California

Blog

State Budget Week - Learn How the Newsom Education Budget Will Impact You

The Newsom Education Budget: No Bang for the Buck

In the 2019-20 budget–Newsom’s first enacted budget–California spent $103 billion in state, local, and federal funds for education, which translated to $17,423 per pupil. In the governor’s new proposed budget, total education spending comes in at a whopping $137 billion, which pencils out to $24,764 per pupil. All this added ...
Commentary

State Budget Week - Learn How the Newsom Public Safety Budget Will Impact You

The Newsom Public Safety Budget: Budgets are a Reflection of Values

Governor Gavin Newsom spoke recently at Cal State Stanislaus highlighting his workforce initiatives and used the opportunity to introduce his 2025-2026 budget… State budgets are exceptionally complex documents full of granular data but a birds-eye view of spending places our tax dollars in a number of buckets of broad spending ...
California

Steven Greenhut – How California’s Insurance Crisis Could Be Double Whammy for Wildfire Victims

This week, Free Cities Center director Steven Greenhut joins us to discuss how California’s ongoing insurance crisis could be a double whammy for Southern California wildfire victims looking to rebuild. He gives the history of the state’s festering insurance crisis, analyzes Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara’s reform plan announced just before ...
Blog

State Budget Week - Learn how the Newsom Budget Will Impact California's Tax Burden

The Newsom Budget on Taxes: Yes, Governor, California Is a High Tax State

California imposes the highest top marginal state income tax rate and one of the highest state and local sales tax rates in the country. It is simply illogical to claim that a state with the highest income tax rate and a very high state and local sales tax rates is ...
California

As Los Angeles Burns, California Prevention Failures Made Clear

Not nearly enough is being done by California’s ruling class to mitigate wildfires, as the tragic devastation in Los Angeles has shown. Certainly, dry conditions and vicious winds fueled multiple wildfires that, at last count, had burned roughly 40,000 acres, destroyed more than 12,000 structures and claimed at least 25 ...
Blog

State Budget Week - Learn how the Newsom Transportation Budget Furthers the "Train to Nowhere"

The Newsom Transportation Budget: Newsom Continues to Embrace Costly, Unrealistic State Bullet Train

Progress. The California high-speed rail project has made progress. If progress can be defined as finally laying the first track for a bullet train that is at least a couple of decades behind schedule. Hard to put any faith, though, in the promises and bragging when the HSR is running ...
California

Southern California wildfires show just how destructive the ‘California Way’ can be

You’ll forgive Southern Californians for throwing up their hands in frustration as destructive wildfires rage across the region. Watching their homes burn and loved ones evacuated, California’s ruling class hasn’t exactly channeled their inner-Rudy Giuliani on 9/11. Read the entire op-ed here.
California

The PRI All Stars Respond to Gov. Newsom’s 2025-26 State Budget

This week, we present an in-depth look at Gov. Newsom’s 2025-25 state budget plan.  PRI scholars Wayne Winegarden, Lance Izumi, Steve Smith, and Kerry Jackson join Ro and Tim to explore the budget’s impact on taxes and the economy, education, crime, and transportation.  They also explore how the Southern California ...
California

Tim Anaya Explains Many California Policy Problems

Anaya previews his latest book, The California Left Coast Survivor’s Guide, co-written with PRI’s Kerry Jackson. Listen to the entire interview here:
California

Newsom promises efficient and accountable state budget, delivers bloated and ineffective spending plan

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday unveiled the initial details of his $322.2 billion state budget proposal for the 2025-26 fiscal year. Based on his presentation, Californians should be worried. He claims that his budget will promote an “efficient and leaner” government, yet his plan is neither. The Newsom budget would ...
Blog

State Budget Week - Learn How the Newsom Education Budget Will Impact You

The Newsom Education Budget: No Bang for the Buck

In the 2019-20 budget–Newsom’s first enacted budget–California spent $103 billion in state, local, and federal funds for education, which translated to $17,423 per pupil. In the governor’s new proposed budget, total education spending comes in at a whopping $137 billion, which pencils out to $24,764 per pupil. All this added ...
Commentary

State Budget Week - Learn How the Newsom Public Safety Budget Will Impact You

The Newsom Public Safety Budget: Budgets are a Reflection of Values

Governor Gavin Newsom spoke recently at Cal State Stanislaus highlighting his workforce initiatives and used the opportunity to introduce his 2025-2026 budget… State budgets are exceptionally complex documents full of granular data but a birds-eye view of spending places our tax dollars in a number of buckets of broad spending ...
California

Steven Greenhut – How California’s Insurance Crisis Could Be Double Whammy for Wildfire Victims

This week, Free Cities Center director Steven Greenhut joins us to discuss how California’s ongoing insurance crisis could be a double whammy for Southern California wildfire victims looking to rebuild. He gives the history of the state’s festering insurance crisis, analyzes Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara’s reform plan announced just before ...
Blog

State Budget Week - Learn how the Newsom Budget Will Impact California's Tax Burden

The Newsom Budget on Taxes: Yes, Governor, California Is a High Tax State

California imposes the highest top marginal state income tax rate and one of the highest state and local sales tax rates in the country. It is simply illogical to claim that a state with the highest income tax rate and a very high state and local sales tax rates is ...
California

As Los Angeles Burns, California Prevention Failures Made Clear

Not nearly enough is being done by California’s ruling class to mitigate wildfires, as the tragic devastation in Los Angeles has shown. Certainly, dry conditions and vicious winds fueled multiple wildfires that, at last count, had burned roughly 40,000 acres, destroyed more than 12,000 structures and claimed at least 25 ...
Blog

State Budget Week - Learn how the Newsom Transportation Budget Furthers the "Train to Nowhere"

The Newsom Transportation Budget: Newsom Continues to Embrace Costly, Unrealistic State Bullet Train

Progress. The California high-speed rail project has made progress. If progress can be defined as finally laying the first track for a bullet train that is at least a couple of decades behind schedule. Hard to put any faith, though, in the promises and bragging when the HSR is running ...
California

Southern California wildfires show just how destructive the ‘California Way’ can be

You’ll forgive Southern Californians for throwing up their hands in frustration as destructive wildfires rage across the region. Watching their homes burn and loved ones evacuated, California’s ruling class hasn’t exactly channeled their inner-Rudy Giuliani on 9/11. Read the entire op-ed here.
California

The PRI All Stars Respond to Gov. Newsom’s 2025-26 State Budget

This week, we present an in-depth look at Gov. Newsom’s 2025-25 state budget plan.  PRI scholars Wayne Winegarden, Lance Izumi, Steve Smith, and Kerry Jackson join Ro and Tim to explore the budget’s impact on taxes and the economy, education, crime, and transportation.  They also explore how the Southern California ...
California

Tim Anaya Explains Many California Policy Problems

Anaya previews his latest book, The California Left Coast Survivor’s Guide, co-written with PRI’s Kerry Jackson. Listen to the entire interview here:
California

Newsom promises efficient and accountable state budget, delivers bloated and ineffective spending plan

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday unveiled the initial details of his $322.2 billion state budget proposal for the 2025-26 fiscal year. Based on his presentation, Californians should be worried. He claims that his budget will promote an “efficient and leaner” government, yet his plan is neither. The Newsom budget would ...
Scroll to Top