Business & Economics
Blog
State Budget Update: Senate Democrats Want to Spend More as Analyst Warns About Higher Spending
While Democrats fought amongst themselves over gas tax relief last week, attention is now shifting to next week’s release of Gov. Newsom’s “May Revise” updated budget plan. In advance, Senate Democrats put down their marker, unveiling their gas tax relief plan called the “Better for Families Rebate” as part of ...
Tim Anaya
May 2, 2022
Blog
Don’t Spend Your Gas Tax Rebate Yet . . .
Not much progress has been made in the effort to enact a gas tax rebate or gas tax holiday since lawmakers and Gov. Newsom released competing proposals last month. Californians have been waiting for Sacramento to take action to provide relief from gas prices that, even though may have dipped ...
Tim Anaya
April 27, 2022
Agriculture
A Response to the “Bloomberg Doomers”
Last month, Bloomberg published a now-infamous op-ed titled, “Inflation Stings Most if You Earn Less Than $300K. Here’s How to Deal”. Professor Teresa Ghilarducci suggests that to curb inflation, we should eat lentils instead of red meat and let our pets die instead of going to the vet. The advice ...
McKenzie Richards
April 26, 2022
Commentary
Coerced pricing is price controls by another means
Sustainably addressing the problems of rising prices and declining quality requires reforms that empower patients and doctors, improve price transparency, and eliminate the perverse incentives of our current health insurance system that drive up costs and limit care. Instead of addressing the health care system’s core deficiencies, policymakers push for ...
Wayne Winegarden
April 20, 2022
Blog
There’s No Such Thing as Free Public Transportation Either
Whether it’s suspending the gas tax, $400 gift cards, or $200 refund checks – these proposals to help Californians cope with high gas prices all have varying degrees of merit. But free public transportation? That was a real head scratcher. Gov. Newsom, in his $11 billion relief package for Californians, ...
Rowena Itchon
April 15, 2022
Blog
Despite Jones Act, Gas Prices Are Even Lower in High-Cost Hawaii Compared to California
Recently, I enjoyed a week-long vacation in Hawaii. One of the highlights of my trip was a circle island tour across Oahu. When driving through Waimanalo on our way to the Pali Lookout, I noticed a gas station selling regular unleaded for $5.08 per gallon. In fact, Hawaii’s price was ...
Tim Anaya
April 14, 2022
Blog
If Cutting The Work Week By 20% Means More Productivity, Why Not Cut It By 50%, Or More?
Should California workers work fewer hours in the work week? Some state lawmakers say yes. Under Assembly Bill 2932, the work week for companies with more than 500 employees would fall to 32 hours. Those working more than eight hours a day and 32 hours in a given week would ...
Kerry Jackson
April 13, 2022
Business & Economics
Wayne Winegarden Discusses the Cost Benefits of Eliminating Wisconsin’s Minimum Markup Law in the Madison Reporter
PRI senior fellow in business and economics Wayne Winegarden was interviewed by the Madison Reporter on the cost benefits of eliminating Wisconsin’s minimum markup law than a gas tax holiday. “Eliminating the minimum markup law would create a healthier competitive environment and have beneficial cost implications in the longer-run than ...
Pacific Research Institute
April 12, 2022
Commentary
Pay No Attention to the Healthcare Catastrophe Behind the Curtain
A new report from the Biden administration purports to be a clear-eyed assessment of where the Affordable Care Act stands after 12 years on the books. In fact, it’s a piece of pro-Obamacare propaganda — and an especially dishonest one at that. Titled “The State of the ACA,” the study opens with the ...
Sally C. Pipes
April 11, 2022
Blog
To Give Californians Real Relief from High Gas Prices, Sacramento Must Legislate Energy Prosperity
By Tim Anaya and Wayne Winegarden As of April 5, average state gas prices in California were $5.84 per gallon for regular, according to AAA, which were the nation’s highest average gas prices. Previously on Right by the Bay, we wrote about the one-upmanship between Democrats and Republicans in the ...
Pacific Research Institute
April 7, 2022
State Budget Update: Senate Democrats Want to Spend More as Analyst Warns About Higher Spending
While Democrats fought amongst themselves over gas tax relief last week, attention is now shifting to next week’s release of Gov. Newsom’s “May Revise” updated budget plan. In advance, Senate Democrats put down their marker, unveiling their gas tax relief plan called the “Better for Families Rebate” as part of ...
Don’t Spend Your Gas Tax Rebate Yet . . .
Not much progress has been made in the effort to enact a gas tax rebate or gas tax holiday since lawmakers and Gov. Newsom released competing proposals last month. Californians have been waiting for Sacramento to take action to provide relief from gas prices that, even though may have dipped ...
A Response to the “Bloomberg Doomers”
Last month, Bloomberg published a now-infamous op-ed titled, “Inflation Stings Most if You Earn Less Than $300K. Here’s How to Deal”. Professor Teresa Ghilarducci suggests that to curb inflation, we should eat lentils instead of red meat and let our pets die instead of going to the vet. The advice ...
Coerced pricing is price controls by another means
Sustainably addressing the problems of rising prices and declining quality requires reforms that empower patients and doctors, improve price transparency, and eliminate the perverse incentives of our current health insurance system that drive up costs and limit care. Instead of addressing the health care system’s core deficiencies, policymakers push for ...
There’s No Such Thing as Free Public Transportation Either
Whether it’s suspending the gas tax, $400 gift cards, or $200 refund checks – these proposals to help Californians cope with high gas prices all have varying degrees of merit. But free public transportation? That was a real head scratcher. Gov. Newsom, in his $11 billion relief package for Californians, ...
Despite Jones Act, Gas Prices Are Even Lower in High-Cost Hawaii Compared to California
Recently, I enjoyed a week-long vacation in Hawaii. One of the highlights of my trip was a circle island tour across Oahu. When driving through Waimanalo on our way to the Pali Lookout, I noticed a gas station selling regular unleaded for $5.08 per gallon. In fact, Hawaii’s price was ...
If Cutting The Work Week By 20% Means More Productivity, Why Not Cut It By 50%, Or More?
Should California workers work fewer hours in the work week? Some state lawmakers say yes. Under Assembly Bill 2932, the work week for companies with more than 500 employees would fall to 32 hours. Those working more than eight hours a day and 32 hours in a given week would ...
Wayne Winegarden Discusses the Cost Benefits of Eliminating Wisconsin’s Minimum Markup Law in the Madison Reporter
PRI senior fellow in business and economics Wayne Winegarden was interviewed by the Madison Reporter on the cost benefits of eliminating Wisconsin’s minimum markup law than a gas tax holiday. “Eliminating the minimum markup law would create a healthier competitive environment and have beneficial cost implications in the longer-run than ...
Pay No Attention to the Healthcare Catastrophe Behind the Curtain
A new report from the Biden administration purports to be a clear-eyed assessment of where the Affordable Care Act stands after 12 years on the books. In fact, it’s a piece of pro-Obamacare propaganda — and an especially dishonest one at that. Titled “The State of the ACA,” the study opens with the ...
To Give Californians Real Relief from High Gas Prices, Sacramento Must Legislate Energy Prosperity
By Tim Anaya and Wayne Winegarden As of April 5, average state gas prices in California were $5.84 per gallon for regular, according to AAA, which were the nation’s highest average gas prices. Previously on Right by the Bay, we wrote about the one-upmanship between Democrats and Republicans in the ...