California
Blog
Spending Watch
Spending Watch: Newsom’s Final Budget Defers the Difficult Budget Decisions to California’s Next Governor
Newsom’s Final Budget Defers the Difficult Budget Decisions to California’s Next Governor Wayne Winegarden July 2026 The FY2026-27 Budget Basics Gov. Newsom has signed the FY2026-27 budget – Newsom’s final one as governor. He claims the budget “prioritizes fiscal restraint” and promotes “long-term sustainability,” but the numbers tell a different ...
Blog
A Tribute to The Honorable Daniel Oliver
A Tribute to The Honorable Daniel Oliver Pacific Research Institute Chairman Emeritus and Board Member since 1991 The Honorable Daniel Oliver was a rare and remarkable man—steadfast in market-based principles and freedom, generous in spirit, and deeply devoted to the people and institutions he loved. For my husband Charles Kesler ...
California
The affordability crisis is real. Sacramento just made it worse.
Californians are told almost daily that Sacramento understands the state’s affordability crisis. Lawmakers hold hearings about it. The gubernatorial candidates are campaigning on it. Gov. Gavin Newsom promises to fix it. Then, when budget season arrives, Sacramento does what it always does: make California more expensive. State lawmakers just approved ...
California
Let’s Make a Deal!
This week, Tim and Matt discuss the frantic, last-minute negotiations going on at the Capitol to try and avert expensive ballot proposition fights this fall. They also discuss ideas to reform California’s electoral system in light of the June primary, and what can be done to speed up California’s notoriously ...
Budget
The Newsoms Under Investigation, Lawmakers Pass the Budget, and a White House Cage Match
On this week’s Next Round, Tim and Matt discuss Gavin Newsom’s bombshell announcement that he and the First Partner are being investigated by the Feds, lawmakers passing a state budget that isn’t final so they can keep getting paid, and the America 250 “cage match” on the White House lawn.
Blog
Broken Promises: The California High-Speed Rail Might End Up Being Little More Than A Regular Train — A Particularly Expensive One
Newsom denied that the cost — once a paltry, in comparison, $33 billion — had soared to $231 billion. “We’re actually making this project work,” he claimed. Newsom told Maher that the train “goes back three administrations” and he “inherited a mess” — both of which are true. It’s also true that the want-to-be-president governor ...
California
They’re Still Counting . . . and Counting
This week, Tim and Matt discuss the seemingly endless California election count and the statewide races that are finally coming into focus. Plus, they discuss the race for Los Angeles mayor and whether Spencer Pratt was cheated out of a spot in the November election.
Blog
Is There A Limit To The Abuse California Businesses Will Tolerate?
This isn’t the sort of insanity of doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, but the type of insanity that doesn’t care what the outcome is. California’s Cartwright Act is the state’s primary antitrust law. It allows both government and private actors to make antitrust claims against businesses. A California Supreme ...
California
Impact Magazine Spring 2026
READ THE MAGAZINE Dear Friends and Supporters, Happy 250th, America! At Pacific Research Institute, we are celebrating the semiquincentennial all year long. We are producing patriotic programming that honors the nation’s founders and the great principles upon which this country was founded. On occasion, we also have to look at ...
California
PRI’s 2026 California Primary Halftime Show
With about half the votes in statewide, Tim and Matt go through the early returns from the California primary. They discuss the prospect of a Hilton-Becerra general election, and why Tom Steyer, Katie Porter and Matt Mahan didn’t fare better. They also analyze the Los Angeles mayor’s race that is ...
Spending Watch
Spending Watch: Newsom’s Final Budget Defers the Difficult Budget Decisions to California’s Next Governor
Newsom’s Final Budget Defers the Difficult Budget Decisions to California’s Next Governor Wayne Winegarden July 2026 The FY2026-27 Budget Basics Gov. Newsom has signed the FY2026-27 budget – Newsom’s final one as governor. He claims the budget “prioritizes fiscal restraint” and promotes “long-term sustainability,” but the numbers tell a different ...
A Tribute to The Honorable Daniel Oliver
A Tribute to The Honorable Daniel Oliver Pacific Research Institute Chairman Emeritus and Board Member since 1991 The Honorable Daniel Oliver was a rare and remarkable man—steadfast in market-based principles and freedom, generous in spirit, and deeply devoted to the people and institutions he loved. For my husband Charles Kesler ...
The affordability crisis is real. Sacramento just made it worse.
Californians are told almost daily that Sacramento understands the state’s affordability crisis. Lawmakers hold hearings about it. The gubernatorial candidates are campaigning on it. Gov. Gavin Newsom promises to fix it. Then, when budget season arrives, Sacramento does what it always does: make California more expensive. State lawmakers just approved ...
Let’s Make a Deal!
This week, Tim and Matt discuss the frantic, last-minute negotiations going on at the Capitol to try and avert expensive ballot proposition fights this fall. They also discuss ideas to reform California’s electoral system in light of the June primary, and what can be done to speed up California’s notoriously ...
The Newsoms Under Investigation, Lawmakers Pass the Budget, and a White House Cage Match
On this week’s Next Round, Tim and Matt discuss Gavin Newsom’s bombshell announcement that he and the First Partner are being investigated by the Feds, lawmakers passing a state budget that isn’t final so they can keep getting paid, and the America 250 “cage match” on the White House lawn.
Broken Promises: The California High-Speed Rail Might End Up Being Little More Than A Regular Train — A Particularly Expensive One
Newsom denied that the cost — once a paltry, in comparison, $33 billion — had soared to $231 billion. “We’re actually making this project work,” he claimed. Newsom told Maher that the train “goes back three administrations” and he “inherited a mess” — both of which are true. It’s also true that the want-to-be-president governor ...
They’re Still Counting . . . and Counting
This week, Tim and Matt discuss the seemingly endless California election count and the statewide races that are finally coming into focus. Plus, they discuss the race for Los Angeles mayor and whether Spencer Pratt was cheated out of a spot in the November election.
Is There A Limit To The Abuse California Businesses Will Tolerate?
This isn’t the sort of insanity of doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, but the type of insanity that doesn’t care what the outcome is. California’s Cartwright Act is the state’s primary antitrust law. It allows both government and private actors to make antitrust claims against businesses. A California Supreme ...
Impact Magazine Spring 2026
READ THE MAGAZINE Dear Friends and Supporters, Happy 250th, America! At Pacific Research Institute, we are celebrating the semiquincentennial all year long. We are producing patriotic programming that honors the nation’s founders and the great principles upon which this country was founded. On occasion, we also have to look at ...
PRI’s 2026 California Primary Halftime Show
With about half the votes in statewide, Tim and Matt go through the early returns from the California primary. They discuss the prospect of a Hilton-Becerra general election, and why Tom Steyer, Katie Porter and Matt Mahan didn’t fare better. They also analyze the Los Angeles mayor’s race that is ...