Matthew Fleming

Blog

Government Shutdown Threatens Billions in IPO Funding

The federal government has been shut down since October 1 because of a funding disagreement between Democrats and Republicans in Washington. Though a deal could theoretically be struck at any moment, there does not appear to be any end in sight. Only services deemed essential are permitted through the shutdown, which means ...
California

California’s weak job market is a cry for help. Is anyone listening?

California’s job market continues to suffer from largely self-inflicted wounds, despite the fact that the overall economy is growing. In April, Gov. Gavin Newsom projected that California’s economy had grown larger than Japan’s, making it the fourth largest in the world (if it were its own economy, which it’s not). ...
Blog

BOOK REVIEW: ‘Abundance’ by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson

BOOK REVIEW: ‘Abundance’ By Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson By Matthew Fleming  |  July 25, 2025 “Abundance,” a new book by liberal thought leaders Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, makes the case that a sustainable future doesn’t need to be driven by the politics of scarcity we see dominating America’s urban ...
Blog

More Rent Control Makes Things Worse

Rent control is the bad penny legislation that keeps turning up in California. It is widely regarded as crummy economic policy by economists, it ultimately leads to rental shortages and higher rents and it is based on the faulty idea that private property is somehow public property. And yet, here ...
Blog

Newsom’s Diaper Plan Stinks

Why a new program when the old one is working ok? The state argues that there are gaps in the existing program, which targets low-income parents. Instead of simply filling the gaps, the state wants to impose some elaborate scheme that is akin to killing a gnat with a shotgun. ...
Blog

Gavin Newsom claims California taxes aren’t high. Here is why he’s wrong

Gavin Newsom claims California taxes aren’t high. Here is why he’s wrong Originally published in Sacramento Bee by Matt Fleming READ MORE Gov. Gavin Newsom often claims California is not a high-tax state. “So, this notion of even being a high tax state is B.S.,” Newsom podcasted in March. “Sixteen ...
Blog

Even liberal cities are taking steps to boost housing construction

The very liberal city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, just accepted the reality that excessive government regulations prevent adequate housing production. The city imposed what is being hailed as “one of the most ambitious changes to any city’s zoning in decades” by eliminating exclusionary zoning (permitting only single family homes) and allowing residential buildings ...
Commentary

Give students a chance, revive the parent trigger law

Just over a decade ago, parents and students trapped in failing schools had a way out, known as the Parent Empowerment Law. Unfortunately, the law was murdered in the dark and has been almost entirely forgotten. Read the entire op-ed.
Basic Income

Compton: cities learn wrong lessons from ‘free money’ program

Compton: cities learn wrong lessons from ‘free money’ program By Matthew Fleming | February 21, 2025 The results of the largest city-based experiment with what happens when low-income families receive free money from the government were just published and apparently nothing was learned. And nothing was learned because lovers of ...
California

The vanishing electric vehicle advantage

The theory is that though upfront costs are higher, EV “refueling” holds a major advantage of electric vehicles over their gas-powered counterparts. EVs do not require gasoline, which California has taxed and regulated into oblivion, sending prices soaring; instead they rely on electricity that costs less. But those savings are ...
Blog

Government Shutdown Threatens Billions in IPO Funding

The federal government has been shut down since October 1 because of a funding disagreement between Democrats and Republicans in Washington. Though a deal could theoretically be struck at any moment, there does not appear to be any end in sight. Only services deemed essential are permitted through the shutdown, which means ...
California

California’s weak job market is a cry for help. Is anyone listening?

California’s job market continues to suffer from largely self-inflicted wounds, despite the fact that the overall economy is growing. In April, Gov. Gavin Newsom projected that California’s economy had grown larger than Japan’s, making it the fourth largest in the world (if it were its own economy, which it’s not). ...
Blog

BOOK REVIEW: ‘Abundance’ by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson

BOOK REVIEW: ‘Abundance’ By Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson By Matthew Fleming  |  July 25, 2025 “Abundance,” a new book by liberal thought leaders Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, makes the case that a sustainable future doesn’t need to be driven by the politics of scarcity we see dominating America’s urban ...
Blog

More Rent Control Makes Things Worse

Rent control is the bad penny legislation that keeps turning up in California. It is widely regarded as crummy economic policy by economists, it ultimately leads to rental shortages and higher rents and it is based on the faulty idea that private property is somehow public property. And yet, here ...
Blog

Newsom’s Diaper Plan Stinks

Why a new program when the old one is working ok? The state argues that there are gaps in the existing program, which targets low-income parents. Instead of simply filling the gaps, the state wants to impose some elaborate scheme that is akin to killing a gnat with a shotgun. ...
Blog

Gavin Newsom claims California taxes aren’t high. Here is why he’s wrong

Gavin Newsom claims California taxes aren’t high. Here is why he’s wrong Originally published in Sacramento Bee by Matt Fleming READ MORE Gov. Gavin Newsom often claims California is not a high-tax state. “So, this notion of even being a high tax state is B.S.,” Newsom podcasted in March. “Sixteen ...
Blog

Even liberal cities are taking steps to boost housing construction

The very liberal city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, just accepted the reality that excessive government regulations prevent adequate housing production. The city imposed what is being hailed as “one of the most ambitious changes to any city’s zoning in decades” by eliminating exclusionary zoning (permitting only single family homes) and allowing residential buildings ...
Commentary

Give students a chance, revive the parent trigger law

Just over a decade ago, parents and students trapped in failing schools had a way out, known as the Parent Empowerment Law. Unfortunately, the law was murdered in the dark and has been almost entirely forgotten. Read the entire op-ed.
Basic Income

Compton: cities learn wrong lessons from ‘free money’ program

Compton: cities learn wrong lessons from ‘free money’ program By Matthew Fleming | February 21, 2025 The results of the largest city-based experiment with what happens when low-income families receive free money from the government were just published and apparently nothing was learned. And nothing was learned because lovers of ...
California

The vanishing electric vehicle advantage

The theory is that though upfront costs are higher, EV “refueling” holds a major advantage of electric vehicles over their gas-powered counterparts. EVs do not require gasoline, which California has taxed and regulated into oblivion, sending prices soaring; instead they rely on electricity that costs less. But those savings are ...
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