California
Business & Economics
Consumers and Grocers Would Benefit Most By Preserving Bag Tradition
Grocery shopping in California isn’t what it used to be. Traditionally, customers carried their items away in paper bags provided by the store through an unspoken, but well-established and always understood, contract between seller and buyer. But then government got involved and turned a simple transaction into an irksome task. ...
Business & Economics
In California Pension Casino, Taxpayers Going Bust
California has a state pension problem that defies partisan politics. It’s not about Hillary vs. Donald, it’s about math. Past pension promises may exceed the potential for pension asset growth. Whether we are currently or were former California residents, as I am, we all want California to prosper. We want ...
California
CAPITAL IDEAS: Climate Change Bill Will Cost California Hundreds of Millions
A report from Energy and Environmental Economics in San Francisco says cutting emissions between 26 percent and 38 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 could cost $23 billion year. Read Full Brie
California
Temporary Taxes Become Permanent in Prop. 55
Economist Milton Friedman said, and was proved right many times over, that nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program. The same could be said for temporary taxes. They’re about as eternal as death. It’s actually a ghost we are considering here, though, tax hikes authorized by Proposition 30 ...
California
Prop 57 Contains a Loophole for Violent Criminals
With violent crime increasing in California, it seems reasonable to grant early release to inmates convicted of nonviolent offenses to make room in the prison system for truly dangerous felons. Most of us would be happy to trade an accountant guilty of bilking his employer for a serial rapist. One ...
California
Health Care Needs Effective Reforms, Not the CREATES Act
Congress is back in session. With the election looming, this means a frenetic dash to pass bills on a number of big ticket items, including the budget and Zika funding. While the legislative fight over these issues will likely dominate the headlines, we cannot forget about other below-the-radar, but nevertheless ...
Commentary
Legal challenges loom for Obamacare
Obamacare’s remarkable run of legal luck may be running out. Earlier this summer, the Obama administration said that it would appeal a federal judge’s March ruling that found some of the health care law’s payments to insurers unconstitutional. That announcement came on the heels of another loss for Obamacare in ...
Charter Schools
Black Lives Matter vs. Charter Schools
The Movement for Black Lives Matter coalition has recently issued education-policy “demands” that demonstrate that not all the lives of black children matter to the group. In the preamble of the BLM demands, the group uses language that seems drawn straight from teacher-union talking points. BLM talks about “an international ...
Business & Economics
Cigarette Tax Hike Initiative A Bridge Too Far
It seems there is a never-ending war on “sin” and a desire by some to try and tax it away. This includes higher taxes on snacks and cigarettes, among other items. As to the latter item, California voters will weigh in with a November ballot proposal to hike California’s cigarette ...
Commentary
To Save Medicaid, Hold States Accountable
Taxpayers spent a record $554 billion for Medicaid last year — a 12% rise from 2014 and much higher than forecast. President Obama deserves the credit — and blame — for that rapid increase. And the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services predicts that the program will cost $890 billion ...
Consumers and Grocers Would Benefit Most By Preserving Bag Tradition
Grocery shopping in California isn’t what it used to be. Traditionally, customers carried their items away in paper bags provided by the store through an unspoken, but well-established and always understood, contract between seller and buyer. But then government got involved and turned a simple transaction into an irksome task. ...
In California Pension Casino, Taxpayers Going Bust
California has a state pension problem that defies partisan politics. It’s not about Hillary vs. Donald, it’s about math. Past pension promises may exceed the potential for pension asset growth. Whether we are currently or were former California residents, as I am, we all want California to prosper. We want ...
CAPITAL IDEAS: Climate Change Bill Will Cost California Hundreds of Millions
A report from Energy and Environmental Economics in San Francisco says cutting emissions between 26 percent and 38 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 could cost $23 billion year. Read Full Brie
Temporary Taxes Become Permanent in Prop. 55
Economist Milton Friedman said, and was proved right many times over, that nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program. The same could be said for temporary taxes. They’re about as eternal as death. It’s actually a ghost we are considering here, though, tax hikes authorized by Proposition 30 ...
Prop 57 Contains a Loophole for Violent Criminals
With violent crime increasing in California, it seems reasonable to grant early release to inmates convicted of nonviolent offenses to make room in the prison system for truly dangerous felons. Most of us would be happy to trade an accountant guilty of bilking his employer for a serial rapist. One ...
Health Care Needs Effective Reforms, Not the CREATES Act
Congress is back in session. With the election looming, this means a frenetic dash to pass bills on a number of big ticket items, including the budget and Zika funding. While the legislative fight over these issues will likely dominate the headlines, we cannot forget about other below-the-radar, but nevertheless ...
Legal challenges loom for Obamacare
Obamacare’s remarkable run of legal luck may be running out. Earlier this summer, the Obama administration said that it would appeal a federal judge’s March ruling that found some of the health care law’s payments to insurers unconstitutional. That announcement came on the heels of another loss for Obamacare in ...
Black Lives Matter vs. Charter Schools
The Movement for Black Lives Matter coalition has recently issued education-policy “demands” that demonstrate that not all the lives of black children matter to the group. In the preamble of the BLM demands, the group uses language that seems drawn straight from teacher-union talking points. BLM talks about “an international ...
Cigarette Tax Hike Initiative A Bridge Too Far
It seems there is a never-ending war on “sin” and a desire by some to try and tax it away. This includes higher taxes on snacks and cigarettes, among other items. As to the latter item, California voters will weigh in with a November ballot proposal to hike California’s cigarette ...
To Save Medicaid, Hold States Accountable
Taxpayers spent a record $554 billion for Medicaid last year — a 12% rise from 2014 and much higher than forecast. President Obama deserves the credit — and blame — for that rapid increase. And the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services predicts that the program will cost $890 billion ...
