encouraged the G20 countries to rapidly implement their stimulus packages, highlighting that his government provided a greater stimulus budget than the G20 countries agreed ...
California Has Fourth Latest Tax Freedom Day
The Tax Foundation recently released its annual Tax Freedom Day calculations. The news emanating from the report should be cause for great concern for all Americans, and Californians in particular. Tax Freedom Day represents the day when Americans begin to work for themselves after having paid their federal, state, and ...
