Business & Economics
Blog
Two Years After Voters Said No, Special Interests Try Again to Pass Split Roll
Not quite a year ago, California voters rejected a ballot measure that would have partially unwound Proposition 13, the landmark initiative that set off an “entrepreneurial and commercial explosion” and “a second California gold rush.” Supporters of the “split roll,” a tax regime in which residential properties retain their Prop. ...
Blog
New Survey Shows Government Hurting Minority Small Business Recovery
Small businesses have still not fully recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic. A new survey from the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies shows that California minority-owned small businesses have been struggling most of all. According to the survey, 18 percent of California Latino small business owners surveyed, and 13 percent ...
Business & Economics
Wayne Winegarden Talks Federal Debt Ceiling in Forbes
How The Debt Ceiling Debate Impacts The Average American If you’ve been watching the news lately, you have probably heard all about the “debt ceiling,” and how disastrous it will be if Congress doesn’t raise it. Fortunately, the sky isn’t actually falling — at least not yet. Just like other ...
Blog
Biden Plan Would Monitor What You’re Spending on Venmo, Reduce Financial Privacy
Very late to the party, last month I made my first financial transaction using Venmo. It’s hard to write to the next line and not come off like President Bush 41 being wowed by seeing scanners at a grocery store, but I was amazed at how quick and easy it ...
Blog
30 Million Real Men Don’t Have Jobs
I recently read an eye-popping article by business writer Andy Serwer, who reported that nearly one-third of working-age men in America “aren’t doing diddly squat. They don’t have a job, and they aren’t looking for one either.” All total, that’s nearly 30 million men. “How do they live? What are ...
Blog
The Road (and Funding) to More California Broadband
In August, I detailed the $42 billion broadband grant program proposed in the $3.5 trillion infrastructure package. Not to be outdone, California is pursuing its own broadband grant program expansion. Connectivity to the internet is a must for education and every industry, especially after going through the last 18 months ...
Business & Economics
NEW STUDY: Harmful Policy Choices Driving Employers, Every Age Group and Income Level Away from California
Documenting California’s growing outmigration problem, a new study released today by the nonpartisan Pacific Research Institute found that harmful policy choices have increased economic and quality-of-life concerns and are chasing businesses, job opportunities, individuals of every age group and income level, and badly needed tax revenue out of state. ...
Blog
When Sacramento Big Spenders Suddenly Become Budget Hawks
On Wednesday, the day after millions of Californians cast ballots in the Newsom recall election, there was a common refrain in Sacramento. Prominent advocates of big government and perpetually increasing government spending were suddenly transformed into budget hawks overnight. Their target of “government waste” – the California recall itself and ...
Agriculture
AB 701 Guarantees Workers Restroom Breaks . . . and Lawsuits
When states claim to be first at something, it’s usually cause for pride. But in California, it’s often a signal to head for the hills – or rather, to other states. In another first in the nation, the California Legislature passed a bill last week that would require warehouses to ...
Blog
Banning Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers Could Have Unintended Consequences in Next Power Outage
Californians who have been seen power supplies become more unreliable in recent years have increasingly turned to gas-powered electric generators to keep the lights on during “public safety power shutoffs.” According to the industry trade group, there are 1.5 million portable generators in use in California today. The average gas-powered ...
Two Years After Voters Said No, Special Interests Try Again to Pass Split Roll
Not quite a year ago, California voters rejected a ballot measure that would have partially unwound Proposition 13, the landmark initiative that set off an “entrepreneurial and commercial explosion” and “a second California gold rush.” Supporters of the “split roll,” a tax regime in which residential properties retain their Prop. ...
New Survey Shows Government Hurting Minority Small Business Recovery
Small businesses have still not fully recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic. A new survey from the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies shows that California minority-owned small businesses have been struggling most of all. According to the survey, 18 percent of California Latino small business owners surveyed, and 13 percent ...
Wayne Winegarden Talks Federal Debt Ceiling in Forbes
How The Debt Ceiling Debate Impacts The Average American If you’ve been watching the news lately, you have probably heard all about the “debt ceiling,” and how disastrous it will be if Congress doesn’t raise it. Fortunately, the sky isn’t actually falling — at least not yet. Just like other ...
Biden Plan Would Monitor What You’re Spending on Venmo, Reduce Financial Privacy
Very late to the party, last month I made my first financial transaction using Venmo. It’s hard to write to the next line and not come off like President Bush 41 being wowed by seeing scanners at a grocery store, but I was amazed at how quick and easy it ...
30 Million Real Men Don’t Have Jobs
I recently read an eye-popping article by business writer Andy Serwer, who reported that nearly one-third of working-age men in America “aren’t doing diddly squat. They don’t have a job, and they aren’t looking for one either.” All total, that’s nearly 30 million men. “How do they live? What are ...
The Road (and Funding) to More California Broadband
In August, I detailed the $42 billion broadband grant program proposed in the $3.5 trillion infrastructure package. Not to be outdone, California is pursuing its own broadband grant program expansion. Connectivity to the internet is a must for education and every industry, especially after going through the last 18 months ...
NEW STUDY: Harmful Policy Choices Driving Employers, Every Age Group and Income Level Away from California
Documenting California’s growing outmigration problem, a new study released today by the nonpartisan Pacific Research Institute found that harmful policy choices have increased economic and quality-of-life concerns and are chasing businesses, job opportunities, individuals of every age group and income level, and badly needed tax revenue out of state. ...
When Sacramento Big Spenders Suddenly Become Budget Hawks
On Wednesday, the day after millions of Californians cast ballots in the Newsom recall election, there was a common refrain in Sacramento. Prominent advocates of big government and perpetually increasing government spending were suddenly transformed into budget hawks overnight. Their target of “government waste” – the California recall itself and ...
AB 701 Guarantees Workers Restroom Breaks . . . and Lawsuits
When states claim to be first at something, it’s usually cause for pride. But in California, it’s often a signal to head for the hills – or rather, to other states. In another first in the nation, the California Legislature passed a bill last week that would require warehouses to ...
Banning Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers Could Have Unintended Consequences in Next Power Outage
Californians who have been seen power supplies become more unreliable in recent years have increasingly turned to gas-powered electric generators to keep the lights on during “public safety power shutoffs.” According to the industry trade group, there are 1.5 million portable generators in use in California today. The average gas-powered ...
