Blog
Blog
Been There, Done That on High Speed Rail
Inspired by California’s high-speed rail debacle, the Biden Administration and liberals in Congress have proposed spending tens of billions of dollars to build new high-speed rail networks nationwide. California Has “Been There, Done That” Californians have grown increasingly frustrated with its “train to nowhere,” which is tens of billions of ...
Blog
CAPITAL IDEAS: Is This How California is Solving Its Housing Crisis?
DOWNLOAD PDF Not too terribly long ago, the Legislative Analyst’s Office said that to meet demand, each year the state needed 100,000 new housing units in addition to the 100,000 to 140,000 that are expected to be built annually, an impossibility in today’s political environment. But, intentional or not, policymakers ...
Blog
What Americans can Learn from Argentina’s Infrastructure Spending
We were sixth in line when the banker came outside to address the long line which stretched down the street for half a mile. He spoke in Spanish, “we are all out of money, come back next week!” I shook my head in frustration, wondering how we would buy food ...
Blog
Which Sinks First: The Creaky Queen Mary or Foundering California?
The Queen Mary, docked in Long Beach since 1967, could sink “if something is not done soon,” the media reported last week. An overactive imagination isn’t needed to see this as a metaphor for California. “After years of neglect by a string of operators,” says the Los Angeles Times, “the ...
Blog
Newsom, Lawmakers Thrown Pay Raise Hot Potato
That sound you heard at the State Capitol last week was constitutional officers and state lawmakers running for cover. “Gov. Gavin Newsom, California legislators and other state elected officials were approved to receive a 4.2% salary increase this year,” the Los Angeles Times reports. There is no bigger political hot ...
Blog
“Pay Our Interns” Activists Should Be Careful What They Wish For
During my past life at the State Capitol, I had the pleasure to mentor many great interns. I would host one or two interns at a time, who would work for four months during summer break or during the semester while attending college. My former interns have become legislative chiefs ...
Blog
Book Review: A Dubious Expediency: How Race Preferences Damage Higher Education
It’s been 45 years since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the Regents of the University of California v. Bakke – the case that opened the door to “diversity” admissions at America’s colleges and universities. What’s happened since this landmark case is the subject of A Dubious Expediency (Encounter, May ...
Blog
To See the Fallacy of H.R. 3 (Lower Drug Costs Now Act) Just Look at the Inflation Data
Railing about sky high drug prices makes good political theater and helps drum up support for the latest attempt to impose drug price controls (H.R. 3 or the Lower Drug Costs Now Act). This accusation also perpetuates misinformation. If implemented, H.R. 3 would endanger patient access to current efficacious medicines ...
Blog
Can Legislators Tame California’s Infamously High Impact Fees?
If you haven’t been living under a rock, you know that California is currently in the grips of a worsening housing affordability crisis. I take that back—if you’re living under a rock, you’re probably acutely aware of this fact. Before the pandemic, over half of all California renters spent more ...
Blog
6 Solutions to Encourage Family Growth in California
In addressing the nation’s falling fertility rates, many well-meaning pro-natalists advocate for cash incentives and higher tax credits for families with children. Countries with dismal fertility rates, such as Hungary, have introduced generous programs that include subsidies for minivans, a stipend for grandma, and interest-free marriage loans of $36,000 for ...
Been There, Done That on High Speed Rail
Inspired by California’s high-speed rail debacle, the Biden Administration and liberals in Congress have proposed spending tens of billions of dollars to build new high-speed rail networks nationwide. California Has “Been There, Done That” Californians have grown increasingly frustrated with its “train to nowhere,” which is tens of billions of ...
CAPITAL IDEAS: Is This How California is Solving Its Housing Crisis?
DOWNLOAD PDF Not too terribly long ago, the Legislative Analyst’s Office said that to meet demand, each year the state needed 100,000 new housing units in addition to the 100,000 to 140,000 that are expected to be built annually, an impossibility in today’s political environment. But, intentional or not, policymakers ...
What Americans can Learn from Argentina’s Infrastructure Spending
We were sixth in line when the banker came outside to address the long line which stretched down the street for half a mile. He spoke in Spanish, “we are all out of money, come back next week!” I shook my head in frustration, wondering how we would buy food ...
Which Sinks First: The Creaky Queen Mary or Foundering California?
The Queen Mary, docked in Long Beach since 1967, could sink “if something is not done soon,” the media reported last week. An overactive imagination isn’t needed to see this as a metaphor for California. “After years of neglect by a string of operators,” says the Los Angeles Times, “the ...
Newsom, Lawmakers Thrown Pay Raise Hot Potato
That sound you heard at the State Capitol last week was constitutional officers and state lawmakers running for cover. “Gov. Gavin Newsom, California legislators and other state elected officials were approved to receive a 4.2% salary increase this year,” the Los Angeles Times reports. There is no bigger political hot ...
“Pay Our Interns” Activists Should Be Careful What They Wish For
During my past life at the State Capitol, I had the pleasure to mentor many great interns. I would host one or two interns at a time, who would work for four months during summer break or during the semester while attending college. My former interns have become legislative chiefs ...
Book Review: A Dubious Expediency: How Race Preferences Damage Higher Education
It’s been 45 years since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the Regents of the University of California v. Bakke – the case that opened the door to “diversity” admissions at America’s colleges and universities. What’s happened since this landmark case is the subject of A Dubious Expediency (Encounter, May ...
To See the Fallacy of H.R. 3 (Lower Drug Costs Now Act) Just Look at the Inflation Data
Railing about sky high drug prices makes good political theater and helps drum up support for the latest attempt to impose drug price controls (H.R. 3 or the Lower Drug Costs Now Act). This accusation also perpetuates misinformation. If implemented, H.R. 3 would endanger patient access to current efficacious medicines ...
Can Legislators Tame California’s Infamously High Impact Fees?
If you haven’t been living under a rock, you know that California is currently in the grips of a worsening housing affordability crisis. I take that back—if you’re living under a rock, you’re probably acutely aware of this fact. Before the pandemic, over half of all California renters spent more ...
6 Solutions to Encourage Family Growth in California
In addressing the nation’s falling fertility rates, many well-meaning pro-natalists advocate for cash incentives and higher tax credits for families with children. Countries with dismal fertility rates, such as Hungary, have introduced generous programs that include subsidies for minivans, a stipend for grandma, and interest-free marriage loans of $36,000 for ...
