Free Cities
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LA Mayor Karen Bass revives the ‘free transit’ debate
LA Mayor Karen Bass revives the ‘free transit’ debate By Sal Rodriguez | October 2, 2026 Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has revived the conversation about “free” public transportation. Upon assuming the role of chair of the Los Angeles Metro Board in July, the mayor declared her intent to “develop ...
Blog
Homeowners’ underinsurance and why it happens
In the aftermath of the 2025 Palisades and Eaton fires, thousands of homeowners learned a terrible fact that compounded their tragedy. Although they had intended to insure themselves sufficiently to rebuild, their coverage was inadequate to the need. This hidden problem was brilliantly described and analyzed in the series, “Burned,” ...
Blog
Why cities should convert public property to private housing
In a recent piece for Works in Progress, “a magazine of new and underrated ideas to improve the world,” Zigmund Forrest and Maxwell Tabarrok noted that since “the completion of Battery Park City in 1976, there has not been a single major urban land reclamation project in the United States.” ...
Blog
California’s home insurance market: Political trouble on the horizon
California’s long-distorted insurance market reached a level of dysfunction in 2023 that had tangible consequences for average homeowners. Following a series of costly wildfires, they struggled to find insurance, faced soaring prices and, in many cases, had no choice but to turn to the overburdened, state-created insurer of last resort, ...
Blog
New Mexico’s ‘free’ childcare program is another costly disaster
New Mexico’s ‘free’ childcare program is another costly disaster by Paul Gessing | September 18, 2026 National media outlets which rarely report on any news from New Mexico were eager to report on the big news this past November that the Land of Enchantment had become the first state to ...
Blog
‘Inclusionary zoning’ seems designed to exclude new housing
One often-overlooked impediment to housing construction is something known as “inclusionary zoning,” which requires builders to set aside lower-income housing in order to gain a project’s approval — or pay a large fee to the local government. A July study from the University of California Irvine (UCI) finds that these ...
Book
New PRI Booklet: California Insurance Crisis Is a Regulatory Crisis — and Next Insurance Commissioner Could Determine What Comes Next
SACRAMENTO – Following the collapse of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s push for legislation addressing wildfire liability, a new Pacific Research Institute booklet warns California policymakers against responding to the state’s continuing wildfire and insurance challenges by reversing regulatory reforms that are finally showing signs of restoring competition and coverage. The warning ...
Blog
Pensions devour California city budgets — and it’s likely to get worse
Pensions devour California city budgets — and it’s likely to get worse by John Seiler | September 15, 2026 In July, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System announced a preliminary 14.8% return for fiscal year 2025-26, the 12-month period that ended June 30. It boasted, “The 2025-26 fiscal year return ...
Blog
New Solano city’s travails spotlight state’s maddening approval process
New Solano city’s travails spotlight state’s maddening approval process by Steven Greenhut | September 10, 2026 California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state Legislature deserve credit for trying to reduce some impediments to building housing and other projects in our red-tape-laden state. But the latest development fracas in Solano County ...
Blog
California pensions: A bipartisan push to destroy municipal budgets
California pensions: A bipartisan push to destroy municipal budgets by Steven Greenhut | September 4, 2026 Four years ago, California enjoyed an astounding $97.5-billion surplus, but now the supposedly “balanced” budget faces an intractable structural deficit, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office. Given economic headwinds caused by runaway inflation and fears ...
LA Mayor Karen Bass revives the ‘free transit’ debate
LA Mayor Karen Bass revives the ‘free transit’ debate By Sal Rodriguez | October 2, 2026 Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has revived the conversation about “free” public transportation. Upon assuming the role of chair of the Los Angeles Metro Board in July, the mayor declared her intent to “develop ...
Homeowners’ underinsurance and why it happens
In the aftermath of the 2025 Palisades and Eaton fires, thousands of homeowners learned a terrible fact that compounded their tragedy. Although they had intended to insure themselves sufficiently to rebuild, their coverage was inadequate to the need. This hidden problem was brilliantly described and analyzed in the series, “Burned,” ...
Why cities should convert public property to private housing
In a recent piece for Works in Progress, “a magazine of new and underrated ideas to improve the world,” Zigmund Forrest and Maxwell Tabarrok noted that since “the completion of Battery Park City in 1976, there has not been a single major urban land reclamation project in the United States.” ...
California’s home insurance market: Political trouble on the horizon
California’s long-distorted insurance market reached a level of dysfunction in 2023 that had tangible consequences for average homeowners. Following a series of costly wildfires, they struggled to find insurance, faced soaring prices and, in many cases, had no choice but to turn to the overburdened, state-created insurer of last resort, ...
New Mexico’s ‘free’ childcare program is another costly disaster
New Mexico’s ‘free’ childcare program is another costly disaster by Paul Gessing | September 18, 2026 National media outlets which rarely report on any news from New Mexico were eager to report on the big news this past November that the Land of Enchantment had become the first state to ...
‘Inclusionary zoning’ seems designed to exclude new housing
One often-overlooked impediment to housing construction is something known as “inclusionary zoning,” which requires builders to set aside lower-income housing in order to gain a project’s approval — or pay a large fee to the local government. A July study from the University of California Irvine (UCI) finds that these ...
New PRI Booklet: California Insurance Crisis Is a Regulatory Crisis — and Next Insurance Commissioner Could Determine What Comes Next
SACRAMENTO – Following the collapse of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s push for legislation addressing wildfire liability, a new Pacific Research Institute booklet warns California policymakers against responding to the state’s continuing wildfire and insurance challenges by reversing regulatory reforms that are finally showing signs of restoring competition and coverage. The warning ...
Pensions devour California city budgets — and it’s likely to get worse
Pensions devour California city budgets — and it’s likely to get worse by John Seiler | September 15, 2026 In July, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System announced a preliminary 14.8% return for fiscal year 2025-26, the 12-month period that ended June 30. It boasted, “The 2025-26 fiscal year return ...
New Solano city’s travails spotlight state’s maddening approval process
New Solano city’s travails spotlight state’s maddening approval process by Steven Greenhut | September 10, 2026 California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state Legislature deserve credit for trying to reduce some impediments to building housing and other projects in our red-tape-laden state. But the latest development fracas in Solano County ...
California pensions: A bipartisan push to destroy municipal budgets
California pensions: A bipartisan push to destroy municipal budgets by Steven Greenhut | September 4, 2026 Four years ago, California enjoyed an astounding $97.5-billion surplus, but now the supposedly “balanced” budget faces an intractable structural deficit, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office. Given economic headwinds caused by runaway inflation and fears ...