Blog
California’s Sanctuary State Paradox
Gov. Gavin Newsom has repeatedly argued that California cooperates with federal authorities to deport violent criminals who are in the country illegally—an assertion that appears to conflict with the state’s sanctuary reputation. In a recent interview with conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, Newsom said that more than 10,000 criminals were deported during ...
Blog
Failed Los Angeles fire recovery proves need for self-governance
But why? In Los Angeles, and the rest of the state’s major cities, the public sector has become the city’s dominant political force, drowning out the votes and priorities of everyday citizens. With this imbalance making local politics an often-forgone conclusion, it’s time to consider a possible reform that could restore the competitive ...
Blog
California doubles down on the bullet-train boondoggle
There’s nothing intrinsically wrong — and a lot that’s right — about building a high-speed rail system that speedily transports people across vast tracts of land. Some family members recently returned from a trip to Japan, where they traveled the country on the Shinkansen network of bullet trains. Begun in 1964, the ...
Blog
Death by a Thousand Cuts: Andrew Gruel on the Cost of Regulations for California Restaurants
The challenge is not a single overwhelming regulation, it is accumulation. California layers rule upon rule, each one defensible on its own. Over time, those requirements reshape how restaurants hire, price, expand (or not), and compete. What appears manageable on paper becomes costly in practice. Restaurants are high-transaction, high-labor businesses. ...
Blog
Sanders, Wealth Tax Proponents Could Chase $30 Billion in Revenue Out of State
“The billionaire class no longer sees itself as part of American society,” said Sanders, a Vermont socialist and winner of the 2020 California Democratic presidential primary by 8 percentage points over eventual nominee and president Joe Biden. “They see themselves as something separate and apart, like the oligarchs of the 18th century, ...
Blog
Spending Watch
Spending Watch: Californians Will Pay a High Price for Tom Steyer’s “Split-Role” Proposal
Californians Will Pay a High Price for Tom Steyer’s “Split-Role” Proposal Wayne Winegarden March 2026 Gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer supports “a special election to raise corporate taxes in his first year as governor.” Specifically, he favors removing the Proposition 13 tax limitations for commercial properties – an idea referred to ...
Blog
Hailing a flight: Cities drone on about advanced air mobility
Hailing a flight: Cities drone on about advanced air mobility By D. Dowd Muska | February 27, 2026 It’s time to talk about flying taxis. Snicker all you want, but serious people — and deep pockets — are committing considerable resources to making airborne intra-city travel a thing. What the ...
Blog
San Diego shows LA how to address the region’s housing shortage
Last fall, the Los Angeles Times reported that “Almost no one is building new apartments in Los Angeles.” Fewer than 19,000 apartment units were under construction in the third quarter of last year. It was a 30% dip from three years earlier, the Times reported, based on a review from real ...
Blog
California Is Falling Behind On Jobs: Can It Move Beyond The Crossroads?
While the state has become known for its mounting troubles, at least the California economy is growing. But all isn’t as well as it might seem. When compared the rest of the country, California’s jobs market is one of the weakest. Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics show California’s total employment ...
Blog
We Should Call February 20th Tariff Liberation Day
This decision will limit one of the Administration’s major anti-growth policies. The immediate benefits will be muted because, also as expected, President Trump is pushing alternate ways to try and raise tariffs. He has announced, under another statute, that he has imposed an across-the-board 15 percent global tariff. The catch ...
California’s Sanctuary State Paradox
Gov. Gavin Newsom has repeatedly argued that California cooperates with federal authorities to deport violent criminals who are in the country illegally—an assertion that appears to conflict with the state’s sanctuary reputation. In a recent interview with conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, Newsom said that more than 10,000 criminals were deported during ...
Failed Los Angeles fire recovery proves need for self-governance
But why? In Los Angeles, and the rest of the state’s major cities, the public sector has become the city’s dominant political force, drowning out the votes and priorities of everyday citizens. With this imbalance making local politics an often-forgone conclusion, it’s time to consider a possible reform that could restore the competitive ...
California doubles down on the bullet-train boondoggle
There’s nothing intrinsically wrong — and a lot that’s right — about building a high-speed rail system that speedily transports people across vast tracts of land. Some family members recently returned from a trip to Japan, where they traveled the country on the Shinkansen network of bullet trains. Begun in 1964, the ...
Death by a Thousand Cuts: Andrew Gruel on the Cost of Regulations for California Restaurants
The challenge is not a single overwhelming regulation, it is accumulation. California layers rule upon rule, each one defensible on its own. Over time, those requirements reshape how restaurants hire, price, expand (or not), and compete. What appears manageable on paper becomes costly in practice. Restaurants are high-transaction, high-labor businesses. ...
Sanders, Wealth Tax Proponents Could Chase $30 Billion in Revenue Out of State
“The billionaire class no longer sees itself as part of American society,” said Sanders, a Vermont socialist and winner of the 2020 California Democratic presidential primary by 8 percentage points over eventual nominee and president Joe Biden. “They see themselves as something separate and apart, like the oligarchs of the 18th century, ...
Spending Watch
Spending Watch: Californians Will Pay a High Price for Tom Steyer’s “Split-Role” Proposal
Californians Will Pay a High Price for Tom Steyer’s “Split-Role” Proposal Wayne Winegarden March 2026 Gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer supports “a special election to raise corporate taxes in his first year as governor.” Specifically, he favors removing the Proposition 13 tax limitations for commercial properties – an idea referred to ...
Hailing a flight: Cities drone on about advanced air mobility
Hailing a flight: Cities drone on about advanced air mobility By D. Dowd Muska | February 27, 2026 It’s time to talk about flying taxis. Snicker all you want, but serious people — and deep pockets — are committing considerable resources to making airborne intra-city travel a thing. What the ...
San Diego shows LA how to address the region’s housing shortage
Last fall, the Los Angeles Times reported that “Almost no one is building new apartments in Los Angeles.” Fewer than 19,000 apartment units were under construction in the third quarter of last year. It was a 30% dip from three years earlier, the Times reported, based on a review from real ...
California Is Falling Behind On Jobs: Can It Move Beyond The Crossroads?
While the state has become known for its mounting troubles, at least the California economy is growing. But all isn’t as well as it might seem. When compared the rest of the country, California’s jobs market is one of the weakest. Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics show California’s total employment ...
We Should Call February 20th Tariff Liberation Day
This decision will limit one of the Administration’s major anti-growth policies. The immediate benefits will be muted because, also as expected, President Trump is pushing alternate ways to try and raise tariffs. He has announced, under another statute, that he has imposed an across-the-board 15 percent global tariff. The catch ...
