California

California

City still reeling from court blocking 2012 pension reform

San Diego voters tried to rein in the city’s runaway public employee pension obligations when they approved a 2012 measure that would change the system. Union bosses and the courts had other ideas, though, and the results were scrapped by the California Supreme Court. The ripples of that ruling have ...
California

Giving Ventures Podcast: California Thinking

California’s decisions often ripple across the nation, influencing policies from coast to coast. This episode features interviews with leaders from two influential think tanks—Pacific Research Institute—about their efforts to counteract detrimental policies and promote free-market solutions in the Golden State. These organizations are not only tackling local issues but are ...
California

Podcast listeners should pay attention to what Newsom does, not what he says

California’s governor has launched another podcast, this one called “This is Gavin Newsom.” Listeners who haven’t followed Mr. Newsom much should beware. Although you may like what you hear, what he does is far more important than what he says. Read the entire op-ed here.
California

Reforms to Help Southern California Recover Faster

This week, we present a special discussion from a recent PRI webinar featuring PRI’s scholars and other policy experts exploring how bad policy influence the recent Southern California wildfires on issues ranging from planning to insurance, sharing the lessons learned from the Maui wildfires that every Southern Californian should know ...
Blog

Spending Watch

SB 222 Will Weaken California’s Economy and Reduce State Revenues

SB 222 Will Weaken California’s Economy and Reduce State Revenues Wayne Winegarden and Nikhil Agarwal March 2025 The destructiveness of the Eaton and Palisades fires were unprecedented. According to the Anderson School of Management at UCLA, the recent Los Angeles wildfires caused up to $164 billion in property and capital ...
California

PRI Webinar – Reforms to Help Southern California Recover Faster

In the aftermath of January’s destructive Southern California wildfires, media reports, whistleblowers, and elected officials are providing much needed oversight in the role misguided government policies have played in worsening the tragedy. Affected residents are now seeing firsthand how bad policies and unnecessary government bureaucracy are hindering the rebuilding process. ...
Blog

CAPITAL IDEAS: The Costly Scramble To Save Public Transit In San Francisco

Public transportation in San Francisco has been slipping for some time. To keep it from barreling into the bay, officials are going after wallets, and they plan to cast a net that is so wide that even those who don’t use the systems will be pinched.  Both BART, the Bay ...
Blog

Read the latest on the Southern California wildfires

Burn Baby, Burn

California has become the “Can’t Have State,” as in can’t have plastic bags, can’t have plastic straws and utensils, can’t have a new gasoline-powered car 10 years from now, can’t have a long of things that would make up a list too long to go into here. The next “can’t ...
Blog

Base Affirmative Action on Class, or Get Rid of It

California, always an innovator in the field of racial foolishness, recently saw a bill proposed that would guarantee affirmative action benefits – notably preferential college admissions – to the descendants of Black American slaves. This is a bad idea, but is a step in the right direction (toward AA programs ...
Blog

Spending Watch

Backfilling Lost Federal Education Funding Will Cost California Dearly

Backfilling Lost Federal Education Funding Will Cost California Dearly Wayne Winegarden February 2025 The erratic actions of the Trump Administration are undoubtedly making it more difficult for states to budget for the upcoming 2026 fiscal year. The knee-jerk reaction from many California politicians is to call for more taxes on ...
California

City still reeling from court blocking 2012 pension reform

San Diego voters tried to rein in the city’s runaway public employee pension obligations when they approved a 2012 measure that would change the system. Union bosses and the courts had other ideas, though, and the results were scrapped by the California Supreme Court. The ripples of that ruling have ...
California

Giving Ventures Podcast: California Thinking

California’s decisions often ripple across the nation, influencing policies from coast to coast. This episode features interviews with leaders from two influential think tanks—Pacific Research Institute—about their efforts to counteract detrimental policies and promote free-market solutions in the Golden State. These organizations are not only tackling local issues but are ...
California

Podcast listeners should pay attention to what Newsom does, not what he says

California’s governor has launched another podcast, this one called “This is Gavin Newsom.” Listeners who haven’t followed Mr. Newsom much should beware. Although you may like what you hear, what he does is far more important than what he says. Read the entire op-ed here.
California

Reforms to Help Southern California Recover Faster

This week, we present a special discussion from a recent PRI webinar featuring PRI’s scholars and other policy experts exploring how bad policy influence the recent Southern California wildfires on issues ranging from planning to insurance, sharing the lessons learned from the Maui wildfires that every Southern Californian should know ...
Blog

Spending Watch

SB 222 Will Weaken California’s Economy and Reduce State Revenues

SB 222 Will Weaken California’s Economy and Reduce State Revenues Wayne Winegarden and Nikhil Agarwal March 2025 The destructiveness of the Eaton and Palisades fires were unprecedented. According to the Anderson School of Management at UCLA, the recent Los Angeles wildfires caused up to $164 billion in property and capital ...
California

PRI Webinar – Reforms to Help Southern California Recover Faster

In the aftermath of January’s destructive Southern California wildfires, media reports, whistleblowers, and elected officials are providing much needed oversight in the role misguided government policies have played in worsening the tragedy. Affected residents are now seeing firsthand how bad policies and unnecessary government bureaucracy are hindering the rebuilding process. ...
Blog

CAPITAL IDEAS: The Costly Scramble To Save Public Transit In San Francisco

Public transportation in San Francisco has been slipping for some time. To keep it from barreling into the bay, officials are going after wallets, and they plan to cast a net that is so wide that even those who don’t use the systems will be pinched.  Both BART, the Bay ...
Blog

Read the latest on the Southern California wildfires

Burn Baby, Burn

California has become the “Can’t Have State,” as in can’t have plastic bags, can’t have plastic straws and utensils, can’t have a new gasoline-powered car 10 years from now, can’t have a long of things that would make up a list too long to go into here. The next “can’t ...
Blog

Base Affirmative Action on Class, or Get Rid of It

California, always an innovator in the field of racial foolishness, recently saw a bill proposed that would guarantee affirmative action benefits – notably preferential college admissions – to the descendants of Black American slaves. This is a bad idea, but is a step in the right direction (toward AA programs ...
Blog

Spending Watch

Backfilling Lost Federal Education Funding Will Cost California Dearly

Backfilling Lost Federal Education Funding Will Cost California Dearly Wayne Winegarden February 2025 The erratic actions of the Trump Administration are undoubtedly making it more difficult for states to budget for the upcoming 2026 fiscal year. The knee-jerk reaction from many California politicians is to call for more taxes on ...
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