Blog
Blog
November Ballot Measures – Coming Soon to a TV or Mailbox Near You
Just when you thought the election was over and you were safe from the barrage of dueling campaign ads, think again. Secretary of State Shirley Weber has just announced the statewide ballot measures that we’ll be deciding in the November election. This year’s ballot measures cover a host of hot ...
Blog
An Answer to Our Broken Health Insurance
Even though an increasing share of Americans have health insurance, positive health outcomes and access to health services are actually decreasing, as found in a 2021 study by PRI senior fellow Wayne Winegarden. Why? The insurance model in the United States is deeply broken for many reasons. But it is ...
Blog
SB 1162 Won’t Fix Pay Gap
It’s summertime, and the living may about to get even easier for plaintiff’s lawyers across California. Senate Bill 1162, which is wending its way through the legislature, would require the state to publish the pay data of workers by race, ethnicity, and gender for companies with 100 or more employees, ...
Blog
Mandatory Kindergarten: Bad Idea for Kids and Taxpayers
As if California parents and children have not had enough mandates from Sacramento, the Legislature is considering mandating kindergarten, even though research, international experience, and teacher testimony undercut the idea. SB 70 by State Senator Susan Rubio (D-Baldwin Park) would, according to her press release, “require all students to complete ...
Blog
Supreme Court Rules Government Overreach on Costly Energy Mandates
On the final day of its 2021-2 term, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a huge victory for lower energy costs for hard-working Americans when they limited the ability of unaccountable bureaucrats at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to impose sweeping and costly new energy mandates without the approval ...
Agriculture
Fourth of July cookouts are a costly proposition
Monday is the annual celebration of freedom from the tyranny of an absentee monarchy. In 2021, the White House tweeted that a Fourth of July cookout would cost Americans $0.16 less than in 2020 and touted it as a victory. Will there be a similar tweet for 2022? As the ...
Blog
Jumpin’ Jack Flash Can’t Get No Gas
Los Angeles will possibly be among the few cities in the world to outlaw the construction of new gas stations if a proposed policy change is approved by the City Council. Since Los Angeles is arguably the virtue-signaling capital of the world, it’s hard to imagine that it won’t happen. ...
Blog
Massachusetts Fails to Learn the Lesson of the “Success” From California’s AB 5
The top court in Massachusetts shut down a gig work ballot measure last week in a litigation battle brought on by opponents of independent contracting work. The ballot measure, that was anticipated to pass with over 80% of Uber and Lyft drivers in support in opinion surveys, would have classified ...
Blog
Despite Sunday Late Night Tax Rebate Deal, Gas Tax Still Going Up
Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature’s Democratic leaders announced Sunday that they had finally reached agreement on a tax rebate plan. How to give Californians relief from high gas prices and rising inflation had been a key sticking point holding up the budget’s enactment. The unusual release of the plan ...
Blog
Fighting Inflation – Is the Fed “Bluffing?”
“The way to crush the bourgeoisie,” said Lenin, “is to grind them between the millstones of taxation and inflation.” So, it would have put a crocodile smile on Lenin’s face to learn that May’s inflation data showed that Americans’ wallets were worn down even further. The year-over-year inflation rate came ...
November Ballot Measures – Coming Soon to a TV or Mailbox Near You
Just when you thought the election was over and you were safe from the barrage of dueling campaign ads, think again. Secretary of State Shirley Weber has just announced the statewide ballot measures that we’ll be deciding in the November election. This year’s ballot measures cover a host of hot ...
An Answer to Our Broken Health Insurance
Even though an increasing share of Americans have health insurance, positive health outcomes and access to health services are actually decreasing, as found in a 2021 study by PRI senior fellow Wayne Winegarden. Why? The insurance model in the United States is deeply broken for many reasons. But it is ...
SB 1162 Won’t Fix Pay Gap
It’s summertime, and the living may about to get even easier for plaintiff’s lawyers across California. Senate Bill 1162, which is wending its way through the legislature, would require the state to publish the pay data of workers by race, ethnicity, and gender for companies with 100 or more employees, ...
Mandatory Kindergarten: Bad Idea for Kids and Taxpayers
As if California parents and children have not had enough mandates from Sacramento, the Legislature is considering mandating kindergarten, even though research, international experience, and teacher testimony undercut the idea. SB 70 by State Senator Susan Rubio (D-Baldwin Park) would, according to her press release, “require all students to complete ...
Supreme Court Rules Government Overreach on Costly Energy Mandates
On the final day of its 2021-2 term, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a huge victory for lower energy costs for hard-working Americans when they limited the ability of unaccountable bureaucrats at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to impose sweeping and costly new energy mandates without the approval ...
Fourth of July cookouts are a costly proposition
Monday is the annual celebration of freedom from the tyranny of an absentee monarchy. In 2021, the White House tweeted that a Fourth of July cookout would cost Americans $0.16 less than in 2020 and touted it as a victory. Will there be a similar tweet for 2022? As the ...
Jumpin’ Jack Flash Can’t Get No Gas
Los Angeles will possibly be among the few cities in the world to outlaw the construction of new gas stations if a proposed policy change is approved by the City Council. Since Los Angeles is arguably the virtue-signaling capital of the world, it’s hard to imagine that it won’t happen. ...
Massachusetts Fails to Learn the Lesson of the “Success” From California’s AB 5
The top court in Massachusetts shut down a gig work ballot measure last week in a litigation battle brought on by opponents of independent contracting work. The ballot measure, that was anticipated to pass with over 80% of Uber and Lyft drivers in support in opinion surveys, would have classified ...
Despite Sunday Late Night Tax Rebate Deal, Gas Tax Still Going Up
Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature’s Democratic leaders announced Sunday that they had finally reached agreement on a tax rebate plan. How to give Californians relief from high gas prices and rising inflation had been a key sticking point holding up the budget’s enactment. The unusual release of the plan ...
Fighting Inflation – Is the Fed “Bluffing?”
“The way to crush the bourgeoisie,” said Lenin, “is to grind them between the millstones of taxation and inflation.” So, it would have put a crocodile smile on Lenin’s face to learn that May’s inflation data showed that Americans’ wallets were worn down even further. The year-over-year inflation rate came ...
