Business & Economics
Business & Economics
The Silicon Lining
Given California’s harsh business climate, it’s remarkable that entrepreneurs still flock to Silicon Valley, Sonia Arrison wryly observes. She’s a Pacific Research Institute scholar with a reputation for being a high-tech prophetess. “It’s a trade-off,” she says. “If you leave the Valley, you lose a lot.” The cost of doing ...
Business & Economics
Even ‘SNL’ is on to government unions
SACRAMENTO – As government employee unions were negotiating their lucrative retirement deals during the rising economic tide of the past decade, they promised cities and counties that the deals would pay for themselves, citing fanciful rates of return on investment income. Now that the economic tide is no longer rising, ...
Business & Economics
California’s State IT Overhaul Plan Lacks Critical Safeguards for Taxpayers and Transparency, Concludes New PRI Study
First 16 projects cost $471 million but deliver only $382 million in short-term financial benefits San Francisco – The California state government has taken important steps to improving the management of public information technology assets, but a new study from the San Francisco-based Pacific Research Institute concludes that tougher policy ...
Business & Economics
Putting the Security Back in Social Security
(April 27) — Social Security needs fixing, most analysts agree, but supposedly we had a few more years to work out the details. Now the crisis is upon us. This year, Social Security will pay out more in benefits than it collects in employer and employee contributions, but the problems ...
Business & Economics
The Most Tax-Burdened States
The Golden State? More like Taxifornia. As the pain of April 15 fades, most Americans are bluntly aware that taxes matter. Too many politicians and bureaucrats, unfortunately, ignore this. They have forgotten that taxes change the incentives for people to work hard, save, invest and be entrepreneurial, the bedrock of ...
Business & Economics
No sunny outlook for Florida’s insurance market
The sun doesn’t always shine in the Sunshine State. But for many career public officials, maybe the sun will come out tomorrow, and every day until the next election; and after that, the weather will be someone else’s problem. That mindset explains the willingness of Gov. Charlie Crist to veto ...
Business & Economics
Leave Medical Liability Change To States
By signing health reform into law, President Obama has launched the most sweeping expansion of federal control of Americans’ access to medical services in decades. Republicans charge that the reform package grants the federal government too much power over our health choices. They’re right — but it could have been ...
Business & Economics
Get in line, and take a number
SACRAMENTO – I’ve experienced several months where, for one reason or another, I’ve been stuck wrestling with various bureaucracies, of the governmental and corporate variety. It’s a frustrating, time-consuming and, ultimately, dehumanizing process. You’re always a number. Most everyone at the other end of those darned customer “service” lines is ...
Commentary
Will Business-Toxic Environment Poison Silicon Valley Innovation?
The world is full of pseudo-Silicon Valleys — private and public attempts to re-create California’s high-tech mecca. But they have achieved only pale copies of an original that remains the undisputed cradle of innovation. Historic leaders like Hewlett-Packard and Intel have stayed there, and more recent giants like Google, Facebook ...
Business & Economics
Earth Day Agenda: Cap and Trade Plan for AB 32
California environmental officials have decided against implementing the “cool car” regulations they finalized last June. The move could be a first step toward a better environmental policy and an improved economy. Last June the California Air Resources Board (CARB) adopted a rule forcing car companies to install metallic reflective windows, ...
The Silicon Lining
Given California’s harsh business climate, it’s remarkable that entrepreneurs still flock to Silicon Valley, Sonia Arrison wryly observes. She’s a Pacific Research Institute scholar with a reputation for being a high-tech prophetess. “It’s a trade-off,” she says. “If you leave the Valley, you lose a lot.” The cost of doing ...
Even ‘SNL’ is on to government unions
SACRAMENTO – As government employee unions were negotiating their lucrative retirement deals during the rising economic tide of the past decade, they promised cities and counties that the deals would pay for themselves, citing fanciful rates of return on investment income. Now that the economic tide is no longer rising, ...
California’s State IT Overhaul Plan Lacks Critical Safeguards for Taxpayers and Transparency, Concludes New PRI Study
First 16 projects cost $471 million but deliver only $382 million in short-term financial benefits San Francisco – The California state government has taken important steps to improving the management of public information technology assets, but a new study from the San Francisco-based Pacific Research Institute concludes that tougher policy ...
Putting the Security Back in Social Security
(April 27) — Social Security needs fixing, most analysts agree, but supposedly we had a few more years to work out the details. Now the crisis is upon us. This year, Social Security will pay out more in benefits than it collects in employer and employee contributions, but the problems ...
The Most Tax-Burdened States
The Golden State? More like Taxifornia. As the pain of April 15 fades, most Americans are bluntly aware that taxes matter. Too many politicians and bureaucrats, unfortunately, ignore this. They have forgotten that taxes change the incentives for people to work hard, save, invest and be entrepreneurial, the bedrock of ...
No sunny outlook for Florida’s insurance market
The sun doesn’t always shine in the Sunshine State. But for many career public officials, maybe the sun will come out tomorrow, and every day until the next election; and after that, the weather will be someone else’s problem. That mindset explains the willingness of Gov. Charlie Crist to veto ...
Leave Medical Liability Change To States
By signing health reform into law, President Obama has launched the most sweeping expansion of federal control of Americans’ access to medical services in decades. Republicans charge that the reform package grants the federal government too much power over our health choices. They’re right — but it could have been ...
Get in line, and take a number
SACRAMENTO – I’ve experienced several months where, for one reason or another, I’ve been stuck wrestling with various bureaucracies, of the governmental and corporate variety. It’s a frustrating, time-consuming and, ultimately, dehumanizing process. You’re always a number. Most everyone at the other end of those darned customer “service” lines is ...
Will Business-Toxic Environment Poison Silicon Valley Innovation?
The world is full of pseudo-Silicon Valleys — private and public attempts to re-create California’s high-tech mecca. But they have achieved only pale copies of an original that remains the undisputed cradle of innovation. Historic leaders like Hewlett-Packard and Intel have stayed there, and more recent giants like Google, Facebook ...
Earth Day Agenda: Cap and Trade Plan for AB 32
California environmental officials have decided against implementing the “cool car” regulations they finalized last June. The move could be a first step toward a better environmental policy and an improved economy. Last June the California Air Resources Board (CARB) adopted a rule forcing car companies to install metallic reflective windows, ...
