California

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Breaking Down Barriers to Opportunity Would Do More to Build ‘Equitable’ California Than Higher Spending

Shortly after the New Year’s holiday, Gov. Gavin Newsom will kick off “state budget season” when he releases his 2022-23 state budget proposal on January 10. In a sign that perhaps lawmakers won’t be ceding as much of the spotlight to Newsom in 2022 that they have in 2021, Democratic ...
California

Dr. Joshua Rhodes – How Does California Rate on New Electricity Competition Scorecard?

Dr. Joshua Rhodes, research associate with the Webber Energy Group at the University of Texas, Austin, joins us to discuss the findings of a new national scorecard on electricity competition in the 50 states, and discusses why electricity competition is key to reducing costs, increasing reliability, and lowering emissions in ...
Blog

One Indicator Shows California’s Recovery Is Incomplete

Despite assurances that California’s economy is a treasure to behold – “We are world-beating in terms of our economic growth,” says Gov. Gavin Newsom – the post-pandemic recovery has a gaping hole in it. State unemployment is the highest in the country. Federal data for October show that the jobless ...
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 ...
Blog

Baby You Can Drive My Car, But In California It’s Really Expensive

No drum roll needed. The answer to the question “which state is the worst for drivers?” is obvious. It’s California. An analysis of “diverse datasets covering cost, safety, driving quality and weather” by Bankrate yielded the most unsurprising results. For the fourth time since Bankrate began looking at “the driving ...
California

NEW STUDY: Government Fees ‘Nickel and Dime’ Californians Out of Hundreds of Dollars Per Year

  California “nickel and dimes” consumers with hundreds of dollars in fees annually for under-utilized services, and their repeal would give relief from the high cost-of-living and make fees more efficient and accountable, finds a new study released today by California-based, nonpartisan, free-market think tank, the Pacific Research Institute. “While ...
California

The nuclear option can keep the lights on in California

A funny thing has happened on the way to California closing all of its nuclear power plants. Biden administration official Jennifer Granholm says the state should rethink its commitment to scrapping atomic energy. In an interview that will be released at an energy conference this week, the U.S. energy secretary ...
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.  ...
Commentary

Latest Medicaid Data Show A Deeply Broken Program

A bank that misplaced over one-fifth of its deposits would be shut down almost immediately. So would a hospital that bungled one in five operations, or a private health insurer that mishandled one-fifth of its claims. But apparently, the bar is a lot lower for government programs. The Biden administration ...
California

Lanhee Chen: California Transparency and Accountability

Lanhee Chen, Director of the Domestic Policy Studies in Public Policy program at Stanford University, discusses all things California, from budgetary mismanagement – including COVID-19 relief funds, the looming pension crisis, as well as government accountability and transparency.  One of the state’s leading policy experts, Lanhee Chen provides his perspective ...
Blog

Breaking Down Barriers to Opportunity Would Do More to Build ‘Equitable’ California Than Higher Spending

Shortly after the New Year’s holiday, Gov. Gavin Newsom will kick off “state budget season” when he releases his 2022-23 state budget proposal on January 10. In a sign that perhaps lawmakers won’t be ceding as much of the spotlight to Newsom in 2022 that they have in 2021, Democratic ...
California

Dr. Joshua Rhodes – How Does California Rate on New Electricity Competition Scorecard?

Dr. Joshua Rhodes, research associate with the Webber Energy Group at the University of Texas, Austin, joins us to discuss the findings of a new national scorecard on electricity competition in the 50 states, and discusses why electricity competition is key to reducing costs, increasing reliability, and lowering emissions in ...
Blog

One Indicator Shows California’s Recovery Is Incomplete

Despite assurances that California’s economy is a treasure to behold – “We are world-beating in terms of our economic growth,” says Gov. Gavin Newsom – the post-pandemic recovery has a gaping hole in it. State unemployment is the highest in the country. Federal data for October show that the jobless ...
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 ...
Blog

Baby You Can Drive My Car, But In California It’s Really Expensive

No drum roll needed. The answer to the question “which state is the worst for drivers?” is obvious. It’s California. An analysis of “diverse datasets covering cost, safety, driving quality and weather” by Bankrate yielded the most unsurprising results. For the fourth time since Bankrate began looking at “the driving ...
California

NEW STUDY: Government Fees ‘Nickel and Dime’ Californians Out of Hundreds of Dollars Per Year

  California “nickel and dimes” consumers with hundreds of dollars in fees annually for under-utilized services, and their repeal would give relief from the high cost-of-living and make fees more efficient and accountable, finds a new study released today by California-based, nonpartisan, free-market think tank, the Pacific Research Institute. “While ...
California

The nuclear option can keep the lights on in California

A funny thing has happened on the way to California closing all of its nuclear power plants. Biden administration official Jennifer Granholm says the state should rethink its commitment to scrapping atomic energy. In an interview that will be released at an energy conference this week, the U.S. energy secretary ...
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.  ...
Commentary

Latest Medicaid Data Show A Deeply Broken Program

A bank that misplaced over one-fifth of its deposits would be shut down almost immediately. So would a hospital that bungled one in five operations, or a private health insurer that mishandled one-fifth of its claims. But apparently, the bar is a lot lower for government programs. The Biden administration ...
California

Lanhee Chen: California Transparency and Accountability

Lanhee Chen, Director of the Domestic Policy Studies in Public Policy program at Stanford University, discusses all things California, from budgetary mismanagement – including COVID-19 relief funds, the looming pension crisis, as well as government accountability and transparency.  One of the state’s leading policy experts, Lanhee Chen provides his perspective ...
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