Pacific Research Institute | California Studies

Capital Ideas: California Ranked Last Again – Do Lawmakers Even Care?

November 06, 2018

California

DOWNLOAD THE PDF Keeping track of the many informative lists in which California ranks at or near the bottom is a wearying task. It is also discouraging. This state, once the envy of all others, is losing its luster because policymakers continue to take it down...

CAPITAL IDEAS: California Plays Fast and Loose with Food Stamp Work Requirements

September 20, 2018

California

Download the PDF California, not West Virginia, not Mississippi, has the highest poverty rate among the 50 states. Blame policymakers who, rather than solving the problem, have inflamed it. In fact, California officials have gone out of their way to keep hundreds of thousands dependent on...

New PRI Chartbook Shows California’s Public Pension Monster Has Grown to Nearly $1 Trillion

September 05, 2018

New PRI-Open the Books Chartbook Shows California’s Public Pension Monster Has Grown to Nearly $1 Trillion More Realistic Market Estimate Show State Pension Funds are Just 28 Percent Funded...

CAPITAL IDEAS: Is Blue State California’s Agenda America’s Future?

August 30, 2018

California

Download PDF Originally published in PRI’s Impact magazine, Summer 2018 An article that posits California as the model for the country’s future recently picked up some traffic, thanks to an affirming tweet from Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, who called it a “great read.” We’d say it’s...

CAPITAL IDEAS: More Competition Will Help Consumers Needing Quick Cash

August 14, 2018

California

Open the PDF California lawmakers have had several chances to handcuff payday lenders, and in each instance, they were either unable to, or chose not to. Naturally, some see this as a series of missed opportunities. We understand the reaction. But this is an industry that...

CAPITAL IDEAS – Choice Robbers: California Nannies Won’t Give Up

July 26, 2018

Download the PDF When the Legislature declared a moratorium on cities enacting soda taxes, it felt like a win for freedom and a pushback of interventionism. But the busybodies never give up and they plow a fertile field in California, which has no rival as a...

CAPITAL IDEAS: A Futuristic and Cheaper Alternative to High-Speed Rail

June 27, 2018

Download the PDF California’s “bullet” train to nowhere keeps going -- nowhere. Unless tearing down a bridge just to rebuild it is somewhere. Construction of an overpass near Fresno was scrapped late last year—yes, we’re learning about this just now because it was done “quietly”—because, according to...

CAPITAL IDEAS: Will We Ever Build More Water Storage in California?

April 10, 2018

California

Read the PDF It’s not elected officials’ fault if it doesn’t rain. But they are largely responsible for the issues that arise when it doesn’t. That’s why California’s most-recent drought was often referred to as man-made. The next one, which will reportedly arrive this year, should...

CAPITAL IDEAS: What Executives in High-Demand Industries are Saying About Moving to California

March 19, 2018

DOWNLOAD THE PDF California has a deserved reputation for losing businesses to states where companies believe their commercial prospects are more promising. At the same time, businesses that stay are too often reluctant to expand in-state while many outside are unwilling to relocate or extend their...

New PRI Survey: Housing, Education, Business Climate Top Reasons Why Industries Aren’t Moving to California

February 28, 2018

New PRI Survey: Housing, Education, Business Climate Top Reasons Why Highly-Desired Industries Aren’t Moving to California Survey Gives Insight into Location Decisions of R&D, Clean Tech, Manufacturing Execs ...