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How New State Law Will Be Another Costly Business Burden

On October 13th, 2025, the California legislature passed into law AB692, a bill which would void any contract that requires employees to repay their employer, training provider, or debt collector upon termination of their employment. These training repayment agreement provisions, colloquially known as TRAPs, allow employers to recoup investment and ...
Blog

What’s Killing Our Kids? It’s Not Alcohol.

Four decades later, the promised benefits are difficult to find. In California, arrests of underage drivers for driving under the influence are exceedingly rare. In 2024, just 45 juveniles were arrested for driving under the influence—a figure that has remained consistently low for years. Rather than eliminating youth drinking, the ...
Blog

Can Seattle’s new democratic socialist mayor deliver?

Can Seattle’s new democratic socialist mayor deliver? By Sal Rodriguez | January 2, 2026 While the election of Zohran Mamdani to be the next mayor of New York City dominated national headlines, voters in Seattle also elected a self-described democratic socialist to be their next mayor. With 50.4% of the ...
Blog

How can we make drugs more affordable without sacrificing future cures?

How can we make drugs more affordable without sacrificing future cures? To a large extent, the current system works fairly well already to make most of the drugs that Americans take affordable. And that’s because of our robust generics market. Around 90% of prescriptions filled each year are for generics ...
Blog

2025 Year in Review: How PRI Advanced the Cause of Liberty

Thanks to the steadfast support of our donors throughout the nation, this past year we have advanced policies to reduce health care costs, promoted education reforms that improve student outcomes, and expanded our work to counter the narrative that heavy-handed government control is the future of America. Our team has ...
Blog

Revisiting an age-old issue: How good is zoning?

Revisiting an age-old issue: How good is zoning? By R.C. Hoiles | December 26, 2025 As we approach the nation’s 250th anniversary, the Pacific Research Institute is spotlighting leading Western thinkers in the nation’s history. This column was written by  The Orange County Register publisher and president of Freedom Communications ...
Blog

Do price controls affect which drugs patients have access to and how soon?

Do price controls affect which drugs patients have access to and how soon? They absolutely do. Just look at the situation in Europe. For years, drug companies have been choosing to withhold certain medicines from European markets rather than accept the price constraints imposed by governments there. As a result, ...
Blog

Will Residents Benefit from Latest SF ‘CEO Tax’? History Says No.

The reasoning behind the tax is to ensure “that the biggest corporations, whose executives earn hundreds of times more than their average workers, contribute their fair share.” Stand Up believes dollars generated by the tax will offset the loss of $400 million in federal funds that “have threatened essential city services,” ...
Blog

Private buses are back, but will government leave them alone?

Private buses are back, but will government leave them alone? Looking forward to attending FIFA World Cup 26? There’s “an easy and affordable way to move between host cities to see the matches.” FlixBus, the world’s largest motor coach service — it has a presence in more than 40 countries ...
Blog

One cat death is a tragedy. 43K human deaths is a statistic

For those who missed the internationally publicized brouhaha, a tabby named Kit Kat had lived in the city’s Mission, where he sauntered into bodegas and bars. Dubbed the Mayor of 16th Street, Kit Kat was by all accounts a charming character. Then on October 27, the unthinkable happened: a Waymo self-driving taxi ...
Blog

How New State Law Will Be Another Costly Business Burden

On October 13th, 2025, the California legislature passed into law AB692, a bill which would void any contract that requires employees to repay their employer, training provider, or debt collector upon termination of their employment. These training repayment agreement provisions, colloquially known as TRAPs, allow employers to recoup investment and ...
Blog

What’s Killing Our Kids? It’s Not Alcohol.

Four decades later, the promised benefits are difficult to find. In California, arrests of underage drivers for driving under the influence are exceedingly rare. In 2024, just 45 juveniles were arrested for driving under the influence—a figure that has remained consistently low for years. Rather than eliminating youth drinking, the ...
Blog

Can Seattle’s new democratic socialist mayor deliver?

Can Seattle’s new democratic socialist mayor deliver? By Sal Rodriguez | January 2, 2026 While the election of Zohran Mamdani to be the next mayor of New York City dominated national headlines, voters in Seattle also elected a self-described democratic socialist to be their next mayor. With 50.4% of the ...
Blog

How can we make drugs more affordable without sacrificing future cures?

How can we make drugs more affordable without sacrificing future cures? To a large extent, the current system works fairly well already to make most of the drugs that Americans take affordable. And that’s because of our robust generics market. Around 90% of prescriptions filled each year are for generics ...
Blog

2025 Year in Review: How PRI Advanced the Cause of Liberty

Thanks to the steadfast support of our donors throughout the nation, this past year we have advanced policies to reduce health care costs, promoted education reforms that improve student outcomes, and expanded our work to counter the narrative that heavy-handed government control is the future of America. Our team has ...
Blog

Revisiting an age-old issue: How good is zoning?

Revisiting an age-old issue: How good is zoning? By R.C. Hoiles | December 26, 2025 As we approach the nation’s 250th anniversary, the Pacific Research Institute is spotlighting leading Western thinkers in the nation’s history. This column was written by  The Orange County Register publisher and president of Freedom Communications ...
Blog

Do price controls affect which drugs patients have access to and how soon?

Do price controls affect which drugs patients have access to and how soon? They absolutely do. Just look at the situation in Europe. For years, drug companies have been choosing to withhold certain medicines from European markets rather than accept the price constraints imposed by governments there. As a result, ...
Blog

Will Residents Benefit from Latest SF ‘CEO Tax’? History Says No.

The reasoning behind the tax is to ensure “that the biggest corporations, whose executives earn hundreds of times more than their average workers, contribute their fair share.” Stand Up believes dollars generated by the tax will offset the loss of $400 million in federal funds that “have threatened essential city services,” ...
Blog

Private buses are back, but will government leave them alone?

Private buses are back, but will government leave them alone? Looking forward to attending FIFA World Cup 26? There’s “an easy and affordable way to move between host cities to see the matches.” FlixBus, the world’s largest motor coach service — it has a presence in more than 40 countries ...
Blog

One cat death is a tragedy. 43K human deaths is a statistic

For those who missed the internationally publicized brouhaha, a tabby named Kit Kat had lived in the city’s Mission, where he sauntered into bodegas and bars. Dubbed the Mayor of 16th Street, Kit Kat was by all accounts a charming character. Then on October 27, the unthinkable happened: a Waymo self-driving taxi ...
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