California
Blog
How does California’s employment growth compare with the rest of the US?
Gov. Gavin Newsom and California’s progressives point to the Trump Administration’s imposition of tariffs as a reason for its economic slowdown, and the LAO acknowledges that unpredictable policymaking at the federal level puts California’s ‘fragile economy at risk.’ But while California’s ports have seen a decline in economic activity over ...
Nikhil Agarwal
May 28, 2025
California
Professor Michael Mische – Just How Much Will We Pay for Gas When 2 Big Refineries Shut Down?
This week on Next Round, we talk with Michael Mische, Associate Professor of the Practice of Management and Organization at the University of Southern California, about his new study showing just how much more Californians will pay at the pump for gas when two of the state’s major refineries shut ...
Pacific Research Institute
May 27, 2025
Blog
Read the latest on the Southern California wildfire recovery
How’s That Post-Fire Rebuild Going?
Shortly after she returned to Los Angeles after her Ghana junket, Bass assured her constituents she would clear “away red tape and bureaucracy to organize around urgency, common sense and compassion.” “We will do everything we can to get” fire victims “back home,” she said. A month later, she swore it ...
Kerry Jackson
May 21, 2025
Blog
Read the latest on Gov. Newsom's state budget plan
Governor Newsom’s Budget Message to Crime Victims – Like it or lump it.
For those who may have forgotten, Prop 36’s passage in November 2024 was historic. Despite opposition from Gov. Newsom, the majority of the state legislature, and a host of criminal rights groups, it passed in every county and won passage with over 68 percent of the vote statewide. One would ...
Steve Smith
May 19, 2025
California
PRI On NPR: California Created Its Budget Woes
Winegarden joins Insight with his perspective on the state’s fiscal priorities and budget challenges. Listen to the entire interview here.
Wayne H Winegarden
May 15, 2025
California
Wayne Winegarden – Analyzing the 2025 May Revise
PRI senior fellow in business and economics Dr. Wayne Winegarden joins us with his initial analysis of Gov. Newsom’s May Revise budget proposal. Wayne shares his thoughts on Gov. Newsom’s plan to close the state’s $12 billion budget deficit, including controversial plans to expand Medi-Cal eligibility to the undocumented and ...
Pacific Research Institute
May 14, 2025
Blog
Why California Needs Its Own DOGE
Why California Needs Its Own DOGE Originally published in Fresno Bee By Kerry Jackson READ MORE If any government were in desperate need of a DOGE effort, it’s California. The bloated budget, wasteful public works projects and inefficient government programs are all screaming for attention. The federal Department of Government Efficiency ...
Kerry Jackson
May 10, 2025
Blog
More Rent Control Makes Things Worse
Rent control is the bad penny legislation that keeps turning up in California. It is widely regarded as crummy economic policy by economists, it ultimately leads to rental shortages and higher rents and it is based on the faulty idea that private property is somehow public property. And yet, here ...
Matthew Fleming
May 8, 2025
Blog
Spending Watch
AB 4: A Bad Idea That Costs Too Much
AB 4: A Bad Idea That Costs Too Much Wayne Winegarden and Nikhil Agarwal May 2025 As we noted in an earlier Spending Watch piece, growing economic volatility will likely cause revenue growth to be much weaker than expected for the upcoming FY2025-26 budget. It is, consequently, fiscally irresponsible for ...
Wayne Winegarden and Nikhil Agarwal
May 7, 2025
California
From bloated budgets, to wasteful spending: Why California needs its own DOGE
If any government were in desperate need of a DOGE effort, it’s California. The bloated budget, wasteful public works projects and inefficient government programs are all screaming for attention. The federal Department of Government Efficiency has become famous — and certainly infamous in some minds — for its efforts to ...
Kerry Jackson
May 1, 2025
How does California’s employment growth compare with the rest of the US?
Gov. Gavin Newsom and California’s progressives point to the Trump Administration’s imposition of tariffs as a reason for its economic slowdown, and the LAO acknowledges that unpredictable policymaking at the federal level puts California’s ‘fragile economy at risk.’ But while California’s ports have seen a decline in economic activity over ...
Professor Michael Mische – Just How Much Will We Pay for Gas When 2 Big Refineries Shut Down?
This week on Next Round, we talk with Michael Mische, Associate Professor of the Practice of Management and Organization at the University of Southern California, about his new study showing just how much more Californians will pay at the pump for gas when two of the state’s major refineries shut ...
Read the latest on the Southern California wildfire recovery
How’s That Post-Fire Rebuild Going?
Shortly after she returned to Los Angeles after her Ghana junket, Bass assured her constituents she would clear “away red tape and bureaucracy to organize around urgency, common sense and compassion.” “We will do everything we can to get” fire victims “back home,” she said. A month later, she swore it ...
Read the latest on Gov. Newsom's state budget plan
Governor Newsom’s Budget Message to Crime Victims – Like it or lump it.
For those who may have forgotten, Prop 36’s passage in November 2024 was historic. Despite opposition from Gov. Newsom, the majority of the state legislature, and a host of criminal rights groups, it passed in every county and won passage with over 68 percent of the vote statewide. One would ...
PRI On NPR: California Created Its Budget Woes
Winegarden joins Insight with his perspective on the state’s fiscal priorities and budget challenges. Listen to the entire interview here.
Wayne Winegarden – Analyzing the 2025 May Revise
PRI senior fellow in business and economics Dr. Wayne Winegarden joins us with his initial analysis of Gov. Newsom’s May Revise budget proposal. Wayne shares his thoughts on Gov. Newsom’s plan to close the state’s $12 billion budget deficit, including controversial plans to expand Medi-Cal eligibility to the undocumented and ...
Why California Needs Its Own DOGE
Why California Needs Its Own DOGE Originally published in Fresno Bee By Kerry Jackson READ MORE If any government were in desperate need of a DOGE effort, it’s California. The bloated budget, wasteful public works projects and inefficient government programs are all screaming for attention. The federal Department of Government Efficiency ...
More Rent Control Makes Things Worse
Rent control is the bad penny legislation that keeps turning up in California. It is widely regarded as crummy economic policy by economists, it ultimately leads to rental shortages and higher rents and it is based on the faulty idea that private property is somehow public property. And yet, here ...
Spending Watch
AB 4: A Bad Idea That Costs Too Much
AB 4: A Bad Idea That Costs Too Much Wayne Winegarden and Nikhil Agarwal May 2025 As we noted in an earlier Spending Watch piece, growing economic volatility will likely cause revenue growth to be much weaker than expected for the upcoming FY2025-26 budget. It is, consequently, fiscally irresponsible for ...
From bloated budgets, to wasteful spending: Why California needs its own DOGE
If any government were in desperate need of a DOGE effort, it’s California. The bloated budget, wasteful public works projects and inefficient government programs are all screaming for attention. The federal Department of Government Efficiency has become famous — and certainly infamous in some minds — for its efforts to ...