California
Blog
California Near Rock-Bottom Again on Yet Another National Ranking
Another national list, another nearly rock-bottom ranking for California. It’s become too predictable. When WalletHub, a prolific producer of lists, says that California is 48th among the states on “taxpayer return on investment” (forget for the moment that taxes are not investments but funds to operate government, and a drain ...
Blackouts
State Move Toward All-Electric Buildings Would Be Another Hit to California’s Working Class
At roughly the same time the state Air Resources Board issued a rule forcing trucks and vans to transition from diesel to electric motors, the state moved closer to a policy framework in which new buildings must be all-electric. The smiling environmental lobby feels no mercy toward the poor, who ...
California
Would Sacramento raise taxes when economic growth is needed the most?
The pandemic lockdown not only was a lethal financial contagion for many Californians, it deprived the state government of so much revenue that Sacramento now has a $54 billion budget deficit. How will lawmakers bridge the gap? By coincidence, they were already thinking about nearly $66 billion in new taxes ...
Blog
Latest Rankings Further Proof California Must Remove Barriers to Opportunity
Recently, I attended a webinar hosted by the Legatum Institute, a UK-based think tank, where they discussed the results of their latest “Prosperity Index”. According to the Index’s executive summary, Legatum hopes that “nations around the world (will) assess their strengths and weaknesses (in the rankings) to determine the economic ...
Business & Economics
Damon Dunn – Punting Poverty
This podcast is a special rebroadcast of a recent webinar featuring Damon Dunn, PRI fellow in business and economics, discussing his new book Punting Poverty: Breaking the Chains of Welfare. The former collegiate and pro football player turned entrepreneur pushes back against the universal basic income movement, calling it “fool’s ...
Blog
California’s Plastic Bag Ban Returns After Two-Month Vacation
California’s coronavirus pandemic lockdown isn’t over. There was even a partial reversal of the state’s reopening on the first day of July when Gov. Gavin Newsom hit the “dimmer switch.” But not much can come between California and its plastic bag ban. After a two-month vacation, it’s back. In late ...
Commentary
Dems Want to Use Medicaid to Incinerate Yet More Taxpayer Money
Congressional Democrats are looking to put billions more federal dollars into Medicaid as part of their plan to fight COVID-19. The HEROES Act, which narrowly passed the House in May, would temporarily increase the share of the program’s spending covered by the federal government, to the tune of $45 billion ...
Commentary
Expand Medicaid? Democrats’ plan would increase waste, fraud and debt
If Democrats can’t get “Medicare-for-all,” it seems they’ll settle for “Medicaid-for-most.” Last month, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would supposedly “stabilize” ObamaCare by lavishing billions of dollars on Medicaid. To pay for that effort, the bill’s proponents envision cutting Medicare by nearly $450 billion over 10 years. Democrats are also lobbying states to expand the program to able-bodied, ...
Business & Economics
Guaranteed income from the government isn’t the answer to closing the wealth gap
These are incredibly tough times for Texas and all Americans. On top of the economic pain from months of shelter-in-place orders, the violence and unrest we’ve seen arising from the death of George Floyd has brought economic inequality to the top of the political discussion. Many progressives are preaching about ...
Business & Economics
PRI’s Tim Anaya Featured in Center Square Story on CA’s Volatile Tax System
Policy experts: California needs to reform its tax system By Krystina Skurk California’s reliance on a notoriously fickle tax system has exacerbated the state’s budget problems in light of Covid-19, an economics professor said. The state of California relies heavily on income tax and capital gains tax for much of ...
California Near Rock-Bottom Again on Yet Another National Ranking
Another national list, another nearly rock-bottom ranking for California. It’s become too predictable. When WalletHub, a prolific producer of lists, says that California is 48th among the states on “taxpayer return on investment” (forget for the moment that taxes are not investments but funds to operate government, and a drain ...
State Move Toward All-Electric Buildings Would Be Another Hit to California’s Working Class
At roughly the same time the state Air Resources Board issued a rule forcing trucks and vans to transition from diesel to electric motors, the state moved closer to a policy framework in which new buildings must be all-electric. The smiling environmental lobby feels no mercy toward the poor, who ...
Would Sacramento raise taxes when economic growth is needed the most?
The pandemic lockdown not only was a lethal financial contagion for many Californians, it deprived the state government of so much revenue that Sacramento now has a $54 billion budget deficit. How will lawmakers bridge the gap? By coincidence, they were already thinking about nearly $66 billion in new taxes ...
Latest Rankings Further Proof California Must Remove Barriers to Opportunity
Recently, I attended a webinar hosted by the Legatum Institute, a UK-based think tank, where they discussed the results of their latest “Prosperity Index”. According to the Index’s executive summary, Legatum hopes that “nations around the world (will) assess their strengths and weaknesses (in the rankings) to determine the economic ...
Damon Dunn – Punting Poverty
This podcast is a special rebroadcast of a recent webinar featuring Damon Dunn, PRI fellow in business and economics, discussing his new book Punting Poverty: Breaking the Chains of Welfare. The former collegiate and pro football player turned entrepreneur pushes back against the universal basic income movement, calling it “fool’s ...
California’s Plastic Bag Ban Returns After Two-Month Vacation
California’s coronavirus pandemic lockdown isn’t over. There was even a partial reversal of the state’s reopening on the first day of July when Gov. Gavin Newsom hit the “dimmer switch.” But not much can come between California and its plastic bag ban. After a two-month vacation, it’s back. In late ...
Dems Want to Use Medicaid to Incinerate Yet More Taxpayer Money
Congressional Democrats are looking to put billions more federal dollars into Medicaid as part of their plan to fight COVID-19. The HEROES Act, which narrowly passed the House in May, would temporarily increase the share of the program’s spending covered by the federal government, to the tune of $45 billion ...
Expand Medicaid? Democrats’ plan would increase waste, fraud and debt
If Democrats can’t get “Medicare-for-all,” it seems they’ll settle for “Medicaid-for-most.” Last month, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would supposedly “stabilize” ObamaCare by lavishing billions of dollars on Medicaid. To pay for that effort, the bill’s proponents envision cutting Medicare by nearly $450 billion over 10 years. Democrats are also lobbying states to expand the program to able-bodied, ...
Guaranteed income from the government isn’t the answer to closing the wealth gap
These are incredibly tough times for Texas and all Americans. On top of the economic pain from months of shelter-in-place orders, the violence and unrest we’ve seen arising from the death of George Floyd has brought economic inequality to the top of the political discussion. Many progressives are preaching about ...
PRI’s Tim Anaya Featured in Center Square Story on CA’s Volatile Tax System
Policy experts: California needs to reform its tax system By Krystina Skurk California’s reliance on a notoriously fickle tax system has exacerbated the state’s budget problems in light of Covid-19, an economics professor said. The state of California relies heavily on income tax and capital gains tax for much of ...
