Blog
Blog
Read latest from PRI's Free Cities Center
Well-run California cities grow, while badly run ones shrink
I’ve come up with a unique way to measure how well California cities are doing. It shows those with well-run finances grow in population, while those badly run shrink. It’s a generality. There are exceptions. But look at the trend line on this chart. Notice the trend line, the dotted ...
Blog
When it Comes to Crime Statistics it’s Important to “Mind the Gap”
The Atlantic Monthly, using the work of crime statistician Jeff Asher, have been publishing articles recently putting forth the idea that 2023 homicide statistics indicate that the United States is experiencing the lowest crime rates in “50 years.” On January 19th, Rogé Karma boldly wrote in an article entitled “The ...
Blog
Lessons from Africa: Private utilities offer a way forward
Lessons from Africa: Private utilities offer a way forward By Scott Beyer | February 2, 2024 I was exploring a rural Kenyan village last spring when noticing an infrastructure dichotomy – one I later realized is characteristic of Africa. The government in Wamunyu, a farm town two hours from Nairobi, ...
Agriculture
Read about latest Sacramento green overreach
Could Milk and Juice Cartons Soon Be History in California? New Regulations Suggest Yes.
Boston was once known for its eagerness to ban books, movies, plays and songs that could be considered racy. But the city hasn’t had a censorship controversy in nearly 60 years. Meanwhile, California churns out bans (of a different kind) on an industrial scale. Items made of plastic, especially modern ...
Blog
Markets and subsidies: Exposing the delusions of urbanists
To understand the “rules” regarding the role of the internal combustion engine powered by fossil fuels, Calvinball comes to mind, created in the comic strip, “Calvin and Hobbes.” Calvinball players make up the rules as they go along, and other players cannot make sense of what is happening. To hear ...
Blog
Read the latest on California's water crisis
Proposed State Water Regulations Would Add Bureaucracy, Not Water Supply
Anyone who has lived in California for more than five minutes, or visited for 10, knows the state has an enormous water problem. They’d also know that the current political class has no answers. Or rather what passes for “answers” are policies that won’t work. While much of California is ...
Blog
Is Prop. 47 reform in sight?
Prop. 47 Reforms Gain Traction
It doesn’t take a deep understanding of crime statistics to understand that theft is on the increase. The media and social media provide almost daily examples of brazen shoplifting and car burglaries. The San Francisco Chronicle’s auto burglary “tracker” shows hundreds of thefts from vehicles every month and KRON 4 ...
Blog
Creating a bigger bureaucracy won’t fix Bay Area transit
Creating a bigger bureaucracy won’t fix Bay Area transit By Steven Greenhut | January 26, 2024 Note: This is a longer version of an op-ed that ran earlier this week in the East Bay Times. When government agencies face daunting problems, it’s not uncommon for lawmakers to propose some “solution” ...
Blog
Read latest on SF's housing woes
So-Called Vacant Housing Tax Will Make SF’s Rental Housing Problems Even Worse
San Francisco’s residential vacancy rate is around 13% to 15%. Tens of thousands of housing units are unoccupied. Some might see this as merely the natural order of things, the market response to the conditions on the ground. But politicians, and a majority of voters – 54% – believe it’s ...
Blog
High Crime in Oakland Claims In-N-Out
Why is In-N-Out Closing in Oakland? Out of Control Crime in the “Crime Triangle”
Last month, In-N-Out, California’s iconic purveyor of burgers and fresh cut fries, opened one of its newest locations in Boise, Idaho. Eager Idahoans waited in eight-hour long lines for what for many was their first Double-Double with fries “animal” style, proving perhaps that not everything from California is bad in ...
Read latest from PRI's Free Cities Center
Well-run California cities grow, while badly run ones shrink
I’ve come up with a unique way to measure how well California cities are doing. It shows those with well-run finances grow in population, while those badly run shrink. It’s a generality. There are exceptions. But look at the trend line on this chart. Notice the trend line, the dotted ...
When it Comes to Crime Statistics it’s Important to “Mind the Gap”
The Atlantic Monthly, using the work of crime statistician Jeff Asher, have been publishing articles recently putting forth the idea that 2023 homicide statistics indicate that the United States is experiencing the lowest crime rates in “50 years.” On January 19th, Rogé Karma boldly wrote in an article entitled “The ...
Lessons from Africa: Private utilities offer a way forward
Lessons from Africa: Private utilities offer a way forward By Scott Beyer | February 2, 2024 I was exploring a rural Kenyan village last spring when noticing an infrastructure dichotomy – one I later realized is characteristic of Africa. The government in Wamunyu, a farm town two hours from Nairobi, ...
Read about latest Sacramento green overreach
Could Milk and Juice Cartons Soon Be History in California? New Regulations Suggest Yes.
Boston was once known for its eagerness to ban books, movies, plays and songs that could be considered racy. But the city hasn’t had a censorship controversy in nearly 60 years. Meanwhile, California churns out bans (of a different kind) on an industrial scale. Items made of plastic, especially modern ...
Markets and subsidies: Exposing the delusions of urbanists
To understand the “rules” regarding the role of the internal combustion engine powered by fossil fuels, Calvinball comes to mind, created in the comic strip, “Calvin and Hobbes.” Calvinball players make up the rules as they go along, and other players cannot make sense of what is happening. To hear ...
Read the latest on California's water crisis
Proposed State Water Regulations Would Add Bureaucracy, Not Water Supply
Anyone who has lived in California for more than five minutes, or visited for 10, knows the state has an enormous water problem. They’d also know that the current political class has no answers. Or rather what passes for “answers” are policies that won’t work. While much of California is ...
Is Prop. 47 reform in sight?
Prop. 47 Reforms Gain Traction
It doesn’t take a deep understanding of crime statistics to understand that theft is on the increase. The media and social media provide almost daily examples of brazen shoplifting and car burglaries. The San Francisco Chronicle’s auto burglary “tracker” shows hundreds of thefts from vehicles every month and KRON 4 ...
Creating a bigger bureaucracy won’t fix Bay Area transit
Creating a bigger bureaucracy won’t fix Bay Area transit By Steven Greenhut | January 26, 2024 Note: This is a longer version of an op-ed that ran earlier this week in the East Bay Times. When government agencies face daunting problems, it’s not uncommon for lawmakers to propose some “solution” ...
Read latest on SF's housing woes
So-Called Vacant Housing Tax Will Make SF’s Rental Housing Problems Even Worse
San Francisco’s residential vacancy rate is around 13% to 15%. Tens of thousands of housing units are unoccupied. Some might see this as merely the natural order of things, the market response to the conditions on the ground. But politicians, and a majority of voters – 54% – believe it’s ...
High Crime in Oakland Claims In-N-Out
Why is In-N-Out Closing in Oakland? Out of Control Crime in the “Crime Triangle”
Last month, In-N-Out, California’s iconic purveyor of burgers and fresh cut fries, opened one of its newest locations in Boise, Idaho. Eager Idahoans waited in eight-hour long lines for what for many was their first Double-Double with fries “animal” style, proving perhaps that not everything from California is bad in ...
