Blog
Blog
A Novel Way to Educate Californians About State Gas Tax Increase
Everyone who drives in California suspects that fuel prices here are painfully high. And their suspicions are well-founded. Only Hawaii has more expensive gasoline. Or did. Thanks to the 12-cents-a-gallon tax hike on gasoline that went into effect on Nov. 1, California now has the highest average price in the ...
Blog
Some Positive Tax Changes . . . But We Still Need Tax Reform
With the release of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), the long-awaited tax bill has been released. The most pro-growth aspects would change the U.S. corporate income tax system. Corporate income taxes have become a large economic disincentive against investing in the U.S. The TCJA reduces the corporate income ...
Blog
Another regulation could put more truckers out of business
The clock is ticking for trucking companies in the U.S. to comply with a federal mandate requiring drivers to stop logging their hours on the road with paper logs and switch to electronic logging devices (ELD) – and not everyone is happy about the change. Starting December 18, drivers ...
Blog
Should We Pay Teachers the Same as Legislators?
California’s initiative process is imperfect. We cherish the right to circulate citizen’s petitions when the Legislature refuses to act on matters of critical importance. But give any Californian the right to submit a ballot measure, and you’re sure to have some wild ideas in the bunch. The latest is a ...
Blog
A Voice Every Californian Should Listen To on Pensions
When I was a junior speechwriter working in Governor Schwarzenegger’s administration, one of the great pleasures I had was working with and getting to know David Crane. David was the Governor’s advisor on economic issues and his office was right next to the speechwriting office. Time after time, many self-proclaimed ...
Blog
New Report Shows Legislature’s “Housing Day” Won’t Increase Affordability
California’s Legislature made a run at fixing the state’s housing crisis as the session was ending a bit more than a month ago. But it won’t solve anything next year, as home prices are expected to rise in 2018. In fact, lawmakers’ poor-faith effort isn’t likely to help moderate home ...
Blog
Gas and Diesel Fuel Tax Hikes Begin Today
Californians who didn’t fill up on Tuesday are probably kicking themselves today. Tax hikes on gasoline and diesel fuel went into effect, sending prices significantly higher. The levy on a gallon of gasoline spiked 12 cents, from 18 cents to 30, while diesel jumped from 16 cents a gallon to ...
Agriculture
Whatever Happened to Spending Cuts?
This week, Republicans are preparing to unveil the details of a tax reform proposal that would deliver tax relief to individuals and businesses, as well as simplify the tax filing process. How to “pay for” the tax cuts will be the big debate in the weeks and months ahead. Some ...
Blog
On Homelessness, Sacramento Is Becoming More Like San Francisco . . . and That’s Not a Good Thing
Around the time I joined PRI’s team last September, we opened new offices in Midtown Sacramento. I had never spent much time in Midtown before joining PRI. For those who don’t live here, Midtown is a hip part of town with a bustling bar and restaurant scene, expensive new apartments ...
Blog
Housing shortage goes from dire to desperate after wildfires
A few months ago, Tim Anaya and I interviewed for PRI’s podcast Farhad Zabihi, a math professor at the College of Marin, who had been house hunting for nearly a year in Marin County. Marin is just south of Napa and Sonoma — two of the hardest hit counties in ...
A Novel Way to Educate Californians About State Gas Tax Increase
Everyone who drives in California suspects that fuel prices here are painfully high. And their suspicions are well-founded. Only Hawaii has more expensive gasoline. Or did. Thanks to the 12-cents-a-gallon tax hike on gasoline that went into effect on Nov. 1, California now has the highest average price in the ...
Some Positive Tax Changes . . . But We Still Need Tax Reform
With the release of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), the long-awaited tax bill has been released. The most pro-growth aspects would change the U.S. corporate income tax system. Corporate income taxes have become a large economic disincentive against investing in the U.S. The TCJA reduces the corporate income ...
Another regulation could put more truckers out of business
The clock is ticking for trucking companies in the U.S. to comply with a federal mandate requiring drivers to stop logging their hours on the road with paper logs and switch to electronic logging devices (ELD) – and not everyone is happy about the change. Starting December 18, drivers ...
Should We Pay Teachers the Same as Legislators?
California’s initiative process is imperfect. We cherish the right to circulate citizen’s petitions when the Legislature refuses to act on matters of critical importance. But give any Californian the right to submit a ballot measure, and you’re sure to have some wild ideas in the bunch. The latest is a ...
A Voice Every Californian Should Listen To on Pensions
When I was a junior speechwriter working in Governor Schwarzenegger’s administration, one of the great pleasures I had was working with and getting to know David Crane. David was the Governor’s advisor on economic issues and his office was right next to the speechwriting office. Time after time, many self-proclaimed ...
New Report Shows Legislature’s “Housing Day” Won’t Increase Affordability
California’s Legislature made a run at fixing the state’s housing crisis as the session was ending a bit more than a month ago. But it won’t solve anything next year, as home prices are expected to rise in 2018. In fact, lawmakers’ poor-faith effort isn’t likely to help moderate home ...
Gas and Diesel Fuel Tax Hikes Begin Today
Californians who didn’t fill up on Tuesday are probably kicking themselves today. Tax hikes on gasoline and diesel fuel went into effect, sending prices significantly higher. The levy on a gallon of gasoline spiked 12 cents, from 18 cents to 30, while diesel jumped from 16 cents a gallon to ...
Whatever Happened to Spending Cuts?
This week, Republicans are preparing to unveil the details of a tax reform proposal that would deliver tax relief to individuals and businesses, as well as simplify the tax filing process. How to “pay for” the tax cuts will be the big debate in the weeks and months ahead. Some ...
On Homelessness, Sacramento Is Becoming More Like San Francisco . . . and That’s Not a Good Thing
Around the time I joined PRI’s team last September, we opened new offices in Midtown Sacramento. I had never spent much time in Midtown before joining PRI. For those who don’t live here, Midtown is a hip part of town with a bustling bar and restaurant scene, expensive new apartments ...
Housing shortage goes from dire to desperate after wildfires
A few months ago, Tim Anaya and I interviewed for PRI’s podcast Farhad Zabihi, a math professor at the College of Marin, who had been house hunting for nearly a year in Marin County. Marin is just south of Napa and Sonoma — two of the hardest hit counties in ...
