Business & Economics
Business & Economics
Government Shutdowns Are a Reminder To Privatize
Federal government shutdowns mean many things to different people. For ordinary Americans, they are a reminder of dysfunction in Washington. For partisans, they are an opportunity to blame the other side. But they can also be an opportunity for Americans to reconsider how and why the federal government does some ...
Blog
In the Age of AI, Will Machines Start a Nuke War?
READ THE PDF In the Age of AI, Will Machines Start a Nuke War? In May of last year, China rejected American proposals to limit the use of artificial intelligence for controlling the launch of nuclear weapons. President Joe Biden raised this issue with Xi Jinping in California the preceding ...
Blog
Spending Watch
Lacking Fundamental Reforms, California’s Fiscal Outlook Is Still Dismal
Lacking Fundamental Reforms, California’s Fiscal Outlook Is Still Dismal Wayne Winegarden and Nikhil Agarwal December 2025 The Legislative Analysts’ Office’s (LAO) latest Fiscal Outlook for 2026-27 warns that more budget pain is on the way. The nonpartisan budget analyst’s review concurs with previous PRI Spending Watch analyses where we warned ...
Blog
Trucking and Shipping Latest Victims of California’s “Cruelest Law,” AB 5
If anyone thinks they’re seeing fewer trucks ripping up and down Interstate 5 or slogging through the perpetual 405 gridlock, it might not be their imagination. California law is strangling the freight-hauling business. There has been “a wave of bankruptcies among California trucking companies,” reports Floor Covering News, a trade publication, partially the result of the economic decline of the freight ...
Agriculture
The abundance of Thanksgiving hides the challenges in agriculture
We are a nation that celebrates with food. Birthdays are synonymous with cake and ice cream. Easter is all about eggs and chocolate. Halloween is everyone’s favorite day for candy. But the ultimate in food-related holidays is Thanksgiving. This Thanksgiving, Americans will consume about 46 million turkeys, 77 million hams, ...
Blog
Forget the Trade Deficit, Growing Imports Are a Bullish Sign for the Economy
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) just released its monthly report on international trade in goods and services for August 2025. Based on the news coverage, it would seem that the 23.8 percent decline in the trade deficit was the most important takeaway. And this decline is surely viewed as ...
Business & Economics
Who was really to blame for the government shutdown?
The U.S. government shutdown has finally come to an end after 43 days that resulted in thousands of flights being cancelled or delayed, food aid benefits for millions of Americans being jeopardized and hundreds of thousands of federal workers being furloughed. But the question is: Which party bears responsibility for ...
Business & Economics
Consumers Benefit When Mergers Create Stronger Competitors
Kimberly-Clark is betting $40 billion that, despite the HHS Secretary’s unwarranted accusations about Tylenol, purchasing Kenvue will create synergies that will turn the combined company into a stronger competitor in the consumer health and consumer products sectors. Regardless of whether these gains are ultimately achieved, it is important that they are given the opportunity ...
Blog
The Gordon Chang Report–For China, Demography Is a Grim Destiny
READ THE PDF For China, Demography Is a Grim Destiny “China has embarked on a road of demographic no-return,” writes Wang Feng of the University of California, Irvine. “Left unaddressed, China’s demographic trap could precipitate a civilizational collapse,” Yi Fuxian of the University of Wisconsin-Madison tells us. China will suffer ...
Blog
The Slavers Call for Reparations – We Go “On Metaphor Alert” Again, as AU and EU Debate History
This theme appears to be a final realization of the goals outlined in the African Union’s Abuja Proclamation of 1993. At that time, the group (then technically the Organization of African Unity) stated: “What matters is…the responsibility of those states and nations whose economic evolution once depended on slave labor ...
Government Shutdowns Are a Reminder To Privatize
Federal government shutdowns mean many things to different people. For ordinary Americans, they are a reminder of dysfunction in Washington. For partisans, they are an opportunity to blame the other side. But they can also be an opportunity for Americans to reconsider how and why the federal government does some ...
In the Age of AI, Will Machines Start a Nuke War?
READ THE PDF In the Age of AI, Will Machines Start a Nuke War? In May of last year, China rejected American proposals to limit the use of artificial intelligence for controlling the launch of nuclear weapons. President Joe Biden raised this issue with Xi Jinping in California the preceding ...
Spending Watch
Lacking Fundamental Reforms, California’s Fiscal Outlook Is Still Dismal
Lacking Fundamental Reforms, California’s Fiscal Outlook Is Still Dismal Wayne Winegarden and Nikhil Agarwal December 2025 The Legislative Analysts’ Office’s (LAO) latest Fiscal Outlook for 2026-27 warns that more budget pain is on the way. The nonpartisan budget analyst’s review concurs with previous PRI Spending Watch analyses where we warned ...
Trucking and Shipping Latest Victims of California’s “Cruelest Law,” AB 5
If anyone thinks they’re seeing fewer trucks ripping up and down Interstate 5 or slogging through the perpetual 405 gridlock, it might not be their imagination. California law is strangling the freight-hauling business. There has been “a wave of bankruptcies among California trucking companies,” reports Floor Covering News, a trade publication, partially the result of the economic decline of the freight ...
The abundance of Thanksgiving hides the challenges in agriculture
We are a nation that celebrates with food. Birthdays are synonymous with cake and ice cream. Easter is all about eggs and chocolate. Halloween is everyone’s favorite day for candy. But the ultimate in food-related holidays is Thanksgiving. This Thanksgiving, Americans will consume about 46 million turkeys, 77 million hams, ...
Forget the Trade Deficit, Growing Imports Are a Bullish Sign for the Economy
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) just released its monthly report on international trade in goods and services for August 2025. Based on the news coverage, it would seem that the 23.8 percent decline in the trade deficit was the most important takeaway. And this decline is surely viewed as ...
Who was really to blame for the government shutdown?
The U.S. government shutdown has finally come to an end after 43 days that resulted in thousands of flights being cancelled or delayed, food aid benefits for millions of Americans being jeopardized and hundreds of thousands of federal workers being furloughed. But the question is: Which party bears responsibility for ...
Consumers Benefit When Mergers Create Stronger Competitors
Kimberly-Clark is betting $40 billion that, despite the HHS Secretary’s unwarranted accusations about Tylenol, purchasing Kenvue will create synergies that will turn the combined company into a stronger competitor in the consumer health and consumer products sectors. Regardless of whether these gains are ultimately achieved, it is important that they are given the opportunity ...
The Gordon Chang Report–For China, Demography Is a Grim Destiny
READ THE PDF For China, Demography Is a Grim Destiny “China has embarked on a road of demographic no-return,” writes Wang Feng of the University of California, Irvine. “Left unaddressed, China’s demographic trap could precipitate a civilizational collapse,” Yi Fuxian of the University of Wisconsin-Madison tells us. China will suffer ...
The Slavers Call for Reparations – We Go “On Metaphor Alert” Again, as AU and EU Debate History
This theme appears to be a final realization of the goals outlined in the African Union’s Abuja Proclamation of 1993. At that time, the group (then technically the Organization of African Unity) stated: “What matters is…the responsibility of those states and nations whose economic evolution once depended on slave labor ...
