Free Cities

Agriculture

CAPITAL IDEAS: Will We Ever Build More Water Storage in California?

Read the PDF It’s not elected officials’ fault if it doesn’t rain. But they are largely responsible for the issues that arise when it doesn’t. That’s why California’s most-recent drought was often referred to as man-made. The next one, which will reportedly arrive this year, should carry the same label. ...
Blog

Sacramento Taxes Nearly Everything. Is Drinking Water Next?

Apparently, there’s nothing so sacred nor so ordinary that Sacramento won’t tax it. Possibly next up on the tax table is a first-ever levy on drinking water. During last year’s legislative session, lawmakers proposed through Senate Bill 623 a 95-cent monthly tax on water bills. The revenue, about $200 million, ...
Environment

Recent Writings on California’s Water Future

Click for the full PDF.      
Blog

CAPITAL IDEAS: Governor Brown Ignores State’s Poverty Crisis

DOWNLOAD THE PDF In Gov. Jerry Brown’s California, all is nearly well. He led off his State of the State address with an assurance that “California is prospering.” He bragged about jobs created and personal income growth on his watch, and congratulated lawmakers for the public confidence he says has ...
Blog

Are Trailers the Solution to LA’s Homeless Problem?

A dashcam video of downtown Los Angeles on Christmas Day 2017 revealed the devastating reality of the city’s homelessness problem. The video, shot in the city’s Skid Row district, shows dozens of tents, makeshift shelters, and people walking aimlessly along streets littered with trash. The video looked like it was ...
California

California, Poverty Capital

California—not Mississippi, New Mexico, or West Virginia—has the highest poverty rate in the United States. According to the Census Bureau’s Supplemental Poverty Measure—which accounts for the cost of housing, food, utilities, and clothing, and which includes noncash government assistance as a form of income—nearly one out of four Californians is ...
Business & Economics

Kerry Jackson – Good Intentions – How We Can Alleviate Poverty in CA

Kerry Jackson, senior fellow with PRI’s Center for California Reform, joins us to discuss how California’s government anti-poverty programs aren’t delivering, how the private sector can do more to lift people out of poverty, and other findings from his new issue brief, “Good Intentions.”
California

Kerry Jackson in LA Times: Why Is Liberal California The Poverty Capital of America?

Guess which state has the highest poverty rate in the country? Not Mississippi, New Mexico, or West Virginia, but California, where nearly one out of five residents is poor. That’s according to the Census Bureau’s Supplemental Poverty Measure, which factors in the cost of housing, food, utilities and clothing, and ...
Book

New “American Education Agenda” Recommends 15 Federal, State, Local Education Reforms

Expanding and increasing funding for school choice programs, creating a stronger classroom environment for digital learning, and ensuring every child is safe at school are among the recommendations in a new “American Education Agenda” released today by the Pacific Research Institute. Click here to download a copy of the “American ...
Business & Economics

New Issue Brief: State Anti-Poverty Programs Are Well-Intended, Yet Not Very Successful in Reducing Poverty

Brief Says State Policymakers Should Make Pro-Jobs Policies a Priority, And Turn Over More Responsibility to Private Charities That Turn Lives Around SAN FRANCISCO – California policymakers should reform government anti-poverty programs to remove incentives against work while expanding job opportunities in the state’s poorest communities, according to a new ...
Agriculture

CAPITAL IDEAS: Will We Ever Build More Water Storage in California?

Read the PDF It’s not elected officials’ fault if it doesn’t rain. But they are largely responsible for the issues that arise when it doesn’t. That’s why California’s most-recent drought was often referred to as man-made. The next one, which will reportedly arrive this year, should carry the same label. ...
Blog

Sacramento Taxes Nearly Everything. Is Drinking Water Next?

Apparently, there’s nothing so sacred nor so ordinary that Sacramento won’t tax it. Possibly next up on the tax table is a first-ever levy on drinking water. During last year’s legislative session, lawmakers proposed through Senate Bill 623 a 95-cent monthly tax on water bills. The revenue, about $200 million, ...
Environment

Recent Writings on California’s Water Future

Click for the full PDF.      
Blog

CAPITAL IDEAS: Governor Brown Ignores State’s Poverty Crisis

DOWNLOAD THE PDF In Gov. Jerry Brown’s California, all is nearly well. He led off his State of the State address with an assurance that “California is prospering.” He bragged about jobs created and personal income growth on his watch, and congratulated lawmakers for the public confidence he says has ...
Blog

Are Trailers the Solution to LA’s Homeless Problem?

A dashcam video of downtown Los Angeles on Christmas Day 2017 revealed the devastating reality of the city’s homelessness problem. The video, shot in the city’s Skid Row district, shows dozens of tents, makeshift shelters, and people walking aimlessly along streets littered with trash. The video looked like it was ...
California

California, Poverty Capital

California—not Mississippi, New Mexico, or West Virginia—has the highest poverty rate in the United States. According to the Census Bureau’s Supplemental Poverty Measure—which accounts for the cost of housing, food, utilities, and clothing, and which includes noncash government assistance as a form of income—nearly one out of four Californians is ...
Business & Economics

Kerry Jackson – Good Intentions – How We Can Alleviate Poverty in CA

Kerry Jackson, senior fellow with PRI’s Center for California Reform, joins us to discuss how California’s government anti-poverty programs aren’t delivering, how the private sector can do more to lift people out of poverty, and other findings from his new issue brief, “Good Intentions.”
California

Kerry Jackson in LA Times: Why Is Liberal California The Poverty Capital of America?

Guess which state has the highest poverty rate in the country? Not Mississippi, New Mexico, or West Virginia, but California, where nearly one out of five residents is poor. That’s according to the Census Bureau’s Supplemental Poverty Measure, which factors in the cost of housing, food, utilities and clothing, and ...
Book

New “American Education Agenda” Recommends 15 Federal, State, Local Education Reforms

Expanding and increasing funding for school choice programs, creating a stronger classroom environment for digital learning, and ensuring every child is safe at school are among the recommendations in a new “American Education Agenda” released today by the Pacific Research Institute. Click here to download a copy of the “American ...
Business & Economics

New Issue Brief: State Anti-Poverty Programs Are Well-Intended, Yet Not Very Successful in Reducing Poverty

Brief Says State Policymakers Should Make Pro-Jobs Policies a Priority, And Turn Over More Responsibility to Private Charities That Turn Lives Around SAN FRANCISCO – California policymakers should reform government anti-poverty programs to remove incentives against work while expanding job opportunities in the state’s poorest communities, according to a new ...
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