Blog
Blog
CAPITAL IDEAS: California Diesel Ban: Another Uneconomical Mandate
The California ban-it-all machine, ever in perpetual motion, is abolishing diesel big rigs. On the last Friday in April, the state Air Resources Board voted unanimously to outlaw sales of new diesel trucks by 2036. CARB’s decision also requires large trucking companies to fully transition their fleets to all zero ...
Blog
City Hall should stay out of the way of home-based businesses
City Hall should stay out of the way of home-based businesses Home-based businesses have long been a viable means by which people support themselves. It’s essential that governments make it easier, not harder, for cottage industries to thrive. The importance and prevalence of home-based businesses “For most of human history, ...
Blog
Read latest on state's misguided transportation priorities
‘Induced demand’ a poor excuse not to build highways
Economists are known for different worldviews from others, and the gap usually is wide between economists and urban planners. Economist Thomas Sowell famously has said, “There are no solutions, only tradeoffs,” thinking that most planners reject out of hand. One contentious issue separating economists (or at least those that believe ...
Blog
How Are We Going to Build New Transmission Lines for Renewable Energy Transition?
The California Independent System Operator recently released its 2022-23 transmission plan, in which it outlines “new transmission infrastructure needed to reliably and efficiently meet California’s clean-energy objectives over the next decade.” It “identifies additional transmission and resource capacity” and “recommends 46 transmission projects costing an estimated $9.3 billion.” “But getting ...
Blog
Charters Shortchanged Despite State Funding Increases
L.A. Charter Schools Receive Less Funding Than Regular Public Schools
While Governor Gavin Newsom has touted how he has increased state education funding during his tenure, charter schools have seen less funding compared to regular public schools, with the gap widening in places like Los Angeles. A new study by the University of Arkansas analyzes the funding disparity between charter ...
Blog
Read about latest Sacramento overspending
State Budget Update: Lawmakers Propose ‘Old Fashioned Tax and Spend Budget’
With the turning of the page on the calendar to May comes the anticipated arrival of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s “May Revise” budget plan, which should be released around May 10. The May Revise is the governor’s updated budget plan taking into account the state’s latest economic forecasts and cash receipts. ...
Blog
Newsom’s housing bonds: Another failed-policy redux
According to the governor’s announcement, among other things the initiative would, “Amend the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), leading to at least $1 billion every year in local assistance for housing and residential services for people experiencing mental illness and substance use disorders, and allowing MHSA funds to serve people with ...
Blog
Get a Preview of Upcoming Study
Population trends prove people prefer pro-growth cities
The movement away from large cities is not universal, however. People may be leaving Los Angeles, but they are moving to Fort Worth, Atlanta and Las Vegas. Figure 1 presents the diverse five-year percentage change in population for the 50 largest cities in the United States. The vast differences in ...
Agriculture
Read the latest on animal rights extremism
Animal rights activism is not about the animals
The activists claimed the chickens were suffering from neglect and in need of “rescue.” However, they did not call animal control authorities or anyone else, they simply plucked the chickens off the farm and left. Quite simply they stole the chickens. Livestock – even those raised on a farm paid ...
Blog
U.S. Progressives Would Be Wise to Learn from Europe’s Shift Away from Socialism
The political progressives in the U.S. look to Europe for much if not most of their policy ideas. Be more like the Europeans, they say, adopt their welfare state models and their green energy programs, push the masses into cramped housing and set taxes and regulation so that they consume ...
CAPITAL IDEAS: California Diesel Ban: Another Uneconomical Mandate
The California ban-it-all machine, ever in perpetual motion, is abolishing diesel big rigs. On the last Friday in April, the state Air Resources Board voted unanimously to outlaw sales of new diesel trucks by 2036. CARB’s decision also requires large trucking companies to fully transition their fleets to all zero ...
City Hall should stay out of the way of home-based businesses
City Hall should stay out of the way of home-based businesses Home-based businesses have long been a viable means by which people support themselves. It’s essential that governments make it easier, not harder, for cottage industries to thrive. The importance and prevalence of home-based businesses “For most of human history, ...
Read latest on state's misguided transportation priorities
‘Induced demand’ a poor excuse not to build highways
Economists are known for different worldviews from others, and the gap usually is wide between economists and urban planners. Economist Thomas Sowell famously has said, “There are no solutions, only tradeoffs,” thinking that most planners reject out of hand. One contentious issue separating economists (or at least those that believe ...
How Are We Going to Build New Transmission Lines for Renewable Energy Transition?
The California Independent System Operator recently released its 2022-23 transmission plan, in which it outlines “new transmission infrastructure needed to reliably and efficiently meet California’s clean-energy objectives over the next decade.” It “identifies additional transmission and resource capacity” and “recommends 46 transmission projects costing an estimated $9.3 billion.” “But getting ...
Charters Shortchanged Despite State Funding Increases
L.A. Charter Schools Receive Less Funding Than Regular Public Schools
While Governor Gavin Newsom has touted how he has increased state education funding during his tenure, charter schools have seen less funding compared to regular public schools, with the gap widening in places like Los Angeles. A new study by the University of Arkansas analyzes the funding disparity between charter ...
Read about latest Sacramento overspending
State Budget Update: Lawmakers Propose ‘Old Fashioned Tax and Spend Budget’
With the turning of the page on the calendar to May comes the anticipated arrival of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s “May Revise” budget plan, which should be released around May 10. The May Revise is the governor’s updated budget plan taking into account the state’s latest economic forecasts and cash receipts. ...
Newsom’s housing bonds: Another failed-policy redux
According to the governor’s announcement, among other things the initiative would, “Amend the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), leading to at least $1 billion every year in local assistance for housing and residential services for people experiencing mental illness and substance use disorders, and allowing MHSA funds to serve people with ...
Get a Preview of Upcoming Study
Population trends prove people prefer pro-growth cities
The movement away from large cities is not universal, however. People may be leaving Los Angeles, but they are moving to Fort Worth, Atlanta and Las Vegas. Figure 1 presents the diverse five-year percentage change in population for the 50 largest cities in the United States. The vast differences in ...
Read the latest on animal rights extremism
Animal rights activism is not about the animals
The activists claimed the chickens were suffering from neglect and in need of “rescue.” However, they did not call animal control authorities or anyone else, they simply plucked the chickens off the farm and left. Quite simply they stole the chickens. Livestock – even those raised on a farm paid ...
U.S. Progressives Would Be Wise to Learn from Europe’s Shift Away from Socialism
The political progressives in the U.S. look to Europe for much if not most of their policy ideas. Be more like the Europeans, they say, adopt their welfare state models and their green energy programs, push the masses into cramped housing and set taxes and regulation so that they consume ...
