Free Cities

California

Will free markets clean up California’s dirty water?

The New York Times has discovered that many of California’s public water systems are fonts of deep trouble. This might be news outside the state, but residents have been aware of the problems for some time. So have officials — whose responses are never adequate. According to the Times, “as ...
Blog

California Crime Fell In 2018 — Is It the Start of a Favorable Trend?

California’s 2018 crime data has been released and the news is mostly encouraging, though a bit mixed. The violent crime rate is slightly down (1.5%) after growing for three straight years, and four of the last seven, according to data released this month by the state Department of Justice. Homicides ...
Blog

Blue State Model Continues To Drag Down California

About the same time two of California’s largest cities were named among the seven worst-run municipalities in the country, we learn that the state’s — and the country’s — largest county had the worst population outflow in the U.S. in 2018. The livin’ in California ain’t easy, in the summertime ...
California

All Signs Point to Crime Making a Comeback in California

California was once known for being tough on criminals. We’re not talking about frontier days, but much more recently. It was only five years ago when the Washington Post’s Max Ehrenfreund wrote that “California’s criminal justice system has long been among the most punitive.” At one time, Newsweek said, the state’s three-strikes ...
California

Going Medieval in California’s Streets

California, to some people’s way of thinking, is the most modern state in the country, if not the most cutting-edge place on earth. It’s progressive, hip, innovative—a bellwether, filled with pioneers and opinion-makers. It’s also unique for its constant battles against biblical catastrophes—earthquakes, droughts, landslides, and floods are all part ...
Agriculture

Try the Free Market Before Tourists Are One Day Warned to Not Drink the Water in California

California has regressed from the land of opportunity to the land of crisis. A chronic housing shortage, growing homelessness problems, the highest poverty rate in the nation, and runaway public employee pension liability are ripping at the seams of the state. Add to that list of troubles the taint of ...
Book

New Book Explores Why Many Californians Are Living in Fear, Outlines Reforms to Restore Safe Communities

Well-meaning policy changes are undermining safe communities in California and must be reformed to restore public safety throughout the state, writes Pacific Research Institute fellow Kerry Jackson in his new book on crime in California, Living in Fear in California. Living in Fear in California can be purchased at Amazon.com, Barnes ...
California

Kerry Jackson discusses new book, Living in Fear in California

Kerry Jackson, Fellow at PRI’s Center for California Reform, discusses PRI’s new book, Living in Fear in California.  California once had the nation’s strongest public safety laws, but voters and lawmakers have recently embraced a shift in crime policy. Jackson explores the impact these changes have had on California’s communities ...
California

How Non-Profits and Private Charities Can More Effectively Lift People Out of Poverty

There are many well-intentioned programs serving the homeless in California, but private charities and non-profits are just as effective – if not more so – in getting people back on their feet.  PRI’s Kerry Jackson and Damon Dunn, Michele Steeb of Saint John’s Program for Real Change, and Deacon Jim ...
California

California Leads the Nation in Bringing Back Medieval Illnesses

Victor Davis Hanson pointed out some years ago that California ignored its premodern problems while dreaming of postmodern marvels such as high-speed rail. There’s no better example of a premodern problem that’s been allowed to take root and thrive than the Medieval diseases now plaguing the state. California Healthline recently ...
California

Will free markets clean up California’s dirty water?

The New York Times has discovered that many of California’s public water systems are fonts of deep trouble. This might be news outside the state, but residents have been aware of the problems for some time. So have officials — whose responses are never adequate. According to the Times, “as ...
Blog

California Crime Fell In 2018 — Is It the Start of a Favorable Trend?

California’s 2018 crime data has been released and the news is mostly encouraging, though a bit mixed. The violent crime rate is slightly down (1.5%) after growing for three straight years, and four of the last seven, according to data released this month by the state Department of Justice. Homicides ...
Blog

Blue State Model Continues To Drag Down California

About the same time two of California’s largest cities were named among the seven worst-run municipalities in the country, we learn that the state’s — and the country’s — largest county had the worst population outflow in the U.S. in 2018. The livin’ in California ain’t easy, in the summertime ...
California

All Signs Point to Crime Making a Comeback in California

California was once known for being tough on criminals. We’re not talking about frontier days, but much more recently. It was only five years ago when the Washington Post’s Max Ehrenfreund wrote that “California’s criminal justice system has long been among the most punitive.” At one time, Newsweek said, the state’s three-strikes ...
California

Going Medieval in California’s Streets

California, to some people’s way of thinking, is the most modern state in the country, if not the most cutting-edge place on earth. It’s progressive, hip, innovative—a bellwether, filled with pioneers and opinion-makers. It’s also unique for its constant battles against biblical catastrophes—earthquakes, droughts, landslides, and floods are all part ...
Agriculture

Try the Free Market Before Tourists Are One Day Warned to Not Drink the Water in California

California has regressed from the land of opportunity to the land of crisis. A chronic housing shortage, growing homelessness problems, the highest poverty rate in the nation, and runaway public employee pension liability are ripping at the seams of the state. Add to that list of troubles the taint of ...
Book

New Book Explores Why Many Californians Are Living in Fear, Outlines Reforms to Restore Safe Communities

Well-meaning policy changes are undermining safe communities in California and must be reformed to restore public safety throughout the state, writes Pacific Research Institute fellow Kerry Jackson in his new book on crime in California, Living in Fear in California. Living in Fear in California can be purchased at Amazon.com, Barnes ...
California

Kerry Jackson discusses new book, Living in Fear in California

Kerry Jackson, Fellow at PRI’s Center for California Reform, discusses PRI’s new book, Living in Fear in California.  California once had the nation’s strongest public safety laws, but voters and lawmakers have recently embraced a shift in crime policy. Jackson explores the impact these changes have had on California’s communities ...
California

How Non-Profits and Private Charities Can More Effectively Lift People Out of Poverty

There are many well-intentioned programs serving the homeless in California, but private charities and non-profits are just as effective – if not more so – in getting people back on their feet.  PRI’s Kerry Jackson and Damon Dunn, Michele Steeb of Saint John’s Program for Real Change, and Deacon Jim ...
California

California Leads the Nation in Bringing Back Medieval Illnesses

Victor Davis Hanson pointed out some years ago that California ignored its premodern problems while dreaming of postmodern marvels such as high-speed rail. There’s no better example of a premodern problem that’s been allowed to take root and thrive than the Medieval diseases now plaguing the state. California Healthline recently ...
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