Wayne Winegarden and Kerry Jackson
California
There’s inflation – and then there’s Gavin Newsom’s grade inflation
Democrats running for governor in California have said in recent debates that Gavin Newsom deserves high grades for his performance –– mostly B’s, and even A’s. To many Californians, that sounds like grade inflation. Nearly one in five Californians are considered poor –– the highest rate in the country –– ...
Wayne Winegarden and Kerry Jackson
April 30, 2026
California
California’s Economy: Strong Claims, Weak Foundations
To listen to Gov. Gavin Newsom, California is still the nation’s economic leader. In his April 9 news release, he crows, “California continues to outperform every other state.” Rosy reports from politicians are not an accurate barometer of real conditions. According to the latest Bureau of Economic Analysis data, California’s ...
Wayne Winegarden and Kerry Jackson
April 17, 2026
Business & Economics
New PRI Study Finds California Job Growth Lags Nation, High Costs Turn State’s Income Advantage into 35% Deficit
A new study released today by the Pacific Research Institute finds that California’s economic performance has fallen sharply behind the rest of the nation, with job growth since the COVID-19 pandemic at less than half the national rate, while the state’s high cost of living is erasing its income advantage. ...
Wayne Winegarden and Kerry Jackson
April 9, 2026
Blog
California Is Falling Behind On Jobs: Can It Move Beyond The Crossroads?
While the state has become known for its mounting troubles, at least the California economy is growing. But all isn’t as well as it might seem. When compared the rest of the country, California’s jobs market is one of the weakest. Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics show California’s total employment ...
Wayne Winegarden and Kerry Jackson
February 25, 2026
Blog
There Is No Mystery Surcharge Driving Up California’s Gasoline Costs
Gov. Gavin Newsom continues to puzzle over a “mystery surcharge” for gasoline. The enigmatic fee was first identified in 2017 by Severin Borenstein, an energy economist at the University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. It explains, he says, “the extra amount we pay for gas that can’t be ...
Wayne Winegarden and Kerry Jackson
November 12, 2025
Blog
Learn about the latest Newsom plan on homelessness
Fixing Years Of Missteps On Homelessness
“There’s nothing compassionate about letting people die on the streets,” Newson said announcing the model ordinance. The plan would make it unlawful to set up camps “for the purpose of sleeping, lying, or sheltering one or more persons for more than three consecutive days or nights in the same location.” ...
Wayne Winegarden and Kerry Jackson
July 26, 2025
California
California’s green new scam could cost you $20,000
California has long fancied itself a beacon of environmental progress, a state willing to lead the charge in combating global warming. But the reality is that this pursuit of a “green” future is coming at a staggering cost to California consumers and businesses, a cost that’s becoming increasingly unsustainable. Read ...
Wayne Winegarden and Kerry Jackson
May 7, 2025
California
New Study Reveals Soaring Costs of California’s Green Energy Transition
As the US marks Earth Day, a new study released today by the Pacific Research Institute, a nonpartisan, California-based, free-market think tank, reveals the staggering costs California consumers and businesses will incur as the state pursues its aggressive green energy mandates. The paper, “The Cost of Going Green,” provides a ...
Wayne Winegarden and Kerry Jackson
April 22, 2025
Blog
Sanctuary State for The Homeless
Not all of California’s homelessness problems can be blamed on poor public policy. But much of it is due to statutes and ordinances that have incentivized vagrancy. This should not be in dispute and should inform policymaking today and in the future. But apparently some don’t see it that way. ...
Wayne Winegarden and Kerry Jackson
April 8, 2025
Climate Change
Learn how municipal climate change lawsuits hurt consumers
Bonta’s legal war on energy companies will punish ordinary Californians
Neither are heroic efforts to safeguard the environment. The former will primarily harm families by worsening the nation’s pervasive affordability problems. The second is a clear effort to extract “multiple billions” from ExxonMobil while maximizing political optics in a state where the majority of voters will support anything they are ...
Wayne Winegarden and Kerry Jackson
September 25, 2024
There’s inflation – and then there’s Gavin Newsom’s grade inflation
Democrats running for governor in California have said in recent debates that Gavin Newsom deserves high grades for his performance –– mostly B’s, and even A’s. To many Californians, that sounds like grade inflation. Nearly one in five Californians are considered poor –– the highest rate in the country –– ...
California’s Economy: Strong Claims, Weak Foundations
To listen to Gov. Gavin Newsom, California is still the nation’s economic leader. In his April 9 news release, he crows, “California continues to outperform every other state.” Rosy reports from politicians are not an accurate barometer of real conditions. According to the latest Bureau of Economic Analysis data, California’s ...
New PRI Study Finds California Job Growth Lags Nation, High Costs Turn State’s Income Advantage into 35% Deficit
A new study released today by the Pacific Research Institute finds that California’s economic performance has fallen sharply behind the rest of the nation, with job growth since the COVID-19 pandemic at less than half the national rate, while the state’s high cost of living is erasing its income advantage. ...
California Is Falling Behind On Jobs: Can It Move Beyond The Crossroads?
While the state has become known for its mounting troubles, at least the California economy is growing. But all isn’t as well as it might seem. When compared the rest of the country, California’s jobs market is one of the weakest. Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics show California’s total employment ...
There Is No Mystery Surcharge Driving Up California’s Gasoline Costs
Gov. Gavin Newsom continues to puzzle over a “mystery surcharge” for gasoline. The enigmatic fee was first identified in 2017 by Severin Borenstein, an energy economist at the University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. It explains, he says, “the extra amount we pay for gas that can’t be ...
Learn about the latest Newsom plan on homelessness
Fixing Years Of Missteps On Homelessness
“There’s nothing compassionate about letting people die on the streets,” Newson said announcing the model ordinance. The plan would make it unlawful to set up camps “for the purpose of sleeping, lying, or sheltering one or more persons for more than three consecutive days or nights in the same location.” ...
California’s green new scam could cost you $20,000
California has long fancied itself a beacon of environmental progress, a state willing to lead the charge in combating global warming. But the reality is that this pursuit of a “green” future is coming at a staggering cost to California consumers and businesses, a cost that’s becoming increasingly unsustainable. Read ...
New Study Reveals Soaring Costs of California’s Green Energy Transition
As the US marks Earth Day, a new study released today by the Pacific Research Institute, a nonpartisan, California-based, free-market think tank, reveals the staggering costs California consumers and businesses will incur as the state pursues its aggressive green energy mandates. The paper, “The Cost of Going Green,” provides a ...
Sanctuary State for The Homeless
Not all of California’s homelessness problems can be blamed on poor public policy. But much of it is due to statutes and ordinances that have incentivized vagrancy. This should not be in dispute and should inform policymaking today and in the future. But apparently some don’t see it that way. ...
Learn how municipal climate change lawsuits hurt consumers
Bonta’s legal war on energy companies will punish ordinary Californians
Neither are heroic efforts to safeguard the environment. The former will primarily harm families by worsening the nation’s pervasive affordability problems. The second is a clear effort to extract “multiple billions” from ExxonMobil while maximizing political optics in a state where the majority of voters will support anything they are ...