Business & Economics
Blog
Politicized Investments, Not Growth-Maximizing Investments, Top Priority for State’s Public Employee Pension Fund
The California Public Employees Retirement System has a reputation for making questionable investments. Some might say they are merely “political” in nature, therefore they are bound to draw criticism. But past “political” investments have turned sour, leaving them open to question. The track record hasn’t stopped the system, known as CalPERS, though, from charging on. It reported ...
Blog
How New State Law Will Be Another Costly Business Burden
On October 13th, 2025, the California legislature passed into law AB692, a bill which would void any contract that requires employees to repay their employer, training provider, or debt collector upon termination of their employment. These training repayment agreement provisions, colloquially known as TRAPs, allow employers to recoup investment and ...
Blog
Will Residents Benefit from Latest SF ‘CEO Tax’? History Says No.
The reasoning behind the tax is to ensure “that the biggest corporations, whose executives earn hundreds of times more than their average workers, contribute their fair share.” Stand Up believes dollars generated by the tax will offset the loss of $400 million in federal funds that “have threatened essential city services,” ...
Business & Economics
Mark Skousen – The Greatest American
Nationally known investment expert, economist, Chapman University professor and author of more than 25 books Mark Skousen joins us to discuss his latest book, The Greatest American, on his distant relative, Benjamin Franklin. We talk about Franklin’s legacy in science, business, economics, politics, and diplomacy, and ponder what Franklin would ...
Business & Economics
San Francisco wants to control what you eat
Food choices? Those are for the government to decide. That’s the message behind a lawsuit filed by San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu against “some of the country’s largest manufacturers of ultra-processed foods.” It is the first government lawsuit in the nation against food companies. Chiu’s office claims “the proliferation ...
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, ...
Politicized Investments, Not Growth-Maximizing Investments, Top Priority for State’s Public Employee Pension Fund
The California Public Employees Retirement System has a reputation for making questionable investments. Some might say they are merely “political” in nature, therefore they are bound to draw criticism. But past “political” investments have turned sour, leaving them open to question. The track record hasn’t stopped the system, known as CalPERS, though, from charging on. It reported ...
How New State Law Will Be Another Costly Business Burden
On October 13th, 2025, the California legislature passed into law AB692, a bill which would void any contract that requires employees to repay their employer, training provider, or debt collector upon termination of their employment. These training repayment agreement provisions, colloquially known as TRAPs, allow employers to recoup investment and ...
Will Residents Benefit from Latest SF ‘CEO Tax’? History Says No.
The reasoning behind the tax is to ensure “that the biggest corporations, whose executives earn hundreds of times more than their average workers, contribute their fair share.” Stand Up believes dollars generated by the tax will offset the loss of $400 million in federal funds that “have threatened essential city services,” ...
Mark Skousen – The Greatest American
Nationally known investment expert, economist, Chapman University professor and author of more than 25 books Mark Skousen joins us to discuss his latest book, The Greatest American, on his distant relative, Benjamin Franklin. We talk about Franklin’s legacy in science, business, economics, politics, and diplomacy, and ponder what Franklin would ...
San Francisco wants to control what you eat
Food choices? Those are for the government to decide. That’s the message behind a lawsuit filed by San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu against “some of the country’s largest manufacturers of ultra-processed foods.” It is the first government lawsuit in the nation against food companies. Chiu’s office claims “the proliferation ...
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, ...
