Housing
Blog
More Election Woes: Tax Hikes to Save Pensions
In some excellent reporting by Chris Reed of CalWatchdog, Reed found that more than 100 local governments in California asked voters for tax hikes on Election Day, double the 56 the Bond Buyer said it recorded in November 2016. These 100+ measures were on top of the 36 city and ...
Rowena Itchon
November 8, 2018
Commentary
Homeless Kids – Federal Problems Block Local Solutions
Homelessness among children is more widespread than imagined, and the many problems faced by these children, from instability to personal safety, seriously impact their education. Yet federal housing policies undercut the ability of local organizations to implement proven solutions. A recent study by Schoolhouse Washington, an education research initiative in ...
Lance Izumi
November 6, 2018
Blog
Will California Voters Decide to “Fall Back” Permanently on Election Day?
Yesterday, Californians went through our twice-yearly ritual – changing the clocks one hour as our observance of Daylight Saving Time ends. If you’re like me, you spent Saturday night going around the house changing the myriad clocks on the wall and in appliances, while hunting for the owner’s manual to ...
Tim Anaya
November 5, 2018
Blog
PRI’s 2018 Free-Market Election Guide
By Tim Anaya It’s almost here. Election day 2018 is just around the corner on Tuesday, November 6. Many Californians will take time over the next few days to review all the candidates and ballot measures on the November ballot. With media coverage typically focusing on the “horse race” of ...
Pacific Research Institute
October 31, 2018
Blog
Apparently, California Officials Can’t Rest Until the State Has America’s Highest Fuel Prices
Fuel prices in California are soaring like it’s 1979. A gallon of regular gasoline was averaging $3.82 across the state on Oct. 18, nearly a full dollar higher than the national average, according to AAA. Only in Hawaii are prices higher. With the summer travel season over, we expect some ...
Kerry Jackson
October 22, 2018
Blog
BART Blues
In this November election, it’s unfortunate that there’s only one seat up on the BART board (for non-Bay Area readers, BART is the region’s electric train line), because if I had one command as Queen for a day – a question Tim Anaya likes to ask our podcast guests — ...
Rowena Itchon
October 16, 2018
California
Unwilling to Wait for Voters, Los Angeles County Jumps Gun on Temporary Rent Control
Los Angeles County couldn’t wait for voters to decide this fall if local governments can enact rent-control laws. The Board of Supervisors recently enacted a “temporary” restriction on rent increases. If they think that will relieve the housing crisis, they are mistaken. The Los Angeles County ordinance sets rents at ...
Kerry Jackson
October 15, 2018
Blog
Why Are We Voting on Cage-Free Eggs and Dialysis Funding?
The other day I was thumbing through California’s official voter information guide to read up on some of the propositions that we’ll be voting on in November. This year, we’ll decide 12 statewide propositions, plus numerous local and county measures. In general, I believe direct democracy is the only way ...
Tim Anaya
October 15, 2018
California
Would Prop. 10 Reduce California’s High Housing Costs? Basic Economics Says No.
Californians will be faced with a dozen voter propositions on Election Day. None is more important than Proposition 10, which would allow local governments to enact rent control laws. The outcome will have a profound effect on California’s housing crisis. Prop 10 would repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act of ...
Kerry Jackson
September 20, 2018
Blog
Rent Control – Temporary or Not – Won’t Bring Down Sacramento’s Housing Costs
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg is trying to have his cake and eat it too. He announced in June that he opposed a local ballot measure being pushed by labor unions and activist groups to impose new rent control restrictions in Sacramento. That measure, according to the Sacramento Bee, would “cap ...
Tim Anaya
September 19, 2018
More Election Woes: Tax Hikes to Save Pensions
In some excellent reporting by Chris Reed of CalWatchdog, Reed found that more than 100 local governments in California asked voters for tax hikes on Election Day, double the 56 the Bond Buyer said it recorded in November 2016. These 100+ measures were on top of the 36 city and ...
Homeless Kids – Federal Problems Block Local Solutions
Homelessness among children is more widespread than imagined, and the many problems faced by these children, from instability to personal safety, seriously impact their education. Yet federal housing policies undercut the ability of local organizations to implement proven solutions. A recent study by Schoolhouse Washington, an education research initiative in ...
Will California Voters Decide to “Fall Back” Permanently on Election Day?
Yesterday, Californians went through our twice-yearly ritual – changing the clocks one hour as our observance of Daylight Saving Time ends. If you’re like me, you spent Saturday night going around the house changing the myriad clocks on the wall and in appliances, while hunting for the owner’s manual to ...
PRI’s 2018 Free-Market Election Guide
By Tim Anaya It’s almost here. Election day 2018 is just around the corner on Tuesday, November 6. Many Californians will take time over the next few days to review all the candidates and ballot measures on the November ballot. With media coverage typically focusing on the “horse race” of ...
Apparently, California Officials Can’t Rest Until the State Has America’s Highest Fuel Prices
Fuel prices in California are soaring like it’s 1979. A gallon of regular gasoline was averaging $3.82 across the state on Oct. 18, nearly a full dollar higher than the national average, according to AAA. Only in Hawaii are prices higher. With the summer travel season over, we expect some ...
BART Blues
In this November election, it’s unfortunate that there’s only one seat up on the BART board (for non-Bay Area readers, BART is the region’s electric train line), because if I had one command as Queen for a day – a question Tim Anaya likes to ask our podcast guests — ...
Unwilling to Wait for Voters, Los Angeles County Jumps Gun on Temporary Rent Control
Los Angeles County couldn’t wait for voters to decide this fall if local governments can enact rent-control laws. The Board of Supervisors recently enacted a “temporary” restriction on rent increases. If they think that will relieve the housing crisis, they are mistaken. The Los Angeles County ordinance sets rents at ...
Why Are We Voting on Cage-Free Eggs and Dialysis Funding?
The other day I was thumbing through California’s official voter information guide to read up on some of the propositions that we’ll be voting on in November. This year, we’ll decide 12 statewide propositions, plus numerous local and county measures. In general, I believe direct democracy is the only way ...
Would Prop. 10 Reduce California’s High Housing Costs? Basic Economics Says No.
Californians will be faced with a dozen voter propositions on Election Day. None is more important than Proposition 10, which would allow local governments to enact rent control laws. The outcome will have a profound effect on California’s housing crisis. Prop 10 would repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act of ...
Rent Control – Temporary or Not – Won’t Bring Down Sacramento’s Housing Costs
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg is trying to have his cake and eat it too. He announced in June that he opposed a local ballot measure being pushed by labor unions and activist groups to impose new rent control restrictions in Sacramento. That measure, according to the Sacramento Bee, would “cap ...