Business & Economics
Business & Economics
Ep. 12: Steven Greenhut – End-of-Session Wrap, Part 2
Columnist and longtime political observer Steven Greenhut of the R Street Institute gives his thoughts on the housing package, the cap-and-trade deal, bills that were overlooked, and the impact of Prop. 54 in Part 2 of our 2017 end-of-session wrap-up.
Business & Economics
Let Health Insurance Be Insurance
One of the many flaws with our current health care system is that, too often, health insurance coverage fails people precisely when they need it the most. It’s as if your car insurance has been paying the cost for your oil changes for years, but won’t pay the costs to ...
Blog
Hyatt Case Shows Why Taxpayers Will Be Big Losers in BOE Power Grab
Recently, Gilbert Hyatt presented his side of a tax dispute case to the voter-elected Board of Equalization. The state has been pursuing Mr. Hyatt for 26 years, alleging that he owes millions in back taxes and penalties from capital gains from a computer patent he owns. The dispute centers over ...
Business & Economics
Lewis Carroll and the Pricing of Pharmaceuticals
Imagine a pharmaceutical market designed by Lewis Carroll’s Mad Hatter. In contrast to almost every other market, he might begin by charging wholesale prices that are higher than retail prices. He would then make sure that the higher wholesale price goes, the lower retail prices can become. And finally, he ...
Blog
What We Can Learn from the Car Pros About Tax Reform
Every weekend, I like to listen to the Car Pro guys on the radio when I’m driving around town. In case you’ve never heard the show, the Car Pro – whose real name is Jerry Reynolds – is a former big-time car dealer in Texas. He and his sidekick Kevin ...
Blog
Legislature Should Remove Barriers to Work for Californians
Late last month, U.S. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta challenged state legislators to abolish one of the most noxious barriers to work: occupational licensing. If Sacramento lawmakers followed through, hundreds of thousands of Californians would be liberated from a system that bars entry into the workforce and also protects those who’ve ...
Business & Economics
Wayne Winegarden – How Will Tax Reform Impact California?
PRI’s Senior Fellow in Business and Economics Wayne Winegarden joins us to explore how various tax reform ideas could impact the tax burdens of Californians. He also discusses his study on how to move America’s economy “Beyond The New Normal” of low annual growth rates.
Business & Economics
Consumers And Industry Innovators Should Not Trust Antitrust
T.J. Rodgers, formerly the outspoken CEO of Cypress Semiconductor, once warned that the tech industry should not “normalize relations with Washington, D.C.” He wrote, “A normalized relationship between Washington and Silicon Valley … offers only disadvantages. The collectivism that Big Government espouses undermines capitalism and therefore the fundamental wealth-producing process ...
Blog
For Amazon, It’s a Great Big Jungle Out There
It seems that Seattle is no longer evergreen for Amazon. Last week, the company announced that it’s on the hunt for a second headquarters. There wasn’t a clear explanation for why the online retail giant is seeking a new habitat. But even climate change deniers would conclude that nature – ...
Business & Economics
Enriching Lawyers Is Not the Solution to the Opioid Crisis
Effective health care reforms must reduce the excessive costs imposed by frivolous lawsuits. Studies have shown that medical tort reform could reduce total health care premiums between 1 and 3 percent. As estimated by the American Action Forum, this could mean “roughly $15 billion” in savings from effective (but partial) ...
Ep. 12: Steven Greenhut – End-of-Session Wrap, Part 2
Columnist and longtime political observer Steven Greenhut of the R Street Institute gives his thoughts on the housing package, the cap-and-trade deal, bills that were overlooked, and the impact of Prop. 54 in Part 2 of our 2017 end-of-session wrap-up.
Let Health Insurance Be Insurance
One of the many flaws with our current health care system is that, too often, health insurance coverage fails people precisely when they need it the most. It’s as if your car insurance has been paying the cost for your oil changes for years, but won’t pay the costs to ...
Hyatt Case Shows Why Taxpayers Will Be Big Losers in BOE Power Grab
Recently, Gilbert Hyatt presented his side of a tax dispute case to the voter-elected Board of Equalization. The state has been pursuing Mr. Hyatt for 26 years, alleging that he owes millions in back taxes and penalties from capital gains from a computer patent he owns. The dispute centers over ...
Lewis Carroll and the Pricing of Pharmaceuticals
Imagine a pharmaceutical market designed by Lewis Carroll’s Mad Hatter. In contrast to almost every other market, he might begin by charging wholesale prices that are higher than retail prices. He would then make sure that the higher wholesale price goes, the lower retail prices can become. And finally, he ...
What We Can Learn from the Car Pros About Tax Reform
Every weekend, I like to listen to the Car Pro guys on the radio when I’m driving around town. In case you’ve never heard the show, the Car Pro – whose real name is Jerry Reynolds – is a former big-time car dealer in Texas. He and his sidekick Kevin ...
Legislature Should Remove Barriers to Work for Californians
Late last month, U.S. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta challenged state legislators to abolish one of the most noxious barriers to work: occupational licensing. If Sacramento lawmakers followed through, hundreds of thousands of Californians would be liberated from a system that bars entry into the workforce and also protects those who’ve ...
Wayne Winegarden – How Will Tax Reform Impact California?
PRI’s Senior Fellow in Business and Economics Wayne Winegarden joins us to explore how various tax reform ideas could impact the tax burdens of Californians. He also discusses his study on how to move America’s economy “Beyond The New Normal” of low annual growth rates.
Consumers And Industry Innovators Should Not Trust Antitrust
T.J. Rodgers, formerly the outspoken CEO of Cypress Semiconductor, once warned that the tech industry should not “normalize relations with Washington, D.C.” He wrote, “A normalized relationship between Washington and Silicon Valley … offers only disadvantages. The collectivism that Big Government espouses undermines capitalism and therefore the fundamental wealth-producing process ...
For Amazon, It’s a Great Big Jungle Out There
It seems that Seattle is no longer evergreen for Amazon. Last week, the company announced that it’s on the hunt for a second headquarters. There wasn’t a clear explanation for why the online retail giant is seeking a new habitat. But even climate change deniers would conclude that nature – ...
Enriching Lawyers Is Not the Solution to the Opioid Crisis
Effective health care reforms must reduce the excessive costs imposed by frivolous lawsuits. Studies have shown that medical tort reform could reduce total health care premiums between 1 and 3 percent. As estimated by the American Action Forum, this could mean “roughly $15 billion” in savings from effective (but partial) ...
