Blog
Blog
USC: In Defense of a Half Million Dollars
Enough already. I’m tired of people snickering that USC, my old alma mater, isn’t worth the half-million-dollar bribe that actress Lori Loughlin allegedly paid to get her two daughters in the school. Here’s just a sample of the put downs: John Podhoretz (University of Chicago), editor of Commentary, said in ...
Blog
President Trump and An American Education Agenda
In early 2018, Pacific Research Institute released my publication An American Education Agenda, which included my five top reform recommendations for the federal government. It is heartening to see that President Trump and his administration have addressed, in some form, most of my recommendations. The five federal recommendations in An ...
Blog
Wasn’t The Fuel Tax Hike Intended To Build Roads, Not Houses?
California cities have a choice: They can comply with the new governor’s effort to increase homebuilding or they can continue to put up with lousy roads. That isn’t exactly the way the new governor’s deal is going to work, but it is a loose if not generally accurate account of ...
Blog
Justice for Crime Victims Isn’t a “Bedrock Value” in Gavin Newsom’s California
Gov. Gavin Newsom triggered a firestorm on Wednesday by signing an executive order ordering a moratorium on the death penalty. His action effectively grants a reprieve from lethal injections for the state’s 737 death row inmates. According to Politico, his action will most benefit the 24 death row inmates who ...
Blog
What We’re Watching – Ides of March Edition
Tim Anaya – Beware the Ideas of March Today is an infamous day in history, when Julius Caesar was assassinated by his fellow Roman senators in 44 BC. Deep down, it’s a day that has every politician a little nervous. Watch this reenactment from the American Institute for Roman Culture ...
Blog
L.A. City Contractors Must Now Disclose NRA Ties
In another First in the Nation policy to come out of California, the L.A. City Council voted 14 to 0 to pass an ordinance requiring companies doing business with the city to disclose whether they or their workers have ties to the National Rifle Association (NRA). Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, who ...
Blog
We Need to Budget for Growth
Spring is in the air, which of course means it’s time to start thinking about the federal budget. Our latest Beyond the New Normal analysis examined what it would take to transform our current unaffordable federal budget. And while it would take political discipline and courage beyond what current leadership ...
Blog
Will Legislature Act This Year to Keep our Kids SAFE? History Says Probably Not
This week on PRI’s “Next Round” podcast, I sit down with Senator Mike Morrell, R-Rancho Cucamonga. Among the topics that we discussed was his legislation to ensure safer schools for all students (Senate Bill 709), also known as the Sexual Abuse-Free Education (SAFE) Act. Right now, there’s a growing problem ...
Blog
Water, Water In The Desert, But Still None To Drink
A proposal to draw water from the desert to slake perpetually dry Southern California seems no closer to reality now than it did when the idea emerged well more than a decade ago. The project has, according to California Water News Daily, “received numerous validations of its plans, including its ...
Blog
What We’re Watching – The Best of PRI’s CA Ideas in Action Conference
Last week, PRI held its inaugural “California Ideas in Action” Conference in Sacramento. For those of you who weren’t able to join us, below is your chance to watch 4 great panel discussions showcasing how free-market ideas are best suited to address California’s unique challenges and move the state toward ...
USC: In Defense of a Half Million Dollars
Enough already. I’m tired of people snickering that USC, my old alma mater, isn’t worth the half-million-dollar bribe that actress Lori Loughlin allegedly paid to get her two daughters in the school. Here’s just a sample of the put downs: John Podhoretz (University of Chicago), editor of Commentary, said in ...
President Trump and An American Education Agenda
In early 2018, Pacific Research Institute released my publication An American Education Agenda, which included my five top reform recommendations for the federal government. It is heartening to see that President Trump and his administration have addressed, in some form, most of my recommendations. The five federal recommendations in An ...
Wasn’t The Fuel Tax Hike Intended To Build Roads, Not Houses?
California cities have a choice: They can comply with the new governor’s effort to increase homebuilding or they can continue to put up with lousy roads. That isn’t exactly the way the new governor’s deal is going to work, but it is a loose if not generally accurate account of ...
Justice for Crime Victims Isn’t a “Bedrock Value” in Gavin Newsom’s California
Gov. Gavin Newsom triggered a firestorm on Wednesday by signing an executive order ordering a moratorium on the death penalty. His action effectively grants a reprieve from lethal injections for the state’s 737 death row inmates. According to Politico, his action will most benefit the 24 death row inmates who ...
What We’re Watching – Ides of March Edition
Tim Anaya – Beware the Ideas of March Today is an infamous day in history, when Julius Caesar was assassinated by his fellow Roman senators in 44 BC. Deep down, it’s a day that has every politician a little nervous. Watch this reenactment from the American Institute for Roman Culture ...
L.A. City Contractors Must Now Disclose NRA Ties
In another First in the Nation policy to come out of California, the L.A. City Council voted 14 to 0 to pass an ordinance requiring companies doing business with the city to disclose whether they or their workers have ties to the National Rifle Association (NRA). Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, who ...
We Need to Budget for Growth
Spring is in the air, which of course means it’s time to start thinking about the federal budget. Our latest Beyond the New Normal analysis examined what it would take to transform our current unaffordable federal budget. And while it would take political discipline and courage beyond what current leadership ...
Will Legislature Act This Year to Keep our Kids SAFE? History Says Probably Not
This week on PRI’s “Next Round” podcast, I sit down with Senator Mike Morrell, R-Rancho Cucamonga. Among the topics that we discussed was his legislation to ensure safer schools for all students (Senate Bill 709), also known as the Sexual Abuse-Free Education (SAFE) Act. Right now, there’s a growing problem ...
Water, Water In The Desert, But Still None To Drink
A proposal to draw water from the desert to slake perpetually dry Southern California seems no closer to reality now than it did when the idea emerged well more than a decade ago. The project has, according to California Water News Daily, “received numerous validations of its plans, including its ...
What We’re Watching – The Best of PRI’s CA Ideas in Action Conference
Last week, PRI held its inaugural “California Ideas in Action” Conference in Sacramento. For those of you who weren’t able to join us, below is your chance to watch 4 great panel discussions showcasing how free-market ideas are best suited to address California’s unique challenges and move the state toward ...
