Business & Economics

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Legislature Serves Up Bad Recipe for Innovation Economy

Recently, a friend of mine told me how much she and her husband enjoyed subscribing to a home meal prep delivery service. Instead of having to go to the grocery story, they deliver all the fresh ingredients you need to make a gourmet recipe right to your doorstep. She suggested ...
Business & Economics

Can’t Buy Me Gender Equality

President Trump just rescinded an Obama administration policy aimed at closing the economic gap between men and women. The measure would have required companies to collect data on pay differences between genders and races. It’s tempting to see the move as dismissive of the gender disparities in our economy. But ...
Business & Economics

Is 2017 The Year for Tax Reform and Spending Cuts?

CNN contributor and noted free-market economist Steve Moore joins us to talk about the Trump effect on the U.S. economy, and what the prospects look like for achieving tax reform and federal spending cuts this year.
Agriculture

Taxing Robots Will Hurt California Innovation and Opportunity

A California governor who went on to greater things was known to say that if government sees something move, it will tax it. Ronald Reagan’s words, spoken more than 30 years ago, are being played out today by a lawmaker who wants to enact a robot tax. Jane Kim, a ...
Blog

Court Ruling Paves the Way for Even More Tax Hikes in Overtaxed California

Tax hikes, especially in the state known for its extraordinarily heavy tax burden, should not be easily enacted. Yet the California Supreme Court has made the job much easier. California law previously required a two-thirds majority for the passage of any tax hike introduced by government or by a voter ...
Blog

Where Have All The Interns Gone?

The other day, a freshman from Santa Clara University called me to inquire about internships at PRI. She had just heard Sally Pipes give a talk on health care. She was also familiar with the work of Arthur Laffer. As an economics student, she thought PRI would be a great ...
Blog

U.S. Pharmaceutical Spending Is Below Average?

For the 30 nations that comprise the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which promotes policies to improve the well-being of people around the world, pharmaceutical spending comprised, on average, 16.9 percent of total health care spending as of 2015. The OECD defines pharmaceutical spending as the expenditures on ...
Business & Economics

One Club Taxpayers Will Never Be Able to Afford

California’s $100,000 Club has grown to an all-time high. And it’s not a particularly exclusive institution. This one has more than 61,000 members, all of them retired government employees, raking in pension benefits many in the private sector would envy. The membership drive was boosted by a sharp increase from ...
Blog

Beware of Tax Reform’s “Unintended Consequences”

There is little doubt that the U.S. needs comprehensive tax reform. The corporate income tax system is globally uncompetitive; the personal income tax system is so complicated that even the IRS can’t answer taxpayers’ questions. The right reform implements a simple flat tax system with globally competitive rates. What should ...
Blog

An (Artificially) Intelligent Future for California?

Californians harboring dystopian fears would have us believe that the state is sowing the seeds of its own destruction by leading in the development of artificial intelligence. Consider state legislation introduced this year that would fine companies like Uber $25,000 a day per vehicle if they operate self-driving cars without ...
Blog

Legislature Serves Up Bad Recipe for Innovation Economy

Recently, a friend of mine told me how much she and her husband enjoyed subscribing to a home meal prep delivery service. Instead of having to go to the grocery story, they deliver all the fresh ingredients you need to make a gourmet recipe right to your doorstep. She suggested ...
Business & Economics

Can’t Buy Me Gender Equality

President Trump just rescinded an Obama administration policy aimed at closing the economic gap between men and women. The measure would have required companies to collect data on pay differences between genders and races. It’s tempting to see the move as dismissive of the gender disparities in our economy. But ...
Business & Economics

Is 2017 The Year for Tax Reform and Spending Cuts?

CNN contributor and noted free-market economist Steve Moore joins us to talk about the Trump effect on the U.S. economy, and what the prospects look like for achieving tax reform and federal spending cuts this year.
Agriculture

Taxing Robots Will Hurt California Innovation and Opportunity

A California governor who went on to greater things was known to say that if government sees something move, it will tax it. Ronald Reagan’s words, spoken more than 30 years ago, are being played out today by a lawmaker who wants to enact a robot tax. Jane Kim, a ...
Blog

Court Ruling Paves the Way for Even More Tax Hikes in Overtaxed California

Tax hikes, especially in the state known for its extraordinarily heavy tax burden, should not be easily enacted. Yet the California Supreme Court has made the job much easier. California law previously required a two-thirds majority for the passage of any tax hike introduced by government or by a voter ...
Blog

Where Have All The Interns Gone?

The other day, a freshman from Santa Clara University called me to inquire about internships at PRI. She had just heard Sally Pipes give a talk on health care. She was also familiar with the work of Arthur Laffer. As an economics student, she thought PRI would be a great ...
Blog

U.S. Pharmaceutical Spending Is Below Average?

For the 30 nations that comprise the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which promotes policies to improve the well-being of people around the world, pharmaceutical spending comprised, on average, 16.9 percent of total health care spending as of 2015. The OECD defines pharmaceutical spending as the expenditures on ...
Business & Economics

One Club Taxpayers Will Never Be Able to Afford

California’s $100,000 Club has grown to an all-time high. And it’s not a particularly exclusive institution. This one has more than 61,000 members, all of them retired government employees, raking in pension benefits many in the private sector would envy. The membership drive was boosted by a sharp increase from ...
Blog

Beware of Tax Reform’s “Unintended Consequences”

There is little doubt that the U.S. needs comprehensive tax reform. The corporate income tax system is globally uncompetitive; the personal income tax system is so complicated that even the IRS can’t answer taxpayers’ questions. The right reform implements a simple flat tax system with globally competitive rates. What should ...
Blog

An (Artificially) Intelligent Future for California?

Californians harboring dystopian fears would have us believe that the state is sowing the seeds of its own destruction by leading in the development of artificial intelligence. Consider state legislation introduced this year that would fine companies like Uber $25,000 a day per vehicle if they operate self-driving cars without ...
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