Rowena Itchon
Blog
Teachers, Rock Stars, and Millionaires, Oh yes!
John Cox, GOP candidate for California’s gubernatorial race, made headlines the other day when he said that he’d like to see teachers paid like “rock stars and baseball players.” Later in a statement, he sheepishly walked it back: “Of course our teachers will never approach the pay of a Beyoncé ...
Blog
BART Blues
In this November election, it’s unfortunate that there’s only one seat up on the BART board (for non-Bay Area readers, BART is the region’s electric train line), because if I had one command as Queen for a day – a question Tim Anaya likes to ask our podcast guests — ...
Blog
Prop. 8: Curiouser and Curiouser
On the California ballot this November is a state measure that would cap dialysis clinics’ profits at 15 percent, forcing them to offer rebates to insurance companies at the end of every year if dialysis companies’ margins exceed that cap. About 66,000 people need dialysis treatments in the state. With ...
Blog
Back to the Future: #MenOnly
When I was in the investment industry in the 1990s, my friend Jeannette and I observed that after meetings and conferences, the top executives – mostly men but a few women — often played a round of golf. We knew a lot of bonding took place on the greens, and ...
Blog
Who Gets The Real Credit for the Economy?
This summer, I had the opportunity to interview Andy Puzder on PRI’s “Next Round” podcast. In chatting with him about his new book Capitalist Comeback, the former Trump nominee for Secretary of Labor and I were both astounded at the speed of the economic turnaround after Donald Trump was elected. ...
Blog
The Wayfair decision and California
I used to tell my friends and colleagues to be sure to check out the Lord & Taylor website before they buy an outfit. Lord & Taylor doesn’t have operations in California, so the same Calvin Klein dress would be tax-free at Lord & Taylor, but at the Macy’s website ...
Blog
Labor Day and the End of Work
Heading into the Labor Day weekend, we thought we would take a contrarian view of the holiday by reviewing Forbes columnist John Tamny’s new book, The End of Work. Last year, we interviewed him on our podcast on his previous book, Who Needs the Fed? No Fed? No jobs? Is ...
Blog
Sex and the City and Subsidies
We almost never find ourselves on the same side as celebs, so when “Sex and the City” star Cynthia Nixon, now running for governor of New York, recently railed against taxpayer subsidies for the film industry, we couldn’t help but pop the popcorn. Bashing tax subsidies is especially titillating news ...
Blog
Red or White, or Blue: How the Trade War is Hurting California’s Wine Industry
Tim and I have a little shtick on the PRI podcast where on the last question we ask each of our guests for a favorite wine recommendation. Our headquarters in San Francisco is just down the road from Wine Country and most everyone loves wine at PRI. So perhaps more ...
Blog
Canada more free than the U.S.?
Oh Canada, here I come! Well, not really. At least not permanently. This week I’m in Montreal and Quebec City for summer vacation. Before leaving, I decided to check out how the U.S. compares economically to Canada, and there’s no better source than the Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom. ...
Teachers, Rock Stars, and Millionaires, Oh yes!
John Cox, GOP candidate for California’s gubernatorial race, made headlines the other day when he said that he’d like to see teachers paid like “rock stars and baseball players.” Later in a statement, he sheepishly walked it back: “Of course our teachers will never approach the pay of a Beyoncé ...
BART Blues
In this November election, it’s unfortunate that there’s only one seat up on the BART board (for non-Bay Area readers, BART is the region’s electric train line), because if I had one command as Queen for a day – a question Tim Anaya likes to ask our podcast guests — ...
Prop. 8: Curiouser and Curiouser
On the California ballot this November is a state measure that would cap dialysis clinics’ profits at 15 percent, forcing them to offer rebates to insurance companies at the end of every year if dialysis companies’ margins exceed that cap. About 66,000 people need dialysis treatments in the state. With ...
Back to the Future: #MenOnly
When I was in the investment industry in the 1990s, my friend Jeannette and I observed that after meetings and conferences, the top executives – mostly men but a few women — often played a round of golf. We knew a lot of bonding took place on the greens, and ...
Who Gets The Real Credit for the Economy?
This summer, I had the opportunity to interview Andy Puzder on PRI’s “Next Round” podcast. In chatting with him about his new book Capitalist Comeback, the former Trump nominee for Secretary of Labor and I were both astounded at the speed of the economic turnaround after Donald Trump was elected. ...
The Wayfair decision and California
I used to tell my friends and colleagues to be sure to check out the Lord & Taylor website before they buy an outfit. Lord & Taylor doesn’t have operations in California, so the same Calvin Klein dress would be tax-free at Lord & Taylor, but at the Macy’s website ...
Labor Day and the End of Work
Heading into the Labor Day weekend, we thought we would take a contrarian view of the holiday by reviewing Forbes columnist John Tamny’s new book, The End of Work. Last year, we interviewed him on our podcast on his previous book, Who Needs the Fed? No Fed? No jobs? Is ...
Sex and the City and Subsidies
We almost never find ourselves on the same side as celebs, so when “Sex and the City” star Cynthia Nixon, now running for governor of New York, recently railed against taxpayer subsidies for the film industry, we couldn’t help but pop the popcorn. Bashing tax subsidies is especially titillating news ...
Red or White, or Blue: How the Trade War is Hurting California’s Wine Industry
Tim and I have a little shtick on the PRI podcast where on the last question we ask each of our guests for a favorite wine recommendation. Our headquarters in San Francisco is just down the road from Wine Country and most everyone loves wine at PRI. So perhaps more ...
Canada more free than the U.S.?
Oh Canada, here I come! Well, not really. At least not permanently. This week I’m in Montreal and Quebec City for summer vacation. Before leaving, I decided to check out how the U.S. compares economically to Canada, and there’s no better source than the Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom. ...
