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 ...
Kerry Jackson
March 26, 2025
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 ...
Sally C. Pipes
March 26, 2025
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.
Tim Anaya
March 21, 2025
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 ...
Pacific Research Institute
March 17, 2025
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 ...
Wayne Winegarden and Nikhil Agarwal
March 13, 2025
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. ...
Pacific Research Institute
March 12, 2025
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 ...
Kerry Jackson
March 7, 2025
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 ...
Kerry Jackson
March 4, 2025
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 ...
Wilfred Reilly
March 3, 2025
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 ...
Wayne Winegarden
February 27, 2025
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 ...
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 ...
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.
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 ...
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 ...
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. ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...