Housing
Blog
Support PRI’s Campaign for America’s Future
What does the future hold for America? Roadblocks for choice in education? COVID mandates forever? Inflation through the roof? Socialist “Medicare for All” proposals, which would require brutal tax increases and discourage promising young men and women from entering medicine? Politicians in Washington and Sacramento are pushing policies that drive ...
Sally C. Pipes
December 31, 2021
California
Reform Misguided Laws, Don’t Raise Minimum Wage, to Address California’s High Cost of Living
California isn’t yet finished hiking the minimum wage from the last bill that increased it to $15 an hour starting in 2023 for all businesses, and now comes another proposal to move it to $18. Imagine the response from companies struggling to keep up with current payrolls when they hear ...
Kerry Jackson
December 22, 2021
Agriculture
Will the Supreme Court overrule California’s Proposition 12?
By The Hon. Daniel Oliver History repeats itself in California with a law that may prevent pork from being imported into the state. In 1986 and ’87 when I was Chairman of the Federal Commission, I (actually “we” at the FTC) took on then-New York State Agriculture Commissioner Joseph Gerace ...
Pacific Research Institute
December 21, 2021
Blog
Southern California Traffic Is Back to Pre-Pandemic Levels. Now What?
Well, it’s official: Southern California’s infamous traffic is back to pre-pandemic levels. Worse yet, according to one estimate for SR 91—connecting Los Angeles to her Orange and Riverside suburbs—it might actually be worse. While morning commutes have dampened with the rise of remote work and flexible scheduling, the data suggest ...
M. Nolan Gray
December 10, 2021
Agriculture
How well do you know your federal government? Take the Deep State Quiz
Our colleagues at Open The Books did a deep dive into the deep state with their outstanding new report: Mapping the Swamp: A Study of the Administrative State, FY 2020. This eye-popping report shows just how big and bloated — not to mention costly — the federal government has become. ...
Rowena Itchon
December 8, 2021
Blog
Absent State Leadership, California Cities Continue to Lead on Parking Deregulation
Recently, San Diego moved to eliminate minimum parking regulations for businesses near transit and in neighborhood commercial areas. As reported in the San Diego Union-Tribune, the measure—which ended the practice of local regulators telling certain walkable and transit-accessible businesses how many off-street parking spaces they must build—enjoyed unanimous support from ...
M. Nolan Gray
December 2, 2021
Blog
Support PRI’s Campaign for America’s Future on Giving Tuesday
Today marks Giving Tuesday—a global movement to inspire generosity around the world. At the Pacific Research Institute, we are grateful to all our donors who have generously supported our work to advance market-driven policies that fulfill our mission to champion freedom, opportunity, and personal responsibility for all Americans. We certainly ...
Ben Smithwick
November 30, 2021
Blog
First Data Shows Real Record of Controversial New DA Putting Public Safety at Risk
The San Francisco Chronicle recently asked if residents should “tolerate a high level of burglaries as a downside of city living, and focus on barricading their homes?” Or, if that’s not satisfactory, “should people who are repeatedly accused of stealing be targeted with rehabilitation services, or incarcerated so they can’t ...
Kerry Jackson
November 22, 2021
Blog
Los Angeles Is Gearing Up to Ban Wood-Frame Construction. Renters Will Soon Pay the Price.
Over the summer, the Los Angeles City Council Public Safety Committee approved a proposal to expand Fire District 1, an anachronistic planning overlay that would effectively ban wood-frame construction in much of the city. Superficially premised as a measure to improve fire safety, the motion has been heavily promoted by ...
M. Nolan Gray
November 19, 2021
Blog
CAPITAL IDEAS: California Gets Kicked by Drought 66
DOWNLOAD THE PDF The recent record-breaking bomb cyclone that replenished depleted reservoirs and swelled shriveling rivers was not enough to break the drought. So parched is the state that Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency, a condition Californians, bedeviled by wildfires, unaffordable housing, growing homelessness, a punitive ...
Kerry Jackson
November 16, 2021
Support PRI’s Campaign for America’s Future
What does the future hold for America? Roadblocks for choice in education? COVID mandates forever? Inflation through the roof? Socialist “Medicare for All” proposals, which would require brutal tax increases and discourage promising young men and women from entering medicine? Politicians in Washington and Sacramento are pushing policies that drive ...
Reform Misguided Laws, Don’t Raise Minimum Wage, to Address California’s High Cost of Living
California isn’t yet finished hiking the minimum wage from the last bill that increased it to $15 an hour starting in 2023 for all businesses, and now comes another proposal to move it to $18. Imagine the response from companies struggling to keep up with current payrolls when they hear ...
Will the Supreme Court overrule California’s Proposition 12?
By The Hon. Daniel Oliver History repeats itself in California with a law that may prevent pork from being imported into the state. In 1986 and ’87 when I was Chairman of the Federal Commission, I (actually “we” at the FTC) took on then-New York State Agriculture Commissioner Joseph Gerace ...
Southern California Traffic Is Back to Pre-Pandemic Levels. Now What?
Well, it’s official: Southern California’s infamous traffic is back to pre-pandemic levels. Worse yet, according to one estimate for SR 91—connecting Los Angeles to her Orange and Riverside suburbs—it might actually be worse. While morning commutes have dampened with the rise of remote work and flexible scheduling, the data suggest ...
How well do you know your federal government? Take the Deep State Quiz
Our colleagues at Open The Books did a deep dive into the deep state with their outstanding new report: Mapping the Swamp: A Study of the Administrative State, FY 2020. This eye-popping report shows just how big and bloated — not to mention costly — the federal government has become. ...
Absent State Leadership, California Cities Continue to Lead on Parking Deregulation
Recently, San Diego moved to eliminate minimum parking regulations for businesses near transit and in neighborhood commercial areas. As reported in the San Diego Union-Tribune, the measure—which ended the practice of local regulators telling certain walkable and transit-accessible businesses how many off-street parking spaces they must build—enjoyed unanimous support from ...
Support PRI’s Campaign for America’s Future on Giving Tuesday
Today marks Giving Tuesday—a global movement to inspire generosity around the world. At the Pacific Research Institute, we are grateful to all our donors who have generously supported our work to advance market-driven policies that fulfill our mission to champion freedom, opportunity, and personal responsibility for all Americans. We certainly ...
First Data Shows Real Record of Controversial New DA Putting Public Safety at Risk
The San Francisco Chronicle recently asked if residents should “tolerate a high level of burglaries as a downside of city living, and focus on barricading their homes?” Or, if that’s not satisfactory, “should people who are repeatedly accused of stealing be targeted with rehabilitation services, or incarcerated so they can’t ...
Los Angeles Is Gearing Up to Ban Wood-Frame Construction. Renters Will Soon Pay the Price.
Over the summer, the Los Angeles City Council Public Safety Committee approved a proposal to expand Fire District 1, an anachronistic planning overlay that would effectively ban wood-frame construction in much of the city. Superficially premised as a measure to improve fire safety, the motion has been heavily promoted by ...
CAPITAL IDEAS: California Gets Kicked by Drought 66
DOWNLOAD THE PDF The recent record-breaking bomb cyclone that replenished depleted reservoirs and swelled shriveling rivers was not enough to break the drought. So parched is the state that Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency, a condition Californians, bedeviled by wildfires, unaffordable housing, growing homelessness, a punitive ...