Blog
Blog
Where Have All The Interns Gone?
The other day, a freshman from Santa Clara University called me to inquire about internships at PRI. She had just heard Sally Pipes give a talk on health care. She was also familiar with the work of Arthur Laffer. As an economics student, she thought PRI would be a great ...
Rowena Itchon
September 1, 2017
Blog
Ode to the Summer of Love
With our HQ in San Francisco, PRI can’t let the summer end without a nod to the 50th Anniversary of the Summer of Love. I’m the last of the generation of Baby Boomers, starting kindergarten in 1967. The girls in my classes wore psychedelic mini-skirts, Vietnam POW bracelets, and macramé ...
Rowena Itchon
August 31, 2017
Blog
U.S. Pharmaceutical Spending Is Below Average?
For the 30 nations that comprise the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which promotes policies to improve the well-being of people around the world, pharmaceutical spending comprised, on average, 16.9 percent of total health care spending as of 2015. The OECD defines pharmaceutical spending as the expenditures on ...
Wayne Winegarden
August 30, 2017
Blog
Putting Thumb on Scale of California Elections Threatens Our Democracy
“To the victor go the spoils” goes the old proverb. This statement is true in many things in life, but certainly rings true in politics. Consider the ongoing effort to change California’s elections laws to try and help Sen. Josh Newman, D-Fullerton, who is the target of a recall election. ...
Tim Anaya
August 29, 2017
Blog
Tax Increase Proposal Would Not Make Housing More Affordable
California lawmakers, some of whom long ago demonstrated that they don’t understand why housing is so expensive across the state, continue to show that they have no idea how to fix the problem. Consider, for instance, the plan being moved ahead by Assemblyman Marc Levine, a Marin Democrat. He wants ...
Kerry Jackson
August 28, 2017
Blog
Legislature Takes Two Steps Back on State’s Housing Crisis
California lawmakers can’t hide from the state’s housing crisis caused by a severe shortage of homes. They’ve even promised to do something about it. But a bill just signed into law last month indicates that the promise is likely to be hollow. Rather than lower government-imposed barriers to home building, ...
Kerry Jackson
August 25, 2017
Blog
Beware of Tax Reform’s “Unintended Consequences”
There is little doubt that the U.S. needs comprehensive tax reform. The corporate income tax system is globally uncompetitive; the personal income tax system is so complicated that even the IRS can’t answer taxpayers’ questions. The right reform implements a simple flat tax system with globally competitive rates. What should ...
Wayne Winegarden
August 24, 2017
Blog
An (Artificially) Intelligent Future for California?
Californians harboring dystopian fears would have us believe that the state is sowing the seeds of its own destruction by leading in the development of artificial intelligence. Consider state legislation introduced this year that would fine companies like Uber $25,000 a day per vehicle if they operate self-driving cars without ...
Bartlett Cleland
August 23, 2017
Blog
Time for Return to Reasonableness in Federal Land Grabs
Nearly half of California isn’t actually California. It’s an extension of Washington, D.C. Almost 46 percent of the state’s land mass is owned by the federal government, according to the Congressional Research Service. This means business opportunities in virtually half of the state are greatly restricted. In some locations, they’re ...
Kerry Jackson
May 1, 2017
Blog
Will Largest Gas Tax Increase In State History Bring Traffic Relief?
It’s painfully obvious that lawmakers in Sacramento just can’t help themselves. Otherwise Gov. Jerry Brown and a majority of legislators wouldn’t support a $52 billion tax hike to fix Califor- nia’s gouged, pitted and cracked roads. They would find a way to do it with the resources they have. Republicans ...
Kerry Jackson
April 1, 2017
Where Have All The Interns Gone?
The other day, a freshman from Santa Clara University called me to inquire about internships at PRI. She had just heard Sally Pipes give a talk on health care. She was also familiar with the work of Arthur Laffer. As an economics student, she thought PRI would be a great ...
Ode to the Summer of Love
With our HQ in San Francisco, PRI can’t let the summer end without a nod to the 50th Anniversary of the Summer of Love. I’m the last of the generation of Baby Boomers, starting kindergarten in 1967. The girls in my classes wore psychedelic mini-skirts, Vietnam POW bracelets, and macramé ...
U.S. Pharmaceutical Spending Is Below Average?
For the 30 nations that comprise the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which promotes policies to improve the well-being of people around the world, pharmaceutical spending comprised, on average, 16.9 percent of total health care spending as of 2015. The OECD defines pharmaceutical spending as the expenditures on ...
Putting Thumb on Scale of California Elections Threatens Our Democracy
“To the victor go the spoils” goes the old proverb. This statement is true in many things in life, but certainly rings true in politics. Consider the ongoing effort to change California’s elections laws to try and help Sen. Josh Newman, D-Fullerton, who is the target of a recall election. ...
Tax Increase Proposal Would Not Make Housing More Affordable
California lawmakers, some of whom long ago demonstrated that they don’t understand why housing is so expensive across the state, continue to show that they have no idea how to fix the problem. Consider, for instance, the plan being moved ahead by Assemblyman Marc Levine, a Marin Democrat. He wants ...
Legislature Takes Two Steps Back on State’s Housing Crisis
California lawmakers can’t hide from the state’s housing crisis caused by a severe shortage of homes. They’ve even promised to do something about it. But a bill just signed into law last month indicates that the promise is likely to be hollow. Rather than lower government-imposed barriers to home building, ...
Beware of Tax Reform’s “Unintended Consequences”
There is little doubt that the U.S. needs comprehensive tax reform. The corporate income tax system is globally uncompetitive; the personal income tax system is so complicated that even the IRS can’t answer taxpayers’ questions. The right reform implements a simple flat tax system with globally competitive rates. What should ...
An (Artificially) Intelligent Future for California?
Californians harboring dystopian fears would have us believe that the state is sowing the seeds of its own destruction by leading in the development of artificial intelligence. Consider state legislation introduced this year that would fine companies like Uber $25,000 a day per vehicle if they operate self-driving cars without ...
Time for Return to Reasonableness in Federal Land Grabs
Nearly half of California isn’t actually California. It’s an extension of Washington, D.C. Almost 46 percent of the state’s land mass is owned by the federal government, according to the Congressional Research Service. This means business opportunities in virtually half of the state are greatly restricted. In some locations, they’re ...
Will Largest Gas Tax Increase In State History Bring Traffic Relief?
It’s painfully obvious that lawmakers in Sacramento just can’t help themselves. Otherwise Gov. Jerry Brown and a majority of legislators wouldn’t support a $52 billion tax hike to fix Califor- nia’s gouged, pitted and cracked roads. They would find a way to do it with the resources they have. Republicans ...