Environment
Business & Economics
New PRI Survey: Housing, Education, Business Climate Top Reasons Why Industries Aren’t Moving to California
New PRI Survey: Housing, Education, Business Climate Top Reasons Why Highly-Desired Industries Aren’t Moving to California Survey Gives Insight into Location Decisions of R&D, Clean Tech, Manufacturing Execs Business executives, including those in clean tech, R&D, manufacturing, and other industries highly-desired by California legislators, say the high costs of housing ...
Pacific Research Institute
February 28, 2018
Blog
Another Way Government Is Playing Car Salesman – Giveaways to Power Companies
The government is not doing a very effective job of playing car salesman. Despite providing federal manufacturing grants and loans worth $40.7 billion and other $2 billion in federal tax credits to subsidize electric car purchases, electric cars, or zero emission vehicles, are just 0.5 percent of the marketplace. California ...
Tim Anaya
February 22, 2018
Blog
Desalination Should Be Part of California’s Water Future
In California, we seem to be living in the days of “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” As Steve Milloy said last week, there’s water, water everywhere, but almost nary a drop to drink. California has “840 miles of coastline,” tweeted Milloy, the author who is primarily responsible for giving ...
Kerry Jackson
February 21, 2018
Blog
Will $4 Gas Prices Sink Campaign to Keep Gas Tax Increase?
Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration and many Sacramento are working overtime to try and convince California voters to reject an effort to repeal last year’s very controversial $52 billion gas and car tax increase. The measure, which is nearly certain to make the November 2018 ballot, is favored for passage in ...
Tim Anaya
February 20, 2018
Commentary
How Can Companies Best Help Society? Make More Money.
A Wall Street titan has an unusual message for corporate America. Larry Fink, founder and CEO of BlackRock, recently sent a letter to over a thousand CEOs of large publicly traded companies. With over $6 trillion in assets, BlackRock is the largest money management firm in the world. Fink pressed ...
Sally C. Pipes
February 15, 2018
Blog
Will Taxpayers Get a Good Deal from “Government Cars ‘R Us”?
Do taxpayers get a good deal when government starts to play car salesman by offering government subsidies to buy electric cars or zero-emission vehicles? Watch this new animated video to learn about how “Government Cars ‘R Us” only really benefits upper-income and wealthy Americans who are in the market to ...
Tim Anaya
February 15, 2018
Business & Economics
Government Electric Car Subsidies Are ‘Costly Subsidies for the Rich’, Finds New Study
Generous, taxpayer-funded subsidies for electric car purchases have become just another costly subsidy benefitting the rich, finds a new study released today by the California-based free-market think tank, the Pacific Research Institute. Click here to download a copy of “Costly Subsidies for the Rich” “When politicians talk about the need ...
Wayne Winegarden
February 12, 2018
Blog
Will Funding for New Water Storage Be Hijacked at the Last Minute?
The effort to build more water storage in California just hit another setback. The bureaucrats at the California Water Commission just released their scorecards for 11 proposed water projects from around the state. Their scorecard – which supposedly ranks their “public benefit” to California taxpayers – ranked two critical statewide ...
Tim Anaya
February 9, 2018
Blog
Do We Really Need to Legislate Plastic Straws?
Ian Calderon, the Assembly’s Democratic majority leader, wants to criminalize the act of providing unrequested free plastic straws at sit-down restaurants. Assembly Bill 1884 threatens waiters who give customers straws they didn’t ask for with as many as six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. Lawmakers ...
Kerry Jackson
February 8, 2018
Blog
Nothing Is Certain but Death, Taxes . . . and Silly Bills
The famous quote goes that there is nothing certain in life but death and taxes. When talking about your California Legislature, I’d add a third item to the list – there’s nothing certain in life but death, taxes, and silly bills. In my past life working at the Capitol, we’d ...
Tim Anaya
January 31, 2018
New PRI Survey: Housing, Education, Business Climate Top Reasons Why Industries Aren’t Moving to California
New PRI Survey: Housing, Education, Business Climate Top Reasons Why Highly-Desired Industries Aren’t Moving to California Survey Gives Insight into Location Decisions of R&D, Clean Tech, Manufacturing Execs Business executives, including those in clean tech, R&D, manufacturing, and other industries highly-desired by California legislators, say the high costs of housing ...
Another Way Government Is Playing Car Salesman – Giveaways to Power Companies
The government is not doing a very effective job of playing car salesman. Despite providing federal manufacturing grants and loans worth $40.7 billion and other $2 billion in federal tax credits to subsidize electric car purchases, electric cars, or zero emission vehicles, are just 0.5 percent of the marketplace. California ...
Desalination Should Be Part of California’s Water Future
In California, we seem to be living in the days of “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” As Steve Milloy said last week, there’s water, water everywhere, but almost nary a drop to drink. California has “840 miles of coastline,” tweeted Milloy, the author who is primarily responsible for giving ...
Will $4 Gas Prices Sink Campaign to Keep Gas Tax Increase?
Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration and many Sacramento are working overtime to try and convince California voters to reject an effort to repeal last year’s very controversial $52 billion gas and car tax increase. The measure, which is nearly certain to make the November 2018 ballot, is favored for passage in ...
How Can Companies Best Help Society? Make More Money.
A Wall Street titan has an unusual message for corporate America. Larry Fink, founder and CEO of BlackRock, recently sent a letter to over a thousand CEOs of large publicly traded companies. With over $6 trillion in assets, BlackRock is the largest money management firm in the world. Fink pressed ...
Will Taxpayers Get a Good Deal from “Government Cars ‘R Us”?
Do taxpayers get a good deal when government starts to play car salesman by offering government subsidies to buy electric cars or zero-emission vehicles? Watch this new animated video to learn about how “Government Cars ‘R Us” only really benefits upper-income and wealthy Americans who are in the market to ...
Government Electric Car Subsidies Are ‘Costly Subsidies for the Rich’, Finds New Study
Generous, taxpayer-funded subsidies for electric car purchases have become just another costly subsidy benefitting the rich, finds a new study released today by the California-based free-market think tank, the Pacific Research Institute. Click here to download a copy of “Costly Subsidies for the Rich” “When politicians talk about the need ...
Will Funding for New Water Storage Be Hijacked at the Last Minute?
The effort to build more water storage in California just hit another setback. The bureaucrats at the California Water Commission just released their scorecards for 11 proposed water projects from around the state. Their scorecard – which supposedly ranks their “public benefit” to California taxpayers – ranked two critical statewide ...
Do We Really Need to Legislate Plastic Straws?
Ian Calderon, the Assembly’s Democratic majority leader, wants to criminalize the act of providing unrequested free plastic straws at sit-down restaurants. Assembly Bill 1884 threatens waiters who give customers straws they didn’t ask for with as many as six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. Lawmakers ...
Nothing Is Certain but Death, Taxes . . . and Silly Bills
The famous quote goes that there is nothing certain in life but death and taxes. When talking about your California Legislature, I’d add a third item to the list – there’s nothing certain in life but death, taxes, and silly bills. In my past life working at the Capitol, we’d ...