Economy
Blog
Slowing Consumption Poses an Additional Fiscal Threat to California
The California New Car Dealers Associationnotes that total new vehicle registrations in the state stagnated in 2024 and are expected to decline slightly in 2025. The California Chamber of Commerce reports that tourism, which generated over $12 billion in tax revenue from both international and domestic visitors in 2024, is ...
Blog
Learn why California's unemployment rate is rising
Disaster looms with California’s high unemployment
Currently, California currently ranks as the fourth-highest unemployment rate of any state (including the District of Columbia) in the nation, at 5.3 percent. California’s unemployment rate steadily increased by a full percentage point between March 2023 and September 2024 and, despite continued economic growth, has plateaued ever since. By contrast, ...
Blog
Read about the new LA $30 minimum wage
Job Losses, Cancelled Projects Follows LA Passing $30 Minimum Wage
The City Council, operating as if in bubble that can’t be penetrated by real-world economic behavior, voted on May 23 to hike the minimum wage for hotel and airport workers from the current $17.28 (due to rise to $17.81 on July 1) for all workers to $30. If the raise ...
Blog
How does California’s employment growth compare with the rest of the US?
Gov. Gavin Newsom and California’s progressives point to the Trump Administration’s imposition of tariffs as a reason for its economic slowdown, and the LAO acknowledges that unpredictable policymaking at the federal level puts California’s ‘fragile economy at risk.’ But while California’s ports have seen a decline in economic activity over ...
Blog
Why Your Next Bottle of French Champagne Could Cost More: Tariffs & US Sparkling Wine Options
When I read the news that prices on French Champagne could soon be soaring under President Trump’s tariff plan, my first response was to quickly get to my nearest Costco. Veuve Clicquot champagne, still made much like it was when first developed over 200 years ago by the “Grande Dame” ...
Business & Economics
An economist explains what trade deficits really mean
Believing the myth that trade deficits are bad, the Trump Administration imposed global reciprocal tariffs this week. The proposal threatens to derail economic prosperity and trigger a barn burner of a recession. The fallacy of this myth can be clearly seen in the U.S. economic data. Over the last half-century ...
Business & Economics
Louisiana Is Litigating Away Its Economic Prosperity
Numerous Louisiana parishes are suing oil and gas companies over coastal erosion. A Plaquemines Parish courtroom has a front row seat to one of the more high-dollar cases taking place where the plaintiffs have reportedly asked for more than $3 billion in damages from just one of the defendants. Undoubtedly ...
Business & Economics
Trade Wars Hurt Farmers
Before promising to impose tariffs on our nearest trade partners — Mexico and Canada — President Donald Trump told American farmers that they should get ready to sell more of their products domestically. The trouble with that optimism is that most farms are not corporate giants, but family operations that ...
Business & Economics
Robust Tech Company Investment Show The Folly Of Trump’s Tariffs
On February 24th, Apple announced that, over the next four years, the company will invest $500 billion into U.S. advanced manufacturing and high-tech initiatives such as artificial intelligence and silicon engineering. Additionally, the company expects to hire 20,000 people over this time frame. These investments will make important contributions to ...
Business & Economics
Housing Unaffordability Is A Policy Choice Not A Technology Problem
Trying to deflect the blame for the growing problem of housing affordability, politicians across the country are channeling their inner Captain Louis Renault and “rounding up the usual suspects”. In this case, the usual suspects are property landlords using algorithmic software to better understand the local market dynamics. Read the ...
Slowing Consumption Poses an Additional Fiscal Threat to California
The California New Car Dealers Associationnotes that total new vehicle registrations in the state stagnated in 2024 and are expected to decline slightly in 2025. The California Chamber of Commerce reports that tourism, which generated over $12 billion in tax revenue from both international and domestic visitors in 2024, is ...
Learn why California's unemployment rate is rising
Disaster looms with California’s high unemployment
Currently, California currently ranks as the fourth-highest unemployment rate of any state (including the District of Columbia) in the nation, at 5.3 percent. California’s unemployment rate steadily increased by a full percentage point between March 2023 and September 2024 and, despite continued economic growth, has plateaued ever since. By contrast, ...
Read about the new LA $30 minimum wage
Job Losses, Cancelled Projects Follows LA Passing $30 Minimum Wage
The City Council, operating as if in bubble that can’t be penetrated by real-world economic behavior, voted on May 23 to hike the minimum wage for hotel and airport workers from the current $17.28 (due to rise to $17.81 on July 1) for all workers to $30. If the raise ...
How does California’s employment growth compare with the rest of the US?
Gov. Gavin Newsom and California’s progressives point to the Trump Administration’s imposition of tariffs as a reason for its economic slowdown, and the LAO acknowledges that unpredictable policymaking at the federal level puts California’s ‘fragile economy at risk.’ But while California’s ports have seen a decline in economic activity over ...
Why Your Next Bottle of French Champagne Could Cost More: Tariffs & US Sparkling Wine Options
When I read the news that prices on French Champagne could soon be soaring under President Trump’s tariff plan, my first response was to quickly get to my nearest Costco. Veuve Clicquot champagne, still made much like it was when first developed over 200 years ago by the “Grande Dame” ...
An economist explains what trade deficits really mean
Believing the myth that trade deficits are bad, the Trump Administration imposed global reciprocal tariffs this week. The proposal threatens to derail economic prosperity and trigger a barn burner of a recession. The fallacy of this myth can be clearly seen in the U.S. economic data. Over the last half-century ...
Louisiana Is Litigating Away Its Economic Prosperity
Numerous Louisiana parishes are suing oil and gas companies over coastal erosion. A Plaquemines Parish courtroom has a front row seat to one of the more high-dollar cases taking place where the plaintiffs have reportedly asked for more than $3 billion in damages from just one of the defendants. Undoubtedly ...
Trade Wars Hurt Farmers
Before promising to impose tariffs on our nearest trade partners — Mexico and Canada — President Donald Trump told American farmers that they should get ready to sell more of their products domestically. The trouble with that optimism is that most farms are not corporate giants, but family operations that ...
Robust Tech Company Investment Show The Folly Of Trump’s Tariffs
On February 24th, Apple announced that, over the next four years, the company will invest $500 billion into U.S. advanced manufacturing and high-tech initiatives such as artificial intelligence and silicon engineering. Additionally, the company expects to hire 20,000 people over this time frame. These investments will make important contributions to ...
Housing Unaffordability Is A Policy Choice Not A Technology Problem
Trying to deflect the blame for the growing problem of housing affordability, politicians across the country are channeling their inner Captain Louis Renault and “rounding up the usual suspects”. In this case, the usual suspects are property landlords using algorithmic software to better understand the local market dynamics. Read the ...
