Tim Anaya
Blog
They’re Back – The Legislature Starts Final Month of 2018 Session Today
For me, there was perhaps no scarier movie as a kid growing up in the 1980’s than the classic “Poltergeist”. The most iconic moment of the film is when the little girl screams out to her parents, “They’re Back!” Today is a good day to play that clip again and ...
Tim Anaya
August 6, 2018
Blog
We’d Love to Go Out for Lunch, But We’re Busy and Can’t Afford It
In my prior job, I usually brought my lunch to work. Every now and then, when I would forget to pack a lunch, or the cupboard was bare, I would grab a sandwich in the cafeteria. While I’ve sampled some great food at state office building cafeterias, the cafeteria in ...
Tim Anaya
August 2, 2018
Blog
Sacramento Rent Fund Just Another Name for Basic Income
Last week, I wrote about a controversial plan in the City of Stockton to essentially hand a selected group of people wads of cash each month to do nothing. Under this universal basic income scheme, they wouldn’t have to work or adhere to some milestone to be eligible for the ...
Tim Anaya
July 25, 2018
Blog
Giving People Cash to Do Nothing Won’t Reduce California Poverty
The latest hot social theory in California is universal basic income. Essentially, it’s about paying people to do nothing. Academics and tech titans have promoted it to address poverty, rising costs of living, and even the temporarily disruptive effects of innovation. Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs has generated national headlines for ...
Tim Anaya
July 19, 2018
Blog
You Should’ve Been There – On PRI’s Vancouver Conference on Free-Market Environmentalism
Whenever you hear about efforts to preserve our environment, it always involves ill-conceived policy prescriptions, taxpayer-funded subsidies, or heavy-handed government mandates. Take, for example, the work by PRI’s Wayne Winegarden on electric car subsidies. While noble in intent, the subsidies amount to government playing car salesman. Using your money, government ...
Tim Anaya
July 17, 2018
Blog
Is Crony Capitalism Alive and Well in California?
If there’s one thing that unites Californians, it’s a disdain for crony capitalism. What is crony capitalism, you ask? We see it all the time. Think local elected officials throwing everything but the kitchen sink at Amazon to try and lure their second global headquarters to their city. PRI’s senior ...
Tim Anaya
July 12, 2018
Blog
Celebrating the Sound of Freedom
That sound you heard on the Fourth of July was not bands playing “God Bless America” or other patriotic songs. No, it was people complaining on social media about fireworks being set off in their neighborhoods. Where I live in Sacramento, you can buy fireworks for your family 4th of ...
Tim Anaya
July 9, 2018
Blog
Soda Tax Vote Forces Lawmakers to Eat Carrot or Face Local Tax Spigot Shut Off
Usually around this time of year, you’ll see state lawmakers wielding a big stick. In search of headlines or political points, lawmakers will routinely target some politically incorrect industry with punitive legislation. Unless that industry agrees to eat a legislative carrot of new regulations, taxes, or fees that aren’t as ...
Tim Anaya
July 5, 2018
Blog
What’s the Deal with Ranked Choice Voting?
June’s elections in California and Maine represented a dream come true for political nerds everywhere. It brought to light a strange voting system in San Francisco and some other liberal California cities called ranked-choice, or instant runoff, voting. Ranked-choice voting takes effect when no candidate receives a majority of votes ...
Tim Anaya
July 2, 2018
Blog
After Wayfair Ruling, Will California and Other States Rush to Collect More Sales Taxes?
Last week, the Supreme Court issued a major decision in a case about online retailers collecting sales taxes, South Dakota v. Wayfair. As PRI’s Bartlett Cleland recently wrote in Fox and Hounds, “the case is centered around the notion that an entity must have a physical presence in a jurisdiction ...
Tim Anaya
June 25, 2018
They’re Back – The Legislature Starts Final Month of 2018 Session Today
For me, there was perhaps no scarier movie as a kid growing up in the 1980’s than the classic “Poltergeist”. The most iconic moment of the film is when the little girl screams out to her parents, “They’re Back!” Today is a good day to play that clip again and ...
We’d Love to Go Out for Lunch, But We’re Busy and Can’t Afford It
In my prior job, I usually brought my lunch to work. Every now and then, when I would forget to pack a lunch, or the cupboard was bare, I would grab a sandwich in the cafeteria. While I’ve sampled some great food at state office building cafeterias, the cafeteria in ...
Sacramento Rent Fund Just Another Name for Basic Income
Last week, I wrote about a controversial plan in the City of Stockton to essentially hand a selected group of people wads of cash each month to do nothing. Under this universal basic income scheme, they wouldn’t have to work or adhere to some milestone to be eligible for the ...
Giving People Cash to Do Nothing Won’t Reduce California Poverty
The latest hot social theory in California is universal basic income. Essentially, it’s about paying people to do nothing. Academics and tech titans have promoted it to address poverty, rising costs of living, and even the temporarily disruptive effects of innovation. Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs has generated national headlines for ...
You Should’ve Been There – On PRI’s Vancouver Conference on Free-Market Environmentalism
Whenever you hear about efforts to preserve our environment, it always involves ill-conceived policy prescriptions, taxpayer-funded subsidies, or heavy-handed government mandates. Take, for example, the work by PRI’s Wayne Winegarden on electric car subsidies. While noble in intent, the subsidies amount to government playing car salesman. Using your money, government ...
Is Crony Capitalism Alive and Well in California?
If there’s one thing that unites Californians, it’s a disdain for crony capitalism. What is crony capitalism, you ask? We see it all the time. Think local elected officials throwing everything but the kitchen sink at Amazon to try and lure their second global headquarters to their city. PRI’s senior ...
Celebrating the Sound of Freedom
That sound you heard on the Fourth of July was not bands playing “God Bless America” or other patriotic songs. No, it was people complaining on social media about fireworks being set off in their neighborhoods. Where I live in Sacramento, you can buy fireworks for your family 4th of ...
Soda Tax Vote Forces Lawmakers to Eat Carrot or Face Local Tax Spigot Shut Off
Usually around this time of year, you’ll see state lawmakers wielding a big stick. In search of headlines or political points, lawmakers will routinely target some politically incorrect industry with punitive legislation. Unless that industry agrees to eat a legislative carrot of new regulations, taxes, or fees that aren’t as ...
What’s the Deal with Ranked Choice Voting?
June’s elections in California and Maine represented a dream come true for political nerds everywhere. It brought to light a strange voting system in San Francisco and some other liberal California cities called ranked-choice, or instant runoff, voting. Ranked-choice voting takes effect when no candidate receives a majority of votes ...
After Wayfair Ruling, Will California and Other States Rush to Collect More Sales Taxes?
Last week, the Supreme Court issued a major decision in a case about online retailers collecting sales taxes, South Dakota v. Wayfair. As PRI’s Bartlett Cleland recently wrote in Fox and Hounds, “the case is centered around the notion that an entity must have a physical presence in a jurisdiction ...