California
Business & Economics
Public employee pensions an enormous problem
In January 2013, Gov. Jerry Brown bragged about the state’s new commitment to fiscal responsibility. He talked about “living within our means and not spending what we don’t have.” A year later, in his State of the State address, Brown insisted that “fiscal discipline is not the enemy of our ...
Agriculture
Water Markets May Help California Better Manage Its Water
California’s famous moniker – the Golden State – is becoming all too accurate as the state enters the fifth year of drought and the summer heat begins to dry out its rolling hillsides. A lackluster El Niño failed to deliver a promised deluge of rain and ultimately brought only an ...
California
CAPITAL IDEAS: Cal Exodus
If California had an official state vehicle, it should be the moving van. Nothing could better illustrate the exodus from the Golden State by companies looking for a friendlier business environment, and individuals seeking job opportunities. Read the brief
California
The high price of “cheap” drugs
California is losing the battle against opioid addiction. Every 45 minutes, someone in the Golden State overdoses. Fifty percent more people overdose today than in 2006. Fortunately, the Food and Drug Administration just approved the anti-addiction treatment Probuphine. It’s an implant placed in a person’s upper arm, where it releases ...
Commentary
Latest Obamacare Casualty? The Constitution
A federal judge recently ruled that the Obama administration violated the Constitution by spending $7 billion on subsidies for insurance companies without Congress’s permission. Worse still, the administration knew all along that it was flouting the law. If the ruling is upheld, Americans will face higher premiums and fewer choices ...
Agriculture
Readings from the PRI Water Conference
On June 22 in the California State Capital, PRI gathered experts from the Water Foundation, the Public Policy Institute of California, the Association of California Water Agencies, the Environmental Defense Fund, and other organizations to discuss the benefits of a California water market and to highlight the legislative solutions needed ...
California
Vergara Decision: Remember the Children the Court Forgot
In 2014, California Superior Court Judge Rolf Treu ruled that the state’s teacher tenure, layoff and dismissal laws violated the state’s constitutional guarantee of a quality education for every student. Judge Treu based his decision on compelling trial testimony, much of it from students, which he said, “shocks the conscience.” ...
California
The Little Train That Couldn’t: CA’s High Speed Rail
California’s high-speed rail project has fallen into a ditch due to yet another delay. Now would be a good time to put a bullet in this bullet-train scheme before even more billions of taxpayers’ dollars are wasted. The California High-Speed Rail Authority denies there’s a holdup. Maybe it’s just a ...
Agriculture
Gov. Brown exceeds his authority on greenhouse gas limits
When Gov. Jerry Brown issued an executive order last year mandating reductions in greenhouse gas emissions to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030, he said he did it for California’s future. But his motives were irrelevant. He broke the law, says the state’s legislative counsel. “We think the determination ...
California
No end in sight for higher Obamacare premiums
Weren’t health insurance premiums supposed to go down under Obamacare and its California exchange, Covered California? During his 2008 campaign for president, Barack Obama predicted that, in his administration, “we’ll lower premiums by up to $2,500 for a typical family per year.” Covered California premium increases the past two years ...
Public employee pensions an enormous problem
In January 2013, Gov. Jerry Brown bragged about the state’s new commitment to fiscal responsibility. He talked about “living within our means and not spending what we don’t have.” A year later, in his State of the State address, Brown insisted that “fiscal discipline is not the enemy of our ...
Water Markets May Help California Better Manage Its Water
California’s famous moniker – the Golden State – is becoming all too accurate as the state enters the fifth year of drought and the summer heat begins to dry out its rolling hillsides. A lackluster El Niño failed to deliver a promised deluge of rain and ultimately brought only an ...
CAPITAL IDEAS: Cal Exodus
If California had an official state vehicle, it should be the moving van. Nothing could better illustrate the exodus from the Golden State by companies looking for a friendlier business environment, and individuals seeking job opportunities. Read the brief
The high price of “cheap” drugs
California is losing the battle against opioid addiction. Every 45 minutes, someone in the Golden State overdoses. Fifty percent more people overdose today than in 2006. Fortunately, the Food and Drug Administration just approved the anti-addiction treatment Probuphine. It’s an implant placed in a person’s upper arm, where it releases ...
Latest Obamacare Casualty? The Constitution
A federal judge recently ruled that the Obama administration violated the Constitution by spending $7 billion on subsidies for insurance companies without Congress’s permission. Worse still, the administration knew all along that it was flouting the law. If the ruling is upheld, Americans will face higher premiums and fewer choices ...
Readings from the PRI Water Conference
On June 22 in the California State Capital, PRI gathered experts from the Water Foundation, the Public Policy Institute of California, the Association of California Water Agencies, the Environmental Defense Fund, and other organizations to discuss the benefits of a California water market and to highlight the legislative solutions needed ...
Vergara Decision: Remember the Children the Court Forgot
In 2014, California Superior Court Judge Rolf Treu ruled that the state’s teacher tenure, layoff and dismissal laws violated the state’s constitutional guarantee of a quality education for every student. Judge Treu based his decision on compelling trial testimony, much of it from students, which he said, “shocks the conscience.” ...
The Little Train That Couldn’t: CA’s High Speed Rail
California’s high-speed rail project has fallen into a ditch due to yet another delay. Now would be a good time to put a bullet in this bullet-train scheme before even more billions of taxpayers’ dollars are wasted. The California High-Speed Rail Authority denies there’s a holdup. Maybe it’s just a ...
Gov. Brown exceeds his authority on greenhouse gas limits
When Gov. Jerry Brown issued an executive order last year mandating reductions in greenhouse gas emissions to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030, he said he did it for California’s future. But his motives were irrelevant. He broke the law, says the state’s legislative counsel. “We think the determination ...
No end in sight for higher Obamacare premiums
Weren’t health insurance premiums supposed to go down under Obamacare and its California exchange, Covered California? During his 2008 campaign for president, Barack Obama predicted that, in his administration, “we’ll lower premiums by up to $2,500 for a typical family per year.” Covered California premium increases the past two years ...
