Blog
Blog
Is Prop. 54 Needed in Congress?
Over the weekend, I made the rounds of various bipartisan holiday parties filled with California politicos. The late-night vote on the Senate GOP tax plan was certainly the conversation du jour. My liberal friends decried the harried, last-minute nature of the vote, specifically hundreds of pages of bill language being ...
Agriculture
Cedar Point Nursery Case Could End Trespassing on Private Land
Unions have long had government-protected privileges that no other institution or organization has. They hold monopolies as exclusive collective bargaining units; can collect dues before paychecks are even issued (government is the only other institution that can withhold earnings); and have forced unionization on, and collected dues from, workers who ...
Blog
California’s Anger on Tax Deal Directed at Wrong Capitol
On Friday, the Senate achieved the nearly-impossible and passed long-overdue tax reform legislation. While the legislation will surely be changed in the conference committee, whatever final legislation emerges will provide tax relief for many Americans and provide some incentives to job creators to invest in the economy. Many Californians have ...
Blog
Brown Right Once Again on Public Employee Pension Reform
We are often critical of the way Gov. Jerry Brown governs and the ideas that he proposes. He too often leans on the progressive playbook. But we’ve not been afraid to say that he’s right when he’s right, and today he’s right. The governor is publicly advocating cuts in public ...
Blog
PRI-Manhattan Institute Forum Addresses California’s Drug Pricing Challenge
Earlier this week, PRI joined with the Manhattan Institute to host a well-attended Sacramento panel discussion on California’s drug pricing challenge. Many thanks to my friend and former longtime Capitol reporter Marcey Brightwell, who did an outstanding job moderating the event. Drug pricing emerged as one of the hottest issues ...
Blog
The Other Pretty Girl
At a PRI conference a few years ago, someone in the audience had a great question for our keynote speaker, a renowned economist: Given California’s bad economic policies, why do people still like the state? With typical flair and charm, not to mention political incorrectness (which is why I am ...
Blog
Janus Case Could Deliver Win for Workers and Boost Economy
Click here to download the brief Nerves are apparently raw in union halls across California. Labor leaders are waiting in dread over a coming Supreme Court ruling. The decision could cost them members, and more importantly to the union bosses, money. The case they fear is Janus vs. AFSCME. Its ...
Blog
Maine’s Medicaid Mistake Could Cost Lives
As featured in Kaiser Health News Morning Briefing Maine made history earlier this month by becoming the first state to adopt Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion via ballot initiative. The vote could inspire progressive activists in other states to push for similar referenda. Expanding Medicaid to cover childless, able-bodied adults would blow ...
Blog
We’re Thankful for You
2017 has been quite a year for the Pacific Research Institute. We remain, as ever, committed to championing freedom, opportunity, and personal responsibility. Thanks to the steadfast support of our donors in California and throughout the nation, this past year we have advanced market-based policies in the national debate on ...
Blog
Let’s Choose Door No. 3 on State Budget Surplus – Tax Relief
The California Legislative Analyst’s Office is projecting a $19 billion budget surplus for the 2018-19 fiscal year which begins next July 1. The media wonder if lawmakers should spend it or save it. There’s a third option, though, that is going unmentioned. Take door no. 3, please. Only about $7.5 ...
Is Prop. 54 Needed in Congress?
Over the weekend, I made the rounds of various bipartisan holiday parties filled with California politicos. The late-night vote on the Senate GOP tax plan was certainly the conversation du jour. My liberal friends decried the harried, last-minute nature of the vote, specifically hundreds of pages of bill language being ...
Cedar Point Nursery Case Could End Trespassing on Private Land
Unions have long had government-protected privileges that no other institution or organization has. They hold monopolies as exclusive collective bargaining units; can collect dues before paychecks are even issued (government is the only other institution that can withhold earnings); and have forced unionization on, and collected dues from, workers who ...
California’s Anger on Tax Deal Directed at Wrong Capitol
On Friday, the Senate achieved the nearly-impossible and passed long-overdue tax reform legislation. While the legislation will surely be changed in the conference committee, whatever final legislation emerges will provide tax relief for many Americans and provide some incentives to job creators to invest in the economy. Many Californians have ...
Brown Right Once Again on Public Employee Pension Reform
We are often critical of the way Gov. Jerry Brown governs and the ideas that he proposes. He too often leans on the progressive playbook. But we’ve not been afraid to say that he’s right when he’s right, and today he’s right. The governor is publicly advocating cuts in public ...
PRI-Manhattan Institute Forum Addresses California’s Drug Pricing Challenge
Earlier this week, PRI joined with the Manhattan Institute to host a well-attended Sacramento panel discussion on California’s drug pricing challenge. Many thanks to my friend and former longtime Capitol reporter Marcey Brightwell, who did an outstanding job moderating the event. Drug pricing emerged as one of the hottest issues ...
The Other Pretty Girl
At a PRI conference a few years ago, someone in the audience had a great question for our keynote speaker, a renowned economist: Given California’s bad economic policies, why do people still like the state? With typical flair and charm, not to mention political incorrectness (which is why I am ...
Janus Case Could Deliver Win for Workers and Boost Economy
Click here to download the brief Nerves are apparently raw in union halls across California. Labor leaders are waiting in dread over a coming Supreme Court ruling. The decision could cost them members, and more importantly to the union bosses, money. The case they fear is Janus vs. AFSCME. Its ...
Maine’s Medicaid Mistake Could Cost Lives
As featured in Kaiser Health News Morning Briefing Maine made history earlier this month by becoming the first state to adopt Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion via ballot initiative. The vote could inspire progressive activists in other states to push for similar referenda. Expanding Medicaid to cover childless, able-bodied adults would blow ...
We’re Thankful for You
2017 has been quite a year for the Pacific Research Institute. We remain, as ever, committed to championing freedom, opportunity, and personal responsibility. Thanks to the steadfast support of our donors in California and throughout the nation, this past year we have advanced market-based policies in the national debate on ...
Let’s Choose Door No. 3 on State Budget Surplus – Tax Relief
The California Legislative Analyst’s Office is projecting a $19 billion budget surplus for the 2018-19 fiscal year which begins next July 1. The media wonder if lawmakers should spend it or save it. There’s a third option, though, that is going unmentioned. Take door no. 3, please. Only about $7.5 ...
