California
Blog
Winners and Losers in 2019’s State Budget
This year’s state budget debate is in the history books. On Thursday, the Legislature’s liberal supermajority passed the main budget bill and some of the trailer bills required to implement the budget. The 2019-20 state budget is also Gov. Gavin Newsom’s first opportunity to put his stamp on the state’s ...
Commentary
California’s ‘free’ health care for illegal immigrants — courtesy of the taxpayers
On Thursday, June 13, California lawmakers approved a $215 billion state budget, which Governor Gavin Newsom is expected to sign. Included in the budget are several health care reforms whose mammoth cost the state may soon regret. Paramount among them is the expansion of Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program to cover low-income undocumented ...
California
Emergency financial lifelines at risk of disappearing in California
Imagine, somewhere in the Inland Empire, a young couple with two children just getting by financially. One morning the husband’s car won’t start. If he doesn’t get to work, he’ll lose his job. But the next payday is nearly a week off and the family doesn’t have money for repairs. ...
California
All Signs Point to Crime Making a Comeback in California
California was once known for being tough on criminals. We’re not talking about frontier days, but much more recently. It was only five years ago when the Washington Post’s Max Ehrenfreund wrote that “California’s criminal justice system has long been among the most punitive.” At one time, Newsweek said, the state’s three-strikes ...
Agriculture
PRI’s Summer Reading List
What’s a summer without a reading list? And what’s a think tank without ideas? So, we just couldn’t help ourselves and came up with the list below compiled from PRI’s staff. Lest you stop reading now because you think that all the books are wonky — not true. To my ...
California
Kerry Jackson Discusses Living in Fear in California on Terry Maxwell Show
Listen to Kerry Jackson discuss his new book on crime in California, Living in Fear in California, on “The Terry Maxwell Show” on KNZR Radio in Bakersfield. Click here to listen (click on June 12 episode to hear Kerry’s interview)
Blog
Voters Give Legislature Low Marks for Failing to Act on Housing, Homelessness
Last week, the non-partisan Public Policy Institute of California released their latest survey of Californians stand on a host of issues. Writing about the poll results, veteran Los Angeles Times political columnist George Skelton summed up the survey’s shock findings with a banner headline – “California’s Legislature is less popular ...
California
Brian Isom – How Policy Changes Can Help Minimize the Risk of Another Destructive California Wildfire
Brian Isom of the Center for Growth and Opportunity at Utah State University joins us to discuss his research on California wildfires. He discusses why the Paradise and Napa Valley fires were so destructive, why devastating wildfires are becoming much more common in the West, the political battle over healthy ...
Blog
Yet Another Bad Policy Idea for California: San Francisco Proposes An ‘IPO’ Tax
Anyone thinking that California can’t become more anti-business or add another punitive tax hasn’t seen the recent news out of San Francisco. Political leaders there are campaigning for an increase in the city’s “IPO tax,” which is both unnecessary and counterproductive. The proposal, sponsored by Supervisor Gordon Mar, would hike ...
California
Kamala’s Promise to End Right-to-Work Would Make Every State Like California
Democratic presidential candidate and California Sen. Kamala Harris has said that if she’s elected, she would issue an executive order to rescind hard-won worker freedom. Maybe it’s a “California value” to support conscripted unionism. But before Harris’ position becomes too hardened to walk back, she should consider how reforms would ...
Winners and Losers in 2019’s State Budget
This year’s state budget debate is in the history books. On Thursday, the Legislature’s liberal supermajority passed the main budget bill and some of the trailer bills required to implement the budget. The 2019-20 state budget is also Gov. Gavin Newsom’s first opportunity to put his stamp on the state’s ...
California’s ‘free’ health care for illegal immigrants — courtesy of the taxpayers
On Thursday, June 13, California lawmakers approved a $215 billion state budget, which Governor Gavin Newsom is expected to sign. Included in the budget are several health care reforms whose mammoth cost the state may soon regret. Paramount among them is the expansion of Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program to cover low-income undocumented ...
Emergency financial lifelines at risk of disappearing in California
Imagine, somewhere in the Inland Empire, a young couple with two children just getting by financially. One morning the husband’s car won’t start. If he doesn’t get to work, he’ll lose his job. But the next payday is nearly a week off and the family doesn’t have money for repairs. ...
All Signs Point to Crime Making a Comeback in California
California was once known for being tough on criminals. We’re not talking about frontier days, but much more recently. It was only five years ago when the Washington Post’s Max Ehrenfreund wrote that “California’s criminal justice system has long been among the most punitive.” At one time, Newsweek said, the state’s three-strikes ...
PRI’s Summer Reading List
What’s a summer without a reading list? And what’s a think tank without ideas? So, we just couldn’t help ourselves and came up with the list below compiled from PRI’s staff. Lest you stop reading now because you think that all the books are wonky — not true. To my ...
Kerry Jackson Discusses Living in Fear in California on Terry Maxwell Show
Listen to Kerry Jackson discuss his new book on crime in California, Living in Fear in California, on “The Terry Maxwell Show” on KNZR Radio in Bakersfield. Click here to listen (click on June 12 episode to hear Kerry’s interview)
Voters Give Legislature Low Marks for Failing to Act on Housing, Homelessness
Last week, the non-partisan Public Policy Institute of California released their latest survey of Californians stand on a host of issues. Writing about the poll results, veteran Los Angeles Times political columnist George Skelton summed up the survey’s shock findings with a banner headline – “California’s Legislature is less popular ...
Brian Isom – How Policy Changes Can Help Minimize the Risk of Another Destructive California Wildfire
Brian Isom of the Center for Growth and Opportunity at Utah State University joins us to discuss his research on California wildfires. He discusses why the Paradise and Napa Valley fires were so destructive, why devastating wildfires are becoming much more common in the West, the political battle over healthy ...
Yet Another Bad Policy Idea for California: San Francisco Proposes An ‘IPO’ Tax
Anyone thinking that California can’t become more anti-business or add another punitive tax hasn’t seen the recent news out of San Francisco. Political leaders there are campaigning for an increase in the city’s “IPO tax,” which is both unnecessary and counterproductive. The proposal, sponsored by Supervisor Gordon Mar, would hike ...
Kamala’s Promise to End Right-to-Work Would Make Every State Like California
Democratic presidential candidate and California Sen. Kamala Harris has said that if she’s elected, she would issue an executive order to rescind hard-won worker freedom. Maybe it’s a “California value” to support conscripted unionism. But before Harris’ position becomes too hardened to walk back, she should consider how reforms would ...
