Business & Economics

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Could Labor Day Push for Higher Minimum Wage Lead to More Work Being Done by Robots?

Who is going to be first in line to buy if Elon Musk is able to build a humanoid robot in the future? A best guess would be owners of the California companies whose businesses are threatened by the state’s steep minimum wage and other costs heaped on them by ...
Business & Economics

Wayne Winegarden – Electricity, Environment, and the Economy

Next Round’s guest is economist Wayne Winegarden, PRI senior fellow in Business and Economics.  Dr. Winegarden discusses some of the key issues being debated in Washington and Sacramento, from the infrastructure bill to the $3.5 trillion budget resolution package to California and the nation’s climate change policies.  As director of ...
Blog

How to Leave Afghanistan in 4 Easy Steps

At PRI, we can’t claim to be foreign policy experts or military strategists, but as Californians, we do know something about bureaucratic nightmares.  All we need look to is the scandal at the Employment Development Department, which paid out more than $30 billion in fraudulent claims (including $1 billion to ...
Agriculture

Biden’s American Families Plan Poised to Harm Families through the Death Tax

President Biden’s American Families Plan promises expansive benefits to families such as free universal preschool, two years of free community college, child tax credits, and a paid family leave program amongst many other attractive (but expensive) initiatives. Unlike the recently passed and controversial $1 trillion infrastructure bill, the new benefits ...
Blog

The Infrastructure Bill – What’s in it for California

Of the Senate’s $1.1 trillion infrastructure bill, California expects to receive at least $39.4 billion over the next five years to help rebuild its roads and bridges, and to improve public transportation. The problem is, writes Reason’s Adrian Moore in PRI’s new book Saving California, “Infrastructure takes long-term thinking, planning, ...
Blog

Larry Elder Says the Ideal Minimum Wage Should Be $0.00 – Why Is This Controversial? It Shouldn’t Be

Judging from the reaction to Larry Elder’s comment that the appropriate minimum wage is zero, one would think he had suggested harvesting California’s iconic giant sequoias or closing the Golden Gate Bridge. But what the radio talk show host and gubernatorial recall candidate said should not have stirred controversy. The ...
Blog

Olympic Fashion: Red, White, Blue . . . and Green

These days, many of us have been glued to the screen, watching unfold the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.  However, there is one human drama that’s getting little attention – Olympic fashion.  I don’t mean the gold lamé cape worn by Angola flag bearer and handball player ...
Blog

It’s Finally Infrastructure Week . . . But Is That a Good Thing?

At long last, it’s finally “Infrastructure Week.” On Wednesday, a group of Republican and Democrat senators resolved their final differences with President Biden and reached a long-elusive agreement on a bipartisan infrastructure bill authorizing $550 billion in new spending over 5 years.  Later that night, the Senate voted 67 to ...
Business & Economics

It’s The Private, Not Public, Sector That Will Overcome Our Challenges

Whether it is investing in infrastructure or addressing the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, President Biden and the Democratic Congress continue to believe that the government is the main driver of growth and innovation. This errant belief threatens our fiscal solvency and our ability to solve the serious problems we face as ...
Blog

Tax Cuts, the “New New Thing”, but not for Californians

COVID-19 launched a whole host of trends, from house remodeling to restaurant delivery to working from home.  But who knew that tax relief would become in vogue?  Thanks to revenue windfalls and the prospect of employees working from anywhere, state tax-cuts have been sweeping the nation. The Tax Foundation reports ...
Blog

Could Labor Day Push for Higher Minimum Wage Lead to More Work Being Done by Robots?

Who is going to be first in line to buy if Elon Musk is able to build a humanoid robot in the future? A best guess would be owners of the California companies whose businesses are threatened by the state’s steep minimum wage and other costs heaped on them by ...
Business & Economics

Wayne Winegarden – Electricity, Environment, and the Economy

Next Round’s guest is economist Wayne Winegarden, PRI senior fellow in Business and Economics.  Dr. Winegarden discusses some of the key issues being debated in Washington and Sacramento, from the infrastructure bill to the $3.5 trillion budget resolution package to California and the nation’s climate change policies.  As director of ...
Blog

How to Leave Afghanistan in 4 Easy Steps

At PRI, we can’t claim to be foreign policy experts or military strategists, but as Californians, we do know something about bureaucratic nightmares.  All we need look to is the scandal at the Employment Development Department, which paid out more than $30 billion in fraudulent claims (including $1 billion to ...
Agriculture

Biden’s American Families Plan Poised to Harm Families through the Death Tax

President Biden’s American Families Plan promises expansive benefits to families such as free universal preschool, two years of free community college, child tax credits, and a paid family leave program amongst many other attractive (but expensive) initiatives. Unlike the recently passed and controversial $1 trillion infrastructure bill, the new benefits ...
Blog

The Infrastructure Bill – What’s in it for California

Of the Senate’s $1.1 trillion infrastructure bill, California expects to receive at least $39.4 billion over the next five years to help rebuild its roads and bridges, and to improve public transportation. The problem is, writes Reason’s Adrian Moore in PRI’s new book Saving California, “Infrastructure takes long-term thinking, planning, ...
Blog

Larry Elder Says the Ideal Minimum Wage Should Be $0.00 – Why Is This Controversial? It Shouldn’t Be

Judging from the reaction to Larry Elder’s comment that the appropriate minimum wage is zero, one would think he had suggested harvesting California’s iconic giant sequoias or closing the Golden Gate Bridge. But what the radio talk show host and gubernatorial recall candidate said should not have stirred controversy. The ...
Blog

Olympic Fashion: Red, White, Blue . . . and Green

These days, many of us have been glued to the screen, watching unfold the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.  However, there is one human drama that’s getting little attention – Olympic fashion.  I don’t mean the gold lamé cape worn by Angola flag bearer and handball player ...
Blog

It’s Finally Infrastructure Week . . . But Is That a Good Thing?

At long last, it’s finally “Infrastructure Week.” On Wednesday, a group of Republican and Democrat senators resolved their final differences with President Biden and reached a long-elusive agreement on a bipartisan infrastructure bill authorizing $550 billion in new spending over 5 years.  Later that night, the Senate voted 67 to ...
Business & Economics

It’s The Private, Not Public, Sector That Will Overcome Our Challenges

Whether it is investing in infrastructure or addressing the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, President Biden and the Democratic Congress continue to believe that the government is the main driver of growth and innovation. This errant belief threatens our fiscal solvency and our ability to solve the serious problems we face as ...
Blog

Tax Cuts, the “New New Thing”, but not for Californians

COVID-19 launched a whole host of trends, from house remodeling to restaurant delivery to working from home.  But who knew that tax relief would become in vogue?  Thanks to revenue windfalls and the prospect of employees working from anywhere, state tax-cuts have been sweeping the nation. The Tax Foundation reports ...
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