California
Commentary
Obamacare Enrollment Has Tapped Out
Obamacare’s third open enrollment period ends in a few days. The White House insists that it’s been an unequivocal success. According to Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell, the exchanges have seen “unprecedented demand” for coverage and “steady progress signing up new customers.” Andy Slavitt, head of the Centers ...
California
Admission By California’s State Attorney May Blow Union’s Case
During this week’s much-anticipated oral arguments in the Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association U.S. Supreme Court case, which challenges mandatory teacher-union fees, a critical exchange took place between Justice Antonin Scalia, who is viewed as the swing vote in the case, and the attorney representing the State of California. The ...
Commentary
Here’s how to create a better health policy than Obamacare
One in 2 Americans now opposes Obamacare. It’s not hard to see why. Premiums will increase this year by an average of 7.5 percent for the law’s midlevel “silver” plans. More than half of Obamacare’s nonprofit insurance co-ops have failed, forcing 740,000 people to find new, often more expensive insurance. ...
Commentary
The Way Out Of Obamacare
Republicans just took an unprecedented step toward repealing and replacing Obamacare. Last week, the GOP-led Congress passed a bill that would gut President Obama’s deeply unpopular health law. This effort was different than Republicans’ previous 61 attempts to repeal the law — it’s the first one to reach the president’s ...
Agriculture
CAPITAL IDEAS: Water Markets Would Alleviate Shortages
We’ve all read the daily stories highlighting the drought’s impact on California’s economy and environment. Wells have run dry, forcing some Central Valley communities to shower in church parking lots. Farmers are fallowing land. In many areas of the state, over-pumping groundwater is causing the ground to sink. Read Report
Business & Economics
California Pension Crisis
The Pacific Research Institute released a new study on California’s pension crisis. “California’s Pension Crowd-Out,” authored by PRI senior fellow Wayne Winegarden, Ph.D., is part of PRI’s California Prosperity Agenda, a 12-point plan to address California’s most pressing problems. “Pension Crowd-Out” reveals the flaws with the state’s current public pension ...
California
Rebecca Friedrichs: Challenging Compulsory Union Dues and Standing Up for Freedom
In March 2015, PRI filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association (CTA) -a major case challenging compulsory union dues that nearly all California teachers are required to pay. The case, spearheaded by the Center for Individual Rights (CIR), was brought by ...
California
California Public Employees Unions Join Forces To Oppose Charter Growth
Teachers unions in Los Angeles (LA) and other public employee unions formed a coalition to fight the expansion of charter schools in California. The expansion effort, led by the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation (BF), aims at more than doubling the number of students attending public charter schools in Los ...
Business & Economics
Lessons from the San Francisco Airbnb Fight
In 1979, the Pacific Research Institute opened its doors in San Francisco. Jimmy Carter was President; Diane Feinstein was mayor; and Brian Chesky, the founder of home-sharing platform Airbnb, was still two years away from being born. San Francisco voters this month gave Chesky and Airbnb a win, defeating Proposition ...
Business & Economics
California’s Regulations are Harming Small Businesses
The regulatory burden in California continues to grow. Minimum wage increases—which simultaneously raise costs on businesses and harms many low-wage workers and consumers—have passed in Los Angeles and San Francisco. California is also pursuing regulations that would reduce the viability of Uber and Lyft, the popular ride-for-hire services revolutionizing how ...
Obamacare Enrollment Has Tapped Out
Obamacare’s third open enrollment period ends in a few days. The White House insists that it’s been an unequivocal success. According to Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell, the exchanges have seen “unprecedented demand” for coverage and “steady progress signing up new customers.” Andy Slavitt, head of the Centers ...
Admission By California’s State Attorney May Blow Union’s Case
During this week’s much-anticipated oral arguments in the Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association U.S. Supreme Court case, which challenges mandatory teacher-union fees, a critical exchange took place between Justice Antonin Scalia, who is viewed as the swing vote in the case, and the attorney representing the State of California. The ...
Here’s how to create a better health policy than Obamacare
One in 2 Americans now opposes Obamacare. It’s not hard to see why. Premiums will increase this year by an average of 7.5 percent for the law’s midlevel “silver” plans. More than half of Obamacare’s nonprofit insurance co-ops have failed, forcing 740,000 people to find new, often more expensive insurance. ...
The Way Out Of Obamacare
Republicans just took an unprecedented step toward repealing and replacing Obamacare. Last week, the GOP-led Congress passed a bill that would gut President Obama’s deeply unpopular health law. This effort was different than Republicans’ previous 61 attempts to repeal the law — it’s the first one to reach the president’s ...
CAPITAL IDEAS: Water Markets Would Alleviate Shortages
We’ve all read the daily stories highlighting the drought’s impact on California’s economy and environment. Wells have run dry, forcing some Central Valley communities to shower in church parking lots. Farmers are fallowing land. In many areas of the state, over-pumping groundwater is causing the ground to sink. Read Report
California Pension Crisis
The Pacific Research Institute released a new study on California’s pension crisis. “California’s Pension Crowd-Out,” authored by PRI senior fellow Wayne Winegarden, Ph.D., is part of PRI’s California Prosperity Agenda, a 12-point plan to address California’s most pressing problems. “Pension Crowd-Out” reveals the flaws with the state’s current public pension ...
Rebecca Friedrichs: Challenging Compulsory Union Dues and Standing Up for Freedom
In March 2015, PRI filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association (CTA) -a major case challenging compulsory union dues that nearly all California teachers are required to pay. The case, spearheaded by the Center for Individual Rights (CIR), was brought by ...
California Public Employees Unions Join Forces To Oppose Charter Growth
Teachers unions in Los Angeles (LA) and other public employee unions formed a coalition to fight the expansion of charter schools in California. The expansion effort, led by the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation (BF), aims at more than doubling the number of students attending public charter schools in Los ...
Lessons from the San Francisco Airbnb Fight
In 1979, the Pacific Research Institute opened its doors in San Francisco. Jimmy Carter was President; Diane Feinstein was mayor; and Brian Chesky, the founder of home-sharing platform Airbnb, was still two years away from being born. San Francisco voters this month gave Chesky and Airbnb a win, defeating Proposition ...
California’s Regulations are Harming Small Businesses
The regulatory burden in California continues to grow. Minimum wage increases—which simultaneously raise costs on businesses and harms many low-wage workers and consumers—have passed in Los Angeles and San Francisco. California is also pursuing regulations that would reduce the viability of Uber and Lyft, the popular ride-for-hire services revolutionizing how ...
