California

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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

CA Lawmakers Proposed $236 Billion+ in New Taxes Despite Record Revenue

Despite taking in record state tax revenue over the past year, California lawmakers proposed more than $236.4 billion in new taxes and fees in 2021, finds the annual “Tax and Fee Report” just released by the California Tax Foundation. Over the past twelve months, lawmakers proposed 74 different tax and ...
Blog

Absent State Leadership, California Cities Continue to Lead on Parking Deregulation

Recently, San Diego moved to eliminate minimum parking regulations for businesses near transit and in neighborhood commercial areas. As reported in the San Diego Union-Tribune, the measure—which ended the practice of local regulators telling certain walkable and transit-accessible businesses how many off-street parking spaces they must build—enjoyed unanimous support from ...
Blog

Criminals Respond To Incentives Just As Consumers Do

California seems to have become a plunderers’ paradise. Thieves have moved on from shoplifting with large garbage bags at drug stores to violent smash-and-run raids on retailers, some of them during the middle of the day. Neiman-Marcus, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Louis Vuitton, and other stores from San Francisco to ...
Blog

Support PRI’s Campaign for America’s Future on Giving Tuesday

Today marks Giving Tuesday—a global movement to inspire generosity around the world. At the Pacific Research Institute, we are grateful to all our donors who have generously supported our work to advance market-driven policies that fulfill our mission to champion freedom, opportunity, and personal responsibility for all Americans. We certainly ...
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

CA Lawmakers Proposed $236 Billion+ in New Taxes Despite Record Revenue

Despite taking in record state tax revenue over the past year, California lawmakers proposed more than $236.4 billion in new taxes and fees in 2021, finds the annual “Tax and Fee Report” just released by the California Tax Foundation. Over the past twelve months, lawmakers proposed 74 different tax and ...
Blog

Absent State Leadership, California Cities Continue to Lead on Parking Deregulation

Recently, San Diego moved to eliminate minimum parking regulations for businesses near transit and in neighborhood commercial areas. As reported in the San Diego Union-Tribune, the measure—which ended the practice of local regulators telling certain walkable and transit-accessible businesses how many off-street parking spaces they must build—enjoyed unanimous support from ...
Blog

Criminals Respond To Incentives Just As Consumers Do

California seems to have become a plunderers’ paradise. Thieves have moved on from shoplifting with large garbage bags at drug stores to violent smash-and-run raids on retailers, some of them during the middle of the day. Neiman-Marcus, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Louis Vuitton, and other stores from San Francisco to ...
Blog

Support PRI’s Campaign for America’s Future on Giving Tuesday

Today marks Giving Tuesday—a global movement to inspire generosity around the world. At the Pacific Research Institute, we are grateful to all our donors who have generously supported our work to advance market-driven policies that fulfill our mission to champion freedom, opportunity, and personal responsibility for all Americans. We certainly ...
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