California
Blog
One Indicator Shows California’s Recovery Is Incomplete
Despite assurances that California’s economy is a treasure to behold – “We are world-beating in terms of our economic growth,” says Gov. Gavin Newsom – the post-pandemic recovery has a gaping hole in it. State unemployment is the highest in the country. Federal data for October show that the jobless ...
Blog
Southern California Traffic Is Back to Pre-Pandemic Levels. Now What?
Well, it’s official: Southern California’s infamous traffic is back to pre-pandemic levels. Worse yet, according to one estimate for SR 91—connecting Los Angeles to her Orange and Riverside suburbs—it might actually be worse. While morning commutes have dampened with the rise of remote work and flexible scheduling, the data suggest ...
Blog
Baby You Can Drive My Car, But In California It’s Really Expensive
No drum roll needed. The answer to the question “which state is the worst for drivers?” is obvious. It’s California. An analysis of “diverse datasets covering cost, safety, driving quality and weather” by Bankrate yielded the most unsurprising results. For the fourth time since Bankrate began looking at “the driving ...
California
NEW STUDY: Government Fees ‘Nickel and Dime’ Californians Out of Hundreds of Dollars Per Year
California “nickel and dimes” consumers with hundreds of dollars in fees annually for under-utilized services, and their repeal would give relief from the high cost-of-living and make fees more efficient and accountable, finds a new study released today by California-based, nonpartisan, free-market think tank, the Pacific Research Institute. “While ...
California
The nuclear option can keep the lights on in California
A funny thing has happened on the way to California closing all of its nuclear power plants. Biden administration official Jennifer Granholm says the state should rethink its commitment to scrapping atomic energy. In an interview that will be released at an energy conference this week, the U.S. energy secretary ...
Agriculture
How well do you know your federal government? Take the Deep State Quiz
Our colleagues at Open The Books did a deep dive into the deep state with their outstanding new report: Mapping the Swamp: A Study of the Administrative State, FY 2020. This eye-popping report shows just how big and bloated — not to mention costly — the federal government has become. ...
Commentary
Latest Medicaid Data Show A Deeply Broken Program
A bank that misplaced over one-fifth of its deposits would be shut down almost immediately. So would a hospital that bungled one in five operations, or a private health insurer that mishandled one-fifth of its claims. But apparently, the bar is a lot lower for government programs. The Biden administration ...
California
Lanhee Chen: California Transparency and Accountability
Lanhee Chen, Director of the Domestic Policy Studies in Public Policy program at Stanford University, discusses all things California, from budgetary mismanagement – including COVID-19 relief funds, the looming pension crisis, as well as government accountability and transparency. One of the state’s leading policy experts, Lanhee Chen provides his perspective ...
Blog
CA Lawmakers Proposed $236 Billion+ in New Taxes Despite Record Revenue
Despite taking in record state tax revenue over the past year, California lawmakers proposed more than $236.4 billion in new taxes and fees in 2021, finds the annual “Tax and Fee Report” just released by the California Tax Foundation. Over the past twelve months, lawmakers proposed 74 different tax and ...
Blog
Absent State Leadership, California Cities Continue to Lead on Parking Deregulation
Recently, San Diego moved to eliminate minimum parking regulations for businesses near transit and in neighborhood commercial areas. As reported in the San Diego Union-Tribune, the measure—which ended the practice of local regulators telling certain walkable and transit-accessible businesses how many off-street parking spaces they must build—enjoyed unanimous support from ...
One Indicator Shows California’s Recovery Is Incomplete
Despite assurances that California’s economy is a treasure to behold – “We are world-beating in terms of our economic growth,” says Gov. Gavin Newsom – the post-pandemic recovery has a gaping hole in it. State unemployment is the highest in the country. Federal data for October show that the jobless ...
Southern California Traffic Is Back to Pre-Pandemic Levels. Now What?
Well, it’s official: Southern California’s infamous traffic is back to pre-pandemic levels. Worse yet, according to one estimate for SR 91—connecting Los Angeles to her Orange and Riverside suburbs—it might actually be worse. While morning commutes have dampened with the rise of remote work and flexible scheduling, the data suggest ...
Baby You Can Drive My Car, But In California It’s Really Expensive
No drum roll needed. The answer to the question “which state is the worst for drivers?” is obvious. It’s California. An analysis of “diverse datasets covering cost, safety, driving quality and weather” by Bankrate yielded the most unsurprising results. For the fourth time since Bankrate began looking at “the driving ...
NEW STUDY: Government Fees ‘Nickel and Dime’ Californians Out of Hundreds of Dollars Per Year
California “nickel and dimes” consumers with hundreds of dollars in fees annually for under-utilized services, and their repeal would give relief from the high cost-of-living and make fees more efficient and accountable, finds a new study released today by California-based, nonpartisan, free-market think tank, the Pacific Research Institute. “While ...
The nuclear option can keep the lights on in California
A funny thing has happened on the way to California closing all of its nuclear power plants. Biden administration official Jennifer Granholm says the state should rethink its commitment to scrapping atomic energy. In an interview that will be released at an energy conference this week, the U.S. energy secretary ...
How well do you know your federal government? Take the Deep State Quiz
Our colleagues at Open The Books did a deep dive into the deep state with their outstanding new report: Mapping the Swamp: A Study of the Administrative State, FY 2020. This eye-popping report shows just how big and bloated — not to mention costly — the federal government has become. ...
Latest Medicaid Data Show A Deeply Broken Program
A bank that misplaced over one-fifth of its deposits would be shut down almost immediately. So would a hospital that bungled one in five operations, or a private health insurer that mishandled one-fifth of its claims. But apparently, the bar is a lot lower for government programs. The Biden administration ...
Lanhee Chen: California Transparency and Accountability
Lanhee Chen, Director of the Domestic Policy Studies in Public Policy program at Stanford University, discusses all things California, from budgetary mismanagement – including COVID-19 relief funds, the looming pension crisis, as well as government accountability and transparency. One of the state’s leading policy experts, Lanhee Chen provides his perspective ...
CA Lawmakers Proposed $236 Billion+ in New Taxes Despite Record Revenue
Despite taking in record state tax revenue over the past year, California lawmakers proposed more than $236.4 billion in new taxes and fees in 2021, finds the annual “Tax and Fee Report” just released by the California Tax Foundation. Over the past twelve months, lawmakers proposed 74 different tax and ...
Absent State Leadership, California Cities Continue to Lead on Parking Deregulation
Recently, San Diego moved to eliminate minimum parking regulations for businesses near transit and in neighborhood commercial areas. As reported in the San Diego Union-Tribune, the measure—which ended the practice of local regulators telling certain walkable and transit-accessible businesses how many off-street parking spaces they must build—enjoyed unanimous support from ...
