Blog
Blog
Would Politics as Usual Change Under “Cal 3” Plan?
More than one observer has argued that California is too big population-wise, and the problems too-complex to effectively govern and should be broken up. Recently, it was announced that after years of debate, California is finally going to have a chance to vote on one of these proposals this November. ...
Blog
Will California Cities Repeat Seattle’s “Amazon Tax” Mistake?
No one should wonder why executives keep saying California is the worst state to do business in. Too many politicians see businesses as nothing more than vessels available to be drained of their substance for the funding of foolish ideas. The most recent proposal among some Silicon Valley politicians is ...
Blog
What We’re Watching – June 15
Tim Anaya – San Francisco’s Crazy Voting System This week, London Breed emerged as the winner of San Francisco’s mayor’s race. But she had to sweat out the results of San Francisco’s crazy voting system called “ranked choice voting” or “instant runoff voting.” It’s basically a scheme to rig the ...
Blog
This Year’s Budget Earns a “Participation Trophy”
It’s amazing what a difference one voter-approved proposition can make. The Legislature is poised again to pass a budget before the June 15 constitutional deadline. Gov. Brown has until June 30 to sign it into law. Budgets used to be a lengthy, messy fight at the Capitol. Back in the ...
Blog
Proposed Water Tax Dropped in State Budget Deal
Sacramento has been trying for some time now to add a 95-cents-a-month tax on drinking water to pay for “secure access to safe drinking water for all Californians, while also ensuring the long-term sustainability of drinking water service and infrastructure.” Those dreams of more taxes were delayed last week, though, ...
Blog
Kilauea Volcanic Eruptions Spike Pensions for Hawaii’s Emergency Workers
“Pension risk includes lava,” said Keli’i Akina, president of the Grassroot Institute, a sister free-market think tank in Hawaii. Recently, the Grassroot Institute hosted an event titled “Navigating risk at Hawaii’s public pension system.” Thom Williams, executive director of the Hawaii Employees’ Retirement System (ERS), discussed how unpredictable events such ...
Blog
The June Primary is Over. So, What Now?
Now that the June primary is behind us, pundits and political observers are on overdrive telling us what it all means and what we can expect from the fall campaign. Perhaps we should all pause before writing the June primary’s eulogy as hundreds of thousands of votes remain to be ...
Blog
What We’re Watching
Tim Anaya – It’s Not A Jungle Out There in California! This past Tuesday was California’s primary election. California has a unique primary system – the “top 2” system. Simply put, the top two voter getters from any party advance to the November election. As our friend John Myers from ...
Blog
Would Public Employees Really Lose Income After Janus Ruling?
Public-sector employees who want to be freed of forced unionization are hoping that the Supreme Court will release them from their yoke when it issues its impending ruling in the case of a government worker who sued the union that claims to represent him. Others, though, fear a future in ...
Blog
Free Markets 101: Free Markets Enable Prosperity and Compassion
The U.S. economy has generated more wealth for more people than any other economic system in human history, and it’s not even close. What began as a small group of colonies clustered near the eastern seaboard of a mostly empty continent founded by political and religious refugees somehow become more ...
Would Politics as Usual Change Under “Cal 3” Plan?
More than one observer has argued that California is too big population-wise, and the problems too-complex to effectively govern and should be broken up. Recently, it was announced that after years of debate, California is finally going to have a chance to vote on one of these proposals this November. ...
Will California Cities Repeat Seattle’s “Amazon Tax” Mistake?
No one should wonder why executives keep saying California is the worst state to do business in. Too many politicians see businesses as nothing more than vessels available to be drained of their substance for the funding of foolish ideas. The most recent proposal among some Silicon Valley politicians is ...
What We’re Watching – June 15
Tim Anaya – San Francisco’s Crazy Voting System This week, London Breed emerged as the winner of San Francisco’s mayor’s race. But she had to sweat out the results of San Francisco’s crazy voting system called “ranked choice voting” or “instant runoff voting.” It’s basically a scheme to rig the ...
This Year’s Budget Earns a “Participation Trophy”
It’s amazing what a difference one voter-approved proposition can make. The Legislature is poised again to pass a budget before the June 15 constitutional deadline. Gov. Brown has until June 30 to sign it into law. Budgets used to be a lengthy, messy fight at the Capitol. Back in the ...
Proposed Water Tax Dropped in State Budget Deal
Sacramento has been trying for some time now to add a 95-cents-a-month tax on drinking water to pay for “secure access to safe drinking water for all Californians, while also ensuring the long-term sustainability of drinking water service and infrastructure.” Those dreams of more taxes were delayed last week, though, ...
Kilauea Volcanic Eruptions Spike Pensions for Hawaii’s Emergency Workers
“Pension risk includes lava,” said Keli’i Akina, president of the Grassroot Institute, a sister free-market think tank in Hawaii. Recently, the Grassroot Institute hosted an event titled “Navigating risk at Hawaii’s public pension system.” Thom Williams, executive director of the Hawaii Employees’ Retirement System (ERS), discussed how unpredictable events such ...
The June Primary is Over. So, What Now?
Now that the June primary is behind us, pundits and political observers are on overdrive telling us what it all means and what we can expect from the fall campaign. Perhaps we should all pause before writing the June primary’s eulogy as hundreds of thousands of votes remain to be ...
What We’re Watching
Tim Anaya – It’s Not A Jungle Out There in California! This past Tuesday was California’s primary election. California has a unique primary system – the “top 2” system. Simply put, the top two voter getters from any party advance to the November election. As our friend John Myers from ...
Would Public Employees Really Lose Income After Janus Ruling?
Public-sector employees who want to be freed of forced unionization are hoping that the Supreme Court will release them from their yoke when it issues its impending ruling in the case of a government worker who sued the union that claims to represent him. Others, though, fear a future in ...
Free Markets 101: Free Markets Enable Prosperity and Compassion
The U.S. economy has generated more wealth for more people than any other economic system in human history, and it’s not even close. What began as a small group of colonies clustered near the eastern seaboard of a mostly empty continent founded by political and religious refugees somehow become more ...
