California

Business & Economics

Damon Dunn Talks UBI, Entrepreneurship on The Roth Effect Podcast

PRI’s Business and Economic Fellow Damon Dunn joined Carol Roth on the Roth Effect Podcast to discuss his new book, Punting Poverty, and universal basic income, poverty, and capitalism. Dunn is a former Stanford and NFL football player turned successful entrepreneur. Damon and Carol also discuss welfare, what Damon calls the ...
Blog

Racial Quotas Could Be Mandated for California Companies

Last year, California became the first state to mandate women on corporate boards.  Now the legislature wants to make California the first state to require racial quotas. Assembly Bill 979 introduced by Chris Holden (D-Pasadena) and Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens) forces companies to appoint board members from “under-represented communities” by ...
California

Xavier Becerra should stop undermining California’s democracy

A threat to California’s democracy is coming from an unlikely source – the unit within the California Department of Justice responsible for writing the ballot labels for initiative measures. By law, the California Attorney General is charged with preparing a ballot label for each initiative measure – a short description ...
Blog

Let the Legislature’s End of Session Games Begin

As the calendar shifts into August, there’s less than a month to go in the wildest legislative session in recent memory. The turning of the calendar also marks the return of the Legislature’s annual end-of-session games.  No, I’m not talking about “legislative bingo” (which is a real thing where legislators ...
California

Steven Greenhut – On the Most Unpredictable California Legislative Session in Recent Memory

R Street Institute’s Steven Greenhut returns for his annual look at the year’s legislative session in Sacramento.  We discuss how the Legislature and Governor have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and rising social unrest, a $54 billion budget deficit, and worsening homeless and housing crises.  He also looks ahead to ...
Blog

Lawmakers Finally Begin to Question Governor’s Executive Powers

A recent survey, conducted by researchers from Harvard and other universities, found that Governor Gavin Newsom’s approval rating had fallen significantly due to the COVID-19 crisis.  As Newsom’s actions provoke increasing opposition from Californians, lawmakers are finally beginning to ask tough questions and demand legislative oversight. State Assemblyman Kevin Kiley ...
Commentary

Mourning The Many Foibles Of Medicare And Medicaid At 55

Today, Medicare and Medicaid both mark their 55th birthdays. But hold the cake. There’s not much to celebrate on this anniversary. You’d be hard pressed to find two more wasteful, fraud-ridden programs than Medicare and Medicaid. They grow less fiscally sustainable with each passing year. And they routinely deliver subpar care that, ...
California

CalPERS, Corruption And Cronyism

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System, which has a history of making poor choices, plans to become a lending institution. A healthy pension fund wouldn’t be making such a risky decision. Still hurting from $100 billion in losses from the Great Recession, CalPERS was bruised again by the coronavirus pandemic. ...
Blog

California Nightmarin’

It would be neither profound nor unique to note that the California dream, immortalized by John and Michelle Phillips’ famed lyrics, ain’t what it used to be. It would be nothing more than a mere statement of a fact which is well-known but nevertheless denied by those who have taken ...
Blog

Nine California Statues Vandalized or Removed

There have been countless times when I’ve walked by a shapeless, twisting sculpture on public property and shuddered at the thought of how much it cost taxpayers.  But it never occurred to me to take a sledgehammer and “cancel” the object d’art.  Last time I checked, it was against the ...
Business & Economics

Damon Dunn Talks UBI, Entrepreneurship on The Roth Effect Podcast

PRI’s Business and Economic Fellow Damon Dunn joined Carol Roth on the Roth Effect Podcast to discuss his new book, Punting Poverty, and universal basic income, poverty, and capitalism. Dunn is a former Stanford and NFL football player turned successful entrepreneur. Damon and Carol also discuss welfare, what Damon calls the ...
Blog

Racial Quotas Could Be Mandated for California Companies

Last year, California became the first state to mandate women on corporate boards.  Now the legislature wants to make California the first state to require racial quotas. Assembly Bill 979 introduced by Chris Holden (D-Pasadena) and Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens) forces companies to appoint board members from “under-represented communities” by ...
California

Xavier Becerra should stop undermining California’s democracy

A threat to California’s democracy is coming from an unlikely source – the unit within the California Department of Justice responsible for writing the ballot labels for initiative measures. By law, the California Attorney General is charged with preparing a ballot label for each initiative measure – a short description ...
Blog

Let the Legislature’s End of Session Games Begin

As the calendar shifts into August, there’s less than a month to go in the wildest legislative session in recent memory. The turning of the calendar also marks the return of the Legislature’s annual end-of-session games.  No, I’m not talking about “legislative bingo” (which is a real thing where legislators ...
California

Steven Greenhut – On the Most Unpredictable California Legislative Session in Recent Memory

R Street Institute’s Steven Greenhut returns for his annual look at the year’s legislative session in Sacramento.  We discuss how the Legislature and Governor have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and rising social unrest, a $54 billion budget deficit, and worsening homeless and housing crises.  He also looks ahead to ...
Blog

Lawmakers Finally Begin to Question Governor’s Executive Powers

A recent survey, conducted by researchers from Harvard and other universities, found that Governor Gavin Newsom’s approval rating had fallen significantly due to the COVID-19 crisis.  As Newsom’s actions provoke increasing opposition from Californians, lawmakers are finally beginning to ask tough questions and demand legislative oversight. State Assemblyman Kevin Kiley ...
Commentary

Mourning The Many Foibles Of Medicare And Medicaid At 55

Today, Medicare and Medicaid both mark their 55th birthdays. But hold the cake. There’s not much to celebrate on this anniversary. You’d be hard pressed to find two more wasteful, fraud-ridden programs than Medicare and Medicaid. They grow less fiscally sustainable with each passing year. And they routinely deliver subpar care that, ...
California

CalPERS, Corruption And Cronyism

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System, which has a history of making poor choices, plans to become a lending institution. A healthy pension fund wouldn’t be making such a risky decision. Still hurting from $100 billion in losses from the Great Recession, CalPERS was bruised again by the coronavirus pandemic. ...
Blog

California Nightmarin’

It would be neither profound nor unique to note that the California dream, immortalized by John and Michelle Phillips’ famed lyrics, ain’t what it used to be. It would be nothing more than a mere statement of a fact which is well-known but nevertheless denied by those who have taken ...
Blog

Nine California Statues Vandalized or Removed

There have been countless times when I’ve walked by a shapeless, twisting sculpture on public property and shuddered at the thought of how much it cost taxpayers.  But it never occurred to me to take a sledgehammer and “cancel” the object d’art.  Last time I checked, it was against the ...
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