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Trouble in Paradise: Hawaii’s Hotel Strike

I just returned from my annual Thanksgiving family trip to Hawaii where it was Day 40-something of a hotel workers’ strike at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.  I had a hunch something was amiss when our Uber driver pulled into the driveway and a lone young woman who weighed about 100 ...
Blog

The ESG Threat to California’s Pensions

California’s public pensions are in trouble. While the Pew Charitable Trusts reports that California’s current unfunded liabilities are nearly $170 billion, as I recently reported in my chartbook on California’s pension crisis, the crisis is much worse. Valuing the liabilities using a more realistic market rate, the total pension debt ...
Blog

Taking a Long-Term View to Evaluate Trade, Market Policy

As I write this article in late November of 2018, the stock market has fallen significantly from its recent highs.  These losses, which have erased nearly all the gains made thus far in 2018 push us toward official correction territory for both the DOW and NASDAQ for the year. These ...
Blog

Proposition C Makes San Francisco A ‘Sanctuary City’ For The Homeless

When San Franciscans went to the polls on Nov. 6, they knew in advance what the consequences are likely to be if an initiative to tax corporations to fund services for the homeless was approved. Yet they passed it anyway. Nearly 61 percent voted for Proposition C, which imposes a ...
Blog

What We’re Watching – A Portrait Unveiling Fit for a Tax Cutter

Tim Anaya – A Portrait Unveiling Fit for a Tax Cutter House Speaker Paul Ryan is retiring this month from Congress. A life-long advocate for lower taxes and free-market policies, his favorite role in Congress was not as Speaker, but as chair of the House Budget Committee. As he prepares ...
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Latest Audit Should Be Nail in High-Speed Rail Coffin, But It Won’t Be

An audit of the California bullet train released the Friday before Thanksgiving should make reasonable people wonder why the project wasn’t killed long ago. For instance, the office of State Auditor Elaine Howle says the high-speed rail has enough funding to complete its initial segments, but not enough “to connect ...
Blog

Could Trump-Dem Infrastructure Deal Mean More Money for High-Speed Rail?

Ever since Democrats won control of the U.S. House of Representatives, many have speculated whether President Trump and Democrats be able to make a deal on something big. With Democrats saying that they aren’t afraid to use their newfound-subpoena powers against the Trump Administration, the prospects for a bipartisan deal ...
Blog

Support PRI and Other Worthy Organizations on #GivingTuesday

If you are reading this blog, there’s a good chance that you have generously donated to PRI, attended one of our recent events, or shared our research with your friends and colleagues. Our work would not be possible without the support of individuals who share our vision of a free ...
Blog

Meat the Next Sin Tax

If your holiday meals include filet mignon, rack of lamb, roast pork, or even charcuterie, you might want to reach for a second helping while you can still afford it. That’s because Oxford University researchers are proposing a tax on meat.  Their goal is to “save you” from cancer, heart ...
Blog

Second Annual PRI Next Round Wine and Cocktail Recommendations

The holidays are upon us, so we’ve decided to compile a list of our Next Round podcast guests’ alcoholic beverage recommendations for our loyal Right by the Bay readers once again. There’s something for everyone on the list, from Michael “the most interesting man in the White House” Anton’s cabernet ...
Blog

Trouble in Paradise: Hawaii’s Hotel Strike

I just returned from my annual Thanksgiving family trip to Hawaii where it was Day 40-something of a hotel workers’ strike at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.  I had a hunch something was amiss when our Uber driver pulled into the driveway and a lone young woman who weighed about 100 ...
Blog

The ESG Threat to California’s Pensions

California’s public pensions are in trouble. While the Pew Charitable Trusts reports that California’s current unfunded liabilities are nearly $170 billion, as I recently reported in my chartbook on California’s pension crisis, the crisis is much worse. Valuing the liabilities using a more realistic market rate, the total pension debt ...
Blog

Taking a Long-Term View to Evaluate Trade, Market Policy

As I write this article in late November of 2018, the stock market has fallen significantly from its recent highs.  These losses, which have erased nearly all the gains made thus far in 2018 push us toward official correction territory for both the DOW and NASDAQ for the year. These ...
Blog

Proposition C Makes San Francisco A ‘Sanctuary City’ For The Homeless

When San Franciscans went to the polls on Nov. 6, they knew in advance what the consequences are likely to be if an initiative to tax corporations to fund services for the homeless was approved. Yet they passed it anyway. Nearly 61 percent voted for Proposition C, which imposes a ...
Blog

What We’re Watching – A Portrait Unveiling Fit for a Tax Cutter

Tim Anaya – A Portrait Unveiling Fit for a Tax Cutter House Speaker Paul Ryan is retiring this month from Congress. A life-long advocate for lower taxes and free-market policies, his favorite role in Congress was not as Speaker, but as chair of the House Budget Committee. As he prepares ...
Blog

Latest Audit Should Be Nail in High-Speed Rail Coffin, But It Won’t Be

An audit of the California bullet train released the Friday before Thanksgiving should make reasonable people wonder why the project wasn’t killed long ago. For instance, the office of State Auditor Elaine Howle says the high-speed rail has enough funding to complete its initial segments, but not enough “to connect ...
Blog

Could Trump-Dem Infrastructure Deal Mean More Money for High-Speed Rail?

Ever since Democrats won control of the U.S. House of Representatives, many have speculated whether President Trump and Democrats be able to make a deal on something big. With Democrats saying that they aren’t afraid to use their newfound-subpoena powers against the Trump Administration, the prospects for a bipartisan deal ...
Blog

Support PRI and Other Worthy Organizations on #GivingTuesday

If you are reading this blog, there’s a good chance that you have generously donated to PRI, attended one of our recent events, or shared our research with your friends and colleagues. Our work would not be possible without the support of individuals who share our vision of a free ...
Blog

Meat the Next Sin Tax

If your holiday meals include filet mignon, rack of lamb, roast pork, or even charcuterie, you might want to reach for a second helping while you can still afford it. That’s because Oxford University researchers are proposing a tax on meat.  Their goal is to “save you” from cancer, heart ...
Blog

Second Annual PRI Next Round Wine and Cocktail Recommendations

The holidays are upon us, so we’ve decided to compile a list of our Next Round podcast guests’ alcoholic beverage recommendations for our loyal Right by the Bay readers once again. There’s something for everyone on the list, from Michael “the most interesting man in the White House” Anton’s cabernet ...
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