Blog
Blog
Round 1: Old Left vs. Far Left
They say that age and cunning always beats youth and exuberance. But when it comes to the latest dust-up between the Left’s old guard and the new Far Left, how it all plays out in the end isn’t so clear. The Left’s old guard has reacted with smug disdain to ...
Blog
CAPITAL IDEAS – CEQA: How To Mend It Since You Can’t End It
It is no coincidence that California’s housing prices began to diverge from the rest of the country in 1970 – the very year that the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) was enacted. According to California’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst, “Between 1970 and 1980, California home prices went from 30 percent above ...
Blog
Latest Sign Housing Crisis is Hurting State’s Economy
Keeping up with the Great California Exodus can become a tedious task. Stories about businesses or people, or both, fleeing the state are so common that its sometimes seems they are blended all into one. Now comes another. “More Californians are considering fleeing the state as they blame sky-high costs, ...
Blog
What We’re Watching – Presidents Day Edition
In lieu of our usual blog fare today, we present a special “What We’re Watching” in salute to America’s presidents. So, I love these profiles of various American presidents by comedian Mo Rocca that have aired on “CBS Sunday Morning” over the years. Here’s an interesting one on a President ...
Blog
What We’re Watching – February 15
Rowena Itchon – The Economics of Valentine’s Day https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDbcboJwuPc You may just have gotten over the sticker shock of the flowers, candy, wine, and expensive dinner you shelled out for your sweetheart on Valentine’s Day, but the “day of love” actually encompasses three important free-market principles as this video from ...
Blog
Green New Deal is Already Here in California
A lot has already been said about the Green New Deal, including my favorite: “What planet is she on?” from Brian Kilmeade of FOX. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is on planet California, that’s where. The “green dream or whatever” as Nancy Pelosi dismissively called it, is being realized in her own home ...
Blog
Newsom Eats More Cake in First State of the State
A few weeks back, in writing about Gov. Newsom’s first budget proposal – I noted that the Governor was demonstrating how one could have his cake and eat it, too, in his spending plan for the state. As I watched the Governor’s first State of the State address yesterday, it’s ...
Blog
A Modest Start to Solving the Housing Crisis
San Francisco Mayor London Breed’s proposal to boost home building won’t alone relieve the city’ housing shortage. But as starts go, it’s not a bad one. Breed is rolling out a bill that would kill permits and inspection fees, eliminating “thousands of dollars” in building costs, the San Francisco Chronicle ...
Blog
New Polling Shows Free Market Ideas Still Hold Sway in Liberal California
The first weeks of 2019 have been dominated by the push from emboldened Sacramento liberals to enact measures increasing our tax burden, imposing new regulations on employers, and taking away some of our personal freedom. Most observers argue, based on the massive 2018 Democrat victories, that voters were giving a ...
Blog
What We’re Watching – Bad Laws Cause California’s Homeless Crisis
Ben Smithwick – Bad Laws Cause Homeless Crisis This latest video by John Stossel echoes what PRI’s Kerry Jackson has studied and written about extensively in recent months – well-intentioned laws are exacerbating the state’s housing and homeless crises. As the video concludes, we must unleash the power of free ...
Round 1: Old Left vs. Far Left
They say that age and cunning always beats youth and exuberance. But when it comes to the latest dust-up between the Left’s old guard and the new Far Left, how it all plays out in the end isn’t so clear. The Left’s old guard has reacted with smug disdain to ...
CAPITAL IDEAS – CEQA: How To Mend It Since You Can’t End It
It is no coincidence that California’s housing prices began to diverge from the rest of the country in 1970 – the very year that the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) was enacted. According to California’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst, “Between 1970 and 1980, California home prices went from 30 percent above ...
Latest Sign Housing Crisis is Hurting State’s Economy
Keeping up with the Great California Exodus can become a tedious task. Stories about businesses or people, or both, fleeing the state are so common that its sometimes seems they are blended all into one. Now comes another. “More Californians are considering fleeing the state as they blame sky-high costs, ...
What We’re Watching – Presidents Day Edition
In lieu of our usual blog fare today, we present a special “What We’re Watching” in salute to America’s presidents. So, I love these profiles of various American presidents by comedian Mo Rocca that have aired on “CBS Sunday Morning” over the years. Here’s an interesting one on a President ...
What We’re Watching – February 15
Rowena Itchon – The Economics of Valentine’s Day https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDbcboJwuPc You may just have gotten over the sticker shock of the flowers, candy, wine, and expensive dinner you shelled out for your sweetheart on Valentine’s Day, but the “day of love” actually encompasses three important free-market principles as this video from ...
Green New Deal is Already Here in California
A lot has already been said about the Green New Deal, including my favorite: “What planet is she on?” from Brian Kilmeade of FOX. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is on planet California, that’s where. The “green dream or whatever” as Nancy Pelosi dismissively called it, is being realized in her own home ...
Newsom Eats More Cake in First State of the State
A few weeks back, in writing about Gov. Newsom’s first budget proposal – I noted that the Governor was demonstrating how one could have his cake and eat it, too, in his spending plan for the state. As I watched the Governor’s first State of the State address yesterday, it’s ...
A Modest Start to Solving the Housing Crisis
San Francisco Mayor London Breed’s proposal to boost home building won’t alone relieve the city’ housing shortage. But as starts go, it’s not a bad one. Breed is rolling out a bill that would kill permits and inspection fees, eliminating “thousands of dollars” in building costs, the San Francisco Chronicle ...
New Polling Shows Free Market Ideas Still Hold Sway in Liberal California
The first weeks of 2019 have been dominated by the push from emboldened Sacramento liberals to enact measures increasing our tax burden, imposing new regulations on employers, and taking away some of our personal freedom. Most observers argue, based on the massive 2018 Democrat victories, that voters were giving a ...
What We’re Watching – Bad Laws Cause California’s Homeless Crisis
Ben Smithwick – Bad Laws Cause Homeless Crisis This latest video by John Stossel echoes what PRI’s Kerry Jackson has studied and written about extensively in recent months – well-intentioned laws are exacerbating the state’s housing and homeless crises. As the video concludes, we must unleash the power of free ...
