Transportation
California
Californians’ Transportation Choices Should Be Left to Them—Not Bureaucrats
Last month, the Los Angeles Times reported that the Metro system “is hemorrhaging bus riders.” The news was presented as, if not a crisis, at least an urgent matter that needs to be promptly addressed. Yet that’s hardly the case. It’s troubling, we’re supposed to infer, that “passengers have fled” ...
Business & Economics
Worker Freedom at Risk in California
When the state Supreme Court issued a ruling last year threatening workers’ ability to operate as independent contractors, it sent a chill through the gig economy. The temperature dropped a few more degrees recently when the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals determined the standards outlined by the California court ...
Blog
It’s Raining IPOs, Hallelujah!
Silicon Valley and Wall Street aren’t the only ones celebrating IPOs this year – Sacramento is doing its share of the partying. That’s because the state is expected to receive a deluge of tax dollars over the next several years thanks to capital gains generated by the current hot IPO ...
Blog
California’s Housing Crisis: Legislature Still Provides Little Hope for Progress
Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat from San Francisco, is one of the more active members of the California Legislature in terms of pursuing bills in hopes of easing the state’s housing crisis. But with that drive comes controversy. As he did last year, Wiener has introduced a bill intended to ...
Business & Economics
Regulatory Burden Threatens California’s Entrepreneurial Roots
California has been a red-hot destination, and comfortable home, for entrepreneurs at least as far back as the mid-19th Century, when 300,000 fortune hunters swarmed West during the Gold Rush. In 2019, it is still attracting business pioneers. But at the same time, Sacramento operates one of the most obstructionist ...
Blog
Estate Tax Bill Will Do Nothing to Reduce California’s Wealth Gap
You would think that California’s current $21.4 billion budget surplus would be plenty of money to fund the spending wish list of those thwarted over the past 8 years by former Gov. Jerry Brown’s adherence to the principle of subsidiarity. Think again. In fact, much of the talk in Sacramento ...
Blog
A Tax on Ride Sharing Companies Hurts Working People Most
“Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases,” said Ronald Reagan, “If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.” Uber and Lyft are on the move. And guess what? Government tax collectors are hot ...
California
Work-Hating California Seeks to Stop Freelance Workers
California has a well-deserved reputation for being unfriendly to business. Depending on what happens in Sacramento this year, the environment for workers could become unpleasant, as well. An attack on workers’ freedom began nearly a year ago, when the California Supreme Court established a new legal standard for worker classification ...
Agriculture
CAPITAL IDEAS: California’s Recent History of Manipulative Taxation
Download the PDF The rest of the country wasn’t surprised when California recently considered becoming the first state in the country to tax text messages. It almost seems as if there is a group of unelected bureaucrats that does nothing but cloister itself behind closed doors and dream up new ...
Agriculture
How We Can Fund California’s Roads if Proposition 6 Passes
Next week, Californians will vote on Proposition 6, which, if approved, would kill last year’s $52 billion fuel tax hike. Opponents are telling us we will doom ourselves if repeal the tax hike. How, they ask, will the state repair its miserable roads without that money? California’s transportation infrastructure is ...
Californians’ Transportation Choices Should Be Left to Them—Not Bureaucrats
Last month, the Los Angeles Times reported that the Metro system “is hemorrhaging bus riders.” The news was presented as, if not a crisis, at least an urgent matter that needs to be promptly addressed. Yet that’s hardly the case. It’s troubling, we’re supposed to infer, that “passengers have fled” ...
Worker Freedom at Risk in California
When the state Supreme Court issued a ruling last year threatening workers’ ability to operate as independent contractors, it sent a chill through the gig economy. The temperature dropped a few more degrees recently when the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals determined the standards outlined by the California court ...
It’s Raining IPOs, Hallelujah!
Silicon Valley and Wall Street aren’t the only ones celebrating IPOs this year – Sacramento is doing its share of the partying. That’s because the state is expected to receive a deluge of tax dollars over the next several years thanks to capital gains generated by the current hot IPO ...
California’s Housing Crisis: Legislature Still Provides Little Hope for Progress
Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat from San Francisco, is one of the more active members of the California Legislature in terms of pursuing bills in hopes of easing the state’s housing crisis. But with that drive comes controversy. As he did last year, Wiener has introduced a bill intended to ...
Regulatory Burden Threatens California’s Entrepreneurial Roots
California has been a red-hot destination, and comfortable home, for entrepreneurs at least as far back as the mid-19th Century, when 300,000 fortune hunters swarmed West during the Gold Rush. In 2019, it is still attracting business pioneers. But at the same time, Sacramento operates one of the most obstructionist ...
Estate Tax Bill Will Do Nothing to Reduce California’s Wealth Gap
You would think that California’s current $21.4 billion budget surplus would be plenty of money to fund the spending wish list of those thwarted over the past 8 years by former Gov. Jerry Brown’s adherence to the principle of subsidiarity. Think again. In fact, much of the talk in Sacramento ...
A Tax on Ride Sharing Companies Hurts Working People Most
“Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases,” said Ronald Reagan, “If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.” Uber and Lyft are on the move. And guess what? Government tax collectors are hot ...
Work-Hating California Seeks to Stop Freelance Workers
California has a well-deserved reputation for being unfriendly to business. Depending on what happens in Sacramento this year, the environment for workers could become unpleasant, as well. An attack on workers’ freedom began nearly a year ago, when the California Supreme Court established a new legal standard for worker classification ...
CAPITAL IDEAS: California’s Recent History of Manipulative Taxation
Download the PDF The rest of the country wasn’t surprised when California recently considered becoming the first state in the country to tax text messages. It almost seems as if there is a group of unelected bureaucrats that does nothing but cloister itself behind closed doors and dream up new ...
How We Can Fund California’s Roads if Proposition 6 Passes
Next week, Californians will vote on Proposition 6, which, if approved, would kill last year’s $52 billion fuel tax hike. Opponents are telling us we will doom ourselves if repeal the tax hike. How, they ask, will the state repair its miserable roads without that money? California’s transportation infrastructure is ...
