Rowena Itchon
Blog
Opening America
“Healthy people have rights too,” complained my 89-year old mother, who’s miffed because we’ve refused to take her to her favorite grocery store. Mom has joined the tens of thousands of people across America who believe that enough is enough. From California to Pennsylvania, from Michigan to Texas, people have ...
Agriculture
Earth Day in the Time of Coronavirus
In case anyone has forgotten (and many long have), April 22 is Earth Day. And while the coronavirus pandemic has put a chill on this year’s worldwide 50th jubilee celebration, it hasn’t caused its demise. If anything, progressive climate change advocates have attempted to leverage the pandemic to further spread ...
Blog
Coronavirus and the Political Divide
One of the intriguing reports to come out of the coronavirus pandemic is the partisan divide — not just among lawmakers — but even rank and file voters. Recent polls have consistently shown that Republicans are less concerned about the coronavirus than Democrats. In an Axios/Survey Monkey poll, Democrats (47 ...
Blog
“90% Great”
That’s what Pres. Trump said in a tweet on the record-shattering $2 trillion phase 3 stimulus package. Right by the Bay doesn’t question the need for government to step up to help the economy get through the coronavirus pandemic. But even during this crisis, the swamp continues to gurgle over. ...
Blog
The Coronavirus Aftermath: Debt and Deficits as Far as the Eye Can See
All the Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas Layin’ in the sun, Talkin’ ’bout the things They woulda coulda shoulda done… –Shel Silverstein As of this writing, the Trump Administration has pledged to spend more than a trillion dollars to save the lives and livelihoods of Americans as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. We’re ...
Blog
The Pink Tax Hoax
Baby I’ll spill the facts Well honey it ain’t your money ‘Cause baby I got plenty of that I love you for your pink Cadillac. – Bruce Springsteen If you’ve ever admired the gal who managed to steal The Boss’s heart with her pink Cadillac, be advised — even she ...
Blog
How Many Billionaires Would It Take to Fund Bernie’s Agenda?
Our colleague Wayne Winegarden wrote a marvelous piece for his Forbes column on “Bernie’s Math Problem.” To fund free health care, free housing, free college and so on, the Democrat frontrunner plans to make “billionaires pay their fair share of taxes.” Why not cut to the chase, thought Winegarden, “Instead ...
Blog
Beyond the New Normal? Not.
Back in 2017, concerned over the sclerotic growth of the U.S. economy, PRI published a series of studies titled Beyond the New Normal by economist and PRI senior fellow Wayne Winegarden. Up until that point, annual real GDP growth averaged just 1.9 percent since 2001. Many economists, resigned to our ...
Blog
New Year, New Laws
New Year’s resolutions are about goals and aspirations. Unfortunately, California’s new 2020 laws serve mostly the aspirations of state politicians and interest groups, not hard-working Californians. Take AB5, a law that forces thousands of independent contractors to become company employees. Gig economy workers from Uber drivers to truckers and journalists ...
Blog
Private Insurance v. Medicare for All
Last week, I accompanied Sally Pipes to New York where she participated in a debate sponsored by Intelligence Squared. For a decade now, Intelligence Squared has been hosting debates on all issues concerning public policy, from the Middle East, to driverless cars, to one of my recent favorites — is ...
Opening America
“Healthy people have rights too,” complained my 89-year old mother, who’s miffed because we’ve refused to take her to her favorite grocery store. Mom has joined the tens of thousands of people across America who believe that enough is enough. From California to Pennsylvania, from Michigan to Texas, people have ...
Earth Day in the Time of Coronavirus
In case anyone has forgotten (and many long have), April 22 is Earth Day. And while the coronavirus pandemic has put a chill on this year’s worldwide 50th jubilee celebration, it hasn’t caused its demise. If anything, progressive climate change advocates have attempted to leverage the pandemic to further spread ...
Coronavirus and the Political Divide
One of the intriguing reports to come out of the coronavirus pandemic is the partisan divide — not just among lawmakers — but even rank and file voters. Recent polls have consistently shown that Republicans are less concerned about the coronavirus than Democrats. In an Axios/Survey Monkey poll, Democrats (47 ...
“90% Great”
That’s what Pres. Trump said in a tweet on the record-shattering $2 trillion phase 3 stimulus package. Right by the Bay doesn’t question the need for government to step up to help the economy get through the coronavirus pandemic. But even during this crisis, the swamp continues to gurgle over. ...
The Coronavirus Aftermath: Debt and Deficits as Far as the Eye Can See
All the Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas Layin’ in the sun, Talkin’ ’bout the things They woulda coulda shoulda done… –Shel Silverstein As of this writing, the Trump Administration has pledged to spend more than a trillion dollars to save the lives and livelihoods of Americans as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. We’re ...
The Pink Tax Hoax
Baby I’ll spill the facts Well honey it ain’t your money ‘Cause baby I got plenty of that I love you for your pink Cadillac. – Bruce Springsteen If you’ve ever admired the gal who managed to steal The Boss’s heart with her pink Cadillac, be advised — even she ...
How Many Billionaires Would It Take to Fund Bernie’s Agenda?
Our colleague Wayne Winegarden wrote a marvelous piece for his Forbes column on “Bernie’s Math Problem.” To fund free health care, free housing, free college and so on, the Democrat frontrunner plans to make “billionaires pay their fair share of taxes.” Why not cut to the chase, thought Winegarden, “Instead ...
Beyond the New Normal? Not.
Back in 2017, concerned over the sclerotic growth of the U.S. economy, PRI published a series of studies titled Beyond the New Normal by economist and PRI senior fellow Wayne Winegarden. Up until that point, annual real GDP growth averaged just 1.9 percent since 2001. Many economists, resigned to our ...
New Year, New Laws
New Year’s resolutions are about goals and aspirations. Unfortunately, California’s new 2020 laws serve mostly the aspirations of state politicians and interest groups, not hard-working Californians. Take AB5, a law that forces thousands of independent contractors to become company employees. Gig economy workers from Uber drivers to truckers and journalists ...
Private Insurance v. Medicare for All
Last week, I accompanied Sally Pipes to New York where she participated in a debate sponsored by Intelligence Squared. For a decade now, Intelligence Squared has been hosting debates on all issues concerning public policy, from the Middle East, to driverless cars, to one of my recent favorites — is ...
