Commentary

Commentary

Statement from PRI Senior Director of Education Studies Lance Izumi on Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association

January 11, 2015 – The Pacific Research Institute issued the following statement by Senior Education Studies Director Lance Izumi on today’s U.S. Supreme Court oral argument on Friedrichs v. the California Teachers Association: “The admission by the attorney for the State of California that the collective bargaining contract negotiated by ...
Commentary

New Book Release By Sally Pipes

President Barack Obama has declared that his signature health reform law – the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act – is “here to stay.” But his days in the White House are numbered, and the law has failed: insurance premiums and deductibles have skyrocketed, patients are losing access to doctors, ...
Agriculture

CAPITAL IDEAS: Water Markets Would Alleviate Shortages

We’ve all read the daily stories highlighting the drought’s impact on California’s economy and environment. Wells have run dry, forcing some Central Valley communities to shower in church parking lots. Farmers are fallowing land. In many areas of the state, over-pumping groundwater is causing the ground to sink. Read Report
Commentary

Freedom, not union, key to teachers’ case

Almost everybody agrees that an employee – public or private – should be judged on his or her individual qualifications and performance. Yet, for many of the nation’s teachers, their freedom to be treated as individuals is barred by a collective bargaining process that treats them as a group. This ...
California

Rebecca Friedrichs: Challenging Compulsory Union Dues and Standing Up for Freedom

In March 2015, PRI filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association (CTA) -a major case challenging compulsory union dues that nearly all California teachers are required to pay. The case, spearheaded by the Center for Individual Rights (CIR), was brought by ...
Commentary

Obamacare’s Legacy: U.S. now leads world in health care spending

A new report from a major international research group has dealt a devastating blow to Obamacare’s apologists. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) — a group of 34 developed countries — recently ranked member countries by per-capita health care spending. The United States took first place by spending ...
Commentary

Obamacare: A never-ending money pit

UnitedHealth — the largest insurance company in the country — recently announced that it might quit Obamacare’s healthcare exchanges in 2017. The CEO of another major insurer, Cigna, just made clear that his company hasn’t yet decided if it’ll stick around. That’s what losing hundreds of millions of dollars on ...
Commentary

Socialized medicine a global failure

Single-payer health care is back in the news. Activists in Colorado just secured enough signatures to put single-payer on the state ballot next fall. Last month, a state legislator from Philadelphia introduced legislation that would, if passed, install single-payer in Pennsylvania. And then there’s Democratic presidential hopeful U.S. Sen. Bernie ...
Commentary

To control drug prices, pursue fraud, not manufacturers

A Los Angeles-based nonprofit has gathered enough signatures to get two initiatives on the November ballot. The one of greater interest to ordinary Californians would legislate that any prescription drug paid for with state money cost no more than the amount paid by the Veterans Administration. The California Drug Price ...
Business & Economics

Rationale for biofuel doesn’t add up

The Environmental Protection Agency recently issued new rules dictating that 18 billion gallons of biofuels must be blended into America’s 2016 transportation fuel supply. This mandate, referred to as the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), has been a disaster for the country. The only sensible minimum renewable fuel mandate is zero. ...
Commentary

Statement from PRI Senior Director of Education Studies Lance Izumi on Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association

January 11, 2015 – The Pacific Research Institute issued the following statement by Senior Education Studies Director Lance Izumi on today’s U.S. Supreme Court oral argument on Friedrichs v. the California Teachers Association: “The admission by the attorney for the State of California that the collective bargaining contract negotiated by ...
Commentary

New Book Release By Sally Pipes

President Barack Obama has declared that his signature health reform law – the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act – is “here to stay.” But his days in the White House are numbered, and the law has failed: insurance premiums and deductibles have skyrocketed, patients are losing access to doctors, ...
Agriculture

CAPITAL IDEAS: Water Markets Would Alleviate Shortages

We’ve all read the daily stories highlighting the drought’s impact on California’s economy and environment. Wells have run dry, forcing some Central Valley communities to shower in church parking lots. Farmers are fallowing land. In many areas of the state, over-pumping groundwater is causing the ground to sink. Read Report
Commentary

Freedom, not union, key to teachers’ case

Almost everybody agrees that an employee – public or private – should be judged on his or her individual qualifications and performance. Yet, for many of the nation’s teachers, their freedom to be treated as individuals is barred by a collective bargaining process that treats them as a group. This ...
California

Rebecca Friedrichs: Challenging Compulsory Union Dues and Standing Up for Freedom

In March 2015, PRI filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association (CTA) -a major case challenging compulsory union dues that nearly all California teachers are required to pay. The case, spearheaded by the Center for Individual Rights (CIR), was brought by ...
Commentary

Obamacare’s Legacy: U.S. now leads world in health care spending

A new report from a major international research group has dealt a devastating blow to Obamacare’s apologists. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) — a group of 34 developed countries — recently ranked member countries by per-capita health care spending. The United States took first place by spending ...
Commentary

Obamacare: A never-ending money pit

UnitedHealth — the largest insurance company in the country — recently announced that it might quit Obamacare’s healthcare exchanges in 2017. The CEO of another major insurer, Cigna, just made clear that his company hasn’t yet decided if it’ll stick around. That’s what losing hundreds of millions of dollars on ...
Commentary

Socialized medicine a global failure

Single-payer health care is back in the news. Activists in Colorado just secured enough signatures to put single-payer on the state ballot next fall. Last month, a state legislator from Philadelphia introduced legislation that would, if passed, install single-payer in Pennsylvania. And then there’s Democratic presidential hopeful U.S. Sen. Bernie ...
Commentary

To control drug prices, pursue fraud, not manufacturers

A Los Angeles-based nonprofit has gathered enough signatures to get two initiatives on the November ballot. The one of greater interest to ordinary Californians would legislate that any prescription drug paid for with state money cost no more than the amount paid by the Veterans Administration. The California Drug Price ...
Business & Economics

Rationale for biofuel doesn’t add up

The Environmental Protection Agency recently issued new rules dictating that 18 billion gallons of biofuels must be blended into America’s 2016 transportation fuel supply. This mandate, referred to as the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), has been a disaster for the country. The only sensible minimum renewable fuel mandate is zero. ...
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