Blog
Blog
Anti-camping ordinances or Housing First programs?
It’s no surprise to any resident that, for more than a decade, a disproportionate share of the homeless population has been living in California, and that number continues to grow. We see it every day: on the way to work, dropping our kids off at school, enjoying a nice dinner ...
Emily Humpal
March 27, 2023
Blog
How Eminent Domain Obliterated the Character of Cities
No city can possibly express its character – the many urban quirks and idiosyncrasies, as well as the strangely appealing grittiness and shining luxury that often coexist side-by-side – when government planners use the bulldozer to “improve” cities. Writing about the “wave of urban renewal that swept the world in ...
Kerry Jackson
March 24, 2023
Blog
Urban gentrification beats alternative of deterioration
Of all places, Houston – famous for its minimal zoning – now faces a “gentrification” crisis
John Seiler
March 23, 2023
Blog
Key Takeaways from President Biden’s Proposed 2024 Healthcare Budget
The United States currently faces a deficit of over $700 billion. Not including other health programs, in 2021, over $734 billion was spent on Medicaid alone. Despite these facts, President Biden’s 2024 budget proposal aims to increase funding for healthcare by 11.5%. The proposal claims proposed tax increases will not ...
McKenzie Richards
March 22, 2023
Blog
Push for Unionized College Athletics Would Be Real March Madness
This push would trample upon free market reforms that are working and ensure college athletes are compensated for their name, image, and likeness. Four years ago, California launched a national revolution in college athletics by enacting Fair Pay to Play Act, which allows athletes to earn money from endorsements from ...
Tim Anaya
March 21, 2023
Blog
Crime in Oakland – More Mass Victimization
Criminals in Alameda County just caught a break. Newly elected District Attorney Pamela Price has issued a draft memorandum to her staff requiring them to seek probation in nearly all felony cases with the exception of murder and some sex crimes involving children. Further, it requires that more severe ...
Steve Smith
March 20, 2023
Blog
CAPITAL IDEAS–California’s Green Energy Transition: Is the State Getting Ahead of Itself?
No state is rushing toward a zero-carbon power grid faster than California. By 2045, every watt of electricity used in this state has to be produced by a source that emits no carbon dioxide. Sacramento is convinced it will happen because it has said so. Reality is likely to have ...
Kerry Jackson
March 17, 2023
Blog
Automated vehicles: Driving us toward dystopia or utopia?
Humanity may be a long way from allowing an Artificial Intelligence program to navigate a spacecraft from Earth to the planet Jupiter, a trip of over a half-billion miles, but we’re very close to giving AI control of every other mode of transportation we’ve built to date here on Earth. ...
Edward Ring
March 16, 2023
Blog
War on cars is a war on lower-income Californians
Recent research focusing on Los Angeles finds that the city’s poorest neighborhoods have the largest percentage of “hyper-commuters” – people who commute 90 minutes or more one way to work. The preponderance of those long-distance commuters – often construction workers and laborers who drive from inner-city Los Angeles to far-flung ...
Kenneth Schrupp
March 15, 2023
Blog
Private Sector High Speed Rail Moves Forward While State Bullet Train Cost Estimates Climb
It has been called a dud, the train that couldn’t, a train that went off the rails, a train wreck, the train to nowhere, and a crazy train. The high-speed rail is also a financial fiasco, its cost now almost four times the initial estimate Californians based their votes on ...
Kerry Jackson
March 14, 2023
Anti-camping ordinances or Housing First programs?
It’s no surprise to any resident that, for more than a decade, a disproportionate share of the homeless population has been living in California, and that number continues to grow. We see it every day: on the way to work, dropping our kids off at school, enjoying a nice dinner ...
How Eminent Domain Obliterated the Character of Cities
No city can possibly express its character – the many urban quirks and idiosyncrasies, as well as the strangely appealing grittiness and shining luxury that often coexist side-by-side – when government planners use the bulldozer to “improve” cities. Writing about the “wave of urban renewal that swept the world in ...
Urban gentrification beats alternative of deterioration
Of all places, Houston – famous for its minimal zoning – now faces a “gentrification” crisis
Key Takeaways from President Biden’s Proposed 2024 Healthcare Budget
The United States currently faces a deficit of over $700 billion. Not including other health programs, in 2021, over $734 billion was spent on Medicaid alone. Despite these facts, President Biden’s 2024 budget proposal aims to increase funding for healthcare by 11.5%. The proposal claims proposed tax increases will not ...
Push for Unionized College Athletics Would Be Real March Madness
This push would trample upon free market reforms that are working and ensure college athletes are compensated for their name, image, and likeness. Four years ago, California launched a national revolution in college athletics by enacting Fair Pay to Play Act, which allows athletes to earn money from endorsements from ...
Crime in Oakland – More Mass Victimization
Criminals in Alameda County just caught a break. Newly elected District Attorney Pamela Price has issued a draft memorandum to her staff requiring them to seek probation in nearly all felony cases with the exception of murder and some sex crimes involving children. Further, it requires that more severe ...
CAPITAL IDEAS–California’s Green Energy Transition: Is the State Getting Ahead of Itself?
No state is rushing toward a zero-carbon power grid faster than California. By 2045, every watt of electricity used in this state has to be produced by a source that emits no carbon dioxide. Sacramento is convinced it will happen because it has said so. Reality is likely to have ...
Automated vehicles: Driving us toward dystopia or utopia?
Humanity may be a long way from allowing an Artificial Intelligence program to navigate a spacecraft from Earth to the planet Jupiter, a trip of over a half-billion miles, but we’re very close to giving AI control of every other mode of transportation we’ve built to date here on Earth. ...
War on cars is a war on lower-income Californians
Recent research focusing on Los Angeles finds that the city’s poorest neighborhoods have the largest percentage of “hyper-commuters” – people who commute 90 minutes or more one way to work. The preponderance of those long-distance commuters – often construction workers and laborers who drive from inner-city Los Angeles to far-flung ...
Private Sector High Speed Rail Moves Forward While State Bullet Train Cost Estimates Climb
It has been called a dud, the train that couldn’t, a train that went off the rails, a train wreck, the train to nowhere, and a crazy train. The high-speed rail is also a financial fiasco, its cost now almost four times the initial estimate Californians based their votes on ...