Business & Economics

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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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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, ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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, ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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