Publications
Business & Economics
New Analysis of Orange County Toll Roads
New Analysis of Orange County Toll Roads Reveals Unsustainable Debt Levels, Cost Overruns, Financial Mismanagement, and an est. $1.7 Billion in Taxpayer Subsidies Proposed refinancing plans will add hundreds of millions in debt without addressing fundamental issues, former California Finance Director Donna Arduin finds The Pacific Research Institute released a ...
Business & Economics
Municipal Bankruptcy: An Overview for Local Officials
Cities and other municipalities falling on hard financial times is nothing new, but it is rare that any such entity files for bankruptcy as a way of addressing its massive debts. Out of nearly 89,500 municipalities in the country, there were just 239 municipal bankruptcy filings between 1980 and 2010.1 ...
Health Care
Myths and Realities of Obamacare
Introduction Three years ago on March 23, 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordability Act (Obamacare) was signed into law. With the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on June 28, 2012 that the individual mandate is constitutional under Congress power to tax and the November 6 election results, the law is in ...
Agriculture
New Report Provides Recommendations to Improve CA’s Agriculture Industry
San Francisco The Pacific Research Institute, a free-market think tank based in San Francisco, released a new report today that reviews the state of Californias agriculture production, examines the barriers that are impeding Californias agricultural economy, and provides recommendations for policy reforms that will spur additional growth. Growing Californias ...
California
Educational Impact of the Khan Academy and Provides Recommendations for Greater Adoption in California
The Pacific Research Institute, a free-market think tank based in San Francisco, released a new report today highlighting the successes of the Khan Academy, including improved learning and significant cost savings. The report also discusses the bureaucratic obstacles that hold back its expansion in California and makes recommendations for removing ...
Business & Economics
California’s 33% Renewable Portfolio Standard Will Raise Power Rates by 13 Percent
San Francisco The Pacific Research Institute, a free-market think tank based in San Francisco, released a new report today that finds that Californias 33 percent renewable portfolio standard (RPS) will impose upon the state in 2020 an aggregate marginal economic cost of about $5 billion in year 2011 dollars. ...
Education
Next-Gen Education
The Pacific Research Institute is pleased to co-sponsor the study Education Savings Accounts: A Path to Give All Children an Effective Education and Prepare Them for Life by Jonathan Butcher, Education Director at the Goldwater Institute. Education savings accounts provide an innovative solution to childrens educational needs. Conceived by the ...
Business & Economics
Corporate Income Tax Elasticity: How Republicans Can Have Lower Tax Rates and Democrats Can Collect More Tax Revenue!
When the government increases tax rates, it assumes that it will collect more tax revenue dollars. Generally, this is the case. But there may well be an important exception that occurs because of the elasticity of taxation. Despite the presence of many contaminating variables, a persistent pattern is present in ...
Business & Economics
Deep Reform, Not Window Dressing, for a Cooler, Cleaner California
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) wants car companies to install metallic reflective windows, which regulators believe will reduce energy use and fight global warming. Though possibly well intentioned this plan amounts only to window dressing. Legislators should pursue deeper environmental reforms with more benefits and fewer disadvantages. CARB believes ...
Business & Economics
The Crusade Against Plastic Bags
KEY POINTS An ever-growing number of municipalities are instituting bans on plastic grocery bags in the name of environmental protection; Studies are mixed regarding whether or not such bans offer significant environmental benefits, but claims of rampant environmental harms are suspect; Proponents of bag-bans omit the most important consideration, which ...
New Analysis of Orange County Toll Roads
New Analysis of Orange County Toll Roads Reveals Unsustainable Debt Levels, Cost Overruns, Financial Mismanagement, and an est. $1.7 Billion in Taxpayer Subsidies Proposed refinancing plans will add hundreds of millions in debt without addressing fundamental issues, former California Finance Director Donna Arduin finds The Pacific Research Institute released a ...
Municipal Bankruptcy: An Overview for Local Officials
Cities and other municipalities falling on hard financial times is nothing new, but it is rare that any such entity files for bankruptcy as a way of addressing its massive debts. Out of nearly 89,500 municipalities in the country, there were just 239 municipal bankruptcy filings between 1980 and 2010.1 ...
Myths and Realities of Obamacare
Introduction Three years ago on March 23, 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordability Act (Obamacare) was signed into law. With the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on June 28, 2012 that the individual mandate is constitutional under Congress power to tax and the November 6 election results, the law is in ...
New Report Provides Recommendations to Improve CA’s Agriculture Industry
San Francisco The Pacific Research Institute, a free-market think tank based in San Francisco, released a new report today that reviews the state of Californias agriculture production, examines the barriers that are impeding Californias agricultural economy, and provides recommendations for policy reforms that will spur additional growth. Growing Californias ...
Educational Impact of the Khan Academy and Provides Recommendations for Greater Adoption in California
The Pacific Research Institute, a free-market think tank based in San Francisco, released a new report today highlighting the successes of the Khan Academy, including improved learning and significant cost savings. The report also discusses the bureaucratic obstacles that hold back its expansion in California and makes recommendations for removing ...
California’s 33% Renewable Portfolio Standard Will Raise Power Rates by 13 Percent
San Francisco The Pacific Research Institute, a free-market think tank based in San Francisco, released a new report today that finds that Californias 33 percent renewable portfolio standard (RPS) will impose upon the state in 2020 an aggregate marginal economic cost of about $5 billion in year 2011 dollars. ...
Next-Gen Education
The Pacific Research Institute is pleased to co-sponsor the study Education Savings Accounts: A Path to Give All Children an Effective Education and Prepare Them for Life by Jonathan Butcher, Education Director at the Goldwater Institute. Education savings accounts provide an innovative solution to childrens educational needs. Conceived by the ...
Corporate Income Tax Elasticity: How Republicans Can Have Lower Tax Rates and Democrats Can Collect More Tax Revenue!
When the government increases tax rates, it assumes that it will collect more tax revenue dollars. Generally, this is the case. But there may well be an important exception that occurs because of the elasticity of taxation. Despite the presence of many contaminating variables, a persistent pattern is present in ...
Deep Reform, Not Window Dressing, for a Cooler, Cleaner California
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) wants car companies to install metallic reflective windows, which regulators believe will reduce energy use and fight global warming. Though possibly well intentioned this plan amounts only to window dressing. Legislators should pursue deeper environmental reforms with more benefits and fewer disadvantages. CARB believes ...
The Crusade Against Plastic Bags
KEY POINTS An ever-growing number of municipalities are instituting bans on plastic grocery bags in the name of environmental protection; Studies are mixed regarding whether or not such bans offer significant environmental benefits, but claims of rampant environmental harms are suspect; Proponents of bag-bans omit the most important consideration, which ...
