California

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Spending Watch

California’s Expensive but Ineffective Income Support Spending

California’s Expensive but Ineffective Income Support Spending Wayne Winegarden August 2024 Including federal, state, and local funds, California’s per capita spending on income support programs is 81 percent higher than the average expenditures for all other states – per capita spending of $3,869 compared to $2,141. These expenditures include “cash ...
California

Read the latest on the new PRI book

Adopting policies the ‘California Way’ could skyrocket energy costs

Ask any Californian paying their summer power bills and they’ll tell you a different story. Government data also offers a fact check – Energy Information Administration figures show the average monthly price of electricity was 34.3 cents per kilowatt hour in May (second to Hawaii), compared to 14.7 cents in ...
Blog

Read the latest about California's misguided energy policies

As Chevron Exits California, Will Still Attempt to Buy Its Oil Refineries?

It’s unlikely that was the plan. But it is interesting that at roughly the same time Chevron made its announcement, which was no surprise to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office, the California Energy Commission issued a staff report that includes a dedicated section (Chapter 3, page 7) on “State-Owned Refineries.” It’s ...
Book

New PRI ‘Left Coast Survivor’s Guide’ Aims to Help Americans Stop ‘The California Way’ From Spreading Coast to Coast

SACRAMENTO – With California’s Kamala Harris being inspired by what Gov. Gavin Newsom calls “The California Way,” nonpartisan California free-market think tank the Pacific Research Institute today released The California Left Coast Survivor’s Guide, a new book giving Americans the facts and knowhow needed to stop bad California ideas from ...
Blog

Latest Experiment Further Proof That Basic Income Doesn’t Lift People Out of Poverty

Under the experiment, which was funded by OpenAI founder Sam Altman, 1,000 participants in Texas and Illinois received $1,000 per month for three years starting in 2020, with a control group of 2,000 additional participants who received $50 per month.  The recipients earned an average income of less than $29,000 ...
Blog

CAPITAL IDEAS: Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Undermines the Social Responsibility of Businesses and Investment Managers

The concepts behind Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing and management are the latest theory trying to address a long-standing question: What is the appropriate social function of a business? This question predates Milton Friedman’s 1970 New York Times piece “The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits,” ...
Blog

Read why latest employer is leaving California

Chevron’s Departure Highlights California’s Risky Economic Future

Companies have been decamping from California for greener pastures so frequently that, in some ways, Chevron’s announcement is barely newsworthy. The particulars of Chevron’s decision are important, however, because they exemplify the large economic risks California’s policymakers are taking. Judged by their actions, California’s political leaders, including Governor Newsom, have ...
California

Watch PRI’s Webinar – The Grants Pass Decision on Homelessness: An Inside Look

The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson represents the lifting of a major legal logjam that has hindered the efforts of local governments in California and across the country to clean up homeless encampments and alleviate rising homelessness on our streets. Go inside the historic decision with ...
California

The Grants Pass Decision on Homelessness: An Inside Look

    This week’s podcast is a special presentation of our recent webinar following the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson, moderated by Free Cities Center director Steven Greenhut. Go inside the historic decision with Theane Evangelis, partner with Gibson Dunn who represented Grants Pass before the ...
California

Erica Sandberg – San Francisco’s Homeless Crisis

Gov. Newsom recently ordered homeless encampments on property under the state’s jurisdiction to be cleared due to the Grants Pass Supreme Court decision that ruled that it is not cruel and unusual punishment to forbid people from camping on public property. This podcast is an audio version of Free Cities ...
Blog

Spending Watch

California’s Expensive but Ineffective Income Support Spending

California’s Expensive but Ineffective Income Support Spending Wayne Winegarden August 2024 Including federal, state, and local funds, California’s per capita spending on income support programs is 81 percent higher than the average expenditures for all other states – per capita spending of $3,869 compared to $2,141. These expenditures include “cash ...
California

Read the latest on the new PRI book

Adopting policies the ‘California Way’ could skyrocket energy costs

Ask any Californian paying their summer power bills and they’ll tell you a different story. Government data also offers a fact check – Energy Information Administration figures show the average monthly price of electricity was 34.3 cents per kilowatt hour in May (second to Hawaii), compared to 14.7 cents in ...
Blog

Read the latest about California's misguided energy policies

As Chevron Exits California, Will Still Attempt to Buy Its Oil Refineries?

It’s unlikely that was the plan. But it is interesting that at roughly the same time Chevron made its announcement, which was no surprise to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office, the California Energy Commission issued a staff report that includes a dedicated section (Chapter 3, page 7) on “State-Owned Refineries.” It’s ...
Book

New PRI ‘Left Coast Survivor’s Guide’ Aims to Help Americans Stop ‘The California Way’ From Spreading Coast to Coast

SACRAMENTO – With California’s Kamala Harris being inspired by what Gov. Gavin Newsom calls “The California Way,” nonpartisan California free-market think tank the Pacific Research Institute today released The California Left Coast Survivor’s Guide, a new book giving Americans the facts and knowhow needed to stop bad California ideas from ...
Blog

Latest Experiment Further Proof That Basic Income Doesn’t Lift People Out of Poverty

Under the experiment, which was funded by OpenAI founder Sam Altman, 1,000 participants in Texas and Illinois received $1,000 per month for three years starting in 2020, with a control group of 2,000 additional participants who received $50 per month.  The recipients earned an average income of less than $29,000 ...
Blog

CAPITAL IDEAS: Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Undermines the Social Responsibility of Businesses and Investment Managers

The concepts behind Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing and management are the latest theory trying to address a long-standing question: What is the appropriate social function of a business? This question predates Milton Friedman’s 1970 New York Times piece “The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits,” ...
Blog

Read why latest employer is leaving California

Chevron’s Departure Highlights California’s Risky Economic Future

Companies have been decamping from California for greener pastures so frequently that, in some ways, Chevron’s announcement is barely newsworthy. The particulars of Chevron’s decision are important, however, because they exemplify the large economic risks California’s policymakers are taking. Judged by their actions, California’s political leaders, including Governor Newsom, have ...
California

Watch PRI’s Webinar – The Grants Pass Decision on Homelessness: An Inside Look

The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson represents the lifting of a major legal logjam that has hindered the efforts of local governments in California and across the country to clean up homeless encampments and alleviate rising homelessness on our streets. Go inside the historic decision with ...
California

The Grants Pass Decision on Homelessness: An Inside Look

    This week’s podcast is a special presentation of our recent webinar following the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson, moderated by Free Cities Center director Steven Greenhut. Go inside the historic decision with Theane Evangelis, partner with Gibson Dunn who represented Grants Pass before the ...
California

Erica Sandberg – San Francisco’s Homeless Crisis

Gov. Newsom recently ordered homeless encampments on property under the state’s jurisdiction to be cleared due to the Grants Pass Supreme Court decision that ruled that it is not cruel and unusual punishment to forbid people from camping on public property. This podcast is an audio version of Free Cities ...
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