Jason Clemens
Business & Economics
Tax Freedom Day comes later in California
Californians sweating to complete tax returns by April 15 may be unaware that another milestone occurs the very next day. California’s Tax Freedom Day will arrive on April 16. This should trouble Californians for a number of reasons. For the nation as a whole, Tax Freedom Day arrives on April ...
Business & Economics
California’s three-step recovery
As conflicts rage across the Midwest between state governments intent on solving their budget crises and public-sector unions trying to protect the status quo, there has been a worrisome calmness in Sacramento. This is a sure sign that California leaders are refusing to make hard decisions, in a state whose ...
Business & Economics
Brown ignores state’s competitiveness
Gov. Jerry Brown’s fiscal 2011-12 budget aims to close the state’s projected $26.4 billion deficit with a combination of tax measures and targeted spending cuts. While a welcome change from gimmicks that only defer the problem, the budget ignores long-term competitiveness problems that plague the Golden State. Gov. Brown proposes ...
Business & Economics
Radical rethink for state workers’ pay
Never-ending deficits and unemployment at 12-percent-plus are just two illustrations of a seriously sick California economy. Many sensible solutions have been discarded out of hand because of the power of public-sector unions. The challenge for state leaders is to make these unions part of the solution instead of the problem. ...
Business & Economics
The size (of our government) really does matter
To balance the state budget, more than $20 billion in the red, California legislators are fighting over spending cuts. Legislators also disagree whether California government is too big. Fortunately, there is a way to quantify the size of government, and all Californians will find it illuminating. Most discussions about the ...
Business & Economics
Californians Deserve Value For Their Tax Dollars
Last week’s election, ushering in Jerry Brown as Governor-elect and changing passage of the state budget from two-thirds to a majority vote, will impact how legislators reconcile California’s budget deficit. Missing in the debate between higher taxes and less spending is whether current spending provides Californians value for their money. ...
Business & Economics
Voting against jobs in California
Buried under the political headlines in California, which largely focus on Jerry Brown’s gubernatorial victory, Barbara Boxer’s winning a fourth Senate term and the Republican takeover of the House of Representatives, lie two ballot decisions that will have serious long-lasting consequences for the California economy. The first is the rejection ...
Business & Economics
“California Government Oversized”
Interview: PRI Research Director Jason Clemens San Francisco- California government can do more with fewer taxpayer dollars, according to a new study released today by the Pacific Research Institute (PRI), a free-market think tank based in San Francisco. No Bang for the Taxpayer’s Buck: Why California Must Reform Spending and ...
Business & Economics
Memo to DC: Don’t follow California’s bad example
In instance after instance, Washington has mimicked the failed policies of the Golden State. For the sake of the nation, it’s time Washington stopped following California and started heading in a new direction. Between the budget and legislation such as Obamacare, the Democrats have proposed large-scale increases in taxes on ...
Business & Economics
World Series policy lessons
Much of California and Texas are in a state of baseball euphoria. Either the San Francisco Giants or the Texas Rangers will win their first World Series title this week. (The Giants won it in 1954 but were a New York team then.) Unfortunately for Californians, the shared state of ...
Tax Freedom Day comes later in California
Californians sweating to complete tax returns by April 15 may be unaware that another milestone occurs the very next day. California’s Tax Freedom Day will arrive on April 16. This should trouble Californians for a number of reasons. For the nation as a whole, Tax Freedom Day arrives on April ...
California’s three-step recovery
As conflicts rage across the Midwest between state governments intent on solving their budget crises and public-sector unions trying to protect the status quo, there has been a worrisome calmness in Sacramento. This is a sure sign that California leaders are refusing to make hard decisions, in a state whose ...
Brown ignores state’s competitiveness
Gov. Jerry Brown’s fiscal 2011-12 budget aims to close the state’s projected $26.4 billion deficit with a combination of tax measures and targeted spending cuts. While a welcome change from gimmicks that only defer the problem, the budget ignores long-term competitiveness problems that plague the Golden State. Gov. Brown proposes ...
Radical rethink for state workers’ pay
Never-ending deficits and unemployment at 12-percent-plus are just two illustrations of a seriously sick California economy. Many sensible solutions have been discarded out of hand because of the power of public-sector unions. The challenge for state leaders is to make these unions part of the solution instead of the problem. ...
The size (of our government) really does matter
To balance the state budget, more than $20 billion in the red, California legislators are fighting over spending cuts. Legislators also disagree whether California government is too big. Fortunately, there is a way to quantify the size of government, and all Californians will find it illuminating. Most discussions about the ...
Californians Deserve Value For Their Tax Dollars
Last week’s election, ushering in Jerry Brown as Governor-elect and changing passage of the state budget from two-thirds to a majority vote, will impact how legislators reconcile California’s budget deficit. Missing in the debate between higher taxes and less spending is whether current spending provides Californians value for their money. ...
Voting against jobs in California
Buried under the political headlines in California, which largely focus on Jerry Brown’s gubernatorial victory, Barbara Boxer’s winning a fourth Senate term and the Republican takeover of the House of Representatives, lie two ballot decisions that will have serious long-lasting consequences for the California economy. The first is the rejection ...
“California Government Oversized”
Interview: PRI Research Director Jason Clemens San Francisco- California government can do more with fewer taxpayer dollars, according to a new study released today by the Pacific Research Institute (PRI), a free-market think tank based in San Francisco. No Bang for the Taxpayer’s Buck: Why California Must Reform Spending and ...
Memo to DC: Don’t follow California’s bad example
In instance after instance, Washington has mimicked the failed policies of the Golden State. For the sake of the nation, it’s time Washington stopped following California and started heading in a new direction. Between the budget and legislation such as Obamacare, the Democrats have proposed large-scale increases in taxes on ...
World Series policy lessons
Much of California and Texas are in a state of baseball euphoria. Either the San Francisco Giants or the Texas Rangers will win their first World Series title this week. (The Giants won it in 1954 but were a New York team then.) Unfortunately for Californians, the shared state of ...
