California

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UC Has a Long Way to Go to Build Back Trust of Students, Taxpayers, Lawmakers

A recently-released state audit faulting the University of California president’s office for mishandling the switch to a new payroll system – which was supposed to save money but will now cost nearly $1 billion – is the latest self-inflicted wound for the beleaguered system. Earlier this summer, UC announced that ...
California

Critics Say Republican Budget Threatens Californians’ Health

As Congress works to pass a budget by the end of the month, advocates for the poor warn Republicans’ proposed cuts to safety-net programs could hurt Californians’ health. The California Budget and Policy Center has crunched the numbers in the House Budget Committee’s proposed budget. The Center says it would ...
Blog

Beware Sacramento Offering You A “Good Deal” On Your Next Car

What are the legitimate functions of good government? James Madison said they are “to protect property of every sort.” “The rights of persons and the rights of property are the objects for the protection of which government was instituted,” he said in an 1829 address to the Virginia Convention. Some ...
Blog

Court Ruling Paves the Way for Even More Tax Hikes in Overtaxed California

Tax hikes, especially in the state known for its extraordinarily heavy tax burden, should not be easily enacted. Yet the California Supreme Court has made the job much easier. California law previously required a two-thirds majority for the passage of any tax hike introduced by government or by a voter ...
Blog

Where Have All The Interns Gone?

The other day, a freshman from Santa Clara University called me to inquire about internships at PRI. She had just heard Sally Pipes give a talk on health care. She was also familiar with the work of Arthur Laffer. As an economics student, she thought PRI would be a great ...
Blog

Ode to the Summer of Love

With our HQ in San Francisco, PRI can’t let the summer end without a nod to the 50th Anniversary of the Summer of Love. I’m the last of the generation of Baby Boomers, starting kindergarten in 1967. The girls in my classes wore psychedelic mini-skirts, Vietnam POW bracelets, and macramé ...
California

Will Sacramento Finally Address California’s Housing Crisis?

PRI’s Kerry Jackson, author of Unaffordable talks about free-market solutions to California’s housing crisis and whether lawmakers will finally act on housing legislation this year.  In Last Call, we hear the real life experience of a Bay Area college professor who is trying to buy a house in expensive Marin County. [podcast ...
Agriculture

CAPITAL IDEAS: Embracing A New California Vision That Isn’t So New

Click here to download the brief Republican San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer recently gave a speech to the Commonwealth Club where he called for a “new vision” that will broaden his party’s appeal. He has a point. There’s no arguing that the California GOP doesn’t need a makeover – it ...
Blog

Putting Thumb on Scale of California Elections Threatens Our Democracy

“To the victor go the spoils” goes the old proverb. This statement is true in many things in life, but certainly rings true in politics. Consider the ongoing effort to change California’s elections laws to try and help Sen. Josh Newman, D-Fullerton, who is the target of a recall election. ...
Commentary

Republicans, Don’t Settle For Half-Hearted Tweaks To Obamacare

Members of Congress will return on September 5 from their recess. They have a lot on their agenda: reforming the tax code, repairing the nation’s crumbling infrastructure, and raising the debt ceiling. President Trump wants to add another item to that agenda. He recently implored Congress to “keep its promise, ...
Blog

UC Has a Long Way to Go to Build Back Trust of Students, Taxpayers, Lawmakers

A recently-released state audit faulting the University of California president’s office for mishandling the switch to a new payroll system – which was supposed to save money but will now cost nearly $1 billion – is the latest self-inflicted wound for the beleaguered system. Earlier this summer, UC announced that ...
California

Critics Say Republican Budget Threatens Californians’ Health

As Congress works to pass a budget by the end of the month, advocates for the poor warn Republicans’ proposed cuts to safety-net programs could hurt Californians’ health. The California Budget and Policy Center has crunched the numbers in the House Budget Committee’s proposed budget. The Center says it would ...
Blog

Beware Sacramento Offering You A “Good Deal” On Your Next Car

What are the legitimate functions of good government? James Madison said they are “to protect property of every sort.” “The rights of persons and the rights of property are the objects for the protection of which government was instituted,” he said in an 1829 address to the Virginia Convention. Some ...
Blog

Court Ruling Paves the Way for Even More Tax Hikes in Overtaxed California

Tax hikes, especially in the state known for its extraordinarily heavy tax burden, should not be easily enacted. Yet the California Supreme Court has made the job much easier. California law previously required a two-thirds majority for the passage of any tax hike introduced by government or by a voter ...
Blog

Where Have All The Interns Gone?

The other day, a freshman from Santa Clara University called me to inquire about internships at PRI. She had just heard Sally Pipes give a talk on health care. She was also familiar with the work of Arthur Laffer. As an economics student, she thought PRI would be a great ...
Blog

Ode to the Summer of Love

With our HQ in San Francisco, PRI can’t let the summer end without a nod to the 50th Anniversary of the Summer of Love. I’m the last of the generation of Baby Boomers, starting kindergarten in 1967. The girls in my classes wore psychedelic mini-skirts, Vietnam POW bracelets, and macramé ...
California

Will Sacramento Finally Address California’s Housing Crisis?

PRI’s Kerry Jackson, author of Unaffordable talks about free-market solutions to California’s housing crisis and whether lawmakers will finally act on housing legislation this year.  In Last Call, we hear the real life experience of a Bay Area college professor who is trying to buy a house in expensive Marin County. [podcast ...
Agriculture

CAPITAL IDEAS: Embracing A New California Vision That Isn’t So New

Click here to download the brief Republican San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer recently gave a speech to the Commonwealth Club where he called for a “new vision” that will broaden his party’s appeal. He has a point. There’s no arguing that the California GOP doesn’t need a makeover – it ...
Blog

Putting Thumb on Scale of California Elections Threatens Our Democracy

“To the victor go the spoils” goes the old proverb. This statement is true in many things in life, but certainly rings true in politics. Consider the ongoing effort to change California’s elections laws to try and help Sen. Josh Newman, D-Fullerton, who is the target of a recall election. ...
Commentary

Republicans, Don’t Settle For Half-Hearted Tweaks To Obamacare

Members of Congress will return on September 5 from their recess. They have a lot on their agenda: reforming the tax code, repairing the nation’s crumbling infrastructure, and raising the debt ceiling. President Trump wants to add another item to that agenda. He recently implored Congress to “keep its promise, ...
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