Blog
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 ...
Blog
Go Ahead and Enjoy That Coke and Coffee – The Nannies Have Lost, At Least For Now
It doesn’t happen often enough, but sometimes freedom wins in California. In the most recent of these rare events, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals – yes, the Ninth – affirmed late last month a lower-court ruling that said the San Francisco ordinance which forces beverage makers to post health warning ...
Agriculture
CAPITAL IDEAS: The Ripple Effects of Scientific Illiteracy Can Have Dire Consequences
DOWNLOAD THE PDF There is currently a trend toward misunderstanding or misrepresenting science, and it starts early. A grade-school teacher asked the class whether a whale is a fish or a mammal. One boy raised his hand and offered, “Let’s take a vote!” This phenomenon, variously dubbed “the death of ...
Blog
Identity Politics Comes to STEM
In January, PRI had the pleasure of hosting Manhattan Institute fellow Heather Mac Donald at a luncheon in Southern California to discuss her new book The Diversity Delusion: How Race and Gender Pandering Corrupt the University and Undermine our Culture. One of the most disturbing points during her talk was ...
Blog
Should We Allow Campaign Funds to Be Spent on Childcare?
Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Oakland) and a group of female Democrat legislators recently unveiled a proposal (Assembly Bill 220) to allow campaign funds to be spent on childcare expenses for the candidate’s children. New East Bay Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks spoke of the difficulties for parents with young children on the campaign ...
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 ...
Go Ahead and Enjoy That Coke and Coffee – The Nannies Have Lost, At Least For Now
It doesn’t happen often enough, but sometimes freedom wins in California. In the most recent of these rare events, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals – yes, the Ninth – affirmed late last month a lower-court ruling that said the San Francisco ordinance which forces beverage makers to post health warning ...
CAPITAL IDEAS: The Ripple Effects of Scientific Illiteracy Can Have Dire Consequences
DOWNLOAD THE PDF There is currently a trend toward misunderstanding or misrepresenting science, and it starts early. A grade-school teacher asked the class whether a whale is a fish or a mammal. One boy raised his hand and offered, “Let’s take a vote!” This phenomenon, variously dubbed “the death of ...
Identity Politics Comes to STEM
In January, PRI had the pleasure of hosting Manhattan Institute fellow Heather Mac Donald at a luncheon in Southern California to discuss her new book The Diversity Delusion: How Race and Gender Pandering Corrupt the University and Undermine our Culture. One of the most disturbing points during her talk was ...
Should We Allow Campaign Funds to Be Spent on Childcare?
Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Oakland) and a group of female Democrat legislators recently unveiled a proposal (Assembly Bill 220) to allow campaign funds to be spent on childcare expenses for the candidate’s children. New East Bay Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks spoke of the difficulties for parents with young children on the campaign ...
