Wayne Winegarden

Commentary

Learn why drug price controls don't work

The Expected Consequences Of Price Controls

The intended consequence of the policy is to reduce overall spending on drugs, but all regulations have unintended consequences, too. While these consequences may be unintended, they need not be unexpected. In the case of the IRA, these unintended impacts now threaten to undermine the entire purpose of the policy. ...
Blog

Read the latest on California's outmigration problem

Don’t Forget About Migration’s Long-term Implications

This exodus reflects the migrant’s view that California no longer offers a competitive lifestyle, and the state provides residents with inadequate economic opportunities. But the exodus from the state is not simply a statement on the Golden State’s current maladies. When people migrate, they take their income and economic activity ...
Business & Economics

NEW BRIEF: CalPERS’ Political Agenda Puts Taxpayers and Retirees at Risk with Low Returns, Higher Unfunded Liabilities

SACRAMENTO – CalPERS – which adheres to a politicized Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) agenda – is generating lower returns in its investment strategies compared to a more typical investment strategy, finds a new brief released today by the Pacific Research Institute, a non-partisan California-based free market think tank. CalPERS ...
Blog

Spending Watch

California’s Expensive but Ineffective Income Support Spending

California’s Expensive but Ineffective Income Support Spending Wayne Winegarden August 2024 Including federal, state, and local funds, California’s per capita spending on income support programs is 81 percent higher than the average expenditures for all other states – per capita spending of $3,869 compared to $2,141. These expenditures include “cash ...
Commentary

Learn about the damage from lawsuit abuse

Tort Abuses Threat To Innovation And Product Availability

Not only is continued invention necessary for expanding our prosperity, but it is also key for mitigating problems such as global climate change or finding new technologies and treatments for troubling health conditions. Take the state and municipal lawsuits being filed against energy companies as an example. When announcing his ...
Blog

CAPITAL IDEAS: Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Undermines the Social Responsibility of Businesses and Investment Managers

The concepts behind Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing and management are the latest theory trying to address a long-standing question: What is the appropriate social function of a business? This question predates Milton Friedman’s 1970 New York Times piece “The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits,” ...
Blog

Read why latest employer is leaving California

Chevron’s Departure Highlights California’s Risky Economic Future

Companies have been decamping from California for greener pastures so frequently that, in some ways, Chevron’s announcement is barely newsworthy. The particulars of Chevron’s decision are important, however, because they exemplify the large economic risks California’s policymakers are taking. Judged by their actions, California’s political leaders, including Governor Newsom, have ...
Commentary

The Anti-Competitive Middlemen Harming Pharmacies And Patients

Astonishing drug innovations are improving the lives of patients including those living with cancer and autoimmune disorders. These innovations also expose the payment system’s fundamental flaws. The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) recently released interim report on pharmacy middlemen demonstrates that these flaws impose a high cost on patients and neighborhood pharmacies. These ...
Commentary

FERC Is Considering Policies That Would Threaten Energy Reliability

Reliable and affordable energy is essential. Without it, many dire consequences will arise. Unreliable and unaffordable energy poses serious health risks – particularly for the elderly, increases the costs of food, disrupts business activity harming economic growth, and makes it more difficult for children to study. Maintaining an efficient energy ...
Health Care

NEW BRIEF: Washington Must End Physician Price Controls, Reform Medicare Payment System to Prevent Doctor Shortages

SACRAMENTO – A new brief released today by the Center for Medical Economics and Innovation at the nonpartisan Pacific Research Institute finds that artificially low reimbursement rates used by Medicare to contain costs are threatening patient care, and reform is needed to prevent future doctor shortages. Click to download the ...
Commentary

Learn why drug price controls don't work

The Expected Consequences Of Price Controls

The intended consequence of the policy is to reduce overall spending on drugs, but all regulations have unintended consequences, too. While these consequences may be unintended, they need not be unexpected. In the case of the IRA, these unintended impacts now threaten to undermine the entire purpose of the policy. ...
Blog

Read the latest on California's outmigration problem

Don’t Forget About Migration’s Long-term Implications

This exodus reflects the migrant’s view that California no longer offers a competitive lifestyle, and the state provides residents with inadequate economic opportunities. But the exodus from the state is not simply a statement on the Golden State’s current maladies. When people migrate, they take their income and economic activity ...
Business & Economics

NEW BRIEF: CalPERS’ Political Agenda Puts Taxpayers and Retirees at Risk with Low Returns, Higher Unfunded Liabilities

SACRAMENTO – CalPERS – which adheres to a politicized Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) agenda – is generating lower returns in its investment strategies compared to a more typical investment strategy, finds a new brief released today by the Pacific Research Institute, a non-partisan California-based free market think tank. CalPERS ...
Blog

Spending Watch

California’s Expensive but Ineffective Income Support Spending

California’s Expensive but Ineffective Income Support Spending Wayne Winegarden August 2024 Including federal, state, and local funds, California’s per capita spending on income support programs is 81 percent higher than the average expenditures for all other states – per capita spending of $3,869 compared to $2,141. These expenditures include “cash ...
Commentary

Learn about the damage from lawsuit abuse

Tort Abuses Threat To Innovation And Product Availability

Not only is continued invention necessary for expanding our prosperity, but it is also key for mitigating problems such as global climate change or finding new technologies and treatments for troubling health conditions. Take the state and municipal lawsuits being filed against energy companies as an example. When announcing his ...
Blog

CAPITAL IDEAS: Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Undermines the Social Responsibility of Businesses and Investment Managers

The concepts behind Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing and management are the latest theory trying to address a long-standing question: What is the appropriate social function of a business? This question predates Milton Friedman’s 1970 New York Times piece “The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits,” ...
Blog

Read why latest employer is leaving California

Chevron’s Departure Highlights California’s Risky Economic Future

Companies have been decamping from California for greener pastures so frequently that, in some ways, Chevron’s announcement is barely newsworthy. The particulars of Chevron’s decision are important, however, because they exemplify the large economic risks California’s policymakers are taking. Judged by their actions, California’s political leaders, including Governor Newsom, have ...
Commentary

The Anti-Competitive Middlemen Harming Pharmacies And Patients

Astonishing drug innovations are improving the lives of patients including those living with cancer and autoimmune disorders. These innovations also expose the payment system’s fundamental flaws. The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) recently released interim report on pharmacy middlemen demonstrates that these flaws impose a high cost on patients and neighborhood pharmacies. These ...
Commentary

FERC Is Considering Policies That Would Threaten Energy Reliability

Reliable and affordable energy is essential. Without it, many dire consequences will arise. Unreliable and unaffordable energy poses serious health risks – particularly for the elderly, increases the costs of food, disrupts business activity harming economic growth, and makes it more difficult for children to study. Maintaining an efficient energy ...
Health Care

NEW BRIEF: Washington Must End Physician Price Controls, Reform Medicare Payment System to Prevent Doctor Shortages

SACRAMENTO – A new brief released today by the Center for Medical Economics and Innovation at the nonpartisan Pacific Research Institute finds that artificially low reimbursement rates used by Medicare to contain costs are threatening patient care, and reform is needed to prevent future doctor shortages. Click to download the ...
Scroll to Top