Business & Economics
Blog
Taxifornia This Week
By Rowena Itchon and Tim Anaya This week, the Assembly and Senate face a key deadline. All bills originating must pass their “house of origin” by the end of the week (i.e., bills introduced in the Assembly must pass the Assembly). The Appropriations Committees of both houses weighed in on ...
Blog
With California’s Rising Gas Prices, Driving Won’t Be So ‘Fun, Fun, Fun’ This Summer
She drives real fast and she drives real hard, She’s the terror of Colorado Boulevard. — The Little Old Lady from Pasadena, The Beach Boys, 1964 I loved this song when I was growing up, and I love it even more now that PRI’s Southern California office is on the ...
Blog
Will Sports Betting Ruling Be a New Gold Rush for California?
That sound you hear is the rush of California politicians and various moneyed interests racing to try and take advantage of a recent Supreme Court ruling paving the way for sports betting in every state. On May 14, the Court struck down a federal law passed in the early 1990’s ...
Blog
Could Court Case Gig the Gig Economy?
Businesses in California could use some good news, but one wonders when — and sometimes if — any will ever come. At the same time, there seems to be no end to the bad news, at least when government authorities are involved. The most recent example is a California Supreme ...
Business & Economics
The High Costs of Cost Sharing Insurance
Incentives drive all economic activity. Unfortunately, far too many of the incentives that underlie the U.S. health care sector discourage quality and encourage excessive costs. Our current health insurance system exemplifies this problem. The disincentives created by the way the U.S. health insurance industry operates arise because insurers do not ...
Business & Economics
Pharmaceutical Price Controls Will Not Improve Health Care Outcomes in Illinois
Due to its national implications, last week’s introduction of the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) blueprint on drug prices is garnering all the attention. Despite its importance, HHS’ blueprint should not overshadow the many poor, and even unconstitutional, policy proposals that are occurring at the state level. For ...
Blog
Legislature Still Has Chance to Eliminate Unnecessary Barriers to Work
Cutting, styling, shampooing, and curling hair properly takes some practice. But how much before a person is skilled enough to obtain a license to perform those tasks in California? The state says at least 1,500 hours of training are needed. Common-sense says far fewer. In California, a cosmetologist is required ...
Blog
Is Buying Stock in Companies That Spend a Lot on Lobbying a Good Investment Strategy?
We’re all hearing it: the bull market is “long on the tooth,” and the market volatility we’ve seen so far this year is a sign that a big correction, or even a bear market, may be around the corner. Interest rate fears, trade wars, and the ballooning debt are all ...
Business & Economics
Federal Government Must Revamp Spending To Maximize Economic Growth
It’s not news that the federal government spends too much. This year, the federal government will spend about $30,000 per taxpayer. That doesn’t count the public debt — every taxpayers’ share is over $145,000 — or unfunded liabilities like Social Security and Medicare, which add another $600,000 to $1.6 million per taxpayer. ...
Business & Economics
Will Swaim – Is Worker Freedom On the Horizon in California?
California Policy Center head Will Swaim joins us to discuss the effort to increase worker freedom in California. We explore the Janus case pending before the Supreme Court, efforts to expand pension reform and government transparency, and the 2018 campaign – and stay tuned for his gourmet coffee recommendations.
Taxifornia This Week
By Rowena Itchon and Tim Anaya This week, the Assembly and Senate face a key deadline. All bills originating must pass their “house of origin” by the end of the week (i.e., bills introduced in the Assembly must pass the Assembly). The Appropriations Committees of both houses weighed in on ...
With California’s Rising Gas Prices, Driving Won’t Be So ‘Fun, Fun, Fun’ This Summer
She drives real fast and she drives real hard, She’s the terror of Colorado Boulevard. — The Little Old Lady from Pasadena, The Beach Boys, 1964 I loved this song when I was growing up, and I love it even more now that PRI’s Southern California office is on the ...
Will Sports Betting Ruling Be a New Gold Rush for California?
That sound you hear is the rush of California politicians and various moneyed interests racing to try and take advantage of a recent Supreme Court ruling paving the way for sports betting in every state. On May 14, the Court struck down a federal law passed in the early 1990’s ...
Could Court Case Gig the Gig Economy?
Businesses in California could use some good news, but one wonders when — and sometimes if — any will ever come. At the same time, there seems to be no end to the bad news, at least when government authorities are involved. The most recent example is a California Supreme ...
The High Costs of Cost Sharing Insurance
Incentives drive all economic activity. Unfortunately, far too many of the incentives that underlie the U.S. health care sector discourage quality and encourage excessive costs. Our current health insurance system exemplifies this problem. The disincentives created by the way the U.S. health insurance industry operates arise because insurers do not ...
Pharmaceutical Price Controls Will Not Improve Health Care Outcomes in Illinois
Due to its national implications, last week’s introduction of the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) blueprint on drug prices is garnering all the attention. Despite its importance, HHS’ blueprint should not overshadow the many poor, and even unconstitutional, policy proposals that are occurring at the state level. For ...
Legislature Still Has Chance to Eliminate Unnecessary Barriers to Work
Cutting, styling, shampooing, and curling hair properly takes some practice. But how much before a person is skilled enough to obtain a license to perform those tasks in California? The state says at least 1,500 hours of training are needed. Common-sense says far fewer. In California, a cosmetologist is required ...
Is Buying Stock in Companies That Spend a Lot on Lobbying a Good Investment Strategy?
We’re all hearing it: the bull market is “long on the tooth,” and the market volatility we’ve seen so far this year is a sign that a big correction, or even a bear market, may be around the corner. Interest rate fears, trade wars, and the ballooning debt are all ...
Federal Government Must Revamp Spending To Maximize Economic Growth
It’s not news that the federal government spends too much. This year, the federal government will spend about $30,000 per taxpayer. That doesn’t count the public debt — every taxpayers’ share is over $145,000 — or unfunded liabilities like Social Security and Medicare, which add another $600,000 to $1.6 million per taxpayer. ...
Will Swaim – Is Worker Freedom On the Horizon in California?
California Policy Center head Will Swaim joins us to discuss the effort to increase worker freedom in California. We explore the Janus case pending before the Supreme Court, efforts to expand pension reform and government transparency, and the 2018 campaign – and stay tuned for his gourmet coffee recommendations.
