Water
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, ...
Blog
Investors and Taxpayers: Beware of Corporate Welfare
Last week, Tesla analysts at Goldman Sachs reiterated their sell rating of the stock, citing decreased delivery projections of its Models S and X, and slower production of its mass market Model 3 (see: that’s what I want!). Goldman analyst David Tamberrino believes that the slowdown may mean that the ...
Commentary
ObamaCare’s 8th Birthday is An Unhappy One for All Americans
When ObamaCare turns eight on Friday, the law will have exactly one impressive accomplishment to its name: surviving as long as it has. Americans are worse off than we were before ObamaCare was enacted. Health insurance premiums and deductibles are soaring, and consumers face a shrinking number of insurance options. More ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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, ...
Investors and Taxpayers: Beware of Corporate Welfare
Last week, Tesla analysts at Goldman Sachs reiterated their sell rating of the stock, citing decreased delivery projections of its Models S and X, and slower production of its mass market Model 3 (see: that’s what I want!). Goldman analyst David Tamberrino believes that the slowdown may mean that the ...
ObamaCare’s 8th Birthday is An Unhappy One for All Americans
When ObamaCare turns eight on Friday, the law will have exactly one impressive accomplishment to its name: surviving as long as it has. Americans are worse off than we were before ObamaCare was enacted. Health insurance premiums and deductibles are soaring, and consumers face a shrinking number of insurance options. More ...
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 ...
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 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 ...
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 ...
