California
California
Secret Union Negotiations Aren’t in the Best Interest of Taxpayers
Taxpayers, who fund public employees’ platinum-plated pensions, deserve to know what happens at the bargaining table when their elected representatives negotiate contracts with public-employee unions. What they’d hear would likely alarm them. But the door is locked. They’re not allowed in. Consider legislation (Assembly Bill 1455) signed into law this ...
Blog
We’re Thankful for You
2017 has been quite a year for the Pacific Research Institute. We remain, as ever, committed to championing freedom, opportunity, and personal responsibility. Thanks to the steadfast support of our donors in California and throughout the nation, this past year we have advanced market-based policies in the national debate on ...
Blog
Let’s Choose Door No. 3 on State Budget Surplus – Tax Relief
The California Legislative Analyst’s Office is projecting a $19 billion budget surplus for the 2018-19 fiscal year which begins next July 1. The media wonder if lawmakers should spend it or save it. There’s a third option, though, that is going unmentioned. Take door no. 3, please. Only about $7.5 ...
Blended Learning
Celebrating a Virtual “Friendsgiving”
As we get ready to celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday, we’re also preparing for an overload of turkey, pumpkin pie, and relatives. Thanksgiving is about more than getting a food coma. It’s about getting together with your loved ones and giving thanks for all that we are thankful for in life. ...
Blog
Some Help for Your Black Friday Shopping List
Rowena Itchon and Tim Anaya With Thanksgiving just around the corner, it’s time for a holiday tradition that most of us have a love-hate relationship with – holiday shopping. If you’re like us, you never know what to get the people on your shopping list. We can always use some ...
Blog
California Jeers Federal Tax Reform Efforts
Tax reform has taken center stage in Washington. Just last week, the House Ways and Means Committee approved the House’s tax reform proposal, while the Senate released its own tax reform proposal. If you picked up a newspaper in California, you would have thought the sky was falling. Among the ...
Blog
More Government Spending Won’t Make Our Country Successful
As he celebrated Democrats’ November election wins, California’s overwrought Tom Steyer took a moment to sound a bit like someone from the other party — before he reverted back to form. “When we think about what a more prosperous, healthy America would look like, we really have to start again ...
Business & Economics
Lower mortgage interest tax break: “All-out assault” or glancing blow?
By Jeff Ostrowski If there’s one thing that’s certain to mobilize the nation’s largest trade group, it’s any talk of reining in tax breaks for homeowners with mortgages. House Republicans on Thursday passed a tax plan that caps at $500,000 the amount of debt eligible for the mortgage interest deduction. ...
Commentary
Don’t Give Up The Fight To Repeal Obamacare’s Individual Mandate
Senators Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., recently introduced a bill that would effectively repeal Obamacare’s individual mandate, which fines people for going without health insurance. Their effort has its share of fans. President Trump has called on Congress to include repeal of the mandate in whatever tax reform ...
Blog
If You Think U.S. Politics is Wild, Check out Australia and New Zealand
I just returned from a two-week trip to Australia and New Zealand. During my trip, my friends and I spent a few days each in Sydney and Auckland, and went on a cruise across Tasmania in between. We had a wonderful time experiencing the culture and history of all the ...
Secret Union Negotiations Aren’t in the Best Interest of Taxpayers
Taxpayers, who fund public employees’ platinum-plated pensions, deserve to know what happens at the bargaining table when their elected representatives negotiate contracts with public-employee unions. What they’d hear would likely alarm them. But the door is locked. They’re not allowed in. Consider legislation (Assembly Bill 1455) signed into law this ...
We’re Thankful for You
2017 has been quite a year for the Pacific Research Institute. We remain, as ever, committed to championing freedom, opportunity, and personal responsibility. Thanks to the steadfast support of our donors in California and throughout the nation, this past year we have advanced market-based policies in the national debate on ...
Let’s Choose Door No. 3 on State Budget Surplus – Tax Relief
The California Legislative Analyst’s Office is projecting a $19 billion budget surplus for the 2018-19 fiscal year which begins next July 1. The media wonder if lawmakers should spend it or save it. There’s a third option, though, that is going unmentioned. Take door no. 3, please. Only about $7.5 ...
Celebrating a Virtual “Friendsgiving”
As we get ready to celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday, we’re also preparing for an overload of turkey, pumpkin pie, and relatives. Thanksgiving is about more than getting a food coma. It’s about getting together with your loved ones and giving thanks for all that we are thankful for in life. ...
Some Help for Your Black Friday Shopping List
Rowena Itchon and Tim Anaya With Thanksgiving just around the corner, it’s time for a holiday tradition that most of us have a love-hate relationship with – holiday shopping. If you’re like us, you never know what to get the people on your shopping list. We can always use some ...
California Jeers Federal Tax Reform Efforts
Tax reform has taken center stage in Washington. Just last week, the House Ways and Means Committee approved the House’s tax reform proposal, while the Senate released its own tax reform proposal. If you picked up a newspaper in California, you would have thought the sky was falling. Among the ...
More Government Spending Won’t Make Our Country Successful
As he celebrated Democrats’ November election wins, California’s overwrought Tom Steyer took a moment to sound a bit like someone from the other party — before he reverted back to form. “When we think about what a more prosperous, healthy America would look like, we really have to start again ...
Lower mortgage interest tax break: “All-out assault” or glancing blow?
By Jeff Ostrowski If there’s one thing that’s certain to mobilize the nation’s largest trade group, it’s any talk of reining in tax breaks for homeowners with mortgages. House Republicans on Thursday passed a tax plan that caps at $500,000 the amount of debt eligible for the mortgage interest deduction. ...
Don’t Give Up The Fight To Repeal Obamacare’s Individual Mandate
Senators Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., recently introduced a bill that would effectively repeal Obamacare’s individual mandate, which fines people for going without health insurance. Their effort has its share of fans. President Trump has called on Congress to include repeal of the mandate in whatever tax reform ...
If You Think U.S. Politics is Wild, Check out Australia and New Zealand
I just returned from a two-week trip to Australia and New Zealand. During my trip, my friends and I spent a few days each in Sydney and Auckland, and went on a cruise across Tasmania in between. We had a wonderful time experiencing the culture and history of all the ...
